“So are you feeling better?” Siena asked. After a small nod from Bunny, Siena continued. “Now, before you do anything else about it, because I know you.”
Bunny chuckled low and let her head nod a little bit.
“Now, before that, think about this. You had a choice and no one has forced you to go against that. Even this performance doesn’t give any more or less confirmation about you and Piper. Jo and Bea have a choice, and they have chosen that instead of going through managers who have demanded they tone down the gay, have searched for someone who will allow them the same right I have always given you.”
Bunny’s head swam, and she knew this was the speech Siena had wanted to make. She wondered again if Siena practiced this one and wouldn’t have been surprised if she had. After a few minutes, Bunny looked up into Siena’s face once more and nodded. Because what the hell was she supposed to say?
Pick me over them?
Save me from this fucking choice?
“I’ll think about all of it, I promise,” Bunny finally managed.
“Before you try to convince them to change the outfit?” Siena raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
“Yes.” Bunny rolled her eyes playfully. “Is that all you wanted to see me about?”
“Actually, no.” Siena chuckled low and not for the first time Bunny wondered what had happened with her and her ex-wife. From what Siena had told her, Tori was an amazing human. The idea that great people still couldn’t make it work gave Bunny little hope for a future where she might one day settle down. Not that she had ever really considered doing that before. “We have some more events to go through. I’ve sent the list to Piper, and she told me which ones she would be okay with as long as you are on board as well.”
“You didn’t send me the list.”
“I did. But you ignored my email as usual.”
Bunny’s ears burned. She vaguely remembered an email she had marked as important and would get to as soon as she could. She had then promptly forgotten about it.
“Sorry. I do try.”
“I know.” Siena smiled, and they dove into the list of potential opportunities that Siena had gotten for them.
By the time Bunny left Siena’s office, the weight she had been carrying on her shoulders had definitely lightened.
But Siena had been right, once again. Bunny wasn’t prepared to roll over on the idea. Not when there was still more she could do to make them see reason.
It took her until the end of the block to pull her phone from her pocket, scroll through her contacts and find Jo’s number.
“Bunny? Is everything okay?” Jo’s voice was higher than Bunny remembered and vaguely she wondered what else Jo did apart from singing in the band with her sister. Had she interrupted? Well it was up to Jo to say so.
“I was wondering if we could talk about the costumes.” Bunny and small talk weren’t good friends, and even less when stress overtook her.
“Oh.” Jo’s voice dropped lower and the return to the more familiar tone encouraged Bunny to continue.
“I know I didn’t react very well to the last of the costume changes.” Bunny took a deep breath and refrained from presenting her point of view. It wasn’t necessary. “But I was wondering if you would be willing to negotiate.”
“What kind of things were you thinking?” Jo’s voice crackled a little, and Bunny cursed the phone she pressed against her ear as she stepped around a couple using the sidewalk as their stage for a domestic argument.
“It would be much easier for me if we could talk in person. I hate talking on the phone. And texting. Could you meet me?” Bunny worried her fingers.
“Um, sure,” Jo said.
After agreeing on a place and time, Bunny hung up with a relieved sigh. One hour, that’s how long she had to get ready for this conversation. And she knew exactly how she was going to spend that hour.
By the time Bunny arrived, Jo was already seated in a small booth at the back of the cafe. She shouldn’t have been surprised, seeing as Jo had gotten better with arriving early for rehearsal over the last week. But still, Bunny had to give the woman some credit. She had always shown professionalism during rehearsal. A little more than Bunny had managed.
“Thanks for agreeing to meet.”
“No worries.” Jo smiled. She thanked the waitress who followed Bunny to the booth. The waitress placed a drink in front of Jo.
“Anything for you, love?”