Page 18 of Christmas in Mistletoe
“Nope. Delilah wants someone who she can keep in the closet. I did it for a while because she said she was going to come out eventually. But as time went on, it became apparent she was lying. That’s when I realised it was never going to work. Doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt, though.” It had hurt plenty. Still did sometimes.
“Makes my tale of woe about my ex being a different person to me pale into the background.” Ruby paused. “Still, you’ve slept with a chart-topping artist. And she loved your curry.”
“She did. She just didn’t love me all that much. Or herself.” Fran glanced in her rear-view mirror. No sign of a recovery truck. She wished it’d hurry up. Her stomach gurgled loudly.
Ruby twisted around, rummaged in one of her bags, then produced a neatly wrapped gift. She tore the paper without hesitation. “My sister won’t miss these, and your stomach needs attending to.” Ruby held up a yellow biscuit tin. “It’s even your colour, so it’s your Christmas present now. Just a month early.” She grinned, giving it to Fran. “Happy Christmas. Have some vanilla and coconut whirls.”
Fran took the tin. “Don’t mind if I do.”
They sat munching their whirls for a few moments. Then Fran’s phone flashed. She picked it up.
“The AA man is 15 minutes away.”
“It might be a woman,” Ruby countered.
Fran gave her a pained look. “I don’t know many women called Mike. Whatever, home should be within reach soon.” She glanced out her window. “The traffic’s moving faster now, too.”
“We’ll be in Mistletoe before you know it.” Ruby grabbed another biscuit. “Are you still in touch with Delilah?”
“We still talk occasionally, but like I said, she’s touring her new album now. She vowed she would keep in touch more, but she’s busy. I get it. I’ve watched plenty of relationships between music execs and artists explode. I know the drill. You just never think it’s going to happen to you. But musicians are single-minded. They have to be to succeed. They’re all about themselves and their careers.” She glanced at Ruby, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks.
Fran sat forward, shaking her head. “Which I totally get, by the way. My job is important to me, too.” She took a breath, trying to reframe her argument. “My point is, you can be career-focused, but also consider other people. Perhaps even have a relationship.” Fran sat back. “I know I’m sworn off women, and that still stands. But in ten years’ time when I’m ready again, maybe I’ll go for a woman who’s not even a music fan.”
“You wouldn’t last five minutes,” Ruby replied. “You love music. It’s in your bones, just like mine. It must be, or you wouldn’t do the job you do.”
“True. But right now, after Delilah, I am so done. So long as my next girlfriend eats my curry, I’d be happy if she works in a bank. Or a fishmonger. I’ve never dated a fishmonger.”
Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Really? A fishmonger?”
“Think of all the cheap salmon and how healthy my skin would look.” Fran could just imagine the glow. “Have you ever gone out with a musician? Or someone in the industry like me, come to that?” Fran’s eyes widened.Shit. “Not that I’m suggesting…”
“A musician, yes.” Ruby gave her an amused smirk. “Someone in the industry, no. Not really my scene. No offence.”
“You know when someone says ‘no offence’, it means they’re about to offend you, right?”
“You know what I mean. Music execs in general are just in it for themselves. Out to boost their careers. They’re not interested in artistic integrity or in the artist’s voice.” She glanced at Fran. “In my experience,” Ruby added hastily.
Wow. Ruby didn’t hold back, did she? “You really don’t have a high opinion of me, do you? At least I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I could have lumped you in with all other musicians, saying you’re all as bad as each other. But I didn’t.” She glanced at Ruby. “Maybe I should have.” She grabbed another biscuit from the tin. “Why are you so down on the music industry?”
Ruby rolled her shoulders and was silent for a few moments before she spoke. “Because I had a bad experience. I signed to a label when I was 21, and I thought that was it, that I had the dream ticket. But then they wanted to change my sound and make me more pop, more ‘radio-friendly’. I went along with it because I was 21, but it wasn’t me and I think listeners could tell. The music didn’t sell. The label also wanted me to change my look, ‘show more cleavage’ I believe was the term used.”
Fran winced. “I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not.” She’d heard that story too many times. “It’s one of the things I’m most proud of with our new project, Fast Forward. They’re a girl group, but a new style of girl group. No cleavage required.”
“That should have been their band name.”
Fran gave her a wry smile. “I did consider it.”
Ruby shrugged. “But anyway, I didn’t show more cleavage. It wasn’t me. Then they tried to tour me, but they ended up putting me in the wrong venues and it was a disaster. My worst night was playing a rock club. I was pelted with beer cans and booed off stage. It’s why I don’t like playing venues bigger than around 100 people any more. Crowds behave better when they’re not so anonymous. They’re more my people.”
Fran glanced in Ruby’s direction. “I’m sorry that happened to you, but we’re not all the same.”
Ruby shrugged. “But money talks, doesn’t it? When I stopped selling, the label dropped me, and every person I encountered was all about the bottom line and how it could work for them. I was never in the equation. It was a wasted couple of years and I had to start again from scratch.”
“Have you ever taken the time to talk to music people, though? Really understand why they’re doing their job?”
Even in the low lighting of the car, Fran saw Ruby’s cheeks colour pink. “Nothing in depth,” Ruby said, “but I know the type.”
“Really.” Fran turned her body towards Ruby, every fibre of her truly pissed. Maybe she shouldn’t have offered her a lift, neighbour or not. “That type is me? Because I can tell you, I love music. My job is to get good music out into the world. The role I play is balancing the artist with what the label can offer, and it’s all part of the creative process. Just like you making music is, too. But I care about my artists and I’m good at the business side.” Was Ruby not listening to what she was saying on purpose, or had she just convinced herself that her beliefs were the absolute truth?
