Jennie gazed into the mirror and reapplied her lipstick, acutely aware of the five-inch height difference and age gap between her and the woman standing beside her. To be fair, Kendall probably wasn't purposely avoiding conversation. It probably wasn't easy to make eye contact while re-gluing a pair of false eyelashes in a restaurant bathroom.
"So how long have you and Bambam been together?" Jennie asked, attempting to break the silence.
"Oh, a few months," Kendall responded off-handedly. "You know, can I just say again how amazing it is to meet you? You're like, a legend!"
Jennie laughed. She was a legend? In a town full of movie idols and rock stars, she was a legend.
"Lisa said she was bringing someone, but I never thought in a million years it would be you. I mean Jennie. The Jennie."
"Who did she say she was bringing?"
"Oh, no one. Lisa just texted that she was bringing a friend."
Jennie nodded. It explained Bambam's reaction when they'd shown up at the restaurant earlier. Clearly, Lisa hadn't told her friends that she was coming to stay with her. Bambam had nearly fallen out of his chair when he caught sight of her. "Holy shit!" he'd exclaimed. "Holy fucking shit!"
Jennie had been aware of heads turning to look at them. She didn't know if it was from the noise or from Lisa and Bambam getting recognised, but the rest of them seemed unfazed by the attention.
"Jennie!" Bambam had stood to give her a hug after he'd recovered from the surprise. "Look at you! Holy shit! You've turned into a grown up!"
Jennie had laughed, but she cringed inside at his words. A 'grown up'? Was that code for 'old'? She hadn't missed the fact that Bambam's date for the evening looked to be in her early twenties. Was that why Lisa had been so intent on staying in tonight?
"Holy shit!" Bambam had exclaimed again once they all sat down to eat. "Do you guys remember the last time we all had dinner together?"
Lisa shook her head and looked at Jennie, and she'd felt her own eyes go wide as the memory struck her. "Oh my God!"
"Katz's!" Bambam had cackled.
Lisa had nearly choked on the sushi roll she was stuffing into her mouth. "Shit, I forgot about that."
"I swear to God - this kid." Bambam pointed his chopsticks at Lisa. "Admit it, Jennie. That's why you broke up with her, wasn't it? That little incident."
Jennie remembered the meal Bambam meant. It was that night, of course. The night Lisa's band had been booked as the opening act in a one-night-only show at the Bowery Ballroom. The night the band got their big break, signed by a record label after the set. The night that had ended with Jennie walking out on Lisa, her better half of four years, and never coming back.
That was how the night ended, but Jennie had forgotten until now how the evening had begun. They'd all gone for sandwiches before the show at Katz's Delicatessen, but Lisa hadn't been content simply to enjoy a quiet meal with friends. She had decided to warm up her vocal cords with a little dinner entertainment for the crowd. Katz's Delicatessen. Who had chosen it? Jennie couldn't remember. In any case, they'd all sat down to eat when Lisa had the bright idea to re-enact the famous movie scene that was set there. The one where Meg Ryan decides to prove a point to Billy Crystal by enjoying her pastrami sandwich just a little too enthusiastically.
Of course, that wasn't really the reason she and Lisa had split up all those years ago. It wasn't until a few hours later - a different knee-jerk decision of Lisa's that caused their whole relationship to unravel. They'd had an agreement between the two of them, up until that night. Jennie had supported Lisa's adolescent music fantasies for four years, but they'd agreed it was time for her to grow up. Put the band aside. Go back to college and finish her degree. Get a real job - a job that could support a wife and family and a nice little house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. That was what they both wanted. Or so she thought.
But then that record label came knocking, and Lisa had signed with them right after the show - committed herself to an album and a 30-city tour, without so much as a thought that she might want to discuss it with her girlfriend. It was Lisa's big break, she'd argued afterwards. Her dream. She thought Jennie would be happy for her.
And Jennie was happy for Lisa. Of course she was. As soon as she heard the news, she knew what it meant. Lisa was a star. She always had been - just needed someone to notice. But the girlfriend or wife of a star? That was never a role Jennie had imagined for herself.
Until that night, she'd honestly thought it was never going to happen. How many thousands of kids out there had the same dreams? How many ever amounted to anything? No, as talented as Lisa was, Jennie had always figured the band would eventually fail. Then Lisa would have to get serious and figure out what she really wanted to be when she grew up.
