After a loooong hiatus I am tentatively back. I'm still working out some issues with the blog so I'll post the new entry in full here and will update with the blog post link later.
----------

Theme: Fairy Tale

It had been a long day for Beverly and she still had another number to do in an hour. She walked from behind the stage and towards the U-shaped bar that was off to her left. Bev spied Isaac chatting with a surly-looking rhino and decided it would be better if she just waited until he was free. She hauled herself up onto one of the stools and picked at the bowl of stale pretzels.

“God this place is a dump.” The voice that piped up made Beverly’s blood run cold.

“Bri, would it kill you to keep your not-so-nice comments to yourself?” A second voice chimed in and Bev couldn’t help the groan of annoyance that escaped her. She hopped back down from the stool and turned to face the two heavily disguised felines standing near the entrance. About halfway across the speakeasy the taller of the two spied the dancer.

“There she is! Oh Bevvy!” As she frantically waved Beverly over, the scarf that was wrapped around her head slipped off, the pile of blue curls tumbling free.

“Eilidh, Brie-Anne what are you two doing here?” Beverly didn’t attempt to hide her giggles as she looked the two up and down.

“Rhett’s here for business and I decided to join him to visit my horridly famous baby sister.” Eilidh squealed as she pulled Bev in for a bone crushing hug. The younger feline buried her face into her big sister’s neck and breathed in the familiar scent.

“I see you still have that horridly fake southern accent.” Beverly mimicked Eilidh’s drawl and rolled her eyes at the shocked expression on her face.

“Whatever do you mean, Bevvy?” Eil put a hand on her chest and guffawed.

“Can it, Miss Priss.” The third feline finally piped up.

“Brie! I wish you had told me you were back in town you scoundrel!” Beverly turned her attention to her favorite cousin and pulled her into a big hug.

“Well my love with all of the hubbub surrounding New York’s biggest burlesque dancer I figured you were far too busy for the likes of me.” Brie removed the pair of sunglasses that were covering up most of her face.

“I always have time for my partner in crime.” Beverly snickered as memories of their various shenanigans flashed through her mind.

“Well, I do declare this is quite the jumping gin joint.” Eil glanced around, excitement alight in her eyes.

“Yes, please tell us you’re gonna give us a tour?” Brie’s eyes danced as she shifted from foot to foot.

Beverly was suddenly overcome with nerves, while she was fairly certain that Brie was a frequenter of speakeasies, her older sister was as pure as the driven snow when it came to things like this. She had never been truly honest when it came to the true details of her occupation and she was afraid that when Eil saw exactly what went on around the Spiked Tiger she would cut her off like a gangrenous limb.

“Well, I’ve got about an hour before my next set so I guess I can show you two troublemakers around.” Her nerves dissipated slightly as she watched Brie and Eil squeal in excitement.

“Ooo then we’ll get to see the famous Jezebel twirl around on stage!” Brie all but skipped as she followed a step behind Beverly.


The trio babbled constantly throughout their tour and Beverly found herself slipping back into old habits. Her perfectly practiced Mid-Atlantic intonation slipped into a rougish New Jersey accent, she dropped consonants and dragged vowels left and right. By the time they had stepped up to the bar for the final stop of the tour Beverly was rowdier than any of her current co-workers had ever seen her and twice as saucy.

“Ikki!” Bev motioned for the other girls to take a seat at the bar while she waited for the reindeer to appear.

“Bevvy baby, I’m busy!” Ike shouted from the opposite side of the U shaped bar.

“We’ll you’re bouta be busier, you rascal!” The leopard slammed her palm on the bar top, causing Brie and Eilidh to burst into a fit of giggles. Ike turned around and raised his eyebrows, unimpressed by the outburst.

“What has gotten into you?” He wandered over slowly, a look of amazement on his face as he looked Beverly up and down.

“Nothin’” Beverly cleared her throat and rolled her shoulders, composing herself a bit before trying again, “Nothing. Ikki, would you be a dear and get some drinks for my kin?”

“Oh so I’m a ‘dear’ now? I was a rascal not ten seconds ago but now I’m a ‘dear’?” Ike schooled his face into indifference as he watched a wave of embarrassment flit across Beverly’s face.

“Stop teasing me and get to work.” Beverly muttered.

“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.” Ike shook his head as he went to work mixing up a trio of Sidecars. Beverly was watching him work intensely, purposefully ignoring the looks the other two felines were shooting her. It wasn’t too long before Ike set the drinks in front of the ladies, giving a pointed look to Beverly when he set hers down. They sipped their drinks quietly for a minute before Ike piped up.

“So are you gonna introduce me or do I have to keep standing here like a bum?” Ike crossed his arms.

“Oh! Right! Ike this is Eilidh Barrentine, my sister”, Beverly gestured towards her sister who shot Ike a coy smile, “and this is Brie-Anne Collins, my cousin. Girls, this is Isaac Martinelli, manager of this fine establishment.”

“Bev, you never said you had a younger sister?” Ike put on a show of looking shocked.

“That’s because she’s my older sister and you know that, you cad.” Beverly all but snarled as she fixed Ike with a fiery glare.

“Alright, take a joke,” Ike shrugged. Brie barked a laugh until Bev’s glare was turned on her, “So what brings two class acts around this den of sin?”

“Work, I’ve got an art exhibit downtown in a few days.” Brie smiled easily.

“My husband’s got some big to-do meeting thing tomorrow, I’m playing tag-a-long.”

“Does Rhett travel a lot for work?” Beverly tilted her head.

“Not usually, typically people come to him for business dealings but he’s been making a big fuss about this one.” Eil rolled her eyes, looking rather put out.

“Wait. Rhett Barrentine. As in the Savannah Barrentines? Your husband is Rhett Barrentine?” Ike’s jaw dropped.

“The one and only.” Eil lifted her chin, a prideful look graced her face, her lips turned up slightly.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” The look that washed over Ike’s face made Beverly a little uneasy. She shifted slightly in her chair.

“So, are you two staying for my performance or what?” Bev was eager to change the subject, not at all interested in what caused that reaction from Isaac.

“I can’t, I was supposed to meet my gallery manager twenty minutes ago. She’s going to have my head.” Brie slipped off of the bar stool, Eil and Beverly following suit. They made a show of saying their goodbyes, promising to meet up again before Eil’s departure tomorrow evening.
 
Beverly was making her way to the back exit after her set when Ike shouted for her to wait for him. Even though she had an inkling that she wouldn’t want to hear what the reindeer had to say, she patiently waited for him to finish closing out the bar and hustle over to her. He motioned for her to head up the steps and he followed close, locking up the false tobacco storefront they exited from. It wasn’t until they were a few hundred feet from the speakeasy that Ike spoke up.

“You never told me your sister married southern royalty.”

“I didn’t think it was really relevant.” Beverly feigned nonchalance.

“Maybe not relevant but definitely interesting.” Ike whistled, “Rhett Barrentine is one of the richest men in America. The Tobacco King, Georgia’s poster child for ‘Good Ol’ Boys’.”

Beverly thought she heard a tinge of bitterness in Ike’s tone.

“And my brother-in-law.” Bev emphasized.

“Exactly.” Ike’s lips quirked up.

“Whatever you’re thinking Ikki, drop it.”

“But Bev-”

“I mean it. He’s family..”

“Exactly,” Beverly thought that despite the repeated word the two of them were nowhere near on the same page with this, “Do you know why he’s in town?”

“Eilidh said he had some meeting.” She shrugged.

“I’m sure he’s got time to squeeze in a quick chat with his sister-in-law.” Ike hinted.

“No, Ike. I’ve kept my distance from my sister for a reason. She’s got her fairy tale and I’m not about to ruin it with bootlegging and booze brewing. Drop it.” She halted, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.

“There’s no risk for Rhett. At least not what I’ve got in mind. Kamran is starting to sniff around and having a powerful backer with deep pockets would give us more than a fighting chance against standing up to that big schnoz-ed bully.” Ike grabbed Bev by the shoulders searching her face for any sign of surrender. She wiggled her nose from side to side as she contemplated Ike’s request. After a full minute of mulling it over she gave a minuscule shrug.

“I’ll ask if he’d be interested in hearing you out, but that’s it. If he says no, that’s the end of it.”

“That’s my girl! I knew you’d get it.” Ike pumped his fist in the air in victory.

A heavy weight settled in Beverly's stomach and she had a feeling that it wouldn't be dissipating anytime soon.