Change in Harmony (A Silver Script Novel Book 4) (2 page)

Allison sat down and leaned against the tiled wall in the subway. It had been a long day, but she’d made enough money for dinner that night and groceries to last a few more days. She closed her eyes for just a moment, but they flew open when she heard a crash and the cursing that followed it.

It was the man who had dropped his bag earlier. At least this time everything stayed in the box he’d been carrying. He rubbed his temples and glanced around.

“Rough day?” Her voice echoed off the walls of the empty platform. Rush hour had ended, and there was a rare lull between trains because of a delay down the line.

He turned and rolled his eyes. “You could say that.”

“Want to tell me about it?” She couldn’t believe she was talking to the guy. He’d been anything but nice to her earlier, and it was clear he didn’t approve of her staying down here to play her instrument.

“Not really.” He ran his hand through his hair.

Allison leaned forward, her hands resting on her knees. “Look. You’re stuck here and won’t be going anywhere for a while, so you can stand up there looking all high and mighty, or you can come and sit down. I don’t bite. I promise.”

The man studied her before pushing his large box over to her. He sat with the box between them. “You’re here all day?”

She shrugged. “It depends on the day. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I decided I could come down and entertain people.”

“I’m not sure anyone is actually entertained while they’re trying to catch trains.” He pulled out his phone and frowned. “No signal.”

“Well, you are underground. Besides, we’re under a steel building right now. We rarely have signal.” She glanced in the box. “Get kicked out?”

The man glowered, marring his good looks. “How is that your business?”

“It’s not. It’s called being polite.” She reached across the box to shake his hand. “I’m Allison, by the way.”

The man took her hand, and she noted the firm shake. “Nate. And accusing me of being kicked out isn’t exactly polite. But since you asked, yes. I did.”

“Ah, angry wife?” It was all she knew. Angry parents who did nothing but fight.

Nate rolled his eyes. “You’re really bad at guessing. No. I’m not married. My roommate was a jerk and let the pipes freeze. When they flooded the floor below, the landlord decided to kick both of us out. Good riddance. I wanted to be out of there anyway.”

“Sounds like it. So where are you headed? Your new place?” Allison grimaced. She really needed to learn to stop being so personal with people. It’s what drove her dad crazy about her mom. Always nosy.

“I was, until the train was delayed. Don’t they know people have places to go?” Nate leaned his head against the wall.

Allison laughed. “I’m not sure the subways care. Besides, it’s an electrical problem. Not much they can do about it.”

“There’s always something. Hopefully it will be done soon.” Nate leaned his arm on his box.

“Yeah . . .” Allison stared off into the distance. “Sorry you can’t get home yet.”

Nate sighed. “It’s fine. I’m just glad to get out of the other place. I don’t have any furniture yet anyway.”

“So . . . where were you going to sleep then?” Allison pulled her sleeves over her hands. It was getting chilly, and she needed to get back to the apartment soon. Sam would be worried if she came home to find Allison gone.

“Hotel. Floor. Anywhere but my old place.” He pulled off his gloves. “Here. You need these more than me.”

Allison took them from him in surprise. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll just need them back when the train finally comes.” He crossed his arms so his hands were covered. “Do you sleep down here?”

Allison snorted. “No.”

“But you work down here.” He looked at her in surprise. “Why would you do that if you didn’t have to?”

“It’s a good place to practice.” Allison stood and dropped the gloves in his lap, then picked up her flute case. “I’d better get going. You okay where you are?”

A group of people came down the steps laughing loudly about something. Allison wanted to be gone before they realized that the train wouldn’t be coming anytime soon. She took a step toward the stairs.

“You’re leaving?” he asked, surprised.

“Well, yeah. I’m done for the night.” She glanced over at the group as they muttered at each other.

He stood. “I thought . . . never mind. I’ll be fine.”

“You can come with me. I know a place to eat upstairs, and you can warm up.” She should have just left him there. She knew nothing about him, and he hadn’t exactly been nice. But he seemed . . . lonely. A feeling she knew all too well.

Nate looked back toward the platform before grabbing his box and following her up the stairs. “I need to do something with this box. I don’t think they’ll like it if I take it into the restaurant.”

“They’ll be fine. I eat there all the time, and they won’t mess with you if you’re with me.” Allison waited for him to catch up before heading into a small diner next to the steps. The food was pretty good, and it gave her place to escape if the crowds got too big on the platform.

Nate set his box on the seat between them in the booth and sat down. He picked up the menu the waitress brought by.

Allison smiled as she watched him. She didn’t have to look at the menu. She already knew exactly what she wanted to eat. “The steak and mashed potatoes are the best. Trust me.”

He drummed his fingers on the table in an uneven rhythm. “I guess I’ll try that. I’m more in the mood for pasta, though.”

“Ah. Well, the white sauce here is fantastic.” Allison smiled up at the waitress. She was an elderly woman with a lot of spunk, and one of Allison’s favorite people. “Hey, Bonnie. How are you tonight?”

“I’m great. Did you find another lost puppy here?” Bonnie winked at Nate and laughed as he blushed.

“Train’s down and I figured he didn’t want to be down there holding this box of stuff.” Allison gestured toward it.

Bonnie nodded. “Good thought. Okay, what can I get the two of you?”

“The usual for me, and he wants the pasta with white sauce.” Allison looked over just in time to see Nate’s glare. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

“Yes. And can I also get a hot chocolate?” He handed the menu to Bonnie.

Bonnie wrote it down. “Of course. I’ll be right out.”

Nate turned to Allison. “Lost puppy? Do you do this often?”

“No. She just likes to tease.”  Allison played with a sugar packet in front of her. “So, tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living?”

“I’m in advertising.” Nate took a drink of the water that Bonnie left in front of him.

“Wow, that’s really cool. So, would I know any of your work?” Allison felt . . . small. She hadn’t made anything of herself yet, and here was this big advertising guy sitting with her.

He leaned back and rested his arms on the back of the booth. “Probably. I did a few of the Super Bowl ads, and worked on a few jingles for Valentine’s Day.”

Allison could tell she hit on what he loved to talk about. “That’s great. Do you ever have a hard time coming up with ideas?”

“Sometimes, but usually the ideas just flow. My parents always told me I needed to do something like this because I was constantly making up my own jingles for things.” He laughed and shook his head. “Some of them were pretty terrible, though.”

“Really? Like what?” Allison leaned forward.

Nate studied her for a moment before shaking his head. “Honestly, I don’t remember. I just know they were terrible.”

Allison laughed. “Right. You just don’t want to tell me.”

“Maybe. So what about you? Do you just play down in the subway all day? Or do you have other things you like to do?” Nate took a drink of his water, seeming not to notice how much he’d hurt her with the offhand insult.

“Actually, I only do that when I’m not auditioning.” Allison looked down at the sugar packet in her hand. It was smashed and a small hole had formed, spilling sugar onto the table.

“Really? What kind of auditions?”

Allison glanced up to see his head cocked to the side, and his expression seemed sincere. “I love to perform. Anything, really. I love to sing, dance, play my flute. I’ve tried a few places, including Broadway, but haven’t found anything yet.”

Nate frowned. “Don’t you think it would be better to pick one thing and stick with it? Maybe not spread yourself so thin? Then you’d actually find something and be able to stop the whole subway thing.”

Tears threatened to spill over, so Allison jumped up. “Excuse me.”

Nate called her name as she hurried blindly into the bathroom, but she didn’t turn around. She hid in a stall and let the tears flow. She should never have let him come with her to the diner. And what was she thinking probing him for his background when she couldn’t answer him back? Yes, she was spreading herself too thin. But it was the only way she could think of to get a job in the city. She needed this independence, but living off her roommate and whatever she could get from the subway wasn’t cutting it. Maybe she should just go home. Her dad had a job waiting for her if she did.

No. Not this time. She wouldn’t let Nate push her into feeling sorry for herself. The job the next day seemed promising. A small bar where they usually held karaoke had decided to hire a full-time singer, and the bartender had liked what he’d heard on her demo. She took deep breaths and left the stall to check her makeup. After a quick splash of cold water on her face, she felt like she could face him again. Maybe.

When she left the bathroom, though, Nate was gone with his box, and cash sat in the middle of the table for his portion of the meal. Allison pushed down the anger and frustration, and focused on the meal in front of her. It was still nice and hot. Bonnie must have just brought it out. She ate several bites before she finally gave up. So maybe she was a little more upset than she wanted to admit.

“Not hungry?” Bonnie asked.

Allison jumped. “Oh, you scared me. I guess not. Can I get a box?”

“Sure, sweetie. And don’t feel too bad about him. He’ll be back.” She winked and walked back to the kitchen.

Allison shook her head. She didn’t want him to be back. Maybe she’d need to switch to a different platform. That way she wouldn’t have to see him again.

Bonnie brought a leftover box out and handed Allison the bill. “I know that look. Don’t let him get to you. He meant no harm by what he said. You’re just tired and hungry. Things will look better tomorrow.”

“If you say so.” Allison dished her food into the box, then pulled out cash to pay Bonnie. She stood and gave her a hug before grabbing her things. “Give John a hug for me, ’kay?”

“Of course.” She smiled. “He’ll be sad he missed you.”

Allison left the diner and walked the two blocks to her apartment. It wasn’t much, but she couldn’t complain. Two tiny bedrooms branched off of a living room and kitchen. Once her best friend, Sam, had her own place, she’d convinced Allison to come and live in New York. Not that it had taken much convincing.

When Allison got back to the apartment, Sam sat in the kitchen with Chinese takeout boxes set on the table. “There you are. How’d it go today?”

Allison dropped her things on the couch and sat at the table with her leftovers. “I got a pretty good take today. Until the subway broke down, at least. How was work? Did you get the raise?”

Sam grinned. “Yes. I was going to share my celebratory dinner with you, but I see you brought your own food.”

“We can share.” Allison opened her box, then grabbed some chopsticks. “So, tell me about it.”

“Well, they were just going to pass over me in the meeting, but Shawn stepped in and reminded them that they’d forgotten me. It annoyed Mandy to no end, but she let me have my say. When I went into the research I’d put in, the rest of the group wanted to read my article. Mr. Reynolds gave me the promotion before we left the room.” Sam’s face glowed with pride. She’d worked hard on the magazine article.

Allison squealed and jumped up to hug her. “I knew you could do it.”

“I didn’t.” Sam laughed and handed Allison a carton. “Okay, I’ll trade you some of this for your steak.”

“Deal.” Allison handed over her carton and dug into the cashew chicken. “What did Mandy do when you got it?”

“Screamed. Freaked out. Nearly got fired.” Sam grinned and took a bite. “Mmm. Bonnie went all out with this, didn’t she?”

“She really did.” Allison pulled out some sodas from the fridge and sat at the table.

Sam took a soda from Allison and opened it. “Ready for the audition tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She’d been ready for months, but that was beside the point. “I just hope I don’t choke when I get up there.”

“You won’t. And you know why? Because you are amazing.” Sam grabbed one of the fortune cookies and tossed it to Allison. “Do it.”

“Fine.” She broke the cookie open and read the message, her eyes widening. “‘A chance meeting opens new doors to success and friendship.’ That has nothing to do with tomorrow night.”

Sam took the fortune out of Allison’s hands. “You don’t know that. You could meet them at the bar.”