PUNKS Ch. 26: Jasmine Does Manhattan

They came back a month later and played that song, Brick House, and a great version of Love Rollercoaster. They did like six disco songs that night, and added more every month. My friends and I were so impressed he did that for us, we became pals and I never missed a show, for both his bands."

"See," Joe said, "Not embarrassing."

Troy then mentioned that he and T were planning a trip to Greece, and after that, they'll probably start a family. Joe glanced over at T, She was looking down at her plate and fiddling with her fork, determined to not make eye contact, until she heard enough of Troy's version of their future.

"You have a lot of other business to handle before we do any of that," Tina noted.

Troy turned to her, "That has nothing to with starting a family."

Joe realized he was witnessing a potential scene at this posh Italian restaurant. He could see in Tina's eyes that she was about to cut Troy with a biting remark, but she held her fire. Tina turned to Joe and played it super cool.

"The trip to Greece will be to celebrate Troy winning his court case with the SEC."

It was a clever way for Tina to tell Joe that Greece is never going to happen. Joe was impressed with her verbal dexterity. Troy felt he had to talk about it to save face. He addressed Joe without looking at his wife.

"My wife doesn't have the faith in our legal system that I have. A while back the feds made a plea offer that suggests they don't have a strong case. It's too generous a deal. I'm not taking it. We're going to trial because we're gonna beat these bullshit charges."

Tina saved the table from more pension fund raiding 101 by asking Jasmine about her work. Jas explained her pediatric cancer research work at UCLA, more impressive than anyone's job at the table, and how she works with Children's hospitals nationwide.

Jasmine then asked T about her gallery and said she hoped they could stop for a visit while in town.

"Of course," Tina said, "You must come by. I'll give you the tour and we can have lunch. How about I tell you about it then and not bore the men with my art."

"Thank you very much," Troy said, thinking it was funny.

Tina looked at Joe, "I was actually very disappointed that you hadn't yet come by the gallery. You've been here what, six days?"

"I wanted you to meet here, over dinner." Joe said. "Don't worry. We'll visit." He then turned to Jasmine, "You will be impressed. I think Tina is right. Her gallery is a visual experience you can't express in words alone. T has a very nice space and collaborates with talented artists."

Tina rewarded Joe with her look of love. She placed her hand on his. "Thank you, Joe. That's very kind."

Tina then did what New Yorkers do, complaining about the changes the city was undergoing and how difficult it was getting around. Troy dismissed her point of view as being against investments and progress - when that clearly was not her point.

Joe didn't have much to say for a long stretch as he focused on the unspoken words, glances, and expressions that communicate beyond the conversation. Most obvious was the fact Troy could not stop gawking at Jasmine. It was a relief when he finally asked her a question that led to Jas talking so Troy at least had a reason to stare at her. Tina noticed her husband's eyes gazed much lower than Jasmine's eyes and Joe noticed Tina noticing. Joe smiled at T.

Joe welcomed the main course's arrival because it usually meant the conversion can drift into other topics, like cuisine, that is less dangerous.

When Jas twirled pasta with a fork and spoon, she mentioned Joe's cooking. "I have to admit, the last thing I expected was for a rock musician to be mister chef and homemaker. Every time he cooked for me I was impressed."

Tina nodded in agreement, "He started young. We cooked together in the village."

"By together," Troy looked at Tina, "do you mean he let you watch?"

"We cooked together all the time," Joe answered for her, "We were a team. I'm guessing some of the dishes she cooks for you she learned from me."

"That is definitely true." Tina smiled at Joe again, appreciating his defending her.

"I bet you still have my cast iron pans."

"I do," Tina nodded, "and I use them for your recipes."

Near the end of the main course, Joe excused himself and walked to the restrooms. When he came out T was standing there, waiting for him in the hall. She took Joe's arm and led him to the end of the bar furthest from their private dining room.

"Are you seeing this? My husband can't keep his eyes off her."

"So we're even," Joe said, "I can't take my eyes off you."

"Joe, I'm being serious."

"I am too, you're gorgeous, baby; and that's not Bombay martinis talking."

"I think Troy is making Jasmine uncomfortable."

Joe laughed, "Don't worry about Jas. She can handle an ogling creeper. She'll be fine."

"So it is creepy. It's not just me?"

"He stares at her tits when she's talking." Joe laughed, "His eyes are falling out of his skull."

Tina shook her head, disgusted. "He's not even trying to hide it."

"Was it wise then to leave them alone?"

Tina put her hand on Joe's. "I swear if you offered him a swap he'd take it in a heartbeat."

"I would too." Joe smiled big. "A night with you? Absolutely."

"Now you're being juvenile."

"You did offer me your ass."

"You're unbelievable."

"Hey. I didn't bring up wife swapping, you did."

"Stop it. Let's get back there before he propositions her."

"We're probably too late."

Back at the table, Troy was talking stocks and bonds and yields and shorts. The relief on Jasmine's face when Joe and Tina returned said it all. She needed a rescue. Joe asked Troy if he was a Yankees fan. No, he's a Mets fan. That got them off Wall Street for a while.

Jasmine excused herself. Tina offered to join her. Left alone with Tina's husband Joe steered the conversation towards the woman one of them loved dearly.

"You're a lucky man Troy. Tina is amazing. She's beautiful, intelligent, and successful. If I hadn't fucked it up..."

"I know your story," Troy interrupted, "I've heard it too many times. It seems there's enough blame to go around. Tina is great. I wish she would work less, it's not like we need her income, and if we're starting a family I'd like her to be home."

Joe furrowed his brow. "You mean not working at all?"

"I don't know," Troy said, "find some balance. Her gallery is a hobby horse. It's not like she's curing cancer in children."

Joe couldn't believe he said that. On one hand, Joe was happy T was not at the table to suffer the humiliation. On the other hand, it would have helped his cause. Joe's verdict on Troy was cast in stone after that remark. Troy was an asshole who didn't respect his wife. Joe wondered if he ever made demeaning comments to her face. Based on how Troy dismissed Tina's opinions in polite company, he assumed he had, and still does.

When the girls returned, Troy shifted to his fabulous apartment on the 799th floor where you can see the Eiffel Tower across the Atlantic on a clear day. He was openly telling Jasmine about it while Joe made eyes with Tina about what they did in that apartment the day after the Beacon Theater show.

Joe glared at Tory thinking, I fucked your wife in your kitchen, the living room, and in your eighteen-thousand-dollar bed... asshole.

As Tina had told Joe in the past, Troy liked mentioning the price tags of his things. He dropped a lot of names of artists he owned works from, and furnishings Joe had never heard of. When he got to an upcoming renovation they were planning; Tina jumped in, excited about the work, and Troy cut her off. He wanted to tell Jasmine the plans himself. It was impossible to not notice how frequently the words me, my, and I crossed his lips. There was never an us, we, or our place.

Joe was witnessing Troy's disregard for Tina. He had heard this from her brother and from Jenna. Now he was seeing it with his own eyes. It was getting on his nerves to the point of Joe mentally rehearsing the verbal beatdown he wanted to give Troy to humiliate him.

Dinner turned to coffee and the talk of ordering dessert but everyone stated they were full. Joe stopped the discussion by tapping his water glass with a spoon.

"We must at least order a piece of cake to share, today is Jasmine's 30th birthday."

Tina's eyes went wide, "Happy Birthday, of course, we're getting cake."

Joe leaned to Jas, "She's so happy it's your birthday because Tina always wants dessert but pretends she can't decide. I've been seeing his act since 1979."

"You know me so well." Tina stuck her tongue out.

"Yes, I do." Joe said low.

Of course they ended up with two desserts to share and while waiting for the sweets Jasmine mentioned working with children and how much she wants children and how turning thirty is like a fire alarm. Tina, childless as thirty six, nodded with empathy.

Joe glanced at Jasmine, "I have volunteered to provide my genetic materials but Jas isn't ready just yet."

Tina's face expressed surprise. "You talk about having children?"

"We have," Jasmine said, "but it's like anyone who's been together a couple of years. It's gonna come up. We imagine a future."

"We want a lot of the same things." Joe added.

Jasmine nodded. "We definitely do."

Dessert interrupted the talk of Joe and Jasmine. Tina was staring at the side of Joe's face as he watched Jasmine continue talking about how much she loves children. As they took turns stabbing and scooping double chocolate layer cake with vanilla ice cream and a slice of cheesecake, Joe moved the conversation to a loosely related topic

"This is my last tour." He licked his spoon, "I've been thinking about what's next in my life for a long time, and now it's here. I want a family. Of that I'm sure."

Tina had enough of the wistful family planning chit-chat and changed the subject, "And you'll be hooking me up with passes for the garden show."

"Of course, I will," Joe smiled, "and Jack, April, and Troy," he looked to her husband.

"Nothing personal." Troy said, "but not I'm really into your stuff; mostly the genre."

"Not liking someone's art is about as personal as it gets, Troy," Joe said, 'but no offense taken."

He turned to Tina, "Make sure you have no plans that night. The after-after party will be another all-nighter, like Radio City." Joe smiled, reminding Tina of the fuck bus incident.

"I'll make a note of it in my calendar." She smiled.

"This is the last time I'll play New York. It'll be a special night for me."

Joe looked at Troy thinking, I made your wife cum so hard on my tour bus that she slept for hours... asshole

After a moment of quiet with forks scraping a dessert plate the only sound, Joe was looking for an escape. "You guys have a Monday morning tomorrow. I don't want to keep you out too late."

Tina agreed but Troy decided to talk more. Since he had run out of his stuff to brag about, he spoke of a friend's beach house on Long Island, "That's something I want to look into after we

have children, a vacation home outside the city."

Jasmine jumped in, "Joe solved that by living at the beach. He's on permanent vacation."

"I don't think Venice is the beach you're looking for. Troy," Joe said. "or an apartment above a music studio, but I love it."

"I am tired," Jasmine said, with a hand on Joe's arm. "I'm crashing from martinis and wine. I don't want to seem rude, this was lovely, I'm just ready for an eight hour nap."

Standing on Madison Ave after curbside goodbyes, Jas held Joe's arm while the doorman hailed a cab for them. "Well, that guy sure loves money and things." Jasmine said. "And he's not very nice to his wife."

"I hated the way he cut her down." Joe agreed, "And Tina noticed that he couldn't take his eyes off you all night."

"I noticed, and also saw that Tina did too. It was creepy." She shivered. The cab arrived, Joe tipped the doorman and helped Jas into the taxi.

"The Carlyle," he told the cabbie as the door closed.

"I felt terrible for Tina a few times." Joe said, "If this is how he behaves in front of friends I cannot imagine what it's like in the privacy of... his home."

"I know," Jasmine said loudly, "Not her home, it's all his."

"Yeah. It was hard to not hear that."

"Let's talk about this in the morning. I'm so tired and a little drunk. I just want to hold you."

She laid her head on Joe's shoulder as the cabbie navigated the short distance to The Carlyle.

-- Monday Hangover --

It was a sleep-in Monday with Joe and Jasmine both feeling the effects of the booze; not sick, but hungover nonetheless. Over room service breakfast Jasmine went in another direction.

"I didn't want to discuss it last night. I was just too tired, but I feel like I didn't really meet Tina last night."

"You definitely did not meet the Tina I know." Joe agreed "And we got too much Troy."

"In the ladies' lounge, she came in strong for a hug. I was surprised. She told me I was lovely and said nice things. 'I see how Joe looks at you, hang on to him.' I said, 'Me? I see how he looks at you.' And she smiled. 'Yes, I miss that about him, the attention.' And then she went on about how much she worries about you. She loves you, Joe."

"Yeah, not much she can do about that."

"Does she know about us, the arrangement we have?"

"Yes, she does."

Jasmine stared at Joe while he shook hot sauce on his eggs and ate a piece of bacon.Then she looked off in the distance for a long stretch. Joe noticed and felt she had something to say.

"What's on your mind, Jas."

"Something you don't want to hear. I think it can wait."

"You can't say that and expect me to forget it."

"I don't want to ruin the rest of our trip by saying I not only noticed how Tina couldn't keep her eyes off you... but how she looks at you, Joe. She adores you."

"Yes, a few times she gave me that look when I politely came to her defense. Troy cut her down and I tried to lessen his..."

"It was more than that, Joe, and you look at her the same way. I don't want to make an issue of it, but it's so obvious your feelings are..."

"She's married, Jas. I've moved on."

"She's married to an asshole and someday she'll realize it."

Joe sat quietly. He couldn't deny it. He sat there looking at Jasmine, contemplating how he had just used her in his attempt to achieve precisely what she had feared and suspected might happen. She had unwittingly played her role better than Joe could have imagned.

*****

On Tuesday Joe and Jasmine arrived at the gallery before business hours with bagels, donuts, and pastry. Joe explained to Jas that it was his tradition. He introduced Jasmine to Brittany and waited for Tina. She arrived with a big smile, looking fabulous.

They made bagels in the coffee closet and had breakfast in her office. She then gave Jasmine the gold-level tour of the gallery. When they went down to the dungeon, Jenna's office was the first stop. Joe smiled wryly as Jenna looked Jasmine up and down. She smiled and shook Jasmine's hand, and then Jenna stared at Joe while Tina talked.

When Jasmine followed Tina into the work studio, Jenna whispered to Joe, "You never told me she looked like this."

"What did you expect?"

"I thought you liked skinny girls."

"I like all women, Jenna. You know that."

"She's so... curvy, and soft.'"

"Yes, she is."

"How did dinner go?" Jenna asked, "Tina hasn't said much except Jasmine is intelligent and beautiful. She used the word impressive a few times."

"Troy made an impression too," Joe said. "Fe's a condescending asshole to Tina and he ogled Jasmine all night."

"I told you you'd hate him."

"You did, and I do."

"She deserves better," Jenna added, "I'm not so sure about you." She gestured toward Jas. "You're doing pretty damn good with her."

At the end of the studio tour, Tina and Jasmine returned to Joe and Jenna. They stood in her glass office telling Jas about how long the three of them had been friends.

"Sunday night Jasmine told me she didn't feel she got to meet you, T." Joe said. He turned to Jasmine. "Are we good now?"

"Tina is impressive," Jasmine smiled. "I'm glad we came here to see the real you."

"I would apologize for my husband," Tina said. "but I stopped doing that a while ago."

Back upstairs, in Tina's office, as they were preparing to leave, Jasmine excused herself to use the ladies room. Tina had things to say.

"There's a lot more going on here than fuck buddies. I can see it and sense it."

"I told you I've been trying to upgrade our arrangement."

"The way you look at each other, your touching, it's much deeper than just casual."

"I know what the score is. I want more, Jas isn't sure. That's the truth." Joe said flatly, then he upped his tone, "I don't like the way your husband speaks to you. He was disrespectful. If he does that in the company of friends I hate to see private Troy."

"He was rude. I agree, and he can be that way if he's interrupted but it's not as bad as...."

"He interrupted you, not the other way. You were trying to be part of a conversation. He wanted to do a monologue about Troy."

"Think what you like Joe. I know what the score is, as you like to say."

"Touché"

"All I'm saying, Joe," she put her hand on his arm, "you two seem more than just friends with benefits. You guys click, and you're talking about children?"

"It's just talk."

"Fuck buddies don't talk about having children."

"Maybe so, T. When two people want the same things in life it's an easy topic to discuss. I'm hoping someday she sees me as the man to live that life with."

On their final night in New York, Joe and Jasmine stayed in. They had dinner at the hotel restaurant and watched a jazz quartet perform in Bemelmans Bar. Then they made a mess of the bed. Housekeeping would have to untangle sheets while they flew back to LA. Joe sat on the flight thinking of how perfectly Jenna's evil master plan was progressing - or at least seemed to be.