The City of Angels.

"That's great! I'll see you then. Thank you so much again, sir." I put my phone down on the table and looked at Tadhg with excitement written all over my face.
"You got the job I take it? Congratulations! When do you start?" He asked, shovelling my chicken casserole into his mouth.
"I start tomorrow!" I replied, too excited to finish my own dinner.

Tadhg and I had been living in an apartment in LA for two weeks now and I had been flogging my resume absolutely everywhere in order to lock down any sort of job so as to keep the bills paid while I began building my empire from my bedroom.

"It's the coolest place too, you know. It's a bar and record store all in one!" I told Tadhg with excitement rolling off my tongue.

I had caught eye of the coolest place one day while I was sitting outside a wee cafe sketching some shirt designs. It was not only a record store but a bar also. I ran in immediately with my resume and asked if they were hiring. Luckily they were and within a few days, I had blagged the job. If I had any strengths at all... They were definitely music and drinking.

Tadhg had been lucky enough to pick up work in a studio not far from where we lived. Although he had countless experience at home, he was at the bottom of the pile in LA.

"How was work today?" I questioned him cautiously.
"Same old. Made about 74 cups of tea and folded about 6,000 wires!" He replied, boredom and frustration evident in his voice.
"I'm sorry friend! I'm sure it will get better with time!" I said with empathy.
"Yeah it will. I just hate being in the background so much when I know that I could do this all on my own!" He said exasperatedly.
"You and I both know that. You gotta show everyone else that though! Prove to them you're really good at what you do!" I said, trying to boost his spirits.
"I wish it were that easy, kid. I really do!" He finished as he stared off into space.

Tadhg and I both knew LA was going to be tough. We knew that in our fields we were going to experience 1 million no to every yes but we were thick skinned. At least I was anyway. I had been shot down my entire life. And that was just by my family. We still get on and maintain good relationships, but for some unknown reason my mother could never stand to see someone being more successful than her. Especially if it was her own child. Figure that one out.

"Well look, I'm going to go shower and pick out something to wear tomorrow and then how about we throw on Batman?" I asked Tadhg, hoping to cheer him up some.
"If we can invite Mr. Jack Daniels to the party then I'm in" He replied, now smiling.
"He's already chilling in the fridge!" I sang back at Tadhg as I made my way to my bathroom.

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"So you just punch in your log in code, the price and then the cash they give you and voila! There you have it!" Said Kim.

Kim had worked at "Pour ''Em, Play 'Em" for two years now and was training me in on how to use the register the following day.

"Alright! I got it. I think." I said with a nervous giggle.
"Don't sweat it girl! We're all here for each other. Any problems you just shout me out!" She said as she walked off, leaving me to man my own station. I took a deep breath and adjusted my outfit before having a look round.

There were a few customers walking around the shop. I was stood at the bar and nobody was ordering so I took some time to draw some more shirt designs. I was interrupted by the sounds of something stampeding over itself just minutes later.

"Fiona! I need your help!" Tadhg said between gasps of air.
"You're sweating. Did you run here?" I asked Tadhg with a look of horror and disgust on my face.
"Yes. Yes I did so therefore you cannot say no to what I am
about to ask you." He said, gaining his composure and signalling to the bottle of Jack Daniels behind me.
"Uh-oh, here we go!" I said, while pouring him a drink, afraid of what was about to come out of his mouth.
"The engineer who runs the studio is giving me two hours to show him what I can do. But I can't afford to bring in a professional singer so I was wondering if you'd loan me your voice for just 2 hours after work tonight and that's it! I'll never drag you into the studio again!" Tadhg spat out.
"Emmm..." Words were failing me as I was trying to process everything he had just said to me.
"Please please please? I'll cook for the next week. Every day!" He said in desperation.

There were many times back home when Tadhg had brought me into the studio to record rather than bring in a professional singer who he would have to pay. I had always considered it a fun experience. I sang my whole life but had never really classed myself as something special. Even when people told me otherwise. An Irish record label approached me but told me I wouldn't be writing my own music so I turned down the offer. Stardom wouldn't suit me anyway. I never liked being the centre of attention much.

"Will you cook Italian every day?" I asked my half Italian, half Irish bestie with a sly grin on my face.
"Whatever you want!!" He said as quickly as his mouth would allow him.
"Text me the address and I'll get a cab over to you after work!" I said with a chuckle as I saw the vein in his head pop back to where it belongs.
"You're a saint!" He said as he finished his drink, slid the glass back over to me and messed up my hair over the counter.

The things you do for your buds.

Notes

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