Cold Comfort

Jazz called me in tears and I found myself agreeing to meet her after work before realising that I now had a boyfriend who expected me to come home after work. I called up Simon who for the first time sounded a bit exasperated with me running off to console all my friends and he suggested that I start letting them know I have my own life now. I was a bit annoyed that he was telling me what to do already but in some way he could be right as I do seem to get a lot of calls when things go wrong. I told him that this was big and he sighed and said it was always big but after I told him what she was upset about he said he understood.

Jazz had called in tears because this time Chantal had kicked Tony out, lock stock and barrel for she had caught Tony, who was supposedly in the middle of their big reconciliation, having a little side fling with Cameo Larson, yet again! So this time instead of threats and shouting Chantal got ultra pissed and tossed him out on his sorry backside, which in my opinion was about seventeen years too late! Jazz was used to Tony’s behaviour and her Mother’s threats but this was the first time that she had actually acted upon them. Tony grabbed a bag and skulked off leaving a fuming Chantal to vent at Jazz, who with her breakup with Braith was unable to deal with the extra drama of her mother.

I picked up Jazz after work taking her Northside to Millie’s, far away from our usual crowd and on the way we would see if Zizi was up for some coffee and gossip. She was pale and drawn when I picked her up but I chatted about how the guys at worked panicked all day about losing the keys to one of the Porsches until they discovered they were in the glove box the entire time which brought a small smile to her face.

Going into Millie’s was always an experience as you are never sure what up and coming artist you might spy, what actor or actress would be slumming it for cred or who would be behaving like an idiot. We walked into the odd boho décor chatting happily to each other only to freeze in the doorway for sitting directly in front of us was none other than Coco with Braith Vanderhaven. Coco looked her usual forlorn self but Braith was the surprise as he was holding her hand and speaking to her in earnest. Now admittedly Tiah had told me earlier that she had caught Coco and Braith having coffee but I considered that a harmless one off event but here they are again and I wondered just what was Coco up to. Jazz went white as a sheet and for a second looked as if she was going to faint so I grabbed her arm in alarm and gave Braith a look of total hate for if Jazz had not been so fragile I would have gone up and sprackled at them both but I didn’t have to, guilt did it for me. Braith looked up to see Jazz staring right at him and he dropped Coco’s hand, turned dull red and he didn’t look back up at her, no doubt too full of shame to face her and I grabbed Jazz and left the café as quickly as we could.

I was furious at Coco because even if she was all innocent and stuff she should have kept her weepy ways to herself as Braith was off limits, anyone with half a brain knew that but Coco was forever needy and drifted to whatever shoulder was being offered. I wanted to slap her silly whining face and stomped off with Jazz to the one place I never wanted to be again, Sedero’s Restaurant, Northside. It was only a short walk down the street and in Northside Sedero’s I didn’t expect to meet anyone who would know us but I was wrong again for sitting there pouring out his woes was the supposedly banned Tony. He was chatting to a waitress in his usual over friendly manner and I guess they were so used to Chantal’s rants that no one took her seriously when she banned him. Tony took one look at Jazz who froze him out with a grim stare and he sleazed out without even trying to approach his distressed daughter.

Jazz and I got a coffee and sat down in silence as I didn’t have anything intelligent or helpful to say to my friend whose world just fell apart and I thought it surely cannot get worse but of course that is when it does. The drama of the night was far from over for us for as we sat there in silence Jojo Sedero decides to stroll in and seeing him before he saw us I tried to suggest to Jazz that we leave but then he turned and our eyes met across the room. My hand was on his sister’s arm and she was staring into her coffee looking so heartbroken that her older brother took a step towards us. I shook my head slightly as I didn’t think Jazz really wanted to explain what was wrong at this moment and he nodded back to me with a tight smile. It was the first time I had seen him since the attack by Gervais and he was looking worn and tired as if he had been working long, hard days. His last bitter words came back to me and it was hard to keep the tears away and I felt a sense of shame as I was with Simon now and having all this emotion over Jojo was wrong. He left without a second look at us and I don’t know if I was relieved or sorry.

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