“Again?  Carmen, I’m really not in the mood.”

“No.  I mean, we’re not going to party and get wasted.  I set up that meeting with Andrew.  Pull yourself together and get cleaned up.  We’re meeting him at Japonica in 45 minutes.”

“Caaarmeeeeen….I hate sushi,” Helena whined.

“Oh, come on.  You can get a California roll.”  Carmen pulled her up and pushed her down the hall to her bedroom.

Three quarters of an hour later, Carmen and Helena sat at a table waiting for Andrew to arrive.

“I didn’t say anything about you, so it’ll be a surprise,” Carmen said.

Just then, Andrew arrived at the table.  He had spotted Carmen, but Helena had her back to him, so he didn’t have a chance to recognize her.  Carmen stood up and shook his hand.  He then turned toward Helena and stopped, knitting his brows.

“Helena…Peabody?” he asked, astonished to see his old mate from 20 years ago.

“Andrew,” Helena said, smiling as she stood up to embrace her old friend.

“My God?  What…what are you?  Why are you here?” he finally managed to spit out.

Carmen and Helena began to simultaneously explain the situation before Andrew interrupted.’

“One at a time. Please,” he said, trying to keep from laughing.

Helena went on to explain how she knew Carmen and how she’d come across his number.  Seeing Andrew lightened her spirits and helped her to forget temporarily her financial and career situation.  The three talked for 2 hours while they enjoyed their sushi and saki.  Helena revealed the full story of her relationship with Andrew—how they “dated” in secondary school (which really meant that they occasionally got together for a shag).  Helena had broken it off when she discovered her true sexual identity.  As it turned out, years later, Andrew came out as well and had been living with his partner for 5 years.

“I knew I was doing you a favor back then,” Helena teased.

Eventually the conversation turned professional as Andrew and Carmen began discussing all the possibilities for her career as a dj. 

“Basically, what I do, is find the talent and sign them.  Ultra is responsible for the careers of artists like Paul Oakenfold, Morcheeba, and the Crystal Method, to name just a few.  With a little bit of work, and the right PR, we could really boost your career.”