Roxanne
you don’t have to put on the red light
those days are over
you don’t have to sell your body to the night.
[…] Roxanne
you don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right.
Roxanne, The Police

 Scene 3 – At  Sor Tino Restaurant, Brentwood.

I dodge his kiss and crush against the glass fence of the patio. The heads of the other diners turn in unison toward our table. To mask the embarrassment I throw my hands up in the air, look down at his little candle and wear the biggest smile for the shakiest Happy Birffday Roxi!!!

Some of the restaurant’s guests lazily mumble along and then go back to their dinner. So do I and look at him with the most heartfelt what the fuck?! in my eyes:

– “Excuse me?!?” –

– …so you think I’m a faggot.

– Well… either way is a no way, my dear Roxi.

– I’m looking for a girl, Linda.

– Oh… so you are a girl…

– I said I want to date a girl. Why you don’t understand a fucking word in English? Jeeez, how long have you been here in LA?!

– I don’t see why we should speak English in the first place, since we are both Italian….

– I even wrote that on my facebook page yesterday… didn’t you see it?

– I apologize but I have no time to check the daily updates on your sexual orientation… you know, I run a pretty huge business…

– …so you are divorced but not single….

– Again, that wouldn’t make any difference. This is not about me, Roxi.

– Who’s this about then?

– It’s about you; you should know. You asked for help and here I am. That’s it – that’s all.

Scene 2 – At the rooftop bar of the Huntley Hotel, Santa Monica.

– How much did you give him last night?

– Two thousand.

– Ok so, that means that my one thousand paid for half of his services.

– Linda, I didn’t pay him to…

– Yes you did, Mr. Gioia of my ass.

– He came to my bed… I had prepared the couch for him.

– I had just booked him a room at the Venice On The Beach Hotel. Why should have he been sleeping on your couch, for God’s sake?

– I had just taken him out to the Lakers and Jack Nicholson got us drunk and I didn’t want him to drive back to the hotel alone.

– Did you say drive?! Babe, that guy doesn’t even have a driving license. And your new front beach loft is two lanes from his hotel, remember?!?

– Linda, he said he’ll find a job this week… I told him he has to because we cannot help him forever…

– Well, so far we didn’t start yet…. Merd, I don’t even know who he is and why I am doing this.

– Because I’m still your business and you need to protect me, my lovely ex-ex wife.

– Or, because you promised someone a gig we couldn’t give him in change of a blow job, my dear ex-ex-ex hubby.

Scene 1 – At Gioia Productions, Venice Beach.

– Hello?!?

– Hi, it’s Roxi….

– Again?!?

– I’m sorry Mrs. Gioia, but I wanted to know if Mr. Gioia is back.

– Mr. Gioia, as you call him, is now on set and he won’t be back until next weekend, at least. And, for the record, I’m not Mrs. Gioia. Not anymore.

– I know… I’m sorry, Mrs. Linda…

– Oh, don’t be sorry – believe me, I am not! Just call me Linda… but, stop calling this office please. We’re trying to work.

– But, Mr. Gioia told me that maybe there was something for me, on that set….

– Something like what?!?

– Like a small part. You know, I studied acting in London for four years and I was on X Factor for fifteen minutes and the casting director of Glue told me that he would have taken me in zero time, if only I had the working permits for this country…

– So go get them. Good luck.

– But, how do I get them, Mrs. Linda?

– I have no idea. I got mine through Mr. Gioia a long time ago. I was seventeen, my dear.

– I’m seventeen too! So, do you think he can help me with my career as well?

– If you need help ask God, not Mr. Gioia.

– But, he is such a famous producer….

– That’s why.

Story by Liliana Isella.