Sylvie and Penny Cooking Soup

My shift started at 6 pm to help prep for the evening’s show. The sky was still light and the N-Judah was crowded with tired downtown workers heading home – some would dash in for a bagel and coffee and then catch the next N. Sounds of the Grateful Dead drifted through the club along with tantalizing aromas of herbs and spices. Over simple burners, Sylvie and Penny stood stirring steaming huge pots of delectable soups. Their boyfriends usually hovered nearby waiting to walk them home, Penny and Sylvie usually did not stay for the show. I worked near them mashing avocados for guacamole and squeezing pitchers of orange juice. The sky outside darkened, fog rolled in, the lights in the buses went on and rows of chairs were set up at the Other. The waitresses and the comedians soon arrived. The microphone was set up, comedy fans started to line up at the door. The soup was ready. It was time for the night to begin.