Seize the Day, Relish the Night

I ran up the stairs with tears in my eyes and banged on the door. I leaned against the wall with the envelope clutched tightly in my hand. Kale opened the door with a towel around his waist. "You're early, Tuuli."

I pushed passed him into their apartment. "Veera!" I called out, panic-stricken.

"Tuuli, what's wrong?" Kale tried to comfort me.

I shrugged his hands off of my shoulders and shook my head, tears blinding my eyes. "Where's Veera?"

"Bedroom." He pointed towards their room. I ran down the hall and shut the door. "Hey! I still need to get dressed." He groaned and plopped on the couch, flipping on the television as he figured that he would be locked out of his room for a while.

"What's wrong sweetie?" She grumbled, pulling back the comforter for me.

I kicked off my boots and shrugged out of my jacket, letting it lay in a sloppy pile on the floor, before climbing under the covers with her. "I…I-" I began to choke up as I sobbed.

"Shh," she cooed, wiping away my tears and combed her fingers through my hair. She let me cry for a bit, hoping it would get out of my system faster if it just took its course. "What's wrong, Tuuli?"

"I think I have made the craziest decision in my life!" My chest heaved as I tried to stop crying.

"Tuuli, it couldn't have been that bad." Veera ran her fingers gently through my hair.

I let the last few sobs out without a fight. I wiped away my tears and closed my eyes, wincing a little as they stung from exhaustion. "I quit."

"You quit?" She raised an eyebrow at me. "Quit what?"

"My job. I gave my two weeks notice this morning." Tears began to run down my face once more.

She chuckled and rubbed my back. "If it's something you had control over, why are you so upset?"

"Because, Veera, I don't know if that was the right decision!" I rested my forearm against my forehead as I laid on my back. "How am I going to keep up with rent and bills and just daily living?" I was in complete shock thinking about the aftermath of my action. "What am I going to do?"

Veera looked at me completely confused. "Love, if you are so worried about all those expenses, then why did you quit working at the spa?"

I sighed, wiping my eyes once more. "Because of this." I held envelope full of forms that I have yet filled out.

"What is it?" She eyed it before walking into the bathroom. She pulled a face cloth out of the vanity drawer and held it under warm water. "Close your eyes."

I did as I was told and sighed in relief as the warmth of the towel brought comfort to my tear swollen eyes. "It the papers Jyrki gave me last night. He invited me to go on tour with him. I told him that it could only be for like a week because that's all winter vacation time I have left."

"And so you quit?" Veera asked confused. "How come, love?"

I swallowed and sighed. "I know that one week isn't enough. I won't want to leave him."

"Oh, Tuuli." She smiled, wiping the stray tears away. "Do you love him?"

My heart stopped at the question and I shook my head. "I don't know, but I know that I like being with him."

"So, tell him what you plan to do." Veera smiled.

I ripped the cloth off and stared at her like she had eight heads. "I can't do that; it's too embarrassing." I sighed replacing the cloth.

She almost laughed at how ridiculous I was being, but her better judgment decided against it. "You can't tell him that you want to spend more time with him?"

"Nope." I said crossing my arms.

"Can I get my clothes?" Kale asked meekly on the other side of the door since. He figured now would be a safe time to ask since he no longer heard any crying. "It's getting a bit too breezy."

I laughed and mumbled to Veera that I didn't mind. "Yeah, come in, love. Just make it quick." She told her poor husband who was getting cold, roaming the apartment in nothing but a towel.

"Thanks, I'm glad I have your permission to enter my own room." He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"No problem." I flipped him off. I heard my phone ringing in my coat pocket lying on the floor. "Kale, to make up for being an asshole, be a dear and get my phone for me. Please."

Kale sighed, buttoning his jeans and picked up my coat from the floor, digging in the pocket for my phone. "Catch, Tuuli." He tossed the phone.

I let out a puff of air in surprise as it landed on my stomach. I took off the face cloth and squinted at the unfamiliar phone number on ID screen. I flipped open the phone, curious, and answered the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, I'm looking for a Miss Tuulikki Ikapaivinopika." He sounded my name out awkwardly.

"Ikapaivinopika." I corrected him, knowing it was hard to pronounce my last name. "Yes, this is she. May I ask who is calling?" Kale snickered at how I answered my phone formally. I waved my hand, while Veera smacked him to shut him up.

The man on the other end cleared his throat and apologized for the mistake. "This is Ulysses Hüppauff, management of the 69 Eyes. I was wondering if I could meet you for a late lunch to discuss business matters for their upcoming tour in North America."

I swallowed nervously and nodded my head. "Of course, where would you like to meet?"

"Do you know where Ravintola is?" He asked, shuffling some paperwork on his desk and putting them in his briefcase since I had agreed to meet with him.

"I do, it's off of Albertinkatu." I looked at my left hand visibly shaking due to nerves.

"Excellent, can you be their by 13.15?"

"Yeah, that's fine." I resisted sighing and smiled when Kale grabbed my hand trying to stop it from shaking.

"If you would, please bring the forms that I hope Jyrki has given to you by now. It's fine if they are not filled out."

I flipped my phone shut after I assured him that I would. I groaned and flopped back down on their bed. "Well?" Kale asked, laying his head in Veera's lap.

"That was their band's manager. He wants to meet up with me to talk about their tour. I don't understand how I'm involved." I rubbed my temples.

"Probably for some insurance reason so you don't sue their ass if something was to happen to you." Veera rubbed my arm, assuring me that it was nothing to worry so much over.

"So, I heard from a pretty bird that you spent the night with a rock star." Kale batted his eyelashes at me.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "You're pathetic."

"No," he slapped my leg. "I want to know if he's rock star quality."

I laughed, but bit my lip and blushed. "I wouldn't know. I haven't exactly had sex with the man, yet?"

"You're kidding." Kale's mouth dropped as Veera laughed.

"There are other way to satisfy a woman's needs, you know. Or do you not know how to pleasure your wife." I looked down at him, smirking.

"You're such a cheeky bitch." He growled.

"I know." I giggled and looked at the time on my phone. I gasped and sat up. "Oh, my God! I have to go get ready. I'm meeting him a Ravintola. I can't look like this!" I looked at my clothes that I wore yesterday.

"You're kidding?" Veera looked at me, smiling. "Classy place. Must be some important business to discuss."

I tugged my boots on quickly and threw on my coat. "I have to go. I'll call you later to let you know how everything went." I ran out of their apartment in a complete frenzy.

I didn't have to worry about Ulla since Jyrki was keeping her occupied at his place. I quickly stripped out of my clothes tripping in my jeans and nearly hit my head on the dresser as I stumbled into the bathroom. I let the water run over my eyes, hopefully letting the swelling and puffiness go down from all the crying I has done.

I sighed trying to calm down and thought over all the different possibilities that ran through my mind as to why Mr. Hüppauff would request to see me.

I opened the door to my wardrobe and sighed in relief when I found something suitable to wear. I slid on some brown cotton tights and slipped a grey sweater dress over my head. I looked in the mirror on the door and adjusted the v-neck slightly and sighed when the dress came down mid thigh on my long legs. I looked at the clock and saw that it was too late to look for anything else to wear with a more appropriate length.

I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled on my brown suede knee high boots. I fastened the buckle around the ankle before going back into the bathroom to blow dry my hair. I just brushed it, not having the time to do anything special. I put on some light brown eye shadow for a natural look and combed some mascara through my eyelashes as well as putting on some cherry Chapstick. I sighed in relief when my eyes didn't look so bloodshot.

I pulled on my knee length coat and grabbed my purse. I took the tram to Albertinkatu and walked down the block to the restaurant. My heart was racing as I walked up to the seating hostess. I licked my lips and cleared my throat softly. "I'm here to meet with Mr. Hüppauff."

She smiled looking up from her list. "Ah, yes he has been waiting for you."

My eyes widened in surprised to see whom Mr. Hüppauff actually was. Instead of some stuffy, large old man that I had envisioned, there stood a man who looked around Jyrki's age, maybe slightly younger even. His black hair cut short and he looked me over with soft blue eyes.

"Mr. Hüppauff?" I held out my hand, still trying to get over my shock.

"Ulysses, please." He motioned for me to take a seat. "Miss. Ikapaivinopika I presume."

I took my coat off and hung it over the chair before taking a seat. I laughed at how he pronounced my name incorrectly again and smiled seeing as small blush creep into his cheeks. "Just call me Tuuli." I bit my lip. "I have to admit, I half expected some big old intimidating man."

He smiled, "You don't find me intimidating?" I laughed and shook my head as he poured white wine into my glass. "I have to admit something myself."

I took a sip of the German wine and smiled at the name as I read the label, Devil's Rock Riesling. It was a fresh tart and fruity taste. "And, what is that?"

"I expected to see a rocking little goth girl laced up in leather. You're a much softer version of the girls Jyrki usually goes for." He chuckled. "It's quite refreshing, actually."

I made a mental not to ask Jyrki of his typical girl, but smiled. "Well, I'm glad we didn't live up to either of our expectations." Ulysses laughed and agreed. I saw the black leather brief case on the floor near his feet and knew that he meant business. "So, Ulysses, I'm a bit nervous to ask, but what is the meaning for this meeting?"

He waved me off as he loosened his tie a bit. "We'll get to that after lunch. But, to help calm your nerves it's nothing bad." I sighed softly as that didn't help, but ordered my meal when the waitress came over. "So, how did you come about to Helsinki, or were you born here."

"No, I came to Helsinki for school; I'm from Lapland." I smiled, answering other tiny questions he asked. He answered mine in return as well. "What other bands do you manage?" He named a few, but my eyes light up when he mentioned Apocalyptica. "Really?"

"Yeah, though they and the 69 Eyes are my top bands." He smiled proudly.

"But, Apocalyptica is my all time favorite band, though." I smiled.

"What about poor Jyrki?" Ulysses teased.

"Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean I will be biased." I shrugged.

He leaned back and laughed, clearly amused at my answer. "I knew I had a good feeling about you."

I looked up as my plate was put in front of me and thanked the waitress. "So, if you were expecting me to be laced up in black leather, why Ravintola?" I smirked.

He smiled, filling up my wine glass again. "You caught me. I like to see how people adapt to their surroundings; my little test."

I smiled, glad that I had passed his test. "Alright, seriously, my curiosity is getting the best of my, Ulysses." I sipped the wine that had gone well with the fish. "Why am I here?"

He leaned back in his chair lacing his fingers together. "You work as a masseuse in Sinikka, correct?" I swallowed the wine and slowly nodded. "What will it take to convince you to leave the spa and work for the band while on tour?"

I laughed and mumbled to myself, "You have got to be kidding me."

He shook his head having heard what I said. "I'm being very serious, Tuuli. The one that travels with the band just quit because she's about to give birth to her first born."

"No, you see I gave my boss my resignation this morning." I chuckled leaning on my palm.

"Very convenient for me." Ulysses smiled, seeing the irony in the situation. "But, back to my offer. I'll give you what you made at Sinikka."

My head was beginning to spin as I thought through everything, but frowned at a small delima. "The only thing is I just got a dog and I can't leave her behind. She's just a puppy."

He scratched his neck thinking over what could be done. "I'll have to talk to Daniel about it. He's their manager in the United States, but it should not be a problem. The dog is small?"

"Ulla's a husky, but she's a puppy still." I shrugged, hoping her size wouldn't make too much of a difference.

"No, that's good. She'll be able to come on the plane with you hopefully." He picked the briefcase off the floor and opened it on the now cleared table. "Would you be interested in signing some papers now. We can go through them slowly if you have any questions. It's just that I need them faxed over A.S.A.P."

"Sure, that would be fine." I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket for the fifth time. I glanced at it at saw that it was Jyrki.

"Do you need to take that?" He asked, uncapping a pen.

I smiled, shaking my head. "It's just Jyrki."

Ulysses looked at me confused. "He doesn't no you’re here?"

"No, and I prefer it to be a surprise if I can?" I asked.

He laughed. "That's fine by me." He shifted his chair so he could sit next to me. "Ready to get down to business?" He handed me the pen.

I took it gently between my fingers and let out a breath I had been hold in, ready to advance on the new part of my life. "Yeah."