Archive of Our Own

Joseph swiped a coal-tinted hand over his brow and popped his head out of the chute he was squeezed into. He tilted his gaze up at the blonde man carefully monitoring the dials on the furnace that he’d been shoved under. 

He whined loudly. “ Caesarrr! It’s too damn hot under there, can you turn the temperature down?”

The other man offered a pointed look. “This is as cool as it gets. I’m not a miracle worker.”

Joseph huffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. This is a stupid job anyway. Why do I have to clean out the bottom ash instead of the night shift, huh?!”

“I recall that you were the one who tried to throw a baseball into the pulverizer.” Caesar was turning a few knobs on the furnace and avoiding eye contact.

“You can’t tell me you didn’t want to know what the inside of one looks like!” Joseph protested, breathing in just enough of the ash floating around him to cough. 

His choking spell was punctuated by a booming yell, characteristic of the stern British woman who oversaw the power plant’s operation. She was halfway across the building, but still her reprimands of their poor coworker were fully audible. Joseph gained enough control of his lungs to speak again. “There she goes again… but hey, she’s pretty hot, don’t you think?”

Caesar smacked him on the head with the clipboard he was holding. “Don’t say that about Miss Elizabeth! She’s our boss , stupid!” 

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like she can hear us. Plus she’s busy right now.” Joseph couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the man currently cowering away from the boss as she continued to verbally berate him. “Do you think she’s married? I can’t imagine many men would put up with that sort of abuse.”

Caesar gritted his teeth. “You really don’t understand respect or social cues, do you?”

Joseph shrugged, at least as much as he could while on his hands and knees with his head halfway out of a vent. “Eh. I’d never say this stuff to her face, so why does it matter? Honestly, Caesar, I think you just have a little crush on her and that’s why you’re-”

Caesar began beating him repeatedly with the clipboard, promising to leave a large lump. “You know that’s not true, idiota, I swear to God I’ll-”

“ JOESTAR! WHY CAN I SEE YOUR FACE? ” Without any hesitation, the huge voice was now directed at him . 

Both of the men turned to face the noise, Joseph craning his neck painfully to get a half glimpse at the tall woman marching towards them. “ I was asking Caesar to turn the heat down! I could feel my skin peeling off! ” He had to shout back to her over the sounds of pumps and generators, but even he wasn’t dumb enough to reciprocate her volume and tone.

The mindless chatter of the workers had stopped, and all eyes were turned towards their exchange. 

“ Next time I see you out here, I’ll make sure it’s hot enough for that to happen. Got it? ” She raised a manicured brow at Joseph, who nodded and then reluctantly crawled backwards under the furnace again, leaving a little wink for Caesar before getting back to work.

After weeks, maybe months, Joseph finally heard the heavenly tone of the bell that released him from his ashy prison. He was about three quarters of the way into being able to see himself in the reflection of the floor, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around for any longer. He crawled out of the vent eagerly and stood up, looking a bit like a piece of coal himself. Caesar took a few steps away. “Don’t get that stuff on me.”

“Mmn… no.” Joseph chucked the filthy rag in his hand right at Caesar’s face, but he twirled out of the way as if on cue. “Jesus, did you learn ballroom dancing somewhere or something?”

Caesar scoffed and went back to resetting the furnace to its intended temperature. “Nothing like that. Maybe it’s just… a sort of Italian grace?” 

Joseph rolled his eyes so hard they threatened to spill from his skull. “I don’t even know why I bother talking to you, you ass.” He tried to dust his hands off on his pants to no avail. Caesar had finished his duties, so they began to walk towards the exit side by side.

“You should go ahead then.”

“What?” Joseph tilted his head like a dog at a treat.

“You should go ahead. If you don’t want to bother talking to me, I mean.” Like always, Caesar’s expression wasn’t easy to read.

They passed the threshold and stepped out into the snowy Queens afternoon. “Maybe I will next time!” Joseph huffed indignantly, but turned away when Caesar raised an eyebrow. “Don’t give me that look!”

Past the chain links that separated the power plant from the city, Joseph happened to catch a familiar pair of eyes. A figure in a dark cap squinted at Joseph for a few seconds before recognition lit up his face and he started waving.

Joseph grinned and began sprinting towards the fence, Caesar at his heel. “JoJo, who is that?”

His question was unintentionally answered by Joseph once they reached the barrier. “Smokey! What the hell are you doing here, huh?”

“Ah, I was out grabbing dinner.” Smokey pulled a few half-smooshed sandwiches out of his pocket with a wink, the lack of deli paper indicating exactly how much he’d paid for them. He gave Joseph a scan and noted the puffs of coal dust following him like a tornado. “You look awful.”

“Yeah, yeah. Got punished for something dumb so I had to clean below the furnace.” Joseph shrugged and stole a glance at Caesar, who was half-following the conversation but mostly twiddling a blonde lock between his fingers. “Oh hey, you don’t know each other, right? Well, Caesar, this is Smokey Brown, an old friend of mine. And Smokey, this is-”

Caesar put a gloved hand up. “I can introduce myself, JoJo. Buonasera , Smokey. My name is Caesar Zeppeli, and I’m JoJo’s coworker. It’s nice to meet you.” He tried to stick his hand out with a cool ease but remembered the fence between them halfway through and instead tried to play it off as if he was going for his pocket.

“Hey, coworkers?! Just coworkers?! I’m hurt.” Joseph folded his arms and pouted.

Caesar shook his head with a dead expression. “Alright. If you insist, we’re… we’re friends.” 

Smokey giggled. “You two haven’t known each other for that long, then?”

“Nope! We just met a couple of weeks ago when Caesar got hired!” He was a ball of sunshine now after the begrudging approval of his friendship.

“Now, Caesar, don’t worry: he only gets worse from here.” Smokey was making a poor effort to lower his voice.

Joseph fumed once more, threatening to climb over the fence, and Caesar laughed heartily, perhaps for the first time in a long while. “Oh, I like you. JoJo, I might have to ditch you for your friend here.” And then Joseph got even angrier and started to pound on Caesar’s bicep, which only made him laugh harder, then Smokey egged him on… the cycle continued like this for a while.

Once the ruckus died down, Smokey spoke up. “Instead of continuing our conversation standing here, why don’t we go somewhere else? Listen, I’ve heard about this amazing jazz club just a few blocks away. Apparently they have this singer that’s got the most wonderful voice. Why don’t you two get cleaned up and we can meet back up there at 9 o’ clock?”

Joseph nodded eagerly. “Hey, that sounds fun! We’ll be there!” He looked towards Caesar expectantly.

The other man had reverted to his stony-faced demeanor again. “I don’t know why you agreed for me. But I suppose I’m interested, if only to talk more to Smokey and less to you.”

“That’s a yes! Alright, we’re in!”

Smokey exchanged the directions to the club and soon enough all three went their separate ways to prepare. Joseph headed home eagerly, hoping tonight would make up for what he’d had to put up with at work.

It didn’t take long to spot Caesar’s glowing blonde head on the street corner a block ahead. Joseph sprinted down the sidewalk, a hand barely holding his hat on his head. He slowed himself down just enough to not run face-first into his friends once he’d reached them.

“You’re late.” Caesar was as curt as always.

“Sorry! When I came in all dusty, Granny Erina gave me quite the earful, and then she said I shouldn’t go out because I’d gotten in trouble at work…” Joseph chuckled under his breath.

Caesar folded his arms disapprovingly. “So you snuck out, then?”

“Exactly.” He eyed the top hat on Caesar’s head and then glanced down at the three piece suit he wore. “What’s with the getup?”

“This is a nice club, right? I figured I’d dress the part.”

“Yeah, but this is a little…” Joseph looked down at his own half-wrinkled dress pants and loose suspenders.

“Hey, I’m not the one who was late, so don’t even get me started…!” 

“Come on, you two. We’re here to enjoy ourselves, right? No need to fight!” Smokey tried to break the tension before things got any worse. With a bit of grumbling from both parties, he managed to usher everyone inside the building.

The air inside was thick with cigarette smoke and low chatter. Some sparse piano keys threaded through the club, playing tricks with the ears.

“Smoking, drinking, never thinking of tomorrow…”

A low, dulcet voice laid heavy on the crowded room and glued listeners to their chairs. Joseph froze, hypnotized by the vibrato that hung so carefully on each note, though he couldn’t see the singer from the angle he was at. He was only broken out of the spell by Smokey nudging him and pointing towards an empty table in the opposite corner.

“Sophisticated lady, I know you miss the love you lost long ago…”

A deep melancholy was beginning to soak in, travelling in tandem with the melody. The three men pushed their way through the patrons, many of them seeming to cling on to every word. Joseph caught a glimpse of vibrant red out of the corner of his eye as they passed the stage.

“And when nobody is nigh…”

Taking a seat, Joseph was finally able to get a full view of the woman on stage. An aura of chagrin and regret but also of power and elegance surrounded her. She gripped the bronze microphone stand with a sureness, as if knowing that was exactly where her hands were supposed to be. She wore a long, blood red dress that hugged her hips nicely and splayed out at the bottom. Her dark hair was curled and pushed over to one side. 

Caesar abruptly elbowed Joseph and then motioned back at the stage with silent alarm.

“...you cry.”

And all at once Joseph realized exactly who this songstress was.

He leaned towards Caesar and traded hushed whispers. The song continued on without them.

“Miss Elizabeth?! How the hell-“

“I don’t know. I don’t know. She’s never talked about this.”

“Is this what she does in her free time?” Joseph scanned her one more time. “I mean, she seems to know what she’s doing up there.” He took a deep breath. “Caesar, she’s good. ”

Caesar’s eyes were glazed over, staring at some nondescript point. “I know.”

“Like, really good.”

“I know.”

“Is it weird if we stay? It would be weird if we stayed, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hey, you two!” Smokey waved a hand in front of each of their faces. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Joseph swallowed. “Okay, so you know the singer up there?”

Smokey nodded.

“The really talented one that’s also elegant and beautiful and also probably a bit sad?”

“Get to the point, JoJo.” Caesar buried his face in his hands.

“That’s our boss.”

Smokey spat out an urgent whisper, “ What?! Like, at the power plant?” It was Joseph’s turn to nod. “But… why is she here? Why is she the singer the whole borough is talking about?!”

“Your guess is as good as ours.” Caesar was staring at the stage again. “We should get out of here before she spots us. Who knows what hell she’d put us through on Monday.”

“What, just for looking at her wrong ?”

“You’ve clearly never met the woman.” Caesar gave Smokey a half-amused, half-nervous glance.

“I don’t know. Maybe… we should talk to her? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the private life of our supervisor, right? Why not-“

“No, no, absolutely not. Maybe you’re willing to stick your neck out for some fun, but I’m really not ready to lose my job because of it. I’m leaving.” Caesar stood up a little too quickly, knocking his silverware to the ground. The noisy clash of metal punctuated the last few notes of the song, and the singer looked out into the crowd to find the source. As the crowd erupted into a standing ovation, the figure on stage fixed her eyes on Caesar with one eyebrow raised. He was like a deer in headlights, glancing down at Joseph in a silent plea for help. But Miss Elizabeth followed his gaze, her face only growing more amused at Joseph’s attempt to play it cool.

The cheering died down after a while, and Miss Elizabeth leaned into the mic to make an announcement. “Thank you! I’ll be back on in 20 minutes for another set. For now, enjoy our lovely band!” Her hair swept over her shoulder as she spun around and strutted off the stage. The band launched into a jolly spurt of music, and with a backwards glance in Caesar and Joseph’s direction, Miss Elizabeth slipped out the back door.

“We should leave.” Caesar started to put his coat on.

“Actually, I agree with you this time.” Joseph got up from his chair.

“Now wait a minute!” Smokey stood up to match height with the other two. “Did you two not see that look she gave you as she left? She wants you to follow her!” 

Joseph and Caesar shared a moment.

“If she wanted you to go see her, don’t you think you’d get in more trouble if you didn’t?”

“What makes you think she wants to see us?” Caesar seemed apprehensive.

“Well, she didn’t look disappointed or even angry. Just kind of… amused.”

“...He has a point. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look on her face. She’s usually just-“ Joseph waved a hand over his face, painting on a deadpan expression. “Right?”

Caesar shook his head. “Okay, well, can either of you give a good reason why she’d talk to us?” 

“I dunno, Caesar, that song seemed pretty sad. Maybe she needs someone to console her. Like two strong attractive men?” Joseph winked, warming up to the idea.

Caesar’s eye roll was legendary. “I’m pretty damn sure she can handle herself. But if what Smokey says is right, it would cause less damage to go check what she wants.”

“So you’ll come with me?” Joseph bloomed like a sunflower once more.

“....I suppose, yes.”

“Okay, let’s go!” Joseph started to shove through a few disgruntled patrons towards the back door, and Caesar followed as his damage control. When they reached the door, it was made apparent that it was only the two of them. Joseph looked back at the table, where Smokey gave him a quick thumbs up. He motioned that Smokey should come over, but the other boy shook his head and shooed them out the door. Joseph shrugged and pushed outside.

The cool winter air was a relief from the sweltering smoke of the club. The door led out to a small cobblestoned alley, the distant sound of cars a far cry from the lush jazz in the building. A faint snow was falling, the flakes just barely large enough to see. Miss Elizabeth was perched at a rickety table that sat against the brick exterior, one leg crossed over the other casually and a cigarette resting between two fingers. She barely moved when she saw Caesar and Joseph come through the door.

“Ah. I was wondering if you two would show up.” Her accent turned the words sharp in a way not unlike Granny Erina’s, Joseph thought.

“Miss Elizabeth! Why are you-“

She hushed him with a noise of disapproval. “Don’t call me that. It’s Lisa Lisa here.”

“A stage name?” Caesar had kept quiet until now. “Why are you hiding your identity?”

“Why indeed?” Lisa Lisa chuckled bitterly. “Come sit.”

The pair took the other two chairs at the small table, the metal squeaking under the weight. Joseph blinked at Lisa Lisa a couple of times. “So what the hell are you doing here?!”

“What, I’m not allowed to have hobbies?” She took a puff of her Lucky Strike and offered the box up in an uncharacteristically kind gesture. Both men were too stunned to move at first, but eventually Caesar took one and leaned in to light it off of Lisa Lisa’s.

Joseph watched in bewilderment. Not even twelve hours ago, this woman shoved him under a furnace where he’d practically melted, and now she was sharing a smoke with them outside a club where she was the main event. He pinched the skin of his wrist painfully to make sure he was still awake.

Caesar looked a lot calmer now that he had a cigarette in his mouth. “Why invite us out here?”

She sighed, the bags under her eyes seeming to grow larger. “Well, you two already caught me red-handed in there. If I didn’t explain, you’d just go spread the word and the jig would be up.” She was drawing circles with her finger on the table.

“So… you’re not mad at us?” Joseph was still testing the waters.

“Why would I be? It’s not like you would’ve known I’d be here.” Lisa Lisa exhaled a stream of smoke. “Though that little stunt with the baseball today caused me a headache and a half, Joestar. Don’t pull it again.” She gave him a familiar pointed stare, but Joseph could see something else in her eyes this time. Something sad.

“Y-you got it, boss…” He chuckled halfheartedly and shifted his eyes over to Caesar.

“What’s the explanation for this double life, then?” The Italian rested his chin in his palm.

“I’m trying to get popular enough to support myself with my singing, but I don’t want people from the plant finding out about this, and I don’t want people here finding out about the plant. That’s it.” The ring of lipstick stains around the end of her cigarette was steadily growing.

Joseph threw his hands into the air. “That’s not an explanation! Who cares where you work? It’s not like it’s a crime to have two jobs…” 

“And you look distracted and upset. Like there’s something else on your mind.” Caesar wasn’t breaking eye contact with her. “So what’s really going on?”

Lisa Lisa rubbed her eyelids until Joseph was sure that there were stars dancing beneath them. “...And I’m assuming this information is going to get out if I don’t explain the rest?”

“Oh yes, 100%. You know how I ‘run my mouth,’ as you always say.” A devious glee filled Joseph at the fact that he had dirt on the woman that had given him so much hell.

With a deep sigh and a last long drag of her cigarette, Lisa Lisa began. “My husband died in the Great War.”

Caesar and Joseph gave each other an apprehensive glance.

“I was newly married at the time, and he was a pilot. We were hopelessly in love, you could say…” Her eyes were shiny with nostalgia and trapped tears.

Caesar must’ve made some sort of realization with how quickly his expression changed. “Pardon me, but the Great War ? If you were married in the Great War, then wouldn’t you be… what, 45? 48?” 

Lisa Lisa released a sudden burst of laughter. “Didn’t anyone teach you not to ask a woman’s age? But… yes, I’m 50 years old.”

Joseph’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “ W-What?! Fifty! That’s ridiculous, you look…” His eyes trailed from her bright red lips down to her form fitting dress. “You look no older than 35!” He shook his head. “Unbelievable. Fifty. You’re practically an old lady.”

“ Don’t talk to me like that, Joestar. ” Her tone was dangerous, but her low volume was even scarier. “I can still make your life hell on Monday. Don’t forget that.” 

Joseph gulped and nodded vigorously. “Yes, I get it! I’m sorry, Miss El- uh, Lisa Lisa.” The name felt foreign on his tongue.

She relaxed in the seat and tucked her hair behind her ear, seeming to accept his apology. “Where was I? Oh, yes. After my husband died, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had no real direction in life and I was basically on my own. My husband had left behind a considerable sum since his family was well-off, so it wasn’t a matter of finding work, but of… finding a purpose.” The snowflakes were beginning to accumulate in her hair. “The only thing I could think to do was to follow the dream I had as a child.”

“I’ve loved music since I was a little girl, but everything in Europe was so… stuffy. Boring, even. But then I started to hear about these new American genres. Ragtime. Swing. Jazz. I fell in love with them, and with the singers. I’d sing along to each record until I ran out of needles.” Her leg bounced to an invisible beat. “So when I’d lost everything, I decided to finally come to the source. I arrived in New York and started integrating myself into the jazz scene. I filled each day with material pleasures, drinking my loneliness away, club-hopping, sleeping in a different bed every night. I never ended up landing a gig because I had money and I was caught up in the gilded beauty of it all. I never really searched for one.”

She looked up to see that the other two were paying attention, but each was still hanging onto her words like they had while she was up on stage. “When the Depression hit, the money dried up. I didn’t know what to do. The man I slept with that night, however, was the owner of a power plant. He was looking for a new manager, and he offered me the job as long as I… filled his needs, lets say.” 

Joseph’s eyes grew wide. “You and the owner are…?”

“Yes. Which is why I don’t need him knowing about this job. He’s fickle, and if he discovered that I found another job… he’d probably cancel our arrangement. I’ve only had this gig for three months or so, and I’m trying to become popular enough to quit the plant job. But I can’t do it just yet.” She sighed and leaned back, exhaling a cloud of smoke. “So that’s it. I’d appreciate if you two didn’t tell anyone about this.”

Joseph was just about to offer his help when another man poked his head out the door. “Lisa Lisa! Time’s up, we need you in for the next number.” He was gone as soon as he’d come.

Lisa Lisa dropped her cigarette butt onto the pavement and crushed it under a high heel, standing up. Right before opening the door, she turned around to face them with an accusative point. “Not a word about this on Monday, right?”

Their responses echoed each other. “Of course.”