Green Circle of Exhaustion
- Rojack walks inside and sits at the bar. He's in a weird mental state right now, which is understandable given everything he's just been through.
- Cherry's on stage. She's an okay singer, but nothing to write home about. Rojack is floating on a "zephyr of drunkenness" (4.8), though, so he doesn't mind—instead, he kills time by telepathically attacking any guy in the crowd who seems smitten with Cherry. And no, we're not even joking.
- After turning his telepathic attack toward Cherry, Rojack rushes to the bathroom and pukes. Can't handle your liquor, dude?
- Cherry is just finishing up when he returns. He tries to buy her a drink, but she refuses, instead bringing him to a table where a group of people—mobsters, probably—are sitting.
- The leader of this group is "Romeo" Romalozzo, a "former prizefighter" (4.23) who clearly has the hots for our gal Cherry. Romeo goes off on a long tangent about a movie that's being made about his life, tossing out potential leading men to play his part.
- The ever-charming Rojack pipes in to pitch his own services as the lead actor. Romeo responds with a quick quip, and Rojack buys the table drinks.
- Although Romeo tries to get Rojack to leave, our not-so-humble anti-hero stands firm. Cherry seems impressed, so they leave and sit in a private table in the corner.
- They kiss—aw—but unfortunately, the bartender chooses this moment to tell Cherry that it's time for her to sing again. But this Cherry's gone sour, and she'd rather chill with her new bae than sing anything.
- As the band starts to play (minus a singer), Rojack gets a call at the bar from Roberts. Roberts is drunk and confusing, but he wants Rojack to meet him at the precinct at "five-thirty this afternoon" (4.182). He also informs Rojack that Deborah's dad is in town.
- Tony is at the table with Cherry when Rojack returns—he wants Cherry to sing. They exchange some tense words, until Rojack tells a joke that cracks her up. With that, she decides to sing one song.
- To everyone's surprise, that one song is a religious hymn. It also happens to be "the best song she had sung all night" (4.228). Tony doesn't think so, however, and he fires her as soon as she gets off the stage.
- Cherry goes to gather her things, leaving Tony and Rojack alone. Tony alludes to knowing Deborah; she used to visit another one of his clubs.
- Cherry and Rojack go to a coffee shop to relax—they've been out so long that it's already morning—and Cherry talks about her life and how her parents died when she was young, forcing her to live with her two older siblings.
- When they're finished, they decide to go to one of Cherry's apartments. Not her real apartment, because Tony will be watching, but her "special place" (4.286)… wherever that is.