The Green Ticket (12 page)

“We’ll all be here to help, don’t you worry your pretty little face off,” Carmen said, standing and stretching her arms over her head. “But this chica needs to head off to bed. Got a big day tomorrow.”

“Oh? A big test or something?” Hannah questioned.

“Test? No, no, love. It’s the pancakes and beer breakfast down at Wiley’s. Em’s coming with me.”

Emma stood as well. “It’s true. While I will be stuffing myself full of yummy pancakes, I’m skipping the beer part this year. Got my 8:30 class to make it to, and I’m sure Professor Tallyman won’t appreciate my beer breath.”

“Well, you girls have a blast with that. I work until seven tomorrow at Blissful, but maybe we can all hang out after? Anyone know of anything going on?” I asked.

“Joel’s friends are having a party at their house on Second Street. I told him I would go but...I don’t know. If we can’t find anything else to do, we could go over there,” Lila volunteered, looking less than ecstatic about hanging out with her boyfriend.

After the girls left and it was just me and Lila getting ready for bed, I brought up her problems with Joel. “What’s going on, Lils? You seem completely turned off by all things Joel right now. Did something happen between you two?”

Lila sighed, carefully plucking out her contact lenses and soaking them in solution. “Things have gotten, well, tense between us lately.”

I slathered my nightly moisturizer over my face and neck, even adding some to my décolleté like Allie had instructed me to. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Well, you know how I had those photos taken of me, right?”

“Right. For your portfolio.”

“Right. The guy who took them was extremely nice, and he knows Mary Strubaker personally.”

“Who is Mary Strubaker?”

“Alex! She heads IMAA ––Iowa’s Models and Actors Association. She’s helped people like Carter Boss and Savannah Howe make it in Hollywood,” Lila scolded me, naming two of the most popular actors currently gracing the big screen.

“My bad. So okay, he knows Mary. What does that have to do with you?”

Lila and I headed out of the bathroom and I followed her into the kitchen. She retrieved a big blue bowl out from the cabinet, swiftly dumping microwave popcorn in and popping the bowl in the microwave. I opened the fridge and settled on a pink PowerAde, reluctantly remembering my accounting homework. Damn. I would have to wake up early now to get it finished.

“Well, Mary runs these casting calls that are very limited throughout the whole Midwest. You have to have an invite from her, one of her employees, or a close confidante to even be considered by her. If you ace your casting call, she signs you to her agency, gets you jobs around here
and,”
Lila paused for dramatic effect, the popcorn kernels popping in the background, “gives you all the training you need to make it in places like New York and LA.”

“So your photographer guy is going to introduce you to Mary?” I ventured a guess, actually a little impressed and thrilled for my friend.

“Yes! Alan–– that’s the photographer–– got me an invite to her next casting call, which is in late November. If I can ace it and get signed, it would be huge for me! I could book real jobs around the area, gain experience and build up a portfolio.  Mary also brings in teachers and other real actors and models to help give us more knowledge. Can you imagine if Carter Boss was giving me lessons on how to do a love scene in a movie? It would be magical! We could be the next Hollywood ‘it’ couple!”

“Excuse my ignorance,” I said as Lila pulled her popcorn from the microwave, “but do you want to be a model or actor now? I thought you just wanted to be an entertainment reporter?”

“Well, yeah, but I can’t just stroll up to the building in LA and think anyone is going to look at me. I have to have a presence first. And Victoria started off as a model.”

“Who’s Victoria?”

“The main anchor on Buzzworthy!” Lila was clearly exasperated with me.

“The one with big fake boobs that you are suddenly rivalling?” 

“Yes, that’s her. And I haven’t even scheduled a consultation yet. I just don’t know for sure if I would do the surgery.”

“You’ve thought about a consultation?” I yelped, nearly spitting out my drink. “Have you researched doctors? What if you get a quack with a fake diploma who makes your body look like that chick off that ‘90s sitcom?”

Lila shook her head at me. “You are pathetic when it comes to celebrity knowledge. Sometimes I wonder how our friendship has survived.”

She wandered out of the kitchen still clutching the popcorn bowl, and after a beat of silence, I ran after her. “Lila Medlin! Do not ignore me! Are you truly thinking of going through with the surgery?”

“Alex, calm down. I haven’t decided yet. I started making a list of doctors. Haven’t contacted them yet, don’t even know the prices yet. This is like preliminary prelimits...or something along those lines. So just hush. Let’s finish this episode and then crash.”

I silently took a seat next to Lila on the couch, dipping my fingers into the popcorn bowl. We watched the rest of Buzzworthy ––where I paid close attention to Victoria and her assets –– said our good-nights and went into our separate bedrooms. I was still excited about my big date with Henry, worried about how to pull it off due to my time constraints, and now terrified that my best friend was going to go under the knife. With all my fears crowding my mind, I thought for sure I would toss and turn for hours, but exhaustion from my hectic schedule won out and I was asleep in minutes.

Chapter 9

“Thank you for calling Blissful Salon and Spa. This is Alex, how may I help you?”

It was only ten in the morning on Saturday–– the Saturday of the big date night–– but I was already at Blissful. I agreed to come in early for training with Allie, this time about payroll. We didn’t open for another two hours, but I decided to answer the phone when it started ringing at five after ten. Might as well get as much practice now as I could.

“Alex? Hi, it’s Dani. How are you doing?”

“Oh, hi, Dani! I’m doing fine, just waiting for Allie to get here and start learning the payroll process.” I paused, a little confused as to why she was calling the salon so early in the morning.

“Great. It’s actually a pretty simple process. You shouldn’t have a hard time picking it up. Anyway, I wanted to ask–– is Kevin there?”

My brow wrinkled. Why the heck would Kevin be at Blissful before it opened? “Um, no. I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I’m alone here. And I didn’t see his vehicle.” There was no way I could have missed either of the cars Kevin drove–– a Porche and a BMW ––sitting in the parking lot.

“Have you been in the office yet? Maybe if you could just pop your head in quick and see if he’s there?” Dani’s voice was starting to become strained.

“Okay, hold on just a sec. I’ll be right back.” I set the receiver down on the desk and hustled to the office in the back. I knew Kevin wasn’t there, but was afraid I would make Dani upset with the news. But why couldn’t she find her husband?

After confirming the office was indeed empty, I trotted back to the front, just in time to see Allie walk through the door. I waved to her, then scooped the phone back up. “Dani? He’s not here. I checked the whole back area too. He’s not there, either.”

Allie’s eyes flickered over to me, and she cocked her head while listening to my conversation.

“He didn’t come home last night? Do you think he’s okay? Have you checked the hospitals?”

Dani sighed. “No. I’m sure he’s fine. He went out with some friends last night; he probably just crashed at one of their places so he didn’t have to drink and drive. He’ll show up today, he always does. Well,” Dani’s voice suddenly brightened, “I hope you have a great day there. We’ll try to stop in this afternoon and see how everything is going.”

“Oh, okay then. Please call if you need me for anything else, if I can help in any other way,” I stuttered, baffled by the conversation I was having with my boss. “I hope everything is okay.”

We hung up, and I turned to face Allie.

“Good morning, sunshine!” she exclaimed, thrusting a waxy white bag at me. “I brought us bagels.”

“Yum, thank you! I just had a slice of toast for breakfast this morning. Mmm, these are still warm.” I eagerly grabbed a chocolate chip bagel and bit into it, feeling the warm chips melt on my tongue. Bliss. I laughed inwardly at my own play on words.

“What was that phone call all about?” Allie asked, opening a packet of cream cheese.

“I don’t know; it was so strange. Dani was asking if Kevin was here, then she said that he went out with his friends last night and never came home. Is that…normal for around here?” I suddenly flashed back to my facial, when Allie told me that Dani has called looking for her husband at the salon from time to time. And that sometimes Kevin slept on the beds at Blissful instead of going home.

Allie sat on the stool behind the desk, playing with her short black ponytail. “Well, unfortunately, that answer is yes. I’m surprised Dani is starting in with you already. She should have just called my cell phone.”

Goosebumps sprinkled my arms. What did that mean? Was Big Frank right about Kevin? “What do you mean?”

“Well, sometimes things can get a bit tense around here with Dani and Kevin. And of course there are rumors always floating around, but I try not to get involved with that.”

I was practically salivating, and not from my bagel. “Allie, I’m begging you, please tell me what’s going on. I can’t be the manager here without being informed.”

“I’ll tell you what I know, but you have to promise me that you won’t freak out. Or quit.”

“Okay, now you’re scaring me. Just tell me!”

After I begged and pinky-swore I wouldn’t just up and quit, Allie launched into story after story regarding Kevin and Dani. I thought I had gotten some juicy bits from her the day of my facial, but this ––  this was so much more.

Allie told me how Kevin had met Dani–– who was sixteen years younger than him –– on one of his magazine photo shoots about nine years ago. Dani was modeling topless, Kevin walked in and saw her, and apparently it was like love at first sight. Except for the tiny detail that Kevin was already married. In fact, the ink was barely dry on his marriage certificate when he started his affair with Dani. He was married for two months and two days before filing for divorce, and the day after it was approved by the courts, he whisked twenty year old Dani off to Mexico and they were married. Nine months later, Brianna was born.

“Two months and two days? Come on, Allie. You have to be exaggerating,” I said, wide-eyed at the story. We made it to the back office, and were waiting for the computer system to get pulled up before we started the payroll training.

“Cross my heart, hon. The poor first wife who married him didn’t stand a chance.”

Allie’s story continued. Kevin was a well-known playboy, who was thought to be settled down after he married Dani and she gave birth to his first daughter. While he was able to keep it his pants for some time, his old ways eventually got the best of him.

“Dani has to know about his affairs. He’s really not that secretive about them. He tells us girls here all the time about sleeping with the strippers in Vegas and Dani’s always calling around looking for him. I think unless she sees it with her own eyes she’ll keep denying it.”

“But why? How can she let him get away with that?”

Allie tapped her ring finger, where her engagement ring sat glowing. “It’s all about the money honey. You’ve seen what Kevin drives. You’ve seen the five-carat rock on Dani’s hand.  You can’t tell me you haven’t seen Dani’s humongous fake boobs. I’ve been to their house –– their mansion, rather. Dani wears designer brands. Would you give that lifestyle up?”

Would I? We both fell silent for a minute, while Allie hit a few keys and different spreadsheets started popping up on the screen. Although she had already moved on from the topic of conversation, I couldn’t get her question out of my head. Would I give up that lifestyle? I thought only celebrities like that basketball player’s wife stayed with their man even after their affairs became headline news. Kevin lived in Iowa, ran a few small businesses. Was that level of financial security enough to make someone like Dani stay with him? Could I even marry for love, or were people only looking for a way to succeed? And how could I have looked up to Dani, considered her someone I wanted to be like? The confusion I felt was making me more and more uncomfortable.

“Allie?”

“Yeah, hon?”

“Why are you getting married?”

Allie looked at me, her deep blue eyes open in alarm. “What? Why are you asking that?” She sounded like I was trying to accuse her of something. I quickly backtracked.

“No, no! Sorry if that sounded rude or like I was accusing you for something. I guess, well, I haven’t really ever thought about marriage a whole lot yet, but when I do…I guess I just don’t want to end up that way. Only marrying for money like a Playboy rabbit or something.”

Allie let out a chuckle. “They’re called Playboy
bunnies,
hon, not rabbits.”

“My bad. But really, I mean, it’s something to think about. I thought people got married for love and because you want to be with someone so badly for the rest of your life. It’s just so strange to think that isn’t true. Maybe I’m just too naïve.”

Allie sat back in the office chair, looking deep in thought. She twirled her engagement ring around her finger a few times as she stayed silent. When she spoke, her words had a surprisingly hard edge to them. “I love Jordan. I do. We’ve been together for five years, and I fell in love with him on the first day. We are getting married next year because we love each other. He might not make the same amount of money Kevin does, but I know he’s a good man. Kind and loving, and someone who will make a terrific father one day. That’s why I’m picking Jordan. I’m picking love.”

We fell silent again, and I absorbed Allie’s words. She was saying great things. Awesome things about her soon to be husband. So why was I getting the feeling that something was off? The tone of her voice, the edge in her eyes, the lack of her usual sparkle and bubble. It almost seemed like she was trying to convince herself, rather than me.