The Green Ticket (19 page)

My head whipped over to my left side where Hannah sat. “What? What’s your news?” I practically shouted. I knew it had to be something with Peter.

Hannah giggled. She never giggled. “It’s nothing, really. Peter just asked me to go home with him over Thanksgiving break. He wants me to meet his family.” Her blue eyes were bright and alive, a look I’d rarely seen on my friend. I was thrilled.

“Oh, Hannah! That is a huge step. Wow, meeting the family. Are you nervous? Excited? What will you wear?” Questions shot out of my mouth, all while I envisioned Hannah and Peter’s wedding. It would be a spectacular occasion, with both Hannah and Peter’s families coming from money and having important jobs and all. Carmen, Emma, Lila, and I would be her bridesmaids, of course. I wondered who she would choose as the maid of honor. Lila and I would be each other’s of course, Carmen and Emma would probably pick each other, but what about Hannah? Maybe it would be me!

“Hello, Alex? Please stop planning my wedding.” Hannah snapped her fingers in front of my face, cutting off my daydream.

“What? I wasn’t planning your wedding. I was, um, thinking about Blissful. And schedules and facials and stuff. Duh,” I said, not convincing Hannah.

“Sure, sure. But I don’t really know what I’m going to wear. We’re going back on Wednesday night and leaving on Friday. That means I am spending the night there–– twice. Are we supposed to sleep together? Separate bedrooms? What if I can’t think of anything to say around his mom or dad? How much food do I eat on Thanksgiving? Not enough might offend his mom, too much will make me look piggy.” Hannah looked terrified. “I’ve never had a real boyfriend before. Or met anyone’s parents. I’m scared.”

“Don’t you worry, girl. We’ll make sure you are totally prepared before you leave. We’ll get you the right outfits, go over some topics you can bring up, everything. You will not leave this city unprepared,” Carmen vowed. The rest of us murmured our agreements.

“Thank you.” I could feel Hannah relax into the couch cushion. “It’s just so nerve-racking. But enough about me. Alex, you have a second date tomorrow? Is this the Bellini’s one?”

I nodded, thinking about my date with Henry tomorrow. Backstabbing bitch Kamille had almost drained all my euphoric feelings about my second date. The energy and enthusiasm was slowly being pumped through my body after just minutes of being around my friends. “Yep. Bellini’s it is. And I’m kind of freaking out, no lie. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to such a fancy place. What if I don’t know how to order? What if I can’t find anything normal to order on the menu? I don’t want to look like a complete tool in front of Henry.”

We chatted about my date for a few more minutes, where I got all kinds of advice from my friends. Start with the fork farthest from the plate–– Hannah. Casually rub my foot against Henry’s while we are chatting–– Emma. The salads would probably not come with ranch dressing, instead something fancier–– Lila.  To limit myself to one dinner drink in case I don’t like my food and get bombed at the table–– Carmen. Carmen’s advice probably wasn’t needed. I didn’t want to bust out the fake ID and get kicked out of Bellini’s. Nothing like cops and an arrest to ruin a date.

Our chat then segued into Lila’s love life. “Joel is pissed about the meeting I have coming up with Mary Strubaker. Doesn’t want me to go, says it’s a waste of time. Good to know the person that is supposed to love me has no faith in me.” Lila picked at a piece of lint on her purple socks.

“Lila, please break up with him. You know it’s supposed to happen. Why are you holding on?” Carmen demanded to know.

“I know you think I’m crazy, but I had a feeling once about us getting married. Not all relationships are perfect all the time. There’s going to be rough patches and fights. But I really do love Joel. We’ve been great together and happy for years. How can I just throw all of that away?”

“Answer me this,” Emma said. “Say you meet with Mary and nail it–– which I’m sure you will.” Agreements all around. Lila smiled at us. “And then say she wants you to hop on the first plane to New York and meet with agents and do a photo shoot or whatever it is you need to do. You come back and tell Joel. What do you think he will do?”

Lila was silent. We all stared at her. I was sure that the four of us were thinking the same thing. Joel would flip. “I think he would be happy for me.”

Giant room sigh. “Do you really think that, Lila? Or is that what you hope will happen?” Hannah asked gently.

“It sounds to me that if he doesn’t even want you to go to the meeting, he sure as hell wouldn’t want you to go to New York or LA, or anywhere for that matter,” Emma said.

Lila was quiet for a beat longer. “Well, it doesn’t even matter now. Who says that Mary will like me or want to help me? She could laugh in my face and show me to the door. Then I will have caused a big ruckus over nothing. I’ll just go to the meeting, I’m sure nothing will happen, and then we can all just forget about it.”

“Wait a second. So if one woman doesn’t think you have what it takes, you’re just going to roll over and play dead?” I asked. “Lila, you’ve been talking about this dream for years. You want to be an entertainment reporter. Don’t let Joel or Mary bring you down. Don’t bring yourself down.”

“Alex is right. If you give up, it’s over. All your dreams and planning and hard work down the drain. Don’t do it, Lila. Keep fighting.” Carmen added her advice to the fray. I looked around the room, immensely grateful for my awesome friends, their unwavering advice and support. We all stood by each other no matter what.

“Thanks, guys. I won’t give up. I really won’t. And I will nail this meeting with Mary. I know it,” Lila said, her voice only warbling a little.

“That’s more like it! That’s the Lila we love,” Carmen exclaimed, holding up her margarita glass in a toast.

“Speaking of–– do you have me scheduled for my facial at Blissful?” Lila asked, turning towards me.

“I put you on the books today with Allie. You’re scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30.”

“Perfect! Thank you much.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sure you will love it,” I said. “I’m going to get a full body wrap thing done in the next few weeks too.”

“A full body wrap? What is that?” Emma wanted to know.

I explained how a wrap worked–– painting lotion all over the body, then wrapping the body up like a giant cocoon and letting it sit there. I was getting the wrap meant to soften skin, but there were wraps that are said to actually slim the body. Blissful offered both. Emma asked to be scheduled for one herself, and I made a note in my phone to check the schedules and book her.

The rest of the night passed quickly. I joined in on the margarita scene, grateful for the weekend off. I planned on sleeping in, catching up on a few homework assignments that I kept pushing off, and preparing for my date with Henry. Hannah and I were going to participate in Kaufman’s annual food day festival on Sunda–– which was just a big to-do on campus that featured healthy foods, recipes, and lots of yummy snacks to munch on while you went from booth to booth. Lila and I discussed a possible shopping trip, which I was up for. I had barely used any of my hard-earned money since I was too busy to have a social life anymore. My bank account was happy, but I was having some shopping withdrawals. Lila, Hannah, and I also promised each other we would make it to church on Sunday. I had been slacking in the religious department lately as well.

Lila and I said our good-byes to the rest of the girls around one in the morning. I sure hadn’t planned on staying up that late, but with the combination of alcohol, a late-night delivery pizza, awesome friends and some trusty board/drinking games, I couldn’t let myself fall asleep early. I shuffled into my bedroom after closing the front door, not even bothering to remove my makeup or brush my teeth. I just wanted to shut my eyes.

$$$

The ringing of my cell phone woke me up the next morning. My eyelids creaked open, matted together by the eye makeup that I didn’t feel like removing the night before. My mouth felt like the hangover fairy was shoving cotton balls in overnight and the room was spinning. Or it just felt like it was spinning, courtesy to the four margaritas I drank the night before.

I rolled over, looking for my phone. Before I could answer it, the ringing stopped. It was the Blissful phone. I squinted at the clock. 10:34. Check for sleeping in. The phone started ringing again. This time I flipped it open right away. “Hello?” I croaked out.

“Alex? Are you okay? You sound terrible.” Dani’s concerned voice came over the line.

“No, I’m fine. I was just sleeping.”

“Sleeping? It’s almost eleven o’clock. Wake up!”

“I’m awake now. I was just lying in bed, trying to wake up.” I changed my story after hearing Dani’s disapproving voice. I was sure she had been up for hours, getting her girls ready for the day, probably already running a few errands. Mothers didn’t get to sleep in. Neither did professionals. Or at least I didn’t think they did.

“Well, we have a problem at the salon today,” Dani continued. We did? Blissful wasn’t even open for another hour. What could have gone wrong? “Kamille was scheduled to work a full today and Julia was going to do the partial. Kamille called in and Julia said she can’t get there until her scheduled time of two o’clock. So we have no one at the desk at noon to open. Tiffany hasn’t returned my call yet.”

My hungover brain was trying to keep up. Kamille–– called in. No one to open. Did Dani mean....

“Kevin was going to cover my shift for me today so I could get some shopping done for the holidays. Remember, I mentioned that the other day? I shouldn’t have gone out of town without reaching Kevin first, but I left at six this morning and now I’m in Iowa City. I can leave right away, but it’s still about a two-hour drive.

“And where’s Kevin?” I asked, feeling my blood start to boil.

 “I can’t get a hold of him and I’m worried he’s not going to be there in time. He–– he didn’t come home last night and I can’t reach him on his cell.”

What the fuck? I looked at the clock again. 10:38. Blissful opened at noon. The opener was supposed to be there at least thirty minutes prior to opening. I would never make it by 11:30.

“Alex? You there?”

“Ugh, yeah. I’m here. I don’t think I can get there by 11:30,” I said meekly, feeling my day off evaporate into thin air. My day to relax, to catch up on homework and shop with Lila. To prepare for my date. “I would still need to get ready and drive over.”

“Allie should be there shortly. She can help with opening duties and cover the desk until you get there. Keep trying to call Tiffany. She might be able to come in and help. I was going to be there by five tonight to close up, but I can try to be there earlier. I’ll leave right away, but that doesn’t help the situation now. We need someone to open.”

I sat up in bed, a wave of dizziness crashing over me. Not only was I getting called into work on my day off, on a Saturday, but I was going to have to do it hungover. Perfect. “Okay. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

“Excellent. I’m so sorry for this, Alex. I hate to make you come in on your day off, but I really thought Kevin would be good on his word today. I’ll keep in touch on my drive back. See you this afternoon.” And Dani was gone. I couldn’t believe my ears. What a hypocrite Kevin was. I had to be there at all times when it was my shift, but when he agrees to cover for his wife he just goes MIA?

I made my way through my morning routine in warp speed. Toothpaste speckled my mirror as I brushed without abandon, my shower was under two minutes and I skipped conditioner, opting to simply scrunch some mousse through my hair and twist it up in a clip, and I only added blush to my cheeks and mascara to my lashes. Running back into my bedroom, I pulled my black pants from my overflowing laundry basket and grabbed a light green sweater–– one of the last articles of clean clothing I had left. I skipped all jewelry and even forgot my perfume, walking out of my bedroom and into the kitchen to grab my purse and briefcase. Lila was lounging on the couch watching TV when I walked by her.

“Hey, where are you going?” she asked, struggling to sit up. I was sure she was battling a hangover as well from the looks of her puffy eyes and the bowl of mac n’ cheese on the floor. Lila swore by it for a hangover cure.

“I got called in today. The regular gal called in sick,” I said, pulling my winter coat on and yanking a hat over my head.

“What? No! This was your day off, Alex. You need the rest.” Lila finally managed to stand upright, swaying slightly as she walked over to join me by the door. “There isn’t anyone else that can cover?”

“No, there isn’t,” I snapped, immediately feeling contrite. “Sorry. Not trying to take it out on you. I’m just pissed. Kamille called in and I guess Kevin was going to cover for Dani today while she was out of town, but now no one can find him and he’s not answering his phone.”

“Seriously? No one can get a hold of him?”

“Seriously.  Dani’s in complete panic and driving back now from Iowa City. I feel so bad for her. Her husband can’t even make good on his word so she can have a day off. What a fuckhead!” I couldn’t believe the anger burning through me. I had been bending over backwards for that salon since I signed on, working closer to fifty hours a week, running errands for Kevin and Dani that I didn’t see anywhere under my job responsibilities, taking work home with me and this is what I get? My day off to be called in?

“I’m so sorry, Alex. I know you were looking forward to this day. And what about your date tonight?”

My spirits sunk lower. “I just hope Dani can get there at a decent time to relieve me. Hopefully I can still make myself look somewhat decent for tonight.” Tears pricked behind my eyes. “And I’m hungover, Lil. I feel like shit!”

“Here.” Lila scurried into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and removing a bottle of Ibuprofen. “I already took two this morning. Take these and be sure you eat something. Stop and get breakfast somewhere if you need to. We don’t have anything that you can just grab. Unless you want me to make you a sandwich or something?” She shook two pills out and handed them to me, rapidly filling a glass with tap water.