“Es perfecto.” Teresa nodded, her dimples denting in so far that I thought her cheeks must hurt.
“Okay, I’ll go drum up a contract. We’ll need a deposit within two weeks—it’s ten percent to hold the date,” Suzanne explained as she rose to her feet, collecting her briefcase. “I’ll be right back with everything.”
She rushed out, the heavy banquet-room door slamming behind her.
“You were unbelievable!” Lilly practically tackled me in my chair.
“Mariana, I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe I’m going to get married in a place like this.” Teresa’s eyes twinkled as she gazed around the room.
“I know it’s still a little bit over your budget…”
“No. It’s perfect. It’s better than perfect.”
“Who knew you were such a negotiator?” Lilly shook my shoulders once more.
“Well, thank Madison. You can only watch a girl talk down a sales clerk so many times before a bit of those skills rub off.” I turned to Teresa. “She negotiated the price of her eighth-grade dance dress. The saleslady was actually sweating. She gets it from her dad…”
“And apparently, so do you,” Teresa cheered. “I could never have done that.”
Suddenly, Lilly broke into an impromptu salsa sway. I popped to my feet to join her, moving my hips and envisioning the room on Teresa’s wedding day: me and Lilly in shiny bridesmaid dresses with horrific fluffy butt bows in front of all of our family and friends.
Suddenly, I stopped and glanced at my watch. “Hey, Teresa, do you think we could make a pit stop before we go home?”
After the paperwork was signed and Teresa had officially staked her claim on the reception space for New Year’s Eve, she dropped Lilly and me off at a familiar downtown hotel.
“I’ll pick you girls up in about an hour. I’m going to swing by a few florists,” Teresa told us as we climbed out of Carlos’s beat-up sedan.
“Good luck with the flowers,” Lilly said cheerfully as she slammed her door closed.
“Remember, it doesn’t have to all be roses,” I said.
Teresa pulled away as Lilly and I strolled into another shiny lobby. It was one of the few hotels we didn’t look at for reception space (it was just too weird with Emily living there). But our friend’s new home was only a block away from Teresa’s chosen venue.
We walked past the lobby bar to the reception desk.
“Emily Montgomery’s room please,” I said to the clerk, who didn’t look much older than we did.
She smiled as she tucked her blond hair behind her ear and checked her computer screen.
“Oh, she’s a resident,” the girl said. “I’ll let her know that you’re here.”
“No, please don’t,” I said quickly. “We want to surprise her. We’re her friends.”
The girl tilted her head. “I really should call first.”
“Please, we’re not ax murderers. We’re just her friends. It’s a surprise.”
The clerk grinned and looked the other way. “It’s room 1405. I didn’t see anything.”
Lilly and I swiftly darted toward the gold-trimmed elevators and sped up to the fourteenth floor. When we stepped into the cold, impersonal hallway, I was hit with a wave of sadness. I couldn’t believe Emily lived here. This wasn’t a home. There was no front porch or family photos, no fireplace or smell of cooking. Lilly glanced at a sign near the elevator.
“Her room’s this way.” She pointed.
I followed Lilly down the generic corridor past the identical beige doorways until we stopped at 1405.
“Home sweet home,” I muttered before knocking.
I could hear someone moving inside.
“Em? Em, it’s Lilly and Mariana,” I said as I knocked again.
I heard a door slam shut inside and then the hurried sounds of footsteps. Finally, the handle turned.
“What are you guys doing here?” Emily asked nervously as she opened the door, her forehead beaded with sweat.
“Gee, great to see you too,” I said, rolling my eyes as I pushed past her and into the room.
When she told us that she was going to live in a hotel with her father, I assumed it would be something akin to a condo with a full kitchen and a dining area. But their suite simply looked like a large hotel room. Sure, there were two bedrooms and a common sitting area, but that was it. There was nothing it in that resembled a home. It even had the same blue patterned carpeting as the rest of the hotel.
“So this is where you live?” Lilly asked in an equally shocked tone.
“Um, yeah,” Emily said, grabbing a towel off the wing-back chair so we could sit down. “It’s only temporary. My dad’s looking at apartments.”
“Has he found one?” I asked, my eyebrows raised.
I would think getting his daughter into a more suitable living situation would be a father’s top priority.
“He’s trying. But he works a lot. His assistant found a couple places.”
“Well, thank God for the assistant,” Lilly muttered as she plopped down on a small couch.
“Em, you know you have to live in Spring Mills to go to Spring Mills High School,” I pointed out as I sat down.
“Well, my mom’s house is still there. As long as she ‘claims’ me, I’m fine.” Emily put finger quotes around the word and rolled her eyes.
“Em, look, I realize things are bad with your mom right now, but this can’t be much better.” I waved my hands around the room, which was littered with old newspapers and wet towels; clearly the maid service hadn’t arrived yet.
“I can take care of myself,” Emily huffed.
“How? By calling room service? By having a corporate driver take you to school?”
Emily grunted. “Beats the hell out of my mom’s place. And now I can do practically anything I want.”
Just then, something crashed inside the closed bathroom door. My head jerked as I rose to my feet.
“What was that?” I asked.
I could feel Lilly breathing right behind me.
“Is there someone in there?” Lilly asked.
“No,” Emily said quickly as she jumped between us and the door. “I’m sure something just fell.”
“What, from all the wind swirlin’ around in here?” Lilly mocked.
“Em, what’s going on?” I stepped toward her.
She moved back, protecting the door. “Nothing. There’s nothing going on. And you know, you guys really should have called first.”
“Uh, obviously. Looks like you’ve got someone hiding in your bathroom.” I squinted my eyes as if I didn’t recognize the person standing before me.
“I do not. It’s just that the place is a mess. I would’ve cleaned up if I knew you were coming. And I just got out of the shower a second ago, so I’m sure the shampoo just slipped. The ledges in the shower suck, they’re really tiny…”
Emily was talking so rapidly it was hard to follow her train of thought. But one thing was clear: she was lying. If she had recently showered, then she a) wouldn’t have been sweating when we showed up and