A Weekend Getaway (2 page)

The truth was she knew how to
land a job, but not how to advance. She liked running the call-in center well
enough, but after thirteen years, she hungered for a new challenge. She’d
expected her strong work ethic to be enough, but her career had stalled.

Her personal life didn’t seem to
be going anywhere either. Nothing had prepared her for the joys and heartbreaks
of raising someone else’s child. And the painful memories it would stir up. If
only Drew understood how important taking the next step was. But he’d rather
fix a leaky toilet than spend the night in a hotel with her. She shook her
head. Who was she to give anyone advice?

A few hours later, she drove
through the hilly terrain surrounding campus. She smiled at the students
whizzing by on bicycles. Pleased that some things still looked familiar, she
found her way in the dark to the Union Hotel parking lot.

Leaves crunched beneath her feet
as she pulled her wheeled luggage into the limestone building. A massive wooden
staircase, a white marble statue—the place had plenty of class, and once
she checked in, a beautiful antique dresser and walnut bed welcomed her into
her room.

Heading down to the lobby, she
dialed her cell, but Drew didn’t answer. That seemed odd. Maybe he was in the
middle of the repair and didn’t want to walk away? She tried twice more while
she waited in the lobby for Ivy, who was already a half hour late.

“Beth!” a high-pitched voice
squealed.

Beth turned to see her old
friend running toward her with open arms. They hugged for a few seconds, then
Beth appraised her friend’s appearance. “I love your hair!”

Ivy fluffed her short, dark
curls. “My stylist charges a small fortune, but he’s worth it. I can’t believe
how long your hair is.”

Beth pushed a lock behind her
ear, not sure what to say. “I should get a trim.” She wasn’t sure the last time
she’d been to the salon.

“Have you ever considered
getting highlights?”

“Not really.”

“It would take away some of the
‘dirty’ and bring out more of the ‘blonde.’”

Beth cringed. She’d always hated
that description of her natural hair color.

With her lipstick fresh, Ivy segued
into talking about her drive and how much campus had changed. “Wait. Where’s
Drew?” She peered around Beth’s shoulder as if he might be hiding.

“Would you believe he had a
plumbing disaster? He stayed home to fix it.”

Beth still thought he’d been a
little too eager to remain behind. Did he suspect this weekend might get
serious?

“Couldn’t you just call a
plumber?”

 
Beth shrugged. “That’s what I suggested.”

“Sounds like trouble in
paradise. The saxophonist in my band is single. If you’re interested, I could
fix you up. He’s pretty cute.”

“No thanks. Drew and I are
practically engaged.” The lie was out before Beth could stop it.

“Really?” Ivy’s face brightened.
“Tell me everything. Are you thinking of a June wedding? If so, you’d better
get busy. A lot of reception halls book up a year in advance. It might already
be too late.”

Beth shook her head, in
desperate need of a subject change. “We’re not that far yet. Where’s your
husband? Getting the luggage?” Ivy’s husband, Parker, would certainly do the
chivalrous thing. He also opened doors for her and always picked up the check.

Ivy pulled her red lips
together. Her lips were always red. “He had some fires to put out at the office
unfortunately.” She shifted her weight. “But hey, this is great. I know Sarah’s
husband is going to stay home to watch their kids. We’ll have a girls’ night
out!”

“That’s a rare treat. Especially
for Sarah, I would assume.”

“No kidding. How many kids does
she have now? Four? Five? It’s like she hasn’t figured out where they come from
or something.” Ivy giggled.

“She has four.” Beth felt her
hackles rise. “I think Sarah’s a great mom. If anyone should have kids, it’s
her.”

“Well, somebody has to keep the
population going.” Ivy reached around and gave Beth another hug. “It’s so good
to see you. Do you mind helping me with my luggage? Then I desperately need
some retail therapy.”

“Sounds good. I’d like to look
for a souvenir for Emma.”

# # #

After visiting the shops on
Kirkwood Avenue, Ivy insisted they go drinking. The Blue Note Bar had a short
line outside. It had a different name back in the day, but otherwise, it looked
the same. Beth allowed herself to feel flattered when the doorman carded her.
Once inside, the music blared from the small stage where a band played.

Unwilling to blow her recent
weight loss, Beth ordered a Diet Coke. Ivy requested a Long Island iced tea
then dug in her purse. She pulled out her Smartphone. “Let me show you pictures
from our trip to Belgium.” She held the screen toward Beth and shuffled through
shots of castles and gardens.

“Those are beautiful.” Beth had
to shout to be heard over the music. “I’ve never been to Europe.”

“Really? You must go. It’s like
a whole other world. I’ll give you the name of my travel agent. She put
everything together—I mean
everything.
I didn’t even need to think about what to wear, it seemed.” Ivy tilted her
head back, eyes closed. “Can you even believe that? Three weeks of just
existing. It was heavenly.”

Beth knew her vacation days and her
small chunk of savings would all go into the Victorian fixer-upper. “Maybe
we’ll make the trip in a few years or so.” Or maybe in a few decades.

The waiter brought their drinks
and Ivy fluttered her eyelids at him, ignoring Beth’s remark. “Does the band
take requests?”

The twenty-something in a black
T-shirt and tight-fitting jeans shrugged. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Can you recommend something to
eat? When you’re barely one-hundred pounds, the alcohol goes straight to your
brain.”

Beth rolled her eyes.

“The chicken wings are pretty
good. Spicy.”

Ivy smiled at him, twirling her
short curls around her finger. “I love spicy things.” He wrote down her order
and tucked his pen behind his ear. She watched him walk away before turning her
attention back to Beth. “Did I tell you Parker’s business is flourishing?” The
band finished a song and for a moment, she didn’t have to yell. “We just broke
ground in Wisconsin. I’m sure Mall Land will be as big a hit there as it was in
Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. It’s brilliant, really, to provide free
babysitting in a giant indoor playground while parents go shopping. Both kids
and adults love it. The money keeps rolling in.”

Beth remembered Ivy’s husband,
Parker, well. She’d taken speech with him her freshman year. When she’d stood
to introduce herself on the first day of class, she’d fainted. The handsome
upperclassman had caught her, then run to the restroom and brought her cold,
wet paper towels for her forehead.

When it was Parker’s turn to
introduce himself, he talked about a club he wanted to start for altruistic
people. A few weeks later, he held a call-out for new members and she went
mostly to repay him for his kindness. She’d brought Ivy along for moral
support. That had been Beth’s fatal mistake.

Next to Ivy’s skinny,
Wonderbra-enhanced body, Beth had felt frumpier than ever, and Parker’s
reaction had proven it wasn’t just a feeling. He had lit up when he met Ivy. He
even slipped her his number afterwards, “in case she had any more questions
about the organization.”

At the first club party, though,
Ivy got a bit of a surprise. Girls fawned all over Parker, bringing him beers
and asking him to dance. The sight reinforced Beth’s belief that he’d never go
for a stout girl with freckles. Ivy, however, had taken it as a challenge.

Beth sipped on her drink and
watched Ivy bounce her head to the beat of the music. “So you’re still
singing?”

Ivy nodded. “I have a regular
gig at a local jazz place. I keep trying to talk Parker into moving to Chicago
where there’s a bigger music scene. But he feels loyal to Indiana, the
birthplace of his Mall Land
empire
.” With a frustrated
look on her face, Ivy pushed away from the table. “I think I’m going to show
these guys how it’s done.” She headed toward the band. Walking up to the lead
singer, she whispered something in his ear. He scrunched his face as if he
couldn’t understand her. When she handed him some folded bills and moved her
lips near his ear again, he smiled and talked to the guitarist and drummer. Ivy
took the microphone and sauntered toward center stage. Her favorite spot.

The music started and Ivy sang
Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Beth had to admit, her friend had the lungs and the
hauntingly beautiful voice to pull it off. If the right person with the right
connections heard her, she could still make it big time, and as for Beth…

A touch of melancholy stirred
inside of her. There’d never been anything special about her and that’s why she
had to work harder than everyone else to get noticed. But even that approach
failed her lately.

What was she going to say
tomorrow night at the banquet? Don’t eat every time you feel lonely or sad.
Don’t fall in love with your best friend’s guy. Don’t settle for living
together if you want to be married. Don’t do anything that I have done.

She decided to try calling home again
to let Drew know that she’d made it. Seeking a quiet place to talk, she stepped
out into the cold darkness and dialed. It rang and rang, but he didn’t answer.
She paced up and down the sidewalk waiting for the machine to click on. “Um,
hi. I’m here with Ivy. Just wanted to see how the repair went.” Hanging up, her
gaze landed on a young man and woman laughing as they walked by arm-in-arm. She
almost envied them—their whole lives ahead of them.

A voice came from behind her.
“Beth, is that you?” She turned to see Sarah, another old friend from college,
dressed in a black pea coat with a turquoise scarf.

When Beth hugged her, she was
careful not to pull the light brown hair that hung all the way down Sarah’s
back. “Glad you could make it.”

“My youngest woke up with a cold
and I considered staying home, but my hubby insisted I come. He’s such a
saint.”

“Motherhood is a
twenty-four/seven job without vacation or sick leave. You’ve more than earned a
weekend off, I’m sure.”

“I suppose you’re right.” They
stood outside, hearing Ivy’s alto vibrato through the open door. Sarah pointed
toward the crowded bar. “Should we go in?”

“Tell me about the kids first.”
Beth knew all of their names started with the letter ‘r’ but she couldn’t
remember the name of the toddler. Guilt reared inside of her since Sarah had
once been her closest friend.

“Everyone is doing well.
Homeschooling seems to bring out the best in them. Reese is a finalist in the
state science fair, Renee is reading War and Peace even though she’s only thirteen,
Riley is doing long division at age seven and Ronnie not only knows his colors,
but can spell them.”

“Wow. You must be so proud.”

Sarah nodded. “I hope you’ll
forgive my bragging.”

“Of course. You’d never brag
about yourself, so you might as well brag about your kids.”

While she listened to more tales
of Sarah’s wonderful family and supportive husband, Beth couldn’t help but
wonder why Drew didn’t answer the phone. She also thought about how he’d ducked
out of this weekend when she was ready to push for a commitment. Where was he?
He said he wanted to work on the house, yet he wasn’t there.

Sarah looked at her. “Are you
all right? You’re frowning.”

Too bad Ivy had zapped all of
her energy. She really would like to catch up with Sarah, but it would have to
wait until tomorrow. “I’m not used to late nights any more. Will you tell Ivy I
went back to the hotel?”

She headed down the street,
admiring Ivy’s talent and Sarah’s domestic savoir-faire. She wished Drew were
here yet she wished Parker had shown, too. She was definitely out of sorts.
Wishing it was sixteen years ago. Wishing she could make different choices.

As she keyed into her empty hotel room, she thought of Drew’s
niece. Even though Emma had probably been asleep for hours, Beth imagined
reading her “Guess How Much I Love You” and giving her a goodnight kiss on her
forehead. If Emma’s mother ever got her act together, the three-year-old could
be gone in a heartbeat. Beth always swore she’d get married and embrace
motherhood when the time was right. She was ready, so ready.

Grabbing the phone, she dialed Drew’s house. No answer. She
dialed his cellphone and heard Spock’s voice say, “Captain, incoming message” from
inside her suitcase. She walked over and rummaged through the clothes to
discover Drew’s mobile phone at the bottom. He must’ve missed it when he
unpacked. He’d found the diamond tie tack and forgotten his cell. Beth dropped
the phone in the suitcase and slammed the lid shut.

Still dressed, she plopped on the burgundy comforter and
flipped through the TV channels. A chef pulled a fattening pot pie out of the
oven, a news anchor spoke of a recent tragedy, and a late-night comedian told
jokes that didn’t make her laugh. Turning the TV off, she stared at the plaster
ceiling.

Some time later, she heard Ivy’s familiar giggle. And what
else? A deep voice. A man’s voice, telling Ivy what a great singer she was.

What was going on? Did Ivy pick
up a guy in the bar and bring him back to her hotel room? That certainly wasn’t
out of character for the flirtatious undergrad, but she’d been married for
years. Ever since Beth’s freshman and her junior year. The year Ivy had a
spur-of-the-moment Vegas wedding yet wore a $5,000 hand-beaded white gown. The
year all of her dreams came true at the expense of Beth’s.

Beth couldn’t stand it. She
walked to the door and peered out the peephole. Sure enough, she saw a thin man
follow Ivy into her room across the hall. Could it have been Parker? No, this
man looked too scrawny.