Blandview High Musical

3. Paradise

In the early morning hours, Janet found herself waking up. She tossed the covers off herself, her eyes wandering to catch sight of the clock that was sitting on the night table. It read 7:35 am. Sluggishly lifting herself from the bed, she moved towards the restroom. Water ran in the sink as she finished using the toilet. She started to wash her hands and then opted to wash her face instead.

Yesterday had been a complete disaster. She landed in New York at about 12:30. She had enough time to grab some lunch and call Eric again. He didn't answer his personal cell. She didn't bother calling the office. So of course, after lunch was finished, she checked into the hotel before heading to the lawyer's office. NY is a crowded city and even that might be an understatement.

As usual, when she got to the lawyer's office...she had a very awkward and uncomfortable conversation with Mr. Berkley. It could've been because she was trying to hide her embarrassment at the fact that Eric didn't even bother showing up. It was typical of him. Eric was always hours late or never arrived, it was something that Janet loathed about him. She recalled all the times she had to pitch a fit just to get Eric to get off the sofa to get dressed. It was a miracle he started some kind of big giant company. Other than signing the divorce papers, they were meeting to talk about the remaining things between them to be split, for which there were very few. One of the main reasons Janet had dragged her daughter all over the states was because she didn't own anything. She owned the car and the clothes on her back, nothing more.

Eric had everything, but Janet never wanted him to have the one thing that mattered: Gillian. As she was patting her face dry of the water, there was a knock at the door. She dragged the towel down, furrowing her brows as she looked out the bathroom door. The person knocked again. It might've been the messenger from the lawyer's office bringing whatever paperwork Janet still needed to sign. "Coming!" She shouted, leaving the towel on the counter. She moved swiftly to the door. She pulled it open to see Eric standing on the other side. He had that stupid smug grin on his face. He was dressed in a suit, as usual. His hair was combed back and his shoes had been shined. He was holding something in his hand. "Good morning." He said. Janet rolled her eyes and walked away from the door.

Eric welcomed himself into the hotel room. "It's so nice of you to show up the day after our really important meeting with the lawyer." "I was busy." Janet scoffed, turning around and folding her arms across her chest. "And don't think that you're going to buy me off with whatever is in that bag." Eric raised a brow, glancing down at the yellow Louis Vuitton bag he was holding in his hand. He scoffed. "It is so typical that you would think anything I brought over here would be for you." He placed the bag on the table in the middle of the room. The yellow contrasted against the cherry wood polished table and the pink roses paired with baby's breath. "I brought that for Gill. Speaking of, where is she?" He asked. "She's at home in LA." "You left her alone...in a strange city." "Don't make it sound so...despairing." She said, sitting down on the small couch. "She is still my daughter and I think—" "Oh yes, you think so many things and yet you never act on them. Gillian is almost an adult. How are you planning on handling that, Eric?" Janet asked.

Right as Eric was about to speak, the telephone rang in the next room. Both of their heads swiveled in the direction of the ringing phone. They looked back at each other before Janet rose. "Excuse me." She said, walking into the bedroom. The phone continued to ring as she walked to the bedside table and answered it. "Hello?" "Good morning, Mrs. Demofonte. I have a phone call waiting for you, it's a Mr. Berkeley." "Put him through." Janet said. The phone beeped a second before a raspy voice came over the opposing side of the phone. "Good morning, Janet. How are things?" "They're good. We're still on for this morning?" Janet asked. "Of course." "Okay, well I have a question about that." "Okay, go ahead." Mr. Berkeley said. Janet lowered the phone, gazing at the door to make sure that Eric was not creeping around the corner. Raising it back up to her ear, she spoke. "How necessary is it for Eric to be at this meeting?" She questioned.