: ̗̀➛ part three of the
one for the road series
SNOWFALL / CL16
in which two childhood friends reunite. a formula one driver wants to learn how to snowboard and it just so happens that the daughter of his mum's be...
The Ritz hotel lobby had transformed dramatically compared to the last time I had stopped by. A feeling of pride bloomed inside of me at the sight, like a flower bursting from its constraints into an explosion of colour. And yet that feeling did little to coax the sadness, betrayal and guilt—a strange cocktail of emotions—that brewed in the soil underneath, like poison slowly infiltrating the roots. It took only seconds for the flower to wither and die right before my eyes.
Shockingly, there was nobody around except for security, who left me alone without another word once I slipped them my ID at the front door. My heels clicked against the marble tiles of the front lobby, echoing off of the still-bare walls. I sighed at the sight—only a week left and it would all be done. My greatest work to date.
As my fingers slid across the glossy mahogany front desk, feeling the grooves of the hand carved decorations, my brain started to wander back to the place I had just escaped from—back to the picture of my brother kissing my best friend. As soon as the memory of my words registered, I let out a sigh of frustration. I shouldn't have been that harsh—I knew that, and yet I couldn't help but feel stung at the fact that they had lied about this for so long. Months!
Most of all, I realised as I now trailed my fingertips along the scratchy fabric of the arm chairs in the lobby, I was upset that I had lost all of this time to bond with each of them individually about this thing that had bloomed between them. I could easily see how well they fit together. They were both ambitious, but where Lorelai was chaotic and impulsive, Alfie was organised and coolheaded. They were always the first to laugh at the other's jokes, the first to offer a shoulder to cry on to their friends in need. They were two of my favourite people on this planet and of course I wanted them to be happy.
But God, the feeling of being lied to for months... it hurt almost as much as Charles' sudden breakup did all those years ago in Sicily. That on top of the Thomas ordeal, which still had me feeling tender and vulnerable... it was a lot to handle. But at least the calm interior of the Ritz project offered a perfect place to organise my thoughts and feelings. I hadn't realised how overwhelmed I had been by the presence of others until I sunk down on one of the arm chairs (of which one cost more than my monthly rent).
I quickly forgot time existed as I sat in the surprisingly comfortable chair, my muscles relaxing fully for the first time that day. My thoughts, however, were interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing filling the silence. I sighed, prepared to let it ring until the caller on the other end of the line gave up trying to reach me, but when, after a brief silence, the ringing started again, I gave in. What I hadn't expected, was for the Caller ID to present me with a picture of my mother.
