LISA
"Wow. I feel like a new person -" I walk out into the living area, drying my hair with a towel, and notice she's not on the balcony. "Jen?"
I pad through the suite, checking each room, but Jennie is nowhere to be seen.
Great.
I stop dead in my tracks. "What on earth -"
Blinded by an assortment of silver on the kitchen countertop, I march over to about one hundred bowls and cloches. Is this room service? I lift one cloche, then another. A myriad of soups in all different colors. It goes on and on.
What is this?
It's like a soup buffet. There's also a massive breadbasket. Enough food to feed a small village. Jennie must've ordered food before she left. I tear at a buttery croissant and sigh because it's very sweet, but where the heck is she?
Out of the corner of my eye, I see my phone screen flashing on the coffee table.
JENNIE: Diana popped by while you were in the shower. Apparently, you had a dinner reservation with her and Charles from Maxitron tonight? After much consideration, I decided to go in your place. You know, to make an appearance! I won't be long. Debrief later!
PS-Don't forget to eat your soup/s xo
I groan audibly and snatch a spoon, tasting some moss-green concoction, and stuff a stiff slice of sourdough into my mouth, but my brain has been hijacked.
"What the fuck is happening to me?" I warble through a mouthful of ancient grains.
I need it to un-happen.
Despite my strict instructions to snap out of it, I soon start pacing the honeymoon suite with the occasional stop at the buffet.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
I think I'm going to send myself mad. While I've apparently recovered from my virus, this nauseous feeling sits in my stomach because why is she taking so long? And exactly how long constitutes making an appearance? An unfamiliar burn of jealousy starts to take over as the hours tick by.
I eat my body weight in soup, but it's okay because I've burnt it off with all my laps. I stack the empty bowls and silverware on a tray by the front door and gently rub my temples. Stomping out to the balcony, I try to let the soothing sounds of the ocean calm me. It doesn't work.
So, I lie on the bed and then on the couch, my phone beside me. I don't know what to do with myself. I stare at the ceiling for thirty minutes, at the carpet for another thirty, when that horrible feeling starts cursing through my body again.
So, so stupid.
Jennie's just doing her job. Actually, my job. She's going above and beyond. Saving the day, I tell myself. Absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm in total control.
Ten seconds later, I text her.
ME: Hi. Just me. Everything okay? Waiting patiently for a debrief?
Patiently being the operative word.
No response.
I stare at my phone, willing it to beep.
Come on!
The urge to fling it across the room almost overwhelming.
I startle when it beeps a moment later.
JENNIE: Out the front. Keycard not working.
I rush to the front door, tripping over a hazardous pile of empty cloches, and make an absolute racket, almost headbutting the wall in the process. Fuck's sake. I just need to break my leg now to top off this stellar trip. I clamber to my feet, whipping open the door.
