70 Days Of Summer

Day 43

I'm not getting up. I don't want to get up. I don't have to get up. In fact, I could spend the rest of my life in bed. I would never have to move or talk. I could just spend the rest of my life in bed eating pancakes and oily chips until I become fat and obese! I wouldn't need anything!
Beep beep
My phone rings. Shoot! I left it on the coffee table.
Beep beep
I could just get up and answer it, and then live the rest of my life in bed.
Beep beep
No! The rest of my bed life starts now.
Beep beep
Not getting up.
Beep beep
Still not getting up.
Beep beep
SCREW IT!
I bolt out of bed and answer the phone,
" hello," I scream into the phone.
" hey clara, it's me," Beruns says softly in the phone.
Damn! I should've checked the caller ID before picking up.
" hey Berun. What's up?" I say grumpily .
" I heard about paige. How are you and Catalina doing?" He asks in his soothing tone, which I would fall madly in love with if I still had feelings for him. Don't i?
" we're fine...look, I have to go," I say quickly, and hang up before he has a chance to reply.
I find a note on the coffee table, and I can tell its from Catalina by the messy scribbling. It reads,
Come to the hospital. Pronto
She probably wrote it last night, but nonetheless, I change into her soft pink juicy couture track pants, and my green mine craft T-shirt. I hate mine craft but....it was just there. I tie my hair back, slip on Catalina's mint green Tory burch slippers, and run out of the house. I catch the train to the hospital, and hurriedly tie back my hair, and apply a subtle coat of mascara and eyeliner.
I jump off at the station, and run an extra mile to get to the hospital. Breathless and dehydrated, I call Catalina,
" hey. Where are you?"
" 2nd floor," Catalina says quietly.
I hang up and and wait for the elevator. I get in and press the 2nd button with a small description of the floor next to it,
Body storage
Uh-oh! That only means one thing.
I burst out of the elevator, and follow the carpeted hallway to a small Lobby. Or, I think it is. There are 4 living room plush chairs set around a coffee table, and on a red carpet. There is a fire burning on the right, and a reception desk with a lady in one of those nurse scrubs behind. On a couch, I see an old lady with a Siamese cat, and on the other couch, I see Catalina. I walk over to her and sit down next to her.
" hey," I say lamely.
I really don't want to be here. Paige died. Life goes on. I know it sounds rude but I think she is going to have a better life in heaven. I mean getting drunk and high while knowing your mum is dead and dad is a pedofile kidnapper. Life must've sucked for her. I just want a fresh start and clean slate - but is it what Catalina wants?
" she's dead," Catalina says,holding back a sob.
" yes she is," I simply say.
" is that it? Your best friends just died and you don't have anything to say! Do you even care?" Catalina says rudely, lifting up her red and tear filled eyes to stare into my emotionless ones.
I stand up and say huffily,
" no, I don't care. Her life was a living hell, and now she has a chance to rebuild it in heaven, just like I'm doing with mine here on earth."
Catalina takes a deep breath, and asks limply,
" what if she's in hell?"
" I wouldn't be surprised after all the mischievous things she got up to this summer," I say hopefully, and then sit down next to her and say,
" we have to move on. Of course, life is going to be different without her, but that's the way life is. Accept new challenges, and let go of the old ones. Discovering the unknown, and all that crap. And I need a partner to help me through all that. Keep me company and tell me her crazy boyfriend stories." I grip her hand in the last sentence, and then say,
" if only there was a tall, beautiful, red haired, skinny, girl who all the boys fall for her to accompany me on this great journey...."
We laugh and then minou calls Catalina,
" hello," Catalina picks up. Her voice is still hoarse from all the crying. I hear Minou say something on the phone, and then Catalina replies,
" yah. I'm with her."
Catalina puts the phone on speaker, and Minou says,
" I understand that you girls are in grief of losing paige but-"
Catalina interrupts her,
" actually we are not really grieving. In fact, we think it would be great for paige to just be buried. No ceremony."
" actually, Vanessa has specified that paige will be cremated. It's actually happening right now. I didn't think it would be a good idea for you girls to be there, and clearly you agree," Minou says, surprised at the last part.
" yep," Catalina says popping the p, and instantly I know she's back to her old self.
" well, I was wondering if you girls would join Asim and I for lunch. We're meeting with one of his high school friends from England that have just moved to Ohio, and are going in business with your father. Anyway, they have 2 sons, and they are older, 16 and 21, I think, but we would love for you to keep them company," Minou suggests. I'm guessing Minou thinks company is talking about world affairs or discussing politics, but judging by the look on Catalina's face, we are going to be doing a lot more than arguing over the Taliban. Wait, who said we were going?
" yep, great we'll be there," Catalina says quickly, hangs up, and gives me a look that says, I'm not innocent but you still love me right?
I give her a look that replies,
I'm going to pretend I'm mad but I kind of want to go to this lunch too
So its settled, we're going for this lunch. We leave the hospital, and catch the train to her house. We get home at 11, and lunch is not till 2, so we do what normal people who want to forget about somebody and rebuild new lives, do. We empty out Paige's stuff, and all the stuff that hold traces of her. Once we have cleaned out all her clothes that she had when she was staying with Catalina, and all the things that we could throw away that reminded us of her, I notice something hanging off one of the 3 large plastic bags with paige stuff.
" hey Catalina. Come check this out," I call to her. She walks over and gasps at what I'm staring at.
" Paige's lucky ring," Catalina Breathes.
I pick up the small, plastic, faded gold ring with a plastic, obviously fake purple gem on top.
" I remember when she won this at the fair in 2nd grade. She wore it the next day when she got her first A+ on a maths test, and since then it's been a lucky ring," I say exactly what I'm remembering in my head.
" i noticed she hasn't been wearing it since summer started," Catalina notes.
" yah...well, she got Bryan. The thing she wanted the most, and she probably realized how stupid it was to keep a lucky ring," I start, and finish,
" we should probably put it back in the bag. It's for the best."
I shove the ring down the bag, and wait until I hear the plastic tap the floor.
" it's 12:45, we should start getting ready," I suggest, glancing at my watch.
" yah," Catalina agrees softly.
I'm about to wear my 50% off green corduroy gap dress, but then I remember, re-building myself means re-building my wardrobe. I need something more...sophisticated, no....elegant....no......I need something expensive and designer!
" can I raid your closet?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
" sure" Catalina says simply.
I plunge into the fabulous world of clothes tucked away in Catalina's ginormous walk in closet. I rummage through dozens of shoe boxes, and shuffle through racks of designer dresses, until I finally make my decision. I pick out a strapless, dolce and Gabbana, leather, zip up bust, tight top, with a Chanel leather jacket, and casual Versace black jeans. Slutty yet sophisticated. My new style. I tie my hair into a bun, and cover my face with heavy, but not, trying-to-hard, makeup. I squeeze into her old Salvatore Ferragamo flats, and tighten the gold Tiffany and co. Bracelet she let me borrow.
" I'm ready," I call to Catalina, who is sitting on the couch, no doubt, texting larry. I'm guessing their back together....for real. I'm appalled at Catalina's, tight, dark blue, booty highlighting, one shoulder, play suit, and 4 inch prada stilettos. Her makeup makes her look like she just stepped out of burlesque;
Especially with that little blue bow on top.
" hey. What are you wearing," I ask unevenly.
" my normal clothes. Why are you dressed like that? We are going to lunch with my parents friends, not to a luncheon with queen Elizabeth," Catalina snaps, readjusting the one shoulder, metal strap, on her dress.
" I'm dressed casually/formally. You never know, judging by your parents friends that I have seen, it might as well be the queen of England meeting us for lunch," I respond, picking out a black, snakeskin Chanel purse to go with my outfit.
" let's go girls," Minou hollers, walking into my room. Her hair is freshly curled, makeup agrees with her black with white stripes shirt, and very, very, mini pencil skirt, which is even more mini with her Christian Louboutin wedges. She has a black, bowl hat with black roses, and an envelope styled, Furla handbag. We follow her to the car, where, surprise surprise, Asim is waiting in another one of his identical suits. The driver drives us to the restaurant in their Rolls Royce, and I can't help but play with all the little buttons, until Minou gives me her death stare. Once we reach the restaurant, I immediately recognize the restaurant as the one I came with Vanessa and Minou. The chairs are a beige and gold fabric, and everything is covered in paisley prints. A lady waiter escorts us to a table where a very old woman, very young man, and 2 handsome boys are seated. Well, one of them is.
Oh no! No!no! No! That's the boy. The truffle boy. Shit! What did i sign myself up for? Technically, Catalina signed me up for it, but, I agreed.
" hi," I say daintily to the whole table, and shoot the truffle boy a evil glare. He grins and stares me up and down. Is he.....is he checking me out? How dare he? I sashay past him, and to the old lady.
" hello, dear. What's your name?" The old lady with a wrinkled face and pursed pale pink lips asks.
" clara," I say politely, glaring at her marvelous, purple french style cap, which you wear tilted to one side. Is that a 9 karat Swarovski crystal attached to the hat? Woah! These people are big in the money!
" lovely to meet you. I'm lady Margaret, my son duke Francis, and my 2 grandsons; lord Novak, and lord Maximilian," the old lady introduces everyone kindly.
" oh," I say, fully taken aback. These people are ladies and lords and dukes!
" so, your the lady of...England," I confirm, wrapping my jacket around me tighter and hoping she didn't see any of my cleavage.
" no, no. Wales," she chuckles.
" oh, ok. Well, it was nice to meet you," I say, and walk in shock to my seat. Oh no! The only seat left is next to truffle boy, also known as, lord Maximilian. I grunt as I sit next to him, and loosen my jacket. Bad idea. He can't stop staring down there. Whatever.
" clara, right? I'm lord Maximilian, but you can call me max," he says in his snobbish english with a slight hint of welsh accent. I roll my eyes and stare at Lord Novak, hitting on Catalina, who is rejecting him. I can't blame her. With all the pimples on his puny face, you can barely see his face. It's a whole blob of red. Also, she has a boyfriend, but that's never stopped her from flirting.
" how were the truffles?" Lord Maximilian asks sneakily.
" fine," I say non-chalantly, looking away from his .... Eyes.
" did you save me some?" He asks sneakily again.
I turn around and reply loudly, but not too loudly,
" what is your problem? I was hungry so I had some truffles. I'm sure you get many of those in England or Wales or wherever the hell you came from."
" I'm transferring to canton high after summer," he says, changing the subject. My eyes widen in horror of spending the next 2 years in the same school as this snob.
" what?! No!"
" I can be your BFF, or just BF," he says quickly. I don't have time to think that through because,
A. I can't get over that we are going to be going to the same school together.
B. The food just arrived, and I'm hungry.
I plunge into my penne a la Arabella. Pasta in red tomato and chilly sauce. I ignore all of lord Maximilian's pick up lines, and just stare at lord Novak still trying to impress Catalina. I start to wonder what paige would be doing in this situation,but, then I remember, I'm a new person and I don't know who paige is. Once Catalina has finished her salad, I can tell that she is getting really irritated by lord Novak's flirting and trying to get closer.
" I need some fresh air," Catalina huffs, and stomps away in her heels.
" I'll go see is she is alright," lord Novak says mischievously, unbuttoning one of his Armani suit jacket buttons, and walks off. I can tell something is bad is about to happen, so I say,
" I need to use the loo."
I really do need to use the loo before I chase Catalina and that lord. I'm in the main parlor where the reception desk is standing empty, and I'm about to turn into the ladies washroom when I feel a tap on my shoulder.
I turn around and face lord Maximilian,
" what do you want?"
" to do this," he says lightly, and leans in and gives me a gentle kiss on my lips. I kiss him back and all the tension I had built up throughout this lunch is relieved through this kiss. We just keep kissing, only stopping to take quick breaths. I smile at him, and he gives me his charming smile back.
" we should stop," I whisper sexily in his ear.
" I don't want to," he whispers back, in that hot British accent which will never sound welsh to me. We kiss some more and then i pull back for real.
" I have to go check on Catalina," I say shyly.
He doesn't protest, just smiles, and asks me,
" would you do me the honors of escorting me to our welcoming ball tomorrow night? I know it's all very sudden, but I'd love to take you shopping and spend the day with you before the ball....to break the ice."
" I'd love to go," I say sweetly, and then kiss him and whisper,
" I thought we just broke the ice."
He chuckles and we finally let go of each other. I trail outside to find Catalina and hear some groaning and a girls voice very similar to Catalina's screaming,
" stop! Get off! Let go!"
I run around the back of the restaurant, and I find lord Novak, pinning Catalina to the wall and trying to kiss her and feel her up. Catalina is trying to push him off and screaming, but he keeps kissing her. Oh my god! Is he harassing her? In that...way.
" get off her," I scream, and kick lord Novak in the balls. He falls to the ground and seems to have scraped his chin, by the amount of blood leaking out of his jaw. I just stand there in shock, not sure whether I should laugh or help him up, but he makes that decision for me. He starts to get up, and Catalina and I run back to the restaurant giggling, and we meet everyone standing in the parlor, saying their goodbyes. Catalina and I say goodbye quickly, and just as we entre the car, we see a bloody lord Novak getting told off by lady Margaret.
" you girls seemed to have fun. So, which one did you girls snag?" Minou asks us funnily. Sometimes Minou can be fun. Especially when it comes to boys.
" well, lord Maximilian and I have a date at the ball tomorrow. He's taking me shopping tomorrow," I say shyly.
" oh! The welcoming ball! That's such an honor! We'll be attending too, and Catalina, I'm guessing your going with lord Novak," Minou says sternly and expectantly. I'm about to start laughing but then I notice the worried look on Catalina's face, and she fibs,
" yah. We are going together."
" good," Minou says, back to her old stuck up self.
I give Catalina a 'what' look, but she just shakes me off. We sit the rest of the car ride in silence. When we get to her house, I ask gently,
" what was that?"
" what was what," she repeats innocently.
" your not going to the ball with lord Novak," I clarify.
" I have to. I don't have a choice," Catalina says moodily.
" why?" I ask.
" don't pretend. It's obvious. Your going with a lord and that means I have to go with one too. Who knows what the DAR committee would think of my mother if I didn't show up with a better date than the rest of the crowd," Catalina scoffs.
" I could always cancel," I say disappointedly.
" no, it's not your fault. Whether your going with a lord or not, it's still expected of me to wow the crowd with my date, and sadly, Larry is not really a crowd pleaser," Catalina says sadly.
" what are you going to do?" I ask quietly.
Catalina smirks, picks up her phone, and says,
" actually, I have an idea."
She types in a number on the phone and after the person on the other line picks up, she says sexily,
" hello. Lord Novak?"
......
" yes. I was wondering if you'd like to meet up for lunch tomorrow," Catalina says in her sultry voice.
.......
" it was just some fun and games. To prove of your worthy enough to be with me. And also for you to experience my wrath of doom incase you ever cross the line," Catalina coos in the phone.
......
" absolutely. Bye," Catalina whispers soothingly.
She hangs up and squeals,
" I'm so going with him."
" really? Did he ask you?" I ask eagerly.
" no. But after he sees my outfit tomorrow, he will be obliged to ask me," Catalina says greedily.
I chuckle and shake my head.
Things always work out for Catalina.
" I'm going to shower," I say and start walking to the bathroom. Once I get there, I notice something. Something that now seems irregular and out of place. Something that used to be a part of me, but is now...gone. Catalina notices me just standing, and comes over and notices what I am staring at.
" the bathroom," she confirms.
I nod in silence.
" pai-" Catalina starts but I interrupt her,
" don't say her name. It will have to be there for now, but request your mum to remove it tomorrow."
It's her turn to nod in silence, while I start my shower.
After a long shower, I start to apply my coca body butter, and change into my pajamas. I rummage through my handbag to find my cellphone, but instead, my hand grips a small, circular, figure with a small bump. I pull out the strange figure but find that it's not so strange. In fact, the way it got to my purse is strange. How did Paige's lucky ring which was stuffed in a large dustbin bag which was taken to the less fortunate, get in my bag? Aaah. Catalina must've slipped it in when I wasn't looking. This is not a funny joke. I wait for Catalina to step out of the shower and I immediately question her.
" what was this doing in my bag?" I ask knowingly.
She stares at me and shrugs,
" I don't know."
" oh, really?" I say obnoxiously. I give her a menacing state and she just looks at me cluelessly.
" I seriously don't know. Last I saw, it was dumped in one of the bags that my mum took for the less fortunate," Catalina says seriously, drying herself and pulling up her sexy, silky nightgown. I can tell she is not lying but, she has to be! How else could it have gotten in my bag? Maybe, it just slipped out of the trash bag and sidled on the floor to my bag! Aaah. Just forget it.
" remind your mum to pick this up for the less fortunate tomorrow," I say, placing the ring on her never used desk. She nods and that's the end of the subject. We watch some tv and then join the family for dinner, where we get questioned by Minou about what we are wearing, and how we respond to certain questions. After a long, dreadful dinner, we retreat to our bed with an Audrey Hepburn film and salted caramel pieces. After 30 minutes of the movie and an empty pack of salted caramels, we retreat to our bed.