Think I Want to Twist the Plot This Time

Part 5

Barbie"

Next to her name, Barbie places a strategic kiss on the paper and places her note next to the vase. The bouquet he bought for whoever he originally planned on bringing up here boasts a few pink roses among the lilies and freesias. And if she's going to take a little memento from this night, one single rose shouldn't hurt anyone.

Barbie fights every urge to look back at Oppenheimer because she knows getting back to bed is almost too tempting, even now that she's dressed; instead, she focuses on scooping her heels from the floor and grabbing her coat. She places the stem of the rose in her lips as she slowly unlocks the door and turns the knob, like when she has to get up in the middle of the night at home and do the same thing so she's not disturbing Sasha. She keeps up the stealth act as she creeps into the hallway, opening up the door just enough for her to step out in her stockings, holding her breath until she shuts it behind her.

She doesn't strap on her heels until she's called for the elevator, once she's sure there's absolutely no way anyone can hear her down the hall. And silly as it is, Barbie can hear her heart pounding again in her ears until she steps into the elevator and the doors close, as if somehow in that time Oppenheimer could have possibly gotten up and dressed in an attempt to flag her down on her way out. She pulls on her coat, makes sure her phone is still there and she hasn't forgotten anything else as she makes her slow descent back to the lobby.

Once she steps out, Barbie realizes she's staring right at the intricate patterns on the carpeted ground, trying to make herself seem as inconspicuous as possible. Not that many people are up at this time, but she's sure the employees can make the assumption about what's happened when they see a disheveled woman leaving their hotel in the early hours of the morning. She at least allows herself one more look at the lobby, at its comfy, inviting chairs and warm lighting, and thinks that maybe she'll come back here one day, in her own time.

Daylight looks as if it's about to break as Barbie steps out, hugging her coat closer to her chest. That's the one thing about San Francisco she remembers: its unrelenting cold in the morning, how it seeps through every layer of clothing right to the bone. The foggy marine layer is still present, almost like out of those old black and white movies with which she's just getting acquainted. Maybe that's why she can't bring herself to ever leave LA; the weather anywhere else would be too unbearable. She finally looks up to retrace her steps back to her horse, seeing The Dawn Club's neon lights now turned off. So she heads toward that, remembers the streets as the only thing she can hear is the rapid clicking of her heels on the concrete. She can feel the pinch of her shoes at the balls of her feet, that unfortunate stipulation of being human that still makes her a little nostalgic for her doll days.

It's nice to know, though, that even as a human, she still has some roots in the magic of Barbie Land, since there's her horse, just patiently waiting in the shadows. Barbie sighs, rushes to her by patting her nose. "It's been a long night, I'm sorry," she says lowly, her voice dry from these being her first spoken words of the morning.

With that, she mounts the carriage and starts her way back home. But not without looking back at the Palace Hotel just one last time, speculating which window she looked out of just a few hours ago. Barbie turns back to the rose still in her hand, taking in its floral scent with a bit of a smile.

Before long the road becomes paved in that pink brick, San Francisco of the 40s melting away as she now goes forward through time, thinking about her family, about home. Her clothes start to change into more familiar pieces, but every time they transform, they're a little off, a little disheveled with how haphazardly she put herself together this morning: a button undone on a blouse, a leg warmer scrunched around her ankles. There's nothing more she wants to do than to wrap herself in her blankets back home, nap for a few hours, and take a shower.