Haven

Chapter 6

Lizabeth

I opened the bag holding all my clothes and emptied it on my bed. I went through the clothes, trying to piece together an outfit for the activity Emily and I discussed last night.

She had arranged for us to have lunch at Hotel Eden. I was buzzing with excitement, thinking about this hotel. I was hearing only good things about it and I wanted to see it for myself.

I tried on clothes then stood on my bed to see the outfit on my mirror. It was hard trying to come up with an outfit that was casual but not too casual for the venue, with my limited amount of clothing. By the time I was satisfied with an outfit, there was clothes everywhere.

I went to my second bag, took out my jewelry box and started another hunt for something nice. I settled on a pair of small gold hoops and a simple gold bracelet. I got some perfume, squirted it on my wrists and neck. The last thing to tackle was my hair. I brushed my hair then put it in a ponytail. I looked at myself in the mirror again. I looked decent.

My mother lent me a purse. I put inside my phone and the little bit of cash I had. She also lent me some cute flats that perfectly complimented my look.

It's been two weeks. I have been in Saffron Grove for two weeks now, longer than I'd planed. I was disappointed in myself. I was just supposed to be here for maybe three days. Coming here was just supposed to be like stepping out to get some fresh air. By now, I was supposed to be back in the city getting my life back together.

I don't know why I'm still here. Maybe it's because of the nostalgia, maybe it's because I'm back with my mother who always managed to make me feel comfortable and at ease; things I definitely wouldn't be feeling if I was in the city right now, maybe it's the town itself. It didn't take long for me to step into a routine, to get acquainted with everyone, and to start getting the feeling of home. While I'm not entirely sure what's keeping me here, what I'm sure of is that I need to make a plan. I can't keep living off my mother's paycheck, it's not built for taking care of two.

The sound of a car horn pulled me out of my thoughts. I quickly checked myself before leaving my room and the house. Mum was at work. I locked the house and put the key in my purse. Making a U-turn was Emily's blue Camry. Someone popped her head out of the car window and I immediately recognised her. Samantha Gilbert, my other childhood best friend.

"Liza!" She shouted making me laugh.

The car stopped, she stepped out, ran over to me and attacked me with a hug. I hugged back.

"Girl, I missed you!"

We pulled away. "I missed you too,"

Samantha still had the same chaotic joyful energy. Her blonde hair was much longer now. She had on amber toned eyeliner that managed to make her brown eyes pop, and her lips were glossy. It reminded me of the lip gloss obsession she developed when we were 12.

She swung her arm over my shoulder and led me to the car.

"You are going to love dining at the hotel. It's definitely an experience," she said as she opened the passenger door for me.

I got inside and shared greetings with Emily. Then we were off. Music was blasting from the radio as bits and pieces of conversations sprang up.

When we arrived at the hotel, my jaw dropped. The place was undeniably beautiful.

We made our way to the restaurant. It was a large high ceiling open room, adorned with blacks and golds, with a star shaped chandelier hanging in the middle. There was soft piano music playing, chatter and a light scent of vanilla in the air.

We took our seats at a table in the middle of the restaurant. Almost  immediately, a waiter was welcoming us and handing us menus. My eyes travelled across the pages of the menu, widening every time they landed on the price of what I was thinking of ordering.

"We'll start with drinks," Samantha said with her eyes glued to the menu. "I'll have a cold martini,"

"Vodka tonic," said Emily.

"Coke," I said. They both looked at me, then at each other, shrugged and went back to scanning the menus. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I think I'll go the simpler route and just have the chicken alfredo," Emily said before she handed the waiter back the menu.

I looked at the price then nodded, "I'll have the same."

"I want the steak special," Samantha said with a wide grin painted on her face. I chuckled.

The waiter wrote everything down then left.

"Okay," Samantha said as she turned to face me. "I need updates. What has life been like in the city? Where do you live? How do you live, like are we talking fancy city girl or you're still very much the small town? Do you have a man? What's he like? How'd y'all meet? And-,"

"Samantha!" Emily stepped in. "Slow down, one question at a time," she said. I laughed.

"I'm sorry. It's just been so long, over a decade for heaven's sake. I want to know everything."

The waiter came with our drinks. I took a sip before clearing my throat. "Well, life in the city has been uh...great. Exciting for sure. I live, uhm, I lived like 20 minutes away from a public park. Small apartment, cozy and definitely still small town girl with just a sprinkle of city. Truth be told, I felt kind of out of place sometimes."

The two women stared at me as I spoke, attentive to every word leaving my mouth and it made me nervous.

"For the first couple years, I was obviously living with my father. And his wife. And his kids. It was awkward most of the time. The wife didn't like me at all, she still doesn't. I moved out the first chance I got,"

I felt a lump form in my throat and my heart start to pound furiously in my chest. "As for a man, I don't have one. I've been single for a while now." My voice got a little shaky. I stopped talking and drank some more of my coke.

"Maybe we can find you a man here. There's some eligible bachelors hanging around," Samantha said with mischief laced in her voice. I laughed nervously.

"What about you guys? I need updates about y'all too, you know." I said, hoping to divert the attention away from me.

Emily went first. She talked about her job, math teacher at the local highschool, which she absolutely loved. She talked about the guy she was seeing, Samantha added all the information Emily left out causing her to blush so much that her face was starting to match her hair.

Then it was Samantha's turn. She started off with telling us all about her husband, adding in things I don't think we were supposed to know. But as she spoke, I felt a small pang of jealousy. She sounded and looked so in love. My mind wandered to when I would speak about Him the same way.

"What about work wise? What do you do?" I asked.

She smiled, "I am a director of home affairs."

I furrowed my eyebrows and she laughed. "She means housewife," Emily said making me laugh too.

Our food arrived and for a while, there was silence at the table as we ate. The food was absolutely divine, matching the ambiance of the restaurant itself. Five star food, from a five star restaurant in a five star hotel. It definitely was an experience.

"This place is amazing, the food is amazing" I said. "Imagine staying here or even working here,"

"You could actually. I heard there's a vacancy that just opened up, something in marketing. That's your thing right?" Emily said.

"Yeah it is."

"Then go for it," Samantha said. "Unless you've got something else already going on."

I shook my head. "No, no I don't."