☆☆☆ Chapter 32 ☆☆☆
The First Day
"Are you girls ready for The Poconos Getaway?" Fiona soundfully sang out after sliding on a pair of designer sunglasses that matched with her maroon purse.
To me, she looked more than ready for a professional photoshoot, not a hotel, but her style is her style I guess. A manservant followed right behind her, carrying "seven days' worth of clothing," but in a far-too-large and obviously heavy travel bag for it to really be just for seven days.
"I know we are," I replied, holding onto my old high school bag. Teresa stood beside me, her thick and soft dark hair from Dad's side stuffed into two large buns, with her trendy bookbag from her med school days strapped over her shoulder. Just a few normal things were stuffed in our bags, not anything extra like what Fiona definitely had.
Our attention turned to Hilery, who groaned and sighed in response to her mother. Her nose was a little runny so she kept constantly sniffling, but aside from that she seemed alright. She had her hair in a high ponytail and wore the same dress she'd worn when I first met her, with orange sparkly flats this time. She had her own bag strapped to her back, shaped like the face of a friendly grizzly bear. Once Fiona walked past her and out the door, Hilery followed behind with the same pace of the struggling manservant.
Yes, we were all ready to go, so I walked my way out with Teresa, but every step I took made me feel a little more empty on the inside. It'll be an entire week without Daniel. Can I really survive? I've been with him every day of my life, basically, for far more than half a year now.
It's only seven days without him, but it still sounds like a whole lot to me. Just a few days back after dinner I couldn't stand the thought of Daniel sleeping without me, and made him come into my room. I have made him sleep in my room ever since then, which helped our clearly useless faked marriage. Of course, he was more than happy to do that, but if I'm already missing him when he's just several rooms away from me, then what would I be going through when he's an hour away from me? Every single time I wanted him and his adorable self he has always been around, sometimes so often that it would get annoying, but now he won't be there for me, at all. A week without him sounds horrible, I'll be lonely. Is it that I'm too needy or somethin'?
Teresa tried to bring me back into orbit by tellin' me I was moving slower than a sloth (along with some other quick roasts), but she was interrupted when a hand suddenly squeezed my shoulder.
"Why are you moping on your way to a week's worth of paradise?"
When I turned, there he was── my knight in shining armor, my Daniel. See? There he was, by my side, just when I thought 'bout him! Goddammit, I'm really gonna miss this runt!
I kicked some non-existent stone on the floor. "It's gonna be a week without you, dummy." I felt Teresa immediately cringe behind me from what I said.
Daniel rubbed my cheek with his knuckles. "It's only a week, it'll fly by."
"A week is an eternity without you."
Once again I felt Teresa cringe, but this time it was followed by three fake coughs. It didn't matter how uncomfortable Teresa currently was though, 'cuz right now the only person in the world that mattered to me was Daniel, who felt so moved by what I said that he brought me into his arms for a quick, loving squeeze.
Once he let go, he pecked me on the tip of my nose, chuckling afterwards. "If it consoles you in any way, I'll never be more than a few feet away from you at any given moment. I'll always be with you, anywhere, no matter what, watching you from either the front or the back." Teresa choked on air, and this time even I had to take a step back. "Though now that you're aware of what I do, I'll have to be more careful from now on so that you don't catch me."
I felt my cheeks burn. "Ugh, oh shut up, you! You're such a creep! A pervert! Some random turd down the street!" I exclaimed, punching him on the shoulder. It only made him laugh, and it was so lighthearted that I was genuinely concerned for his way of perceiving things.
I'm still gonna miss that runt, even if he'll be right there with me somewhere in the shadows.
☆☆☆
"Welcome to The Poconos Getaway, a hotel with a unique form of service and style, devoted to giving our guests an experience they'll never forget," the tall, round woman said. She had a thick West African accent that reminded me of my grandma from Mom's side of the family, may her soul rest in peace. It made me feel immediately comfortable, and slightly nostalgic. Her uniform was ironed to perfection. "My name is Enitan, and I'll be at your beck and call whenever my service is needed for the duration of your stay. The telephones in both of your rooms are connected to me, as I am but a call away." She stopped in between two rooms, handing Fiona and Teresa a key for each. "Here are your rooms, your luggage has already been placed inside according to the arrangements you discussed with our hosts by the front desk. Off I go, ladies. As I said, feel free to call me if there is anything I could do for you."
As soon as Enitan walked away after giving her our thanks, Hilery bit her lip and whispered: "At least we're an entire building away from there."
Fiona scoffed at her daughter, patting her on the head. "From what? The big bad ghost? Honeycomb, get a grip of reality, will you? No big bad ghost will get you for as long as your mommy's here, yes?"
Hilery held herself as soon as her mother said that, and looked away before nodding.
"In some cultures, placing a bit of salt in the corner of a room is believed to repel ghosts," Teresa said, already opening the door of our room and peeking inside. "If that makes you feel safe, knock yourself out, Hilery."
Hilery's eyes twinkled after my sister's words, but she remained still. "Thanks, big sister Teresa!"
By the time Teresa said "no problem," she was already in our room, kicking off her sandals and helping herself to the great view out the balcony (she was a lil' too ready). I remained outside with Fiona and Hilery for a little longer, talking to them 'bout some small stuff 'til they walked into their own room.
We did eventually meet again within the hour, and spent the rest of the day together in the hotel's amazing spa, where I almost forgot 'bout how much I missed Daniel 'cuz it was just so relaxing── don't even get me started on that steaming hot bath (I wouldn't have minded if I had drowned there)! The best part of it all, we were fed, yes, fed── right to the mouth with spoons and everything! There were points during our time there that we just didn't want to move, and the staff accommodated to our needs so well that they deserved some recognition, y'know? If I had even a tenth of the money Fiona had, I would've tipped the heck out them 'cuz they really did deserve it.
One thing during the day that did get me a little uneasy though was Fiona's curiosity; she constantly hit me with questions 'bout me that I couldn't really give answers to, with her bein' my mother-in-law and all, like if I had any plans for college or a certain career path I wanted to follow, and if I was currently employed, even down to asking for my job history (for some reason she thought I was a factory worker).
What was I gonna tell her aside from "I'm still working things out" ── the truth? That I made myself have no interest in going to college, don't see myself doing anything in the future, that no reasonable form of employment within this town wanted to give me a chance 'cuz my emotional baggage and nasty coping mechanism was way too much for any typical employer to handle, and that I'm currently employed solely 'cuz Daniel liked me, even if I had no clue who he was beforehand? If I had said those things, would she have accepted me as her daughter-in-law, right then and there, after I stabbed her (psycho) daughter?
I don't know the answer to that, but the worst question she had asked me, topping a question combined with a comment 'bout how a high libido could help me conceive faster and if Daniel's matched such levels, almost made me pass out: if Daniel had gone in through my backdoor yet (and she was more than willing to give me excessively detailed tips). At first I let her words fly over my head, but once she asked me a second time I almost died right on the spot. How could she have asked me that, and not just once?! It's not like I would've given her a straight answer, even if I had done that with him! She's his mother for god's sake!
I mean, I get that she's expecting us to already be getting it on with each other 'cuz in her eyes Daniel and I are newlyweds, but god it's still so... god, just... no!
When I was snug and comfy under the blanket and super ready to sleep, her questions messed with my head and only went away after I begged Teresa to slap me right across the face, which she did a little too excitedly, with a goofy face 'n all.
That's what sisters are for, though, to be there for each other no matter how special they could get, y'know (just sayin').