CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Scarlett
Two Weeks Later
Not only is it wayeasier getting to work on time when I live forty seconds away, but all the guests here like to have long conversations when they pass by the desk. It makes my shifts go by quickly, which is nice.
“Good afternoon, sweet pea!” The voice is unfamiliar but vaguely familiar at the same time. I look up, finding the girl I met the first night I arrived here in Blytheville. Crap, what is her name. It’s two words, I remember that much. Lori … that was the first name. Laurie-Anne? No. Laurie-Jenn? No, that wasn’t it.
“Good morning!” That’ll have to do.
“It’s me, Laurie-Cate. Remember, we met a few weeks ago?”
Laurie-Cate, right. “Of course, I remember. How have you been? Are your parents enjoying their stay?”
“Oh, yes, yes, of course. However, I reckon they have a wee bit of a problem, but they couldn’t figure out how to come all the way down here to the front desk to tell you.”
“Oh no, what’s going on?” I ask her. While I’m talking, I pull up all guest records, but I have no clue what either of her parents’ names are. “What is the last name?”
“Gilly; G-i-l-l-y,” she spells out. “Daddy said the shower won’t turn on and the faucet is leaking brown, dirty water. Would you believe they’ve gone a whole three days without bathing or calling me for help? Aside from the fact that they could have dragged their ole’ behinds down here themselves and told you, they know I live just down the road.”
“Oh geez,” I exclaim. “Parents know how to push our buttons, huh?”
“They sure do, Scarlett. Are your parents old and naggy too?” Laurie-Cate asks.
“Yes, they are, which is why I still haven’t told them I moved down here yet.”
“Heavens to Betsy, how have you managed to keep that from them all this time?” She places her hand on her heart as if she’s shocked and appalled that I could such a thing. Except, she doesn’t know Dad, and probably wouldn’t understand.
“Oh, they’re so wrapped up in their own lives. We just do our own things.” I’m an utter embarrassment to Dad who would rather cut me out of the family than let anyone know I didn’t follow in his career path.
“Oh goodness, that’s just terrible!” she says. “How could anyone forget about their daughter?”
“Well, seeing as I’m twenty-nine now, according to my dad, I should be a high-level executive in one of the city’s corporate high-rise buildings, but here I am. The rest is just dirt swept under the rug. No biggie.”
“At twenty-nine?” she questions. “You’re a lady. You have far better things to do with your time than wear a hideous pant suit and answer to a bunch of crabby old men.”
I laugh quietly. “Oh, it’s not like that up north. Women are in charge almost as much as the men are. We push the whole gender equality thing.” I honestly feel like I’m talking to a woman back in the forties. “What do most women do around here?”
She huffs an aggravated laugh. “Well, most women in their mid-twenties are typically expected to be married, and at least working on baby number one.” I know my eyes are bugging out right now.
“Expected?”
She shrugs. “It’s kind of the way of life around this neck of the woods. We stay at home and raise babies, and if we live on or near farms, we help manage some of that on the side too.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this lifestyle. I can’t lie,” I tell her.
“Well, between you, me, and the lamppost, I’m jealous that you’re making your own money. You have something to work toward and can feel accomplished. As for me, I’m not married yet. I don’t even have a boyfriend, and according to my parents, I must have committed some kind of horrible crime seeing as I’m clearly being ‘punished by the devil.’”
“That’s insane,” I tell her. “Want me to talk to your parents?” I’m joking, but I’d be happy to tell them what’s what. What is with people?
“Oh goodness gracious, no. You’d lose your job.” She waves me off. “Thank you for your kind offer, though.”
“So,” she says while tracing her finger up and down the counter. “You said that man you’re living with is not your boyfriend, right?”
“Brendan?” I ask.
“Yes,” she answers, shyly. Her cheeks brighten and I notice she’s fighting against a smile. Poor thing.
