Clara in America (Clara Andrews Series - Book 7) (12 page)

‘Who’s the new boyfriend? Wait a minute…’ Running across the sand for a better reception, she throws herself into a hammock. ’Let me guess. Old, crinkly and filthy rich?’

I shake my head as I picture Janie’s love interest in my mind. ‘The
total
opposite! His name is Paulie…’

‘Paulie?’ Lianna interrupts me mid flow and lets out a cackle.

‘Paulie!’ I confirm, trying to keep my serious face on. ‘He is twenty-six, cocky as hell, not bad to look at and an aspiring actor.’

‘What is she playing at?’ Lianna gasps and allows her jaw to fall open. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but what the hell does someone like that want with Janie?’ She waves her arms around to emphasise her point, catching the attention of a couple of tourists who are strolling along the shore behind her. ‘She’s old enough to be his grandmother, drinks too much and swears like a sailor.’

‘Exactly!’ Truth be told, I hadn’t actually put much thought into Paulie’s motives behind this rather sickening relationship, all of my concern has been for poor Randy.

‘How has Oliver taken this?’ Lianna asks, bursting my thought bubble.

‘Pretty badly, as I am sure you can imagine. He hasn’t hit him yet though and I really thought he would, so I guess that’s a plus.’

‘Wait a minute, he’s there?’

‘He works as a character in one of the theme parks…’

‘Oh, God!’ Lianna scratches her chin, giving me a glimpse of her stunning sapphire engagement ring. ‘She really doesn’t have any shame, does she? How about Randy? Is he OK?’

‘That’s the thing. No one can get in touch with him! Oliver must have tried to call him a thousand times, but he just can’t get through.’ Screwing up my nose, I rub my temples and sigh. ‘I haven’t said anything to Oliver, but I’m getting a little worried. You don’t think Randy has done anything
stupid
do you?’

She pauses for a split second before shaking her head adamantly. ‘No, I don’t think so. Randy is stronger than that.’

I am about to go into more detail about the whole torrid affair when Hannah places two plastic beakers down on the table. Motioning to her that I will wrap up the call, I flash her the thumbs up sign.

‘I have to go, but I shall phone you soon.’ I wave manically at the screen and move over to make room for Hannah.

‘Definitely! Keep me up to date!’ Blowing a kiss at the screen, she jabs at the monitor and it bounces back to black.

‘Sorry about that. I was abusing the free WiFi to call my friend in Barbados.’

‘Wow!’ Hannah passes me a beaker and stuffs her cardigan into her handbag. ‘Barbados!’

I take a sip of what appears to be orange juice and smile as I realise that it’s some kind of virgin cocktail.

‘She moved out there a year ago.’ I lean back in my seat and get comfortable. ‘She runs a beach bar with her husband.’

Hannah stares at me blankly for a moment before curling up her lip. ‘I think I just turned green with envy.’

‘I do every time I speak to her!’ Wanting to steer the conversation away from Lianna’s lovely life in the Caribbean, I attempt to chance the subject. ‘So, where have been your favourite places in Orlando?’

‘Well, as you can see, Lottie loves it here.’ She pauses to point out Lottie and Joe, who are diving head first down the slides.’ But we also loved Fantasy Fun Land, the park by the ocean near Rapture Realm and Magic Metropolis.’

My stomach drops as I recall our day at Magic Metropolis. Janie, Paulie, the bloody dinosaur costume. Bleurgh!

‘Have you been to any of those?’

‘We have been to Magic Metropolis.’ I slurp away at my drink and look behind her for any signs of Oliver and Noah.

‘What did you think?’ Hannah presses, twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers. ‘I think that has been our favourite amusement park so far. The wizards, the witches, the goblins! Plus, Lottie couldn’t get enough of Dino Dome.’ Oh, God! The dreaded Dino Dome. ‘Did you see it? The costumes were fantastic, so realistic.’

If only she knew. Offering her a thin smile in response, I raise my hand at Oliver who is scowling from the constraints of the ball pit.

‘We were thinking of going back there tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?’

‘Erm, I think we already have plans for tomorrow, but thank you so much. That’s really kind of you.’

I laugh to myself, picturing Oliver’s already frowning face as I tell him that we’re going back to the land of Paulie. No, it wouldn’t even be worth it for a joke.

‘What are they?’ Hannah asks, grabbing the yellow ball that has landed on the table and throwing it back into the ball pit.

‘Sorry?’

‘Your plans? For tomorrow?’

‘Oh…’ I rack my brains as I try to think what exactly is on the agenda for tomorrow.

One thing’s for sure, it can’t possibly be any worse than yesterday.

Can it?

The only person you should

try to be better than,

is the person you were yesterday.

‘You owe me one. In fact, you owe me
twenty
.’ Pulling the car into the hotel carpark, Oliver yanks on the handbrake and shoots me a frown. ‘Two hours in a goddam hell hole filled with plastic balls.’

Pursing my lips to stop myself from laughing, I jump out of the passenger seat and pull Noah out of his chair. I don’t think I’m going to hear the end of this for a
very
long time. At least it has taken his mind off his mother’s outrageous antics for a little while. Beeping the car lock, I pass Noah to Oliver and stretch out my legs. The sun has started to set in the sky, resulting in a beautiful display of crimson overhead. Walking hand in hand into the hotel, my stomach rumbles as I watch people dressed for dinner pose for photographs by the entrance.

‘Are we going to change before we eat?’ I ask, looking down at my outfit dubiously.

‘Yeah, we should probably call for my mom too.’

‘OK.’ Nodding in agreement, I tug my bag onto my shoulder and stop to grab some more leaflets from the reception desk.

With only three days left of our holiday, I want to make sure that we get as much enjoyment out of our remaining time here as possible. Pocketing a handful of leaflets, my face breaks into a smile as I spot Brittany behind the desk.

‘I was looking for you guys!’ She looks over her shoulder and lowers her voice. ‘Listen, your mother-in-law was in here before. I’m afraid my manager had to ask her to leave.’

‘
To leave?
’ My mind goes into overdrive as I try to think of a reason for Janie to have been evicted from the hotel.

‘I don’t know the full story, but as far as I am aware she was escorted back up to her room.’

I let out a groan and rub my throbbing temples, praying that Oliver can’t overhear our conversation.

‘Can I ask why?’ As soon as the words escape my lips, I brace myself for what I am about to hear.

‘Well, rumour has it that she was getting rather amorous with a certain young gentleman.’ She raises her eyebrows knowingly and I suddenly feel a little nauseous.

Oh, God! Obviously sensing my impending panic attack, Brittany starts to backtrack.

‘That was a good few hours ago though. I’m sure she has been sleeping it off and is just fine now.’

‘She was
drunk?
’ I hiss, my headache intensifying with every passing second.

‘I think it’s safe to say that she was rather inebriated, yes.’

‘Well, thank you so much for telling me and thank you to your manager for not throwing her out.’

Brittany gives my arm a sympathetic squeeze before retreating behind her desk. Making my way over to Oliver, I smile at him and hold up my pamphlets.

‘I was just getting some ideas for our final days here. Do you want to take the stairs? I could do with the exercise.’

‘I’m going to use my Crazy Cavern card one last time…’

I offer him a sympathetic smile and jab at the lift button. Waiting for a young family to step out before jumping in with Oliver, I find myself mentally cursing Janie. Noah has started to drift off on Oliver’s shoulder, his tiny face all screwed up as he rubs his cheeks sleepily. At this rate it’s going to be room service for dinner. The lift doors spring open and we fall out at the now familiar hallway. I’m actually going to miss this hotel when we leave. The sleek modern interior and truly amazing staff have made it the perfect place to rest your head. Spotting a furry stiletto cast carelessly by the side of the hall, I bend down to pick it up.

‘What the hell is that?’ Oliver asks, raising his eyebrows at the hairy monstrosity of a shoe. ‘Someone couldn’t wait until they got back to the room? Jeez.’

‘I know!’ I am about to ask who on earth would wear something like this when a thought suddenly hits me.

I know exactly who would wear something like this and I don’t think Oliver will be very happy when he finds out. Scanning the length of the hall, I spot another shoe and what appears to be a bra hanging from a door handle. Putting two and two together and coming up with a very ugly conclusion, I stop in my tracks and let out an over the top yawn. I cannot let him walk in on what I think he is going to walk in on.

‘Gosh, I am
so
tired!’ Stretching out my arms to accompany my dramatic demonstration, I motion to Noah who now looks annoyingly wide awake. ‘Look, Noah is exhausted too. Let’s just go back to the room and call for room service.’

‘To be honest, I really wanna talk to my mom.’ Oliver continues to walk ahead. ‘I need to sit down and get a few things off my chest.’

‘Well, how about you take Noah to our room and I will get your mum? It doesn’t take all three of us, does it?’ I smile thinly and try to stop my cheeks from flushing pink. ‘Plus, I wanted to try her new makeup.’

Makeup?
Why, oh why, am I such a terrible liar?

‘Makeup?’ He repeats, understandably confused. ‘You
hate
my mom’s makeup.’

‘Well, I am thinking of changing it up a little. If Janie can rock red lips, heavy eyes and enough bronzer to colour up a snowman then so can I.’

Furrowing his brow at me quizzically, he raises his eyebrows before taking a step back. ‘Fine. Whatever.’

‘I’ll see you back at the room!’ I shout after him, making sure he has disappeared into the lift before grabbing the offending shoes and scurrying down the hall.

Snatching the fluorescent pink bra off the handle, I rap loudly on the door and shove the bra down my t-shirt as a maid comes out of an adjacent room.

‘Janie!’ I hiss, banging my knuckles on the wooden frame. ‘Open this door right now!’

Brash laughter floats out from inside and I feel my blood pressure start to rise. She’s ignoring me! I can’t believe it! What is she playing at? After banging for a while longer, I resort to a swift kick and let out a frustrated cry. This holiday has been cursed from the minute we got off the plane. I should have known that this trip was too good to be true. We should just go to the airport and get the next flight back home. We should pack up our things and…

Suddenly the door swings open, causing me to topple inside with a thud. The first thing I notice is the empty bottle of Sambuca on the dressing table, followed by the naked man that is sprawled across the bed. Not knowing where to look, I spin around and march back outside.
Eww!
How am I ever going to get that image out of my mind. Following behind me in a white shirt which is barely covering her modesty, Janie scratches her wild hair and starts laughing hysterically.

‘What about this situation is funny, Janie?’ Her giggles turn into deep belly laughs and I feel anger burning inside me. ‘No, please tell me what it is that you find so amusing?’

Reaching under my t-shirt, she tugs on the pink bra strap that is hanging down and pulls it out with a flourish.

‘I wondered where this had got to!’ Twirling it around in her fingers, she swings her hips and whoops loudly. ‘This thing came off before we had even made it to the room!’

‘Janie! This
has
to stop.’ A few people arrive back to their rooms down the hall and I push Janie into a store room out of sight. ‘I’m being serious!’ Rolling her eyes dramatically, she hiccups and the undeniable stench of Sambuca washes over me. ‘Do you want to lose Oliver for good? Because that is
exactly
what is going to happen if you don’t sort yourself out.’

‘You’re so dramatic, Clara. Just give me a break, alright? This is
nothing
to do with you.’

‘It’s
everything
to do with me!’ My voice is low but the anger inside me is clear for anyone to hear. ‘Why did you even want us here? I just don’t get it. If you were planning on cavorting around Florida with a toy boy,
why
did you want us here?’

Folding her arms angrily, she takes a sharp intake of breath and for a split second I really think she is going to hit me. ‘This vacation wasn’t for you. It was a birthday present for Noah…’

‘Oh, please! Don’t pretend like this whole show is for Noah’s benefit.’ I stare at her, my face like thunder. ‘You knew exactly how Oliver would take this.’

She looks down at her bare legs and keeps her lips firmly sealed. Even though she isn’t looking at me, I make sure that she can still feel my eyes burning into her.

‘Well?’ I press, not willing to drop this so easily. ‘What the hell has gotten into you?’

‘I get it.’ She mumbles at last. ‘You don’t like Paulie.’

‘This isn’t about bloody Paulie! This is about you forgetting what is right and what is wrong.’

‘I’m not listening to this garbage! I’m single! I’m not breaking any laws! Deal with it!’ With a final filthy look, she marches down the hall and slams the door behind her.

Staring at the space where she once stood, I shake my head in disbelief and lean against the wall. I genuinely do not know what we’re going to do with her. I would say that she’s having a mid-life crisis, but we all know that Janie hasn’t been classed as middle aged for a
very
long time. Forcing myself to start walking, I drop her shoes outside the door and take the stairs to our floor. Even as I use my room key to let myself into our suite, I still don’t know what to say to Oliver. Seeing him wander out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, I manage a small smile and look over at Noah who is snoozing in his bed.

‘How was the makeup stuff?’ Oliver asks, reaching for his deodorant and rubbing it under his armpits generously.

‘Sorry?’ I rub my forehead and try to compose my thoughts. ‘Oh, yeah. Great.’

‘And is she meeting us for dinner?’

I look down at my wedding band and twist it around my finger. ‘Oliver, I think we should go home.’

‘Go home?’ He says, discarding his towel and reaching for some boxer shorts. ‘Why?’

‘She’s not coming for dinner.’ I whisper, not wanting to look at him. ‘She’s had a lot to drink.’

‘When
hasn’t
she had a lot to drink?’ He laughs heartily and tugs on a pair of jeans. ‘I’ll call her room. Some food will sober her up.’

Watching him reach for the phone, I jump to my feet and unplug it from the wall.

‘No! Don’t call! She’s with Paulie.’ Oliver stares at the phone for a moment before taking a seat beside me. ‘Let’s just go home, Oliver. This entire trip has been one big disaster. What are we hanging around for, really? Florida is supposed to be a happy holiday destination and since we arrived here it has been nothing but misery.’

Feeling completely defeated, I rest my head on his shoulder and allow my eyes to close. Any enjoyment I had today has now seeped away and all that’s left is an empty and emotionally exhausted shell.

‘I thought a lot about this…
situation
today. Being in that damn ball pit gave me some time to think. If they wanna go their separate ways, there’s not really anything I can do about it.’

I force myself to sit up straight and place a reassuring hand on his knee. I should be celebrating the fact that he’s finally seeing things clearly, but to be completely honest I am past caring.

‘Have you had any luck in contacting your dad?’ I ask, kicking off my shoes.

‘Nothing. I’ve called. I’ve text. I just don’t get it.’

‘They were together for a very long time. Being on his own is going to take a lot of getting used to. Perhaps some alone time is exactly what he needs right now.’

Oliver rubs his eyes and rests his head in his hands, clearly agonising over the situation. I think I can safely say that we won’t be going for dinner now. Pulling out my hair tie, I flop back down on the bed and bury my head beneath the pillows.

‘What does this dude want with my mom anyway? There must be a million hot young women here in Florida.’

‘I guess some men like older women.’

Oliver shoots me a look of disgust and I immediately hold up my hands in apology. Why do I never think before I open my mouth? Swallowing a laugh, I wiggle out of my shorts and climb under the sheets.

‘You’re not hungry?’ He asks, realising that I’m settling down for the night. ‘What about dinner?’

Paulie pops into my mind and I let out a little whimper. Is this image
ever
going to leave me? Like, seriously? I’m going to need psychological help to get over this.

‘Erm, I’m actually not that hungry anymore. Why don’t you call down for room service?’

‘Again?’ Whipping back the covers, he slips in behind me and nuzzles his face into my neck. ‘I’ve seen enough of that room service menu to last me a lifetime!’

‘Really? Are you sure you don’t want another cheeseburger and some tepid fries?’ Already knowing the answer, I roll over to face him and brush his hair out of his eyes. ‘OK. I’ll go down to dinner on one condition.’

‘And what’s that?’ He grunts, suddenly seeming rather sleepy himself.

‘That we don’t speak about Janie.’

‘To her or about her?’

‘Both. I don’t want to hear a single word about her or Paulie.’