Wanderlust (4 page)

“Forget it. I’m not
that
desperate to know,” I replied, no hint of a smile in my voice.

“All right. I guess you don’t care that I got us a room with a private ensuite at a fraction of the cost we were going to pay at
that
place,” he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the hostel that had just turned us away.

“But, how?” Addie asked, puzzled.

“Believe it or not, ladies, plenty of women are lining up to get a piece of ole number 17,” Eli said, puffing up his well-toned biceps and referring to his days as a high-school quarterback--which had ended with his high school career only a few days earlier. “I turned on the infamous Eli charm, and the receptionist was like putty in my hands.”

It was all Addie and I could do to keep from rolling on the ground in a fit of laughter. Instead, we settled for a knowing nod in each other’s direction and a muffled chuckle. Eli had done us a huge courtesy, and it was the least we could do to humor him this one time.

“So she just gave you a key to a wicked awesome room because you flashed her a grin and a few flattering words,” Addie managed to stammer without laughing.

“Sure thing. I gave her my puppy dog eyes, too, and she caved,” he said, batting his long lashes as he spoke.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m dying to get this bag off my back. Let’s check out this place,” I said, turning to cross the street. “Are you coming?”

“What? Are you kidding me? We can’t even go back to the other place because they gave our room away to that other couple. How are we supposed to cram ourselves in there for the next three nights?” Addie shouted, throwing her bag to the ground. “And, don’t they have laws about how many people can stay in a room that small?”

“That’s sorta the other thing I need to tell you,” Eli mumbled, looking at his foot as he scuffed it in a semi-circle across the sidewalk. “She kinda thinks I’m the only one staying in the room.”

“This better be a joke,” Addie said, anger oozing from her voice. She marched over to where Eli was standing and stood mere inches from his face. On tiptoe, she was nearly nose-to-nose with him.

“I wish it was,” he whispered under his breath, unwilling to make eye contact with Addie.

“Forget about it,” I said. “Addie and I will just rent another room. It’s not a big deal.”

“Except that she doesn’t have another room,” Eli added. “She told me that pretty much every place around here is booked solid for the summer. I was lucky to get anything at all.”

Suddenly, I felt badly for being so cruel to Eli about the situation. He had only been trying to help, and we were giving him a hard time. I walked over to where Addie was still facing off with Eli and took her by the arm. I picked up her bag and started walking.

“Where are you going?” Eli asked.

“On our way across the street, you’re going to explain to us exactly how you plan to get all three of us in that room undetected.”

There was no way to stop Addie from tossing her handbag at Eli’s head, and I couldn’t blame her for doing it. Still, I was determined to make the best of a bad situation, and as I made my way across the street, I began formulating a plan in my head.

Chapter 5 - Beginnings

London. Our first stop. So, our trip hadn’t exactly started out on the best foot, but we had countless other stops to make the best of it. And, once Addie and Eli had a few days to sort through their issues with one another, I was certain we would have a good time. Still, I couldn’t help but cross my fingers just in case. Toes too.

With a massive effort and an impressive show, we had managed to wrangle our way inside the hostel and up to the third floor room--if that’s what you could call all 120 square feet of it. Looking back on what we had done to get the three of us past the clerk, it gave as a good chuckle.

“I still can’t believe you did that,” I said with a laugh.

Eli had told the desk clerk that he had run into two lost Italian tourists, and he was going to help us find our way around town, but he needed to grab his Italian-English dictionary from his room. He had taken his bag upstairs when he had checked in a few minutes earlier, so we followed him up to the room. Once inside, I quickly rummaged through my bag in search of the language guide I had packed for our visit to Rome later in the trip.

“There’s kind of an unwritten rule between guys,” he replied. “No man is going to stop another man from getting it on with two beautiful ladies, especially when it’s so obviously a no-strings-attached, one-night stand.”

Anger flashed in Addie’s eyes, but so did the realization that Eli was speaking the truth. And, at this point, we didn’t have much other choice.

“What d’ya say we blow this joint and find someplace to eat?” Eli asked, rubbing his stomach for emphasis. “I’m starving.”

We hadn’t eaten anything in hours, not to mention that our last decent meal had been before we boarded the airplane nearly 13 hours earlier. I was eager to finally begin our exploration of the legendary city, even if it meant we were going to have to stop to eat first.

“Where to first?” I asked eagerly, turning to Addie. She had spent the past two weeks planning every step of our trip based on her favorite sites, restaurants, and shops.

Like soldiers in the field, Addie and Eli walked back to their bags and followed my command. They each grabbed an umbrella, and soon, we were on our way, skipping happily down the narrow stairwell.

“Grazie,” I said in my best Italian accent as I floated past the desk clerk. Addie gave a tiny wave and a Cheshire-cat grin as she walked by.

Once we were safely outside the doors, Eli let go of the breath he had been holding, and we all burst into laughter. Then, we were off. Addie had a pocket map that, no matter how hard she tried, simply could not be read by the naked eye--the letters and landmarks were so tiny that even Lilliputians would have a hard time deciphering them.

After taking three wrong turns and asking five people for directions, we finally stopped at one of the big name hotels and asked the concierge for one of the free fold-out maps they always keep on hand for tourists. He was even so kind as to map out our route and give us some tips about the best places to eat and shows to watch in Soho.

It was mid-afternoon when we finally arrived in the rough vicinity of Covent Garden. By now, Eli’s stomach was rumbling so loud I was certain people would soon start mistaking it for thunder. We had been waylaid when a gust of wind turned my umbrella inside out, forcing me to ditch it in a trash can--alongside several others that were looking similarly discombobulated. Desperate for some reprieve from the constant downpour, I ran into the nearest souvenir shop and purchased a replacement. Unfortunately, given how many people had found themselves in a situation much like my own, I was left with limited color options.

I didn’t see the issue, but Eli and Addie thought the situation so funny they could barely contain their laughter. I chose to ignore their outburst and wandered off toward a cute little boutique across the street. Addie had been dragging us into similar shops all along our route, contributing significantly to the length of time it had taken us to get to our main destination.

“Aw, Lia, don’t be a spoilsport,” Eli hollered after me. “Come on. I’m hungry. Can’t we go eat? I promise I’ll be nice.”

It took Addie a split second to skip up beside me, grab my hand, and drag me the rest of the way inside. Like most street-side shops in London, the display area was about the size of a shoebox. We left our umbrellas in the bucket at the door and crammed in alongside the three other shoppers who were awkwardly maneuvering around each other to get a better view of the merchandise. If we thought it was hot and humid on the street, there was no comparison to the extreme temperatures radiating inside the stuffy boutique. Nonetheless, we decided to make the best of the situation and take a long look around. It was a bonus to keep Eli waiting a little while longer--punishment for poking fun at my umbrella, which I would now be sure to pop up at every possible opportunity on our travels.

It took a while for me to work around the other shoppers, but once I finally caught a glimpse of the merchandise, I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t like any other place we had seen all day--or ever, in fact.

“Oh my gosh, Addie. This stuff is awesome.”

She just shrugged and went to wait for me by the door. I lingered a while longer looking at the extraordinarily unusual costume jewelry that hung on iron branches behind glass cases. Each necklace, bracelet, or broach had a fairy tale character and other adornments dangling like charms at sporadic intervals. Alice, Goldie Locks, Thumbelina--all were astounding, but one in particular caught my attention. Red Riding Hood. Stalked by the Big Bad Wolf. Rescued by the handsome hunter. I felt an unmistakable connection.

“Are you going to buy one?” Addie asked.

Most were well hidden, but one price tag was visible behind a bauble on the counter. Thankfully, I hadn’t embarrassed myself by asking the price because I was certain I wouldn’t have been able to choke back my surprise. I shook my head, grabbed my umbrella from her hand, and walked out the door. Outside, I stared at the colorfully creative window display for a few moments before making my way back to Addie and Eli.

“It’s only our first day. I don’t want to spend all my play money so soon. It’s just too bad I won’t have another chance to come back at the end of the trip if I haven’t found anything I like better.”

I was truly torn. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, and I was sure I wouldn’t find anything quite so unique again. Still, I refused to buy it on principle.

And, I did know. My grandma had let me in on a little secret while I was staying with her over spring break. Eli lived with his grandfather, who happened to be dating my grandma. Eli had scored a partial scholarship to play football when he started college in the fall, but it wasn’t enough to cover his total tuition. My grandma had co-signed Eli’s loan because his grandfather didn’t have enough assets to cover the expenses if Eli forfeited a payment. I couldn’t be certain where he was getting the money to cover this trip, but I knew he had been working two part-time jobs during the school year and had saved nearly every penny he made for school in the fall. I could only assume that because Chaseyn had sent Eli along on the trip as an insurance policy that he had also invested heavily in covering Eli‘s costs. That alone was enough for me to refuse the gift.

“Let me buy it then,” Addie said, stopping dead in her tracks. She whipped out her wallet and pulled out a wad of bills. Big bills.

“This is silly you guys. It was just a necklace,” I chuckled and gave a fake smile that didn’t quite reach my ears. “It’s no big deal.”

But, it was, and they could tell. That necklace spoke volumes about my own situation, and something about the innocence of it’s fairy tale form gave me comfort. Still, I kept walking, and they eventually followed. The place I was headed for was called The Mermaid’s Tail, and a sign outside proudly displayed that they served world famous deep-fired Mars bars. That sounded just about good enough to bring me out of my funk, and I hurried toward the door.

Despite the constant drizzle, I insisted we eat outdoors. All my life, I had dreamed of eating at the street-side cafes that Europe was so well known for, and I was not passing up a single opportunity. I asked for a table near one of the propane heaters warming the air around the wicker patio furniture and flopped down hard. Thanks to the massive overhead umbrella, the seat was dry. It wasn’t long before the others caught up with me, and they took their respective places on either side of me.

“Wouldn’t bangers and mash be the perfect name for a band? Better yet, a comic strip? It could be about a great Dane and his kooky cockatiel sidekick,” Eli said over the top of his menu.