little.
“That’s more like it! That’s the Lila we love,” Carmen exclaimed, holding up her margarita glass in a toast.
“Speaking of–– do you have me scheduled for my facial at Blissful?” Lila asked, turning towards me.
“I put you on the books today with Allie. You’re scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30.”
“Perfect! Thank you much.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sure you will love it,” I said. “I’m going to get a full body wrap thing done in the next few weeks too.”
“A full body wrap? What is that?” Emma wanted to know.
I explained how a wrap worked–– painting lotion all over the body, then wrapping the body up like a giant cocoon and letting it sit there. I was getting the wrap meant to soften skin, but there were wraps that are said to actually slim the body. Blissful offered both. Emma asked to be scheduled for one herself, and I made a note in my phone to check the schedules and book her.
The rest of the night passed quickly. I joined in on the margarita scene, grateful for the weekend off. I planned on sleeping in, catching up on a few homework assignments that I kept pushing off, and preparing for my date with Henry. Hannah and I were going to participate in Kaufman’s annual food day festival on Sunda–– which was just a big to-do on campus that featured healthy foods, recipes, and lots of yummy snacks to munch on while you went from booth to booth. Lila and I discussed a possible shopping trip, which I was up for. I had barely used any of my hard-earned money since I was too busy to have a social life anymore. My bank account was happy, but I was having some shopping withdrawals. Lila, Hannah, and I also promised each other we would make it to church on Sunday. I had been slacking in the religious department lately as well.
Lila and I said our good-byes to the rest of the girls around one in the morning. I sure hadn’t planned on staying up that late, but with the combination of alcohol, a late-night delivery pizza, awesome friends and some trusty board/drinking games, I couldn’t let myself fall asleep early. I shuffled into my bedroom after closing the front door, not even bothering to remove my makeup or brush my teeth. I just wanted to shut my eyes.
$$$
The ringing of my cell phone woke me up the next morning. My eyelids creaked open, matted together by the eye makeup that I didn’t feel like removing the night before. My mouth felt like the hangover fairy was shoving cotton balls in overnight and the room was spinning. Or it just felt like it was spinning, courtesy to the four margaritas I drank the night before.
I rolled over, looking for my phone. Before I could answer it, the ringing stopped. It was the Blissful phone. I squinted at the clock. 10:34. Check for sleeping in. The phone started ringing again. This time I flipped it open right away. “Hello?” I croaked out.
“Alex? Are you okay? You sound terrible.” Dani’s concerned voice came over the line.
“No, I’m fine. I was just sleeping.”
“Sleeping? It’s almost eleven o’clock. Wake up!”
“I’m awake now. I was just lying in bed, trying to wake up.” I changed my story after hearing Dani’s disapproving voice. I was sure she had been up for hours, getting her girls ready for the day, probably already running a few errands. Mothers didn’t get to sleep in. Neither did professionals. Or at least I didn’t think they did.
“Well, we have a problem at the salon today,” Dani continued. We did? Blissful wasn’t even open for another hour. What could have gone wrong? “Kamille was scheduled to work a full today and Julia was going to do the partial. Kamille called in and Julia said she can’t get there until her scheduled time of two o’clock. So we have no one at the desk at noon to open. Tiffany hasn’t returned my call yet.”
My hungover brain was trying to keep up. Kamille–– called in. No one to open. Did Dani mean....
“Kevin was going to cover my shift for me today so I could get some shopping done for the holidays. Remember, I mentioned that the other day? I shouldn’t have gone out of town without reaching Kevin first, but I left at six this morning and now I’m in Iowa City. I can leave right away, but it’s still about a two-hour drive.
“And where’s Kevin?” I asked, feeling my