later.”
“How about I go in first? Then you come in later.”
“Because I don’t trust you. Once you get in there, you’ll forget all about me.”
“I’m hurt – really hurt. I was just about to tell you that I lied about only having one invitation, but…”
“You lied? Alicia!!! Why? So you have two invitations?”
She put on one of her best sneers. “Yeah. I was just playing with you to see what you would do. And now I know you would go without me. What a bitch!”
“And you aren’t a bitch for lying? I oughta…”
“You love me…remember that you love me,” she said in a false pleading voice.
“If I didn’t love you, you would be dead by now. All right, let’s get ready.”
I couldn’t stay mad with Alicia. She was responsible for getting us the invitations in the first place. As I finished dressing, I still couldn’t believe that I might actually meet Rick Hartwood that night. I glanced into the mirror after I slipped into my dress, and I was surprised at how beautiful I looked. My golden blond hair was wrapped into a tight French twist. My eyes – today yellow-green, encircled by a ring of midnight blue – were large enough to be visible and even enhanced by my silver wire framed glasses. I was wearing minimal makeup; just enough to even out my skin tone and hide a few blemishes. I was still overweight, but the style of my dress did not overly emphasis that aspect of my body. Maybe Rick would notice me – if he ever got a glimpse of me. At the last moment, I stepped into those monstrous high-heeled shoes expecting to lose my balance, but I found them amazingly comfortable.
I stepped out of my room just as Alicia came out of hers. She looked striking in her dress – the one I had once thought of as plain. Her cappuccino colored hair was pulled from her face by the tortoise shell hair combs she’d bought earlier and it hung stylishly down her back. Her big round blue eyes danced in the light. She wore only lipstick and a touch of blush, and it was all she needed. Her dress concealed her slightly plump figure even better than mine did. “Shall we go?” I asked.
“Lead the way, ma’am,” she replied.
We headed down the hallway feeling like two Cinderellas on our way to the ball.
Chapter 4
We drove up Beach Boulevard until we reached the Isle of Capri Casino. The Isle of Capri, a stationary yacht complete with gaming floor, hotel suites, exhibition space, and three restaurants, had valet parking, so Alicia and I left Sam in the capable hands of the head valet.
As we approached the casino resort, I was taken in by its beauty. Bright lights in neon colors seemed to cover every space of the exterior. The obvious theme was the Caribbean tropics, but I felt certain that the tropics had never looked so flashy and contemporary. Inside the front lobby was a fountain with rainbow colored waters – compliments of multi-colored underwater lights. On the left was an information desk, so I stopped to ask where we could find the Flamingo Bay Ballroom. A middle-aged woman with dishwater gray hair smiled as I drew near. “May I help you?” she asked. I noticed that she was wearing a nametag with the name “Sue” engraved on it.
“I’ve been invited to a party at the Flamingo Bay Ballroom, and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction,” I replied.
“Excuse me just a moment,” Sue said. I noticed that she had a troubled look on her face, and I began to get nervous again. She walked over to a man on the other side of the desk and they began talking. I was too far away to hear the conversation, but Alicia waltzed right over beside the man and cocked her head so that her ear was only a few inches from the man’s back. The man turned to look in my direction and almost caught Alicia’s eavesdropping, but she proved far faster than she looked. She leaned over on the desk and nonchalantly gazed out into the lobby. The man turned back to Sue and they continued their
“How about I go in first? Then you come in later.”
“Because I don’t trust you. Once you get in there, you’ll forget all about me.”
“I’m hurt – really hurt. I was just about to tell you that I lied about only having one invitation, but…”
“You lied? Alicia!!! Why? So you have two invitations?”
She put on one of her best sneers. “Yeah. I was just playing with you to see what you would do. And now I know you would go without me. What a bitch!”
“And you aren’t a bitch for lying? I oughta…”
“You love me…remember that you love me,” she said in a false pleading voice.
“If I didn’t love you, you would be dead by now. All right, let’s get ready.”
I couldn’t stay mad with Alicia. She was responsible for getting us the invitations in the first place. As I finished dressing, I still couldn’t believe that I might actually meet Rick Hartwood that night. I glanced into the mirror after I slipped into my dress, and I was surprised at how beautiful I looked. My golden blond hair was wrapped into a tight French twist. My eyes – today yellow-green, encircled by a ring of midnight blue – were large enough to be visible and even enhanced by my silver wire framed glasses. I was wearing minimal makeup; just enough to even out my skin tone and hide a few blemishes. I was still overweight, but the style of my dress did not overly emphasis that aspect of my body. Maybe Rick would notice me – if he ever got a glimpse of me. At the last moment, I stepped into those monstrous high-heeled shoes expecting to lose my balance, but I found them amazingly comfortable.
I stepped out of my room just as Alicia came out of hers. She looked striking in her dress – the one I had once thought of as plain. Her cappuccino colored hair was pulled from her face by the tortoise shell hair combs she’d bought earlier and it hung stylishly down her back. Her big round blue eyes danced in the light. She wore only lipstick and a touch of blush, and it was all she needed. Her dress concealed her slightly plump figure even better than mine did. “Shall we go?” I asked.
“Lead the way, ma’am,” she replied.
We headed down the hallway feeling like two Cinderellas on our way to the ball.
Chapter 4
We drove up Beach Boulevard until we reached the Isle of Capri Casino. The Isle of Capri, a stationary yacht complete with gaming floor, hotel suites, exhibition space, and three restaurants, had valet parking, so Alicia and I left Sam in the capable hands of the head valet.
As we approached the casino resort, I was taken in by its beauty. Bright lights in neon colors seemed to cover every space of the exterior. The obvious theme was the Caribbean tropics, but I felt certain that the tropics had never looked so flashy and contemporary. Inside the front lobby was a fountain with rainbow colored waters – compliments of multi-colored underwater lights. On the left was an information desk, so I stopped to ask where we could find the Flamingo Bay Ballroom. A middle-aged woman with dishwater gray hair smiled as I drew near. “May I help you?” she asked. I noticed that she was wearing a nametag with the name “Sue” engraved on it.
“I’ve been invited to a party at the Flamingo Bay Ballroom, and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction,” I replied.
“Excuse me just a moment,” Sue said. I noticed that she had a troubled look on her face, and I began to get nervous again. She walked over to a man on the other side of the desk and they began talking. I was too far away to hear the conversation, but Alicia waltzed right over beside the man and cocked her head so that her ear was only a few inches from the man’s back. The man turned to look in my direction and almost caught Alicia’s eavesdropping, but she proved far faster than she looked. She leaned over on the desk and nonchalantly gazed out into the lobby. The man turned back to Sue and they continued their
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