Handbags & Hooligans

by Laina Turner

  “You three are just food wimps, aren’t they, guys?” Jesse turned to Jeff and his friends, who all nodded in agreement. None of them had any problem finishing all of their food. “You’ve got two minutes, and then we are heading to the theater.”

  Somehow we made our way to the theater, though someone could have rolled me over. I was ready for another nap after all that food. But my lethargy lasted only until the first few bars of the show. I was captivated and on the edge of my seat the entire time. Jesse had been right, it was amazing. I could have watched it again and again.

  “I don’t see how those people do that stuff,” Anna said. “My body would never bend that way.”

  “I know,” Ashley said. As she talked about the show, I realized I could see why Jesse had fallen so hard. She was adorable, smart, and really easy to talk to. One of those people who knew no strangers.

  “So you’re a teacher?” I asked her. We had stopped at one of the many bars in the Mirage for an after show drink, and I wanted to get to know her better, since at the rate Jesse was going, she soon would be my new sister–in–law.

  “Yes. It was what I’ve always wanted to be. My mother was a teacher and my grandmother. I guess it’s in our blood.”

  “I’m jealous. I thought I knew what I wanted to be right from high school, but then as I got older, it didn’t seem so clear. Life is much easier when you’re a kid, yet you never see it that way.”

  “Jesse said you run a boutique in Chicago.”

  “Yeah, kinda lame at my age.”

  “Not at all. I worked retail in college, and it’s not easy, no matter what anyone says.”

  “No, it’s not. I guess I just don’t see it as a life career right now. It’s more of a pausing place until I figure things out, whenever that happens. After I left corporate America, I just haven’t been able to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life. Or when I grow up.”

  “That’s not true, Presley, you know what you want to do. You just haven’t done it,” Jared said.

  “Oh? What’s that, Presley?” Ashley asked.

  “She wants to be a writer,” Jared answered for me. “It’s all she’s ever wanted, yet she refuses to actually write. She would rather pretend she doesn’t have a passion.”

  “What keeps you from following that dream?”

  “She’s chicken.”

  “Jared, stop,” I said. “I admit he’s right. I’m afraid that no one will like what I write, and then there’s the time. It’s hard to find time, and I have to keep a day job. Plus, even if I did get a book published, beginning authors probably don’t make a ton of money, so I would still have to work.”

  “But is that a big sacrifice if it’s really what you want to do?”

  “That’s what I keep telling her,” Jared said.

  “You guys need to stop ganging up on me.” I was only half teasing. I was very sensitive about my writing or lack thereof. “Ashley, if you’re not busy tomorrow night, you should join the bachelorette party.”

  “Nice change of subject,” Jared said.

  I stuck my tongue out at him.

  “That’s a great idea,” Anna said. “Please say you’ll come.”

  Ashley shook her head. “I can’t impose like that.”

  “Sure you can” Jesse said. “My sister and Anna are fun people.”

  “Hey, don’t forget me,” Jared said. “I’m a lot more fun than these two.”

  Jesse tapped Jared’s shoulder. “He’s right. He is also a ton of fun. You get off at two. Go with them. I have to work, anyway.”

  “Okay. If you’re sure I wouldn’t be imposing, then I would love to go.”

  “Not imposing at all,” I said. “We have a great night planned that’s guaranteed to be amazing.”

  “Well, that’s settled. If I’m going to be worth anything tomorrow, I need some sleep.”

  “I told you, Anna, you should have taken a nap this afternoon.”

  “I know, and you were right. I’m exhausted, but it is two a.m. in Chicago. I’d be exhausted there, too.”

  I nodded. “We should probably all head to bed. Meet us at Harrah’s tomorrow night at six, okay Ashley?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Chapter 3

  This feels so good,” I said to Anna as I leaned into the massage chair. There was nothing better than getting a pedicure.

  “I know. So relaxing.”

  “I’m kind of disappointed Ashley didn’t show up.”

  “Yeah, I wonder what happened. She seemed excited last night,” Jared said. “Did you try to call her?”

  “I didn’t get her number, like an idiot, and I couldn’t get a hold of Jesse. Maybe something just came up at work, and she couldn’t make it.”

  “Maybe. She’s the one missing out.”

  “Maybe she can join us later. If Jesse calls back, I’ll get her number and call her.”

  “What are you wearing tonight, Pres?”

  “I haven’t decided yet. It’s between a strapless black–and–white polka dot dress and a very fitted red tank dress. What about you? Are you wearing the blue?” Anna had bought a beautiful blue silk sheath dress at Silk, but she kept saying she was too fat to wear it, which was so not true. Even after last night’s great food.”

  “I’m still thinking about that. It’s so fitted.”

  “And you have a gorgeous body. Show it off,” said Jared.

  I agreed. “That’s what I keep telling her.”

  “Thanks guys, but I could stand to lose a few pounds.”

  Jared rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You just need a good pair of Spanx to suck it all in where it needs to be sucked in. We all do. No one is perfect.”

  “Those are so uncomfortable,” I said.

  “But so worth it,” added Anna. “I didn’t bring mine, but I bet the hotel boutique has them or something similar.”

  “They probably do and also probably cost a fortune here.”

  “Still worth it.”

  “Or maybe we should all wear sweatpants, since I’ve heard great things about the restaurant we’re going to tonight, and we may want to eat a ton again,” I said. “I know last night I was wishing for stretchy clothes.”

  “We’ll have to find a place to dance it off,” Jared said.

  “Ooh. Good idea.”

  After a few hours of well–deserved pampering, we headed back to the hotel to get ready.

  We were seated at Olives, a great Italian bistro that had beautiful patio seating in full view of the Bellagio fountain. Anna was in her blue dress, I was in my black–and–white polka dot, and Jared in all black. I just can’t resist the way black and white looks. One of these days I would wear the red dress. It looked good on me and complemented my red hair, which you wouldn’t think, but it was exactly the right shade of red. But it just didn’t feel right tonight.

  “Mmmmm, this pinot grigio is yummy.”

  “I know, Pres. The first sip is always so good. How’s your dirty martini, Jared?”

  “Dirty, very dirty. Just the way I like it.”

  We chatted for a while, and when our food came, I almost started drooling. I had ordered the bison steak just to try something different and it looked fantastic. I cut into it, and my knife slid through the steak like butter. I put the first bite in my mouth, and my eyes rolled back in ecstasy. I couldn’t remember when I had meat that tasted this good, well, since the Rueben the night before.

  “That good, Pres?” Jared asked me, laughing.

  “Oh my God,” I said around another bit of steak. “This is amazing. You guys must try a bite.” I pushed my plate where they could get at it. We all ended up trying a bite of each other’s, and nothing on the table was disappointing. We skipped dessert, as we were all stuffed and needed to get to our first show. I was going to gain ten pounds while here if I kept eating like this. Hell, I had probably already gained ten pounds.

  “Let’s walk to the venue. I need to not feel like a beached whale,” Anna said. “Maybe a l
ittle exercise will help?”

  “Good idea, though I’m not sure I can walk.”

  “Me either, Jared.” We somehow managed it, though it was slow going, and I had a cramp in my side by the time we arrived at the Chippendales show. The cramps subsided by the time we got our cocktails and the show started. While watching naked men dancing wasn’t exactly my thing, it was an entertaining show and fitting, since this was Anna’s bachelorette party. It was unlike anything I had done before. So putting one–dollar bills in a guy's G–string was novel entertainment. Jared, of course, was in his element. The show ended, and we had just enough time to get to the burlesque show, which was on the other side of town. I was really excited for this show, much more so than the all male revue. I wasn’t disappointed. Of course, it didn’t compare to the Beatles Cirque du Soleil from the night before, but it was a show I would recommend and definitely see again.

  “Do you guys want to grab a coffee and dessert somewhere?” I asked Jared and Anna when we walked out of the theater.

  “I’ve eaten and drunk all I can,” Anna said. “I’m going to have to heavily detox tomorrow. I hope they have vegetable juice at the bar down by the pool.”

  “Okay, it is after 3:00 a.m. Let’s get some sleep for tomorrow.”

  “Yes, we definitely want to be rested for sunbathing.”

  Chapter 4

  Jesse was over forty–five minutes late. “Where is he?” I said to Jared. “If he got tied up, you’d think the least he could do was call. I’m missing some prime sun time here.”

  Jesse had called and left me a message that morning to meet him in our hotel lobby after his shift ended. He sounded a little frantic, but I hadn’t actually talked to him, so I had no idea what was going on.

  “Cut him some slack, Pres. It’s not that big of a deal. Let’s just go to where he works. If he’s not there, at least we can grab a bite to eat and check things out.”

  “C’mon, let’s grab a cab.”

  “Why don’t we just take the bus, Pres? It’s cheaper.”

  I just looked at him disdainfully. “Jared, you know I’m not a bus girl. And this is Vegas, not really a good place to take a bus. Now let’s go.”

  After a twenty–dollar cab ride, which Jared kept harping on me about, saying how he could have used this money for slots, we were dropped off in front of the Palazzo.

  Jared looked at me quizzically. “Isn’t this…”

  “Yeah. Strange, huh? When Simon’s dad went to jail over that nasty business with the senator’s murder, his mother got Garrison to turn over the family business to him. Now he runs a legitimate operation. He got Jesse a job here.”

  “Nice to know people in high places”

  I looked around as we walked into the vast marble foyer. Now this was something I could get used to. The energy was pulsating with the all people, the lights, and sounds. Vegas casinos didn’t smell heavily of smoke like all the other casinos I had been in, though a dingy riverboat tied to a dock to meet the minimum requirements of being on the water, hardly compared to these grand hotels in Vegas.

  “Let’s go look for that brother of mine,” I said. We started to walk over to the desk when I heard my name called.

  “Pres! Pres!”

  I could tell my brother’s voice from anywhere. Turning around, I put my hands on my hips and gave him an angry look as he reached me. “Thanks for picking us up. Jared and I were going to hang out with Anna and Ashley while the rest of the wedding party was out by the pool. So this better be important.”

  “Oh, leave him alone, Pres,” Jared said to me, stepping in.

  “I’m sorry, it’s been crazy here,” Jesse said. “The guy who had the shift after mine didn’t show up, and I had to stay over.”

  “You could have called,” I said, not ready to let him off the hook yet. After all, he was my baby brother. I was entitled to give him a hard time. That was my job.

  “I’m so glad you guys are here. I’m worried about Ashley,” Jesse said, ignoring me, which was typical. I sighed. Some things never changed.

  But then I saw he was distraught about something. “Why? What happened? You two have a fight?”

  “No, nothing like that. She said she was going to meet you for the bachelorette party and then was going to go to her own place to sleep. She said she had to get up early and had a bunch of stuff to do today. We were supposed to have a late breakfast, and she never called or showed up.”

  “Jesse, she never showed up last night. We just assumed she got busy. We knew you were at work, and neither of us had thought to get her number. That’s why I left you that message about it.”

  “Jesse, are you saying you haven’t heard from her at all?” Jared asked.

  “No, and that’s not like her. I’ve left a million messages, I’ve called everyone I can think of, and no one has heard from her. None of her friends, none of her co–workers, no one.”

  “It’s not like she’s disappeared for days,” I said. “Aren’t you overreacting just a little?”

  “I don’t think so. This is not like Ashley. She is very organized and big on manners. She doesn’t just not call.”

  Jesse drove us to his apartment so he could take a quick shower, and I couldn’t refrain from commenting on its sorry state. “Jesse, your apartment is a mess,” I said, looking around. “No wonder Ashley didn’t want to stay here.’

  “Funny, Pres. I admit it’s messy, but Ashley doesn’t love me for my cleaning skills.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Pres, isn’t this a little like the pot calling the kettle black?” Jared said. “You’re not exactly Ms. Neat freak. Whose dirty clothes are always on the floor?”

  I stuck my tongue out at Jared. “Oh be quiet.”

  Over a quick lunch, we decided we would head to Ashley’s apartment. I was still thinking that as a grown woman it was a little premature to be worried yet, but to make Jesse feel better I didn’t say anything. He obviously knew her better than anyone.

  “When was the last time you were there, Jesse?” I asked as we left his apartment and got into his champagne–colored Dodge Lancer. It was almost an antique.

  “What the hell is wrong with your door, Jesse?” Jared asked as he kept tugging on the back passenger door.

  “Oh, you have to get in the other side. That door is stuck. Ashley calls this my three–door car.” He looked over the hood to me and said, “I stopped by last night on my way to work to pick up a shirt I’d left at her place, but I assumed she was with you.”

  “We can at least stop by and make sure she hasn’t been there and cross it off our list. Jesse, I’m sure there is a very simple explanation for all this.” I had come up with the idea to make a list of all the places Ashley might frequent and check each one to find out if she’d been seen. Her apartment and her work were the first two on the list.

  As we drove to Ashley’s house, I looked out the window. “It seems so plastic and pretend here. Like it’s not real.”

  “What do you expect? It’s the desert,” said Jesse.

  “It’s all bright lights and gaudiness,” Jared said excitedly. “I fell in love with this place when I first visited here a couple years ago.”

  “No wonder you like it,” I teased. “You’re like bright lights and gaudiness.”

  “Do you like living here, Jesse?” Jared asked.

  “I do. The heat can be a little much, but the people are great. Much nicer than in LA and more normal. The people in L.A. just seemed like they were so fake. That’s why I gave up. There wasn’t enough genuineness.”

  “How far is Ashley’s apartment?” I asked.

  “Just a few minutes. We live at opposite ends of the strip. Not a long drive in the middle of the day, but at night it can take forever.”

  “I love what this place looks like at night all lit up,” Jared said.

  “It certainly is something,” I said.

  Pulling up in front of an apartment building that was much newer and nicer than the one
they had came from, Jesse parked and cut the engine. “Come on, guys.”

  I looked at the building in front of me. It couldn’t have been more than a couple years old. Almost more of a condo feel than an apartment complex. Each unit had a decent size balcony. Off to the right, I could see the edge of the pool, and the grounds were beautifully landscaped. A far cry from Jesse’s apartment, which had a pool, but it was filled with greenish water, and even in one–hundred–degree heat I wouldn’t have been tempted to swim in it. I wouldn’t have wanted to bother the critters living in that water.

  “I thought you said she was a schoolteacher,” Jared said.

  “She is.”

  “Wow. Teachers must make a lot more in Las Vegas than they do in Chicago.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Jesse! Look at this place,” I exclaimed. Guys were so oblivious sometimes. “It can’t be cheap to live in a place like this.”

  “Oh. She gets help from her parents. They want her to be safe, so they send her money to help out.”

  “I wish our parents felt the same way,” I joked, but it fell flat. Jesse wasn’t even paying attention.

  “Follow me,” Jesse said, ushering them into the elevator. It was easy to see he was getting anxious. I was convinced: He must really think this girl was the one.

  “Hey Jesse, we’re going to find her,” I said.

  “I hope so, Presley.”

  They stepped off the elevator, and the hallway was as nice as one would expect from the outside. Expensively done in creams and golds, this wasn’t an inexpensive apartment complex by far. Even with financial help, it seemed an unlikely place for a twenty-three-year-old to live.

  “Here it is,” Jesse said to us, stopping in front of a door with the number three nineteen on it. He put his key in the lock, but even with his light touch the door swung open. It wasn’t locked. Jared and Jesse looked at each other.

  “Do you think we should go in?” asked Jared.

  I turned to Jesse. “Do you think you might have left the door open when you were here yesterday?”