Yesterday
Page 45
She hurried downstairs to the spa for her afternoon of pampering.
Three hours later, Lin returned to her room to dress for the banquet. The hairstylist had talked her into a pedicure and a facial. After an afternoon of being catered to, she felt like royalty. Of course, it all came at a price, one so high she didn’t dare give it another thought, or she’d have such a case of the guilts that she’d ruin the evening for herself and Will. No, she reminded herself again, this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. As she had explained to Will, it wasn’t every day that he went away to college. Besides, she wanted to look her best at the banquet, knowing there would be many. well-to-do parents attending with their children. No way did she want to cause Will any embarrassment just because she was a small-town hick who ran a diner. Her accomplishments might mean something in Dalton, but here in New York City she would just be seen as a country bumpkin trying to keep up with the big-city folk, even though her net worth these days could probably match that of many of New York’s movers and shakers.
Discarding her self-doubts, Lin took her dress out of its garment bag. She’d ordered it from a Macy’s catalogue four months ago. She slid the black, long-sleeved silk dress over her head, allowing it to swathe her slender body. Lin looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror. With all the skipped meals and extra work at the diner, she’d lost weight since purchasing the dress. The curve-hugging dress emphasized her tiny waist. She twirled around in front of the mirror. Not bad for an old woman, she thought.
“Shoot, I’m not that old.” She cast another look in the mirror and slipped her feet into her ruby red slingbacks she’d been dying to wear since she’d purchased them two years ago. Lin remembered buying them on a trip to Atlanta as a prize to celebrate her first million. On paper, of course, but still it was monumental to her, since she’d clawed her way to the top. It hadn’t been all rainbows and lollipops, either.
Clipping on the garnet earrings Sally and Irma had given her for her thirtieth birthday, she returned to the mirror for one last look before heading downstairs.
Five-foot-three, maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet, Lin scrutinized her image. The stylist had flat-ironed her long blond hair, assuring her that it was the current style, and, no, she was not too old to wear her hair down. Her face had a rosy glow courtesy of Lancôme and a facial. The manicurist had given her a French manicure, telling her it, too, was “in vogue.” After leaving the spa, she returned to her room with a few makeup tricks under her belt. Plus, her hairstylist had sashayed back and forth, showing her the fashionable way to strut her stuff so that she’d be noticed when making an entrance. While that was the last thing on her mind, she’d had a blast with the women, more than she cared to admit. Lin had confessed that she hadn’t had time for such things as a girl, but she hadn’t explained why.
She glanced at her watch. Six-fifteen. It was time for Cinderella to hail her carriage.
“Get off it!” If she continued thinking along those lines, she would have to commit herself.
Lin visualized her mental checklist. Purse, lipstick, wallet, cell phone, and keycard. All of a sudden her hands began to shake, and her stomach twisted in knots. It wasn’t like she would be the only parent there. Unsure why she was so jittery, she shrugged her feelings aside, telling herself she simply wanted to make a good impression on Will’s professors and classmates. Plus, she. wasn’t on her own turf, and that in and of itself had the power to turn her insides to mush.
Instead of exiting through the turnstile doors, Lin allowed the doorman to open the door for her. Discreetly, she placed a twenty in his hand and hoped it was enough. Sally told her you had to tip everyone for everything in the city. Lin calculated she’d be broke in less than a year if she remained in New York.
“Thank you, ma’am,” the elderly man said as he escorted her to a waiting taxi.
Okay, that was worth the twenty bucks. She would’ve hated to chase down a cab in the red heels.
The inside of the taxi was warm. Lin offered up a silent prayer of thanks that there were no strange odors permeating the closed-in space. She would hate to arrive at the banquet smelling like cigarettes and onions.
More blaring horns, shouts, and tires squealing could be heard. Lin enjoyed watching the throngs of people on the streets as the driver managed to weave through the traffic. Lord, she loved the hubbub, but she didn’t think she could tolerate it on a daily basis.
Poor Will. She smiled. Not poor Will. After the slow pace of Dalton, he would welcome this. It was one of the many reasons he had chosen to attend NYU in the first place. He’d wanted a taste of the big city. Lin thought he was about to get his wish and then some.
Twenty minutes later, the cab stopped in front of the building where the banquet was being held. She offered up two twenties, telling the driver to keep the change.
“Do you want me to pick you up later?” the driver asked as he jumped out to open her door. Lin thought the tip must have been a tad too generous.
“Uh, I’m not sure. Do you have a card?” she asked.
He laughed. “No card, lady, but if you want a return ride, you gotta ask for it.”
“Of course. Midnight. Be here at midnight.” Now she was starting to sound like Cinderella.
“Will do.”
Her transportation taken care of, Lin stepped out into the cool night air.
FERN MICHAELS is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Sisterhood series, Mr. and Miss Anonymous, Up Close and Personal, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over seventy million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret. Visit her website at www.fernmichaels.com.
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