Lucky Break

by Liliana Rhodes

  “I can’t wait to see the bathroom!” Jordan said excitedly as she ran into the bathroom that separated the bedrooms. “Oh! Lucky! Get in here!”

  Lucky entered the largest bathroom she had ever seen. Bone color ceramic tile covered the floor. Garnet colored granite topped the two sink areas with long mirrors that covered the wall above them. In the corner of the room was a deep triangular whirlpool tub.

  “Guess what I’m doing tonight,” Lucky said.

  “Hmm I wonder if Dylan has one in his room.”

  As Jordan started going through her clothing, Lucky left the room planning to explore. She wanted to look around more and figured she could stop in the restaurant to bring food to her room later, instead of waiting for room service.

  The restaurant was a traditional steakhouse, dark wood walls with white linen tablecloths. Lucky couldn’t remember the last time she had a steak. It wasn’t a normal thing in her house to go out for steak, or really to go out much at all.

  While the hostess, dressed in black slacks, a pleated white button shirt and a black vest, seated a couple, Lucky glanced over at the bar where Kat, Ross and Mike were doing shots. She heard Kat hoot then heard their laughter. She never understood the fascination with drinking and now that she had her first drink and felt its effects, she didn’t care for it. Lucky preferred being in control. She could embarrass herself easily enough without alcohol.

  As the hostess headed back, Lucky wondered if her sour expression was caused by her brown hair being pulled back too tight by her ponytail. She didn’t look pleased to be working, but suddenly her scowl shifted into the biggest smile and her eyes opened wide.

  “Oh my goodness! Table for two?” The hostess asked.

  Confused, Lucky turned around and saw Jude behind her, wearing a dark red button shirt, the first couple of buttons open at the top giving her a view of his silver chain. Sticking out of the bottom of his dark blue jeans, were a different pair of boots, black, and less worn. Lucky wished she changed clothes too as she suddenly realized she smelled like stale bus air.

  “Hi, I didn’t know you were behind me.”

  “I just got here. Care to join me?”

  “I was just going to bring some food back to the room. I didn’t even change.”

  “You look beautiful. Like always. Join me. I hate eating alone.”

  She couldn’t say no, she didn’t want to. Jude took her hand and held it between his, engulfing it between his large hands as they followed the hostess to a curved corner booth.

  A waiter, a short man with slicked back black hair, came over with a clear unopened bottle with a blue and white label and asked what kind of water they’d like. Lucky looked at Jude, as far as she knew there was one kind of water–wet.

  “We’ll just have tap. Is that ok?”

  The waiter nodded and left.

  “There’s other waters?” She whispered.

  “They offer a few different types.” He shrugged then continued, “frankly I prefer tap.”

  The waiter returned with a carafe of ice water and poured it into two long stemmed glasses. Lucky looked around, glad to see the restaurant was fairly empty. She felt uncomfortable enough as it was, she didn’t need a lot of people watching and she knew that all eyes were always on Jude.

  Having dinner with Jude wasn’t what made her uncomfortable. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, so she understood why others wouldn’t be able to either. What really made her uncomfortable was the number of forks on the table. She never ate at such a fancy restaurant before and didn’t want to look stupid. Especially not in front of Jude.

  Returning again, the waiter set down a silver basket with a linen wrapped loaf of bread and two small bowls, each filled with a rounded scoop of butter.

  “This is our famous house-made rosemary bread. You have your choice of our sun-dried tomato butter or the champagne brie. I think you’ll enjoy both.”

  As soon as he left, Jude unwrapped the bread and offered Lucky a piece.

  “You have to try those, they’re amazing.”

  “You’ve eaten here before?”

  “Yup, we stay here every time we play in Dallas, its Stan’s hometown.”

  “No its not.” She laughed.

  “You never know. All I know is that’s one bad-ass old man. Always has been.”

  Wanting to taste the champagne brie first, she spread the smooth white cream onto the bread. It was light, slightly sweet and mild tasting but amazing. Next she grabbed another piece of bread and smoothed on a dollop of the red flecked butter.

  The sun-dried tomato butter had a more savory and heavier flavor than the champagne brie but was equally as tasty. The warm rosemary bread complemented them both with its delicate herb flavor. Lucky would’ve been happy just filling up on the bread.

  As the night went on they could hear Kat and the groupies getting louder at the bar. Some of the restaurant patrons shot them dirty looks and Kat responded by giving them the finger.

  “I’ve seen how this turns out, what do you say we ask them to pack our food and eat in my room?”

  “Sounds good. I’m embarrassed for them already, I don’t need it to get worse.”

  Once they were in Jude’s room, which was just as lavish as Lucky’s, he unpacked their dinner of steaks, roasted asparagus, and a special baked dish of thinly sliced potatoes layered in a jalapeño cheese sauce on the coffee table.

  “Hey they must’ve made a mistake, there’s a bottle of wine in here. Want some?”

  “Ok, I’ll try it,” Lucky said as she sat on the floor next to Jude as he poured the wine into hotel glasses.

  Lucky thought it was the best meal she ever ate, but she knew the company had a lot to do with it. She probably would’ve been just as happy eating at McDonald’s with him. As they finished their meal, Jude turned on the TV and found an old movie.

  Sitting on the couch, Jude turned to her, the gold in his green eyes sparkled but she wasn’t sure if that was just the wine. His expression was playful and serious at the same time and the slightest smile played on his lips.

  “You’re too far, come closer,” he said patting the cushion beside him.

  She sat next to him and he immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulders. When she leaned into him, making herself more comfortable, his arm slid so it pressed against her back and his hand rested on her hip. She thought she was in Heaven. Curling up with Jude on the couch in front of the TV was easily the most romantic thing that ever happened to Lucky.

  The movie was boring and between that, the long bus ride, the heavy meal, and the wine she felt her eyelids get heavy. She hated missing what happened at the end of the movies though, no matter how dull they were.

  As she pushed to stay awake, her head slowly slipped down from his chest, to his lap. He moved her hair back from her face and slowly stroked her cheek until she fell asleep.

  Opening her eyes, Lucky noticed the purple-blue sky through the open drapes, and wondered how long she had been asleep . The TV was still on and she could hear Jude breathing steadily. Lucky lifted her head from Jude’s lap and looked up at him, his head resting on the back of the couch, his eyes still closed, his arm still holding her.

  Rubbing her eyes she felt out of sorts. It took her a few minutes to remember what city they were in. Taking in the opulence of the room she remembered Stan saying he was from Dallas.

  She knew there was no rush. Their show that night was minutes away and it wasn’t even morning. Stan wanted to hit the road immediately after because Phoenix was such a long haul. Looking back up at Jude, she wondered why he slept like that instead of waking her up.

  He groaned and moved his head side to side and began massaging his neck. Feeling even worse since he was in pain, she stood up and grabbed the hand that was still on her.

  “Come on, you’ll feel better with some sleep,” she whispered not sure he was really awake.

  As he followed her into the bedroom he yawned, then collapsed on the bed fully dressed. Sh
e drew the curtains and got into bed with him and as she closed her eyes, she felt him move closer to her and fit his body along side hers. Certain he didn’t know who she was, she didn’t say anything.

  “Good night Olivia,” he whispered in her ear before falling back asleep.

  She laid there listening to her speeding heartbeat, with his warm body next to hers, believing her life couldn’t get any better.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jordan

  Jordan nervously paced the hotel room. She couldn’t believe she was so anxious about spending the night with Dylan. Its not like she hadn’t slept with a guy before, but Dylan was special.

  She didn’t want to mess anything up. She wanted their date and everything to be perfect. Jordan knew she was putting a lot of pressure onto a date, but she couldn’t help it. If she didn’t analyze everything, it wouldn’t be her.

  She looked through the clothing she brought with her on tour with Lucky. Never really caring about clothing, and not thinking she’d meet a guy, she didn’t bring anything pretty.

  “Since when did I want to look pretty?” She said out loud.

  Sighing because she always spoke to herself when she was anxious, she looked through her clothing again hoping something new magically appeared. Something new. She looked at the time and figured she had about an hour before Dylan picked her up at her room. Calling the front desk she crossed her fingers as she bit her bottom lip and tapped her foot impatiently.

  “Front desk,” a woman with a slow southern accent answered.

  “Hi, I was wondering if there are any clothing stores nearby?”

  “Yes, there’s a shopping district about three blocks from here, but its really not walkable because of construction. We do have a small boutique that sometimes carries dresses and what not. You might want to give that a try first.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jordan grabbed her wallet and the room key and bolted out the door. She hit the elevator down key repeatedly as she waited for it to arrive, then leaned against the wall while riding the elevator down to the lobby.

  Running over to a sign she followed the arrows down the hall, away from the lobby, to a small alcove with several boutiques. The largest of the shops had a couple of dressed mannequins in the window.

  As she entered the carpeted shop, the smell of perfume engulfed her causing her to sneeze.

  “Bless you, sweetheart. Well aren’t you the cutest little thing!” Drawled the tall woman behind the counter. “What can I do you for?”

  Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Jordan shot an annoyed look at the boutique owner. She was a matronly looking woman with steel grey hair twisted into a large bun, and her oversized bosom pushing the boundaries of her blouse’s silk fabric.

  Giving the small boutique a quick glance, Jordan didn’t think she’d find anything there, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

  “I’m looking for a dress?”

  “Are you askin’?” She said then laughed.

  “Listen, I don’t need this.”

  “No, no, little one. I’m sorry, I know sometimes I’m hard to take. I don’t usually carry anything as tiny as you, but you’re in luck. I got the wrong shipment here today. They keep sending me the wrong stuff. Maybe if its missing some things they’ll stop doing it.”

  “For real?”

  “Now I don’t know what’s in the shipment, its just a box. For all I know its full of socks, but I know its from one of those cutesy mall places you kids shop at. Let’s check it out. By the way, I’m Edra.”

  “Hi, I’m Jordan.”

  “Like the river?”

  “No, like the basketball player.”

  Edra shot her a suspicious look. “Now why don’t I believe you?”

  Jordan followed her into a room directly behind the counter where a large box sat on the floor. The woman grabbed one corner of the box, yanked it open and started pulling out flat pieces of clothing wrapped in plastic.

  “You said a dress? Goin’ anywhere in particular?”

  “On a date.”

  “Oooh a date. Oh and I can tell he’s special by the color your cheeks just turned.”

  Overwhelmed by the woman’s kindness, Jordan suddenly opened up.

  “Yes, he is special. He’s the most amazing guy I’ve ever met and this is our first date. He’s the bass player in my best friend’s band. They’re on tour.”

  “Well then we gotta dress you up in something pretty now, don’t we?”

  Edra began opening up the plastic sleeves to look at the clothing until she found a dark maroon dress with tiny ivory flowers. It was vintaged styled with a full skirt, cap sleeves, and tiny pearl buttons going up the bodice. Jordan fell in love it with immediately.

  “Oh! Its perfect! Can I try it on?”

  Pointing to a dressing room, Edra handed Jordan the dress. While Jordan tried the dress on, she looked at her shoe wall and brought a couple pairs of shoes she thought Jordan might like.

  “Try these Mary Jane’s with it.”

  “Thank you so much for this, but the dress is a little big. Is there something else in the box?”

  “It doesn’t matter what’s in the box honey, this is the dress for you. I saw your eyes light up like a Christmas tree when you saw it,” Edra said as she grabbed a small red pin cushion. “If you give me fifteen minutes I can get this dress to fit you like a glove. Just stand still while I pin it.”

  Once Edra was done with the alterations, Jordan pulled her credit card out of her wallet.

  “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me,” Jordan said.

  “Put your money away, child. I told you, that’s not my dress. Those fools who keep giving me the wrong stuff can take the loss.”

  “But what about the shoes and the alterations? You have to at least let me pay for those.”

  Edra pointed to a sign that read “Free Alterations”, then crossed her arms over her pillowy chest.

  “Please Edra. I can’t just accept all this for free.”

  “Listen honey, I’ve lived a long life and I’ve seen many things. I can see not enough people took care of you. Definitely not the ones who should’ve at least. You come back here tomorrow and tell me all about your date and we’ll call it even, how’s that?”

  As her eyes filled with tears of appreciation, Jordan smiled and nodded, unable to speak.

  “Aww come here baby,” Edra said before giving her a strong hug.

  Jordan hugged her back thinking Edra felt like an oversized pillow, and let out a long breath as her tears began to spill. She cried into Edra’s shoulder and was happy that Edra didn’t comment on it. Once Jordan regained her composure, Edra handed her a shopping bag with the shoes and the dress.

  “Now you knock ‘em dead tonight. And I’m serious, I haven’t been on a date in ages. You come back and tell me every detail so I can pretend it was me in that pretty dress out with Troy.”

  “Its Dylan.”

  “Well when I was your age, his name was Troy. God rest his soul.”

  Edra smiled softly and pointed to a black and white photo in an old silver frame, sitting on the counter. In the picture was a younger, thinner version of Edra standing next to a man holding a guitar in one hand, his other arm around her.

  “We were married for fifty years. What a mess I was when I met that beautiful man.” She smiled, obviously reliving the moment. “Now get out of here, you’re running out of time and I know you want to look perfect.”

  Jordan took the bag and headed out, then turned back around, ran over and gave Edra a kiss on the cheek.

  “Thank you. For everything. Really,” Jordan said, tears making her eyes shine.

  After taking a quick shower, Jordan managed to get ready just in time. As she took one last look in the mirror, she heard a knock on the door.

  “Wow! Look at you!” Dylan said. “I’m not worthy.”

  He pretended to bow and she laughed before moving out out of the way to let him i
n. Smelling like mint as he walk past, she noticed his shoulder length light brown hair shone more than usual. This was also the first time she saw him in a pair of khakis with a navy buttoned shirt. She wondered if he brought that with him or did some last minute shopping too.

  “Not worthy. You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that?”

  “You’re stunning. You really are.” He smiled and kissed her lips.

  She felt herself melt from his words. Jordan had a hard time letting people in. After all the disappointment and heartache she experienced with her family, she believed no one could truly love her. She had a hard enough time loving herself.

  Dylan was the first person she ever really let in. He didn’t know any of her secrets though. Talking about that wasn’t something she ever thought she would do.

  Normally she kept people at arm’s length, but Dylan kept hitting that stone wall she had up until there were cracks. It made her wonder if he would be the one to break all the way through her armor.

  “Are we eating downstairs in the restaurant?” She asked as she grabbed her room key.

  “No, we’re on a date. I’m taking you out.”

  “Out? Have you ever been to Dallas before? Where are we going?”

  “I told you my mom and I were like gypsies. There isn’t a place I haven’t lived.”

  Even though he said it casually enough, she knew there was more going on in his past than he let on. It made her feel closer to him knowing they were both damaged.

  “So then where to?”

  “Dinner and a show.”

  “Really? Ok,” she said suspiciously.

  She was curious what he had in mind but she knew him well enough not to bother asking. He laced his fingers between hers as they walked through the lobby and outside where they got into a taxi the bell hop called.

  “Samuell-Grand Park please,” Dylan told the driver. “We’re stopping at Whole Foods on Greenville on the way.”

  As the car pulled away from the hotel, Jordan couldn’t keep her mouth closed anymore. She needed to comment, ask, learn something.

  “Whole Foods? The grocery store? When you said dinner and a show, is this your way of getting me to make you dinner?”