Part II: Room 315 (Garbo)
Nanci was right, God bless her...she was right in that goddamn song...
Caroline paced the length of the suite slowly. The drapes were open wide to the night but there was nothing but traffic noise and moonlight coming through the open window. Her suitcases were still next to the door where that insolent bellboy had left them. Her Pierre Cardin pantsuit and Macy’s pumps were thrown haphazardly over the reclining chair. She felt wicked and free wearing just the frilly silk black bra and panties she had bought at
A fifth of Jack Daniels...one-fifth empty...rested next to a bucket of ice and a heavy highball glass on the coffee table (the bellboy had seemed less insolent, more interested when he brought those up on a silver tray.) The second highball glass was in her hands...the ice melting but not really taking the edge off the liquor.
Michael must have found my letter by now...finally come home from whichever late afternoon meeting...or early evening whore...he had spent this particular night giving his attention to...didn't think I had in me did you, you bastard? Didn't think I would slip the walls of your gilded cage and fly away, did you? Well, here I am, sport...spending a grand night in the Grande Hotel...and tomorrow? Tomorrow I take to the friendly skies and leave your cheerful neglect and unspoken recriminations far, far behind...
Caroline swallowed the liquid fire and winced while it did its work. She sat the glass down on the table and wandered on slightly unsteady legs to the bathroom. She flipped on the light and stood admiring herself in the long mirror behind the door. I'm still one helluva woman, you blind asshole! She cupped her hands under her breasts, her nipples tickled by the new silk, closed her eyes and sighed. I'm still...
She slapped at the light switch and the light retreated. She wandered back into the outer room and sat down on the plush sofa. She poured another drink and took a long swallow. Thanks, Jack, I needed that. She put the glass down on the table and stretched out on the couch.
Are you worrying about me now, Michael? Did you call the police? Did you drive to the train station to see if I was still there? Did you drive to the ATM to see if I had cleaned out the checking account? Only took what was belonged to me...50-50 that was the deal, right? Right. You're better off without me, Michael...I'm better off without you...I don't want to need anybody anymore...I don't want to need to be touched...I don't want to need to be needed...I don't want to need...
Caroline glanced at the phone on the stand next to the little refrigerator with the two-dollar oranges in it. And then she stared back up at the ceiling...the Jack Daniels turning the small chandelier into a carousel right before her eyes.
I don't need nobody, Michael...especially not you...
She closed her eyes and a carousel horse pulled free of its mooring and waited for her to mount him. They would ride out to the verdant edge of nowhere and live there alone and unencumbered...no husbands to wait up for six nights a week...no barren wombs to cry at night over... no time to waste on feeling sorry for herself...nothing...alone...just like I want to be...alone...just like I need to be...Nanci was right...I do feel like Garbo in this late night grande hotel...shit...
Caroline drifted off to sleep. In dreams, she found herself astride a powerful stallion that used to be moored to a carousel. She rode hard, breaking for the golden sunrise and the verdant pastures just over the hill...that's where my peace will be...that's where I can be alone and free...that's where my love lies...my love and our baby...that's where...
Sun broke harsh through the still open drapes...the din of the downtown streets reaching for its crescendo. Caroline grimaced and swore. She stumbled to her feet and closed the window resolutely. The drums in her head didn't fade away as the sound of the traffic did. She glanced at the bottle on the coffee table...quite a bit more than a fifth empty...thanks a lot, Jack...she stumbled into the bathroom in search of a commode and a bottle of aspirin.
Caroline stood in the shower for a long time...she thought she would wait until the hot water ran out but it seemed to be endless and so she gave up and shampooed her hair and then turned it off. She swaddled herself in a plush white terrycloth robe stamped in royal blue..."Central City Grande Hotel"...just over the left breast. She dried her hair in one of the plush white terrycloth towels and stared at the telephone on the little refrigerator.
She looked at the bottle of Jack Daniels and frowned. She reached over and pulled the phone over to the coffee table. Nanci, what do I do? I've got a plane to catch...I've got to get away from...from Michael...
Caroline laughed bitterly and shook her head. She picked up the phone and punched in a series of numbers.
"Hi, Michael..."
"...I'm fine...I just..."
"...in the city...I needed some...well, I'm not sure what I needed..."
"...I'm at the Grande..."
"...don't you have to go to work?...you don't have to...okay...yes, I'll wait for you..."
"...yes, Michael, I love you too..."
Caroline smiled wistfully and laid back on the couch. The chandelier was just a chandelier.
2 comments:
Another nice chapter! Very realistic scene. The only problem I had was when you describe her expensive clothes, I would have taken her for a lover of expensive wine, or at the very least Crown Royal instead of Jack Daniels. However, your having her "talk" to "Jack" works well, and makes more sense than her talking to the other labels. (haha:)
I'm getting the feeling she is fairly pretentious (?)
Yeah, I chose the Jack Daniels precisely so that she could have the "dialogue". I'm not much of a drinker myself so I really don't know one from the other that well...that said, I guess I could have used "Captain Morgan" but Caroline didn't seem like a rum drinker to me :-)
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