Page 16 of Truth or More Truth
I shrug. “Sic a wasp on him?”
“Nope. You say, “Boo, bee!’” He laughs even harder than he did before. “Get it? Boobie?”
I shake my head as I chuckle at him. “Yes, I get it, you goofball. And I also think perhaps you’re a five-year-old boy deep down inside.”
“Maybe I am.”
“You lucky folks got here just in time.” The lady at the front desk of the Elm Tree Motel doesn’t stop chewing her gum as she speaks to us. Her name tag informs us her name is Wanda. “Only one room left. This storm’s a doozy. Phones are already out and I can’t imagine the power will last much longer.”
“One room?” I squeak out, ignoring everything else she said. I’m still shaking from the last several minutes of our drive. We were in near-whiteout conditions by the time we arrived. I was surprised we were able to see the motel sign.
Bobby must notice my distress, because he gently places an arm around me, and I automatically sink against him, choosing for a moment to forget his penchant for dating multiple women at once and enjoy the feeling of a man’s comforting arm around me for the first time in longer than I care to remember.
“Like I said,” Wanda says, “you’re lucky.”
That wasn’t what I was getting at. If she even tells us there’s only one bed in the room …
“We’ve got a room with two double beds.” She holds up the key and looks between me and Bobby. “Looks like you two lovebirds will only need one, though. Okay if I let the next people through the door share your room?”
“What?”
Wanda chuckles. “Just joshin’ ya, ma’am. I need you to fill out this here form, and we take cash or credit card.”
I dig in my purse for my wallet, but Bobby puts his hand on mine to stop me, pulls out his wallet, and hands the woman a card. “We’ll put it on this card.” He gives me a look that tells me not to argue with him about it.
I won’t argue now, but I will later.
“Your room is out the door and all the way on the end to your right,” Wanda says as she fills out the credit card slip. “Should be able to park right outside your door. Sorry about the snow in the parking lot and on the sidewalks. Ain’t no use trying to keep them clear at this point.”
“Is there anywhere to eat near here?” Bobby asks her as he completes the information card.
“There’s a diner a few blocks down, but I wouldn’t recommendtrying to get there while the storm’s raging. My advice is to stay right here and cozy up in your room.” She winks at us. “We got a vending machine in the little alcove with the ice maker just outside.”
Bobby puts the pen down and holds his hand out to the lady. “Thank you, ma’am. We appreciate it.”
Wanda chuckles again and shakes his hand. “It’s my pleasure. You two enjoy your stay, you hear?”
“Oh, we will.” Bobby leads the way to the door. “And we’ll name our firstborn after you, Wanda!”
She chuckles again as I elbow him.
“You do that,” she says. “You do that.”
six
. . .
“Weren’t you charming back there?” Melissa says as she eats Cheetos on her bed and watches me dig through my suitcase.
“What do you mean?”
“It was weird seeing you be nice to a woman—to anybody, actually.” She licks her fingers. I wonder if she usually does that, or if she’s only doing it now because she knows it drives me crazy. “I think Wanda has a crush on you.”
“No, she doesn’t.” Does she? I’m terrible at determining if a woman is interested in me, though I’m typically an expert at reading people.
“She definitely thinks you have a crush on me, though.” Melissa grins at me as she sticks another Cheeto in her mouth.
“You’re a hard one to figure out, you know that?” I ask her as I pull a pair of gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt out of my suitcase.
