The Green Ticket (4 page)

While waiting for her to arrive, I took a call from Alicia, who called every Sunday night regardless of what was happening in our lives. “Hello, sister,” I said.

“Hi, honey. How is everything with you?” Alicia sounded upbeat, as usual, and I could just imagine her red hair curled to perfection and her green eyes bright even though she chased five kids around all day. My sister and I could pass for twins, if you ignore the ten-year age difference: identical red hair, though mine was almost to my waist and always frizzy, whereas Alicia’s was just past her shoulders and always shiny; same green eyes and were both exactly 5’5” and weighed around 110 pounds. Did I mention she had given birth to five children–– two of them twins? Maybe after I had kids my hair would finally be smooth. And I would still be skinny. I can be hopeful.

“Everything is good here. Lila and I just got home from the gym a bit ago. We both worked at Tastie’s today.”

“How is your work?”

I paused, debating whether to tell her about wanting to apply for the manager job. But I didn’t want to get my hopes up any more than they already were, and telling another person–– especially my cheerleader sister ––would only crush me more when ––I mean if–– I didn’t get the job.

“It was okay. Short shift. Friday night was one of the best tip nights yet, though.”

“And how are your classes?”

“Good. Music Appreciation is more boring than I thought it would be. I thought we would be, I don’t know, listening to music, but all we do really is just study the history of it.”

“Is it too late to change your elective?”

“I think we can by next week, but I’ll probably just stick with it. There really isn’t anything else I’m too interested in.”

Alicia and I chatted for a few more minutes about our usual topics, and then Carly got on the phone to say hi. Carly was seven, and I was pretty sure she was a fashion model in training. Alicia said that she had taken to stealing her digital camera and taking pictures of herself, and always strutting around the house, treating it as a makeshift runway in Milan. Alicia has thought about putting her into pageants, and I think the following year would be the first time Carly could finally get the go-ahead to compete. I would definitely be there to see my precious niece go for the crown if Alicia did decide to okay it.

Alicia and Craig’s other four children weren’t divas like Carly. Candace, the oldest at nine, loved to read and had very high emotions. I swear, if one of her brothers or sisters got hurt, Candace felt their pain and cried along with them. She was fairly quiet, and I think she took her role as the big sister pretty seriously. Their youngest daughter, four year old Caitlin, was the complete opposite of Carly. She was the tomboy and loved soccer. She refused pink clothing or wearing her red hair in pigtails like Carly often showcased.

Then there were the boys, Todd and Tyler, identical twins. While all three girls got the red hair and green eyes from their mother, the boys got their looks from their dad with dark hair and eyes. They were two, and it was no joke when people said they had the terrible twos. I had no idea how my sister handled them, especially with three other kids vying for her attention and rides in their brand new Lexus RX. Alicia would never be caught dead driving a mini-van. Neither would I for that matter.

After talking to Carly, who dominated the conversation about her new pink glitter shoes, Alicia got back on the line. “The other girls are still playing outside and the boys are in the bathtub. Maybe next week you’ll have more kids to talk to.”

“That’s okay. My friend just got up here to help me with some, errr, homework, so I need to get going anyway.” I waved to Hannah as she walked in. She looked very Hannah-like, wearing brown cords, a simple white sweater and brown flats, with her wavy blonde-ish hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were cornflower blue (according to her), and she always had an innocent look on her face. That was our Hannah. Innocent, slightly boring, but smart as a whip and a great friend. I disconnected with my sister, and we got to work on fixing up my résumé. 

It was after eight when Hannah and I finally agreed that my résumé was perfect. She made me change the entire format, the bullets I had used, and rephrase many of my job descriptions. “Scheduling reservations for guests” under my hotel job became “Provided excellent customer service to all guests, handling all phone calls in a friendly and timely manner, and checking in guests with a positive attitude.”

“Thanks for all your help, dear. You’ve worked wonders,” I told Hannah after clicking ‘save’ for the last time on my résumé document.

“Not a problem. I hope you get the interview! I’m not a big spa person, but I would definitely come get something done if you were the manager.”

“For half off!” Lila shouted from the kitchen, where I could hear popcorn kernels popping in the microwave. 

“You wish!” I yelled back, smiling at my roommate as she came into the living room holding a giant pink bucket filled with buttered popcorn in one hand and a full wine glass in the other.

“How many calories does popcorn have?” she questioned, taking a seat on the chair opposite me and Hannah on the couch. I set my laptop on the floor, clicking ‘save’ one more time on my résumé to reassure myself, and settled in for a nice chat.

“It’s not the unhealthiest thing for you to eat, but certainly worse than some fruits or vegetables. Do you have butter and salt on it?” Hannah asked her.

Lila paused with her hand halfway to her mouth. “Duh! That’s the only way I can eat popcorn.”

“You could cut a lot more calories from it if you didn’t add salt and used low-fat butter instead. That spray butter is supposed to be pretty good.”

Lila shoved one handful of popcorn in her mouth, followed by another. Then a gulp of wine. “Sure, right. What about wine? I heard it’s good for you.”

“Red wine is the best; it’s good for your heart. But that’s one or two glasses, not the whole bottle in one night.”

“This is only my third glass!” Lila protested.

“How have you drank three already? We haven’t been home that long. I’m still on my first,” I said, holding up my glass as proof. Lila had bought some decorators earlier in the year when we decided we were turning into winos, and mine had pink and purple butterflies wrapped around the stem. Lila sported green butterflies on hers. Hannah was drinking a Powerade, no decorator needed. 

“I don’t know. This wine just goes down so smooth. I’m glad we splurged on a nice bottle this time.”

“The four-dollar wine did not taste that bad!” Even though Alicia sent me money each month, I didn’t think she wanted me to blow it all on expensive wine. I budgeted carefully, and had been trying to build up my savings account for months.

“Yeah, it wasn’t terrible,” Lila conceded, right as her phone started to ring. “Joel. Again. Are you guys keeping track of the phone calls?”

“I think this is call seven. Why don’t you just answer the phone?” Hannah asked.

“Because I told him I was busy tonight and not coming over. He needs to learn that I’m not at his beck and call each and every night. Shut up!” she bellowed at the phone, hiding it in the couch cushions once it started again. We could only faintly hear the muffled chime.

“And we wonder why we’re single, right, Hannie?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Right. No offense, Lils, but you don’t make being in a relationship look like that much fun.”

“I don’t? No, I guess I don’t. I’m sorry, guys. He’s just been so overbearing lately. I don’t know what his deal is. But I’m trying not to let it bother me. Let’s talk about something else. Han–– what do you look for in the perfect guy? Maybe it’s time I put my matchmaking skills to work.”

“Um, no thanks. I didn’t know you had any ‘matchmaking skills.’” Hannah said as she made quotes around the words.

“Well, not really, but I bet I could if I put my mind to it. Come on; let me find you the perfect man!”

“I don’t have time for a relationship. I’m busy.”

“Yeah, busy studying.”

“Come on, ladies, no need to get into a fight over it.” I felt the need to interject. “If Hannah doesn’t want a boyfriend now, she doesn’t want a boyfriend. And you can’t magically produce someone for her. She’ll find the right guy in her own time, someone who loves homework as much as she does.” I threw Hannah a wink as she chucked a throw pillow my way.

“You guys make it sound like I’m so boring all the time. Am I that bad?”

“No, you’re not. Sorry if it sounded like I was making fun of you. That wasn’t my intention. Scouts honor.” Lila held up her hand. “I think I just want to concentrate on someone else’s love life other than mine. If you haven’t noticed––it pretty much blows.”

We discussed Lila and Joel for a while longer–– getting nowhere on the matter––before Hannah bailed to head back to her room and get some shut eye. Lila downed another glass of wine, putting her at four for the night, and I had a midnight (well, ten o’clock) snack of a bowl of cereal, before we both headed to bed ourselves. My to-do list for the next day read:
thirty minutes of cardio, schedule eye doc appt, send off résumé.

Chapter 4

“Could I speak with Alex Abrams?” an unfamiliar female voice asked over the phone, which had started to ring at 8:30 on Tuesday evening. Lila, Carmen, Emma, Hannah and I were all squeezed into my apartment, having a scary movie marathon to prep us for Halloween that was just around the corner. I took my cell phone and slinked into my bedroom so I wouldn’t disturb my friends as I tried to figure out who the caller was.

“This is she,” I answered, wondering who would be calling me so late at night.

“Hi, Alex. This is Dani Dohlman, the owner of Blissful Salon and Spa. I received your résumé yesterday and wanted to ask if you could come in for an interview sometime this week?”

Oh my God, oh my God
! I was really getting an interview? I found my voice. “That’s great! Thank you! Any day!”
Calm yourself. Stop speaking in exclamation points.
I cleared my throat to give myself a second. “I’m in class until about one each day, but anytime after that would work great.”

“Let me pull up my calendar here, just a minute.” Pause. Longer pause. Was she still there? I heard a kid shrieking in the background. “Brianna, put Cami down! Brianna, you better listen to Mommy!” Dani’s sweet voice turned strict, and I could hear a little girl yelling but couldn’t make out her words. “Sorry about that, Alex. My girls are running wild tonight. They should be asleep by now.”

“Oh, that’s no problem.” What else could I say?

“How about we meet on Thursday? Say 1:30? If you want, we could do a late lunch at AJ’s Bar and Grill?”

“Sounds good to me. Thanks so much for calling, Dani.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Thanks for applying. We’re in desperate need for a manager, after the last girl quit pretty abruptly, and my husband has a lot of great contacts that came from Kaufman. I had a good feeling as soon as I opened your email.”

I was thrilled, and silently thanked my college for its good reputation. “I’ll be looking forward to meeting with you. Thanks again. And good luck with your girls!” I felt the need to add in a little personal touch.

Dani laughed. “Thanks. I’ll need it. Their father isn’t home yet, and I made the mistake of telling them Daddy would tuck them in. I didn’t think he would be this late.”

I hesitated, not sure what my response should be. I’m sorry? That’s too bad? I stalled for a moment too soon, because Dani spoke again. “No worries, though. He’ll either be home soon or they’ll just tucker out before then. I have to rush now, looks like Brianna is trying to shove something up her sister’s nose. See you Thursday at 1:30!”

And then she was gone. I stared down at my phone for a moment, a little bewildered. Dani Dohlman of Blissful Salon and Spa seemed a bit all over the place. But her voice was friendly and she was offering me a job interview.

“I did it, guys! I got the interview!” I rushed back out into the living room, no longer caring about interrupting our movie. I stood in the middle of the room and did a little shimmy dance.

“Congrats, Alex!”

“ Way to go!”

“ When is it?”

“ Let’s drink!” My friends all started congratulating me at once, with Carmen suggesting a celebratory drink.

“Thank you, thank you. I’m meeting her at AJ’s on Thursday after class. It was the owner, Dani, that called me. She said her husband knows some people at Kaufman, so they had to give me a chance.”

“This college is good for something! I knew there had to be a reason we’re all still here,” Emma said, giving me a high five. “Way to go, girl. I hope you get the job.”

“Thanks. Now I’m really nervous. What do I wear? What do I say? I have no experience managing but I really like to get manicures?”

“I’ll help you with the interview part,” Hannah volunteered. “I’m sure we can find some test questions online, and we can practice what you’ll say.”

“And I’ll help you choose an outfit. Between the five us, we’ll find something decent and professional for you to wear,” Lila chimed in.

“And I’ll go pour the wine so we can have a toast!” Carmen said, even though she was already drinking a margarita. Lila helped her get out the wine glasses and pop the cork on a new bottle, and we cheered to my good luck. And I crossed my fingers that I would impress Dani Dohlman enough to get the job.

$$$

I made sure to pay extra attention in my Entrepreneurship 2 class the following day. The lecture covered details about owning and maintaining businesses, and I wanted to feel extra smart for my interview the following day. I stayed up late on Tuesday night doing some research on Blissful Salon and Spa and Dani Dohlman so I could feel prepared for my interview. Turns out, Dani actually co-owned the spa with her husband, Kevin Dohlman. Blissful employed massage therapists, estheticians and hair stylists. You could walk in and get a massage, mani/pedi, eyebrow and bikini wax, and highlights all right there. They were open all week excluding Mondays, which was typical for spas.