Chapter 28
Bad Timing
‘Norman, what the hell are you doing here?’ Kate said in complete disbelief.
This couldn’t be happening. She felt more smothered than ever as she saw her fiancé standing right in front of her. She could barely breathe.
‘What do you mean, what am I doing here? I was worried sick! I’ve been calling and texting you non-stop. I’m here to take you home,’ Norman said.
No.
Not right now.
Not when she was about to chase after Trevor to win him back.
‘How did you even find me?’ Kate asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
‘I tracked your phone, obviously! I thought you were in danger!’
‘I told you not to worry. And I told my mother to tell you not to come to Vegas!’
‘Margaret agreed with me that you needed to be brought home!’
‘I’m clearly fine, Norman. Everything is fine!’ she said, her mascara running down her face.
‘Then why were you crying? And why wouldn’t you answer the phone? There’s something you’re not telling me. I’m not stupid, Kate!’ Norman said, angrily.
Why did he have to show up now of all times?
There was still time to catch up to Trevor.
But now it seemed impossible.
‘Norman, I need a minute to breathe,’ Kate said, completely blindsided by the moment. ‘I feel smothered.’
‘Well, I’m sorry you feel that way, but you didn’t leave me with much of a choice, did you?’
‘Please just give me a second to catch my breath . . .’
‘Catch your breath from what? You’ve spent the last few days relaxing on your extended hen party in Vegas,’ Norman said. ‘It’s time to go home.’
Kate looked back towards the crowd where Trevor had disappeared, desperately trying to find him. She was completely overwhelmed with emotion, practically bordering on a panic attack.
Finally, she spotted him in the distance. Lorenzo pulled up in the black Mercedes and Trevor got into the back seat without even the slightest hesitation. Not even a glance back in her direction. A moment later, the car was gone, headed in the direction of the Little White Wedding Chapel.
It was over.
Trevor had just shattered her. And Norman was here to pick up the pieces. The glue had come just after the hammer’s final blow.
What choice did she have but to follow her fiancé?
Kate turned and looked back at the Statue of Liberty replica one last time. Perhaps her story with Trevor wasn’t to be continued after all.
‘Alright, Norman,’ Kate said, in defeat. ‘Let’s go.’
As they walked towards the Bellagio, Kate realized she had a lot to fill the girls in on. They would need to pack immediately, but Norman couldn’t come into the hotel room. Some of her wedding merch was still in there and the girls would undoubtedly let something slip about Trevor.
A plan.
She needed a plan.
Her priority now was to ensure Norman didn’t find out anything. If by some miracle she could keep the events of the hen party under wraps, she might just have some semblance of a life. Crisis management mode was officially activated.
She took out her phone and began to type frantically.
The Four Lokos
Kate: EMERGENCY!!!!!
Chloe: OMG what’s wrong? x
Siobhan: You kissed Trevor didn’t you?
Called it.
Kate: NO GIRLS, THIS IS A REAL EMERGENCY!
NORMAN IS HERE!!!
Chloe: Are you taking the piss?
Siobhan: You’d know Piss Girl lol
Kate: EVERYONE BACK TO THE ROOM RIGHT NOW!!!
Chloe: Okay, we’re on our way!!!
By the time she and Norman arrived at the Bellagio, Kate was in a ball of sweat. It felt like her life was tearing at the seams, but she had to keep it together. As the hotel lobby air conditioning hit her, she took a steadying breath and focused on the task at hand.
‘Norman, I need you to stay here while I go and pack with the girls,’ Kate said.
‘Absolutely not!’ Norman said. ‘I’m coming up there with you.’
Shit.
She needed a lie. And fast.
‘Norman, I didn’t want to say this, but Siobhan is having sex in the room right now. So I need to go up there by myself.’
‘Jesus, Siobhan is disgusting! This is exactly what I mean when I tell you you’re above those girls.’
‘She’s allowed to have a little fun in Vegas, Norman,’ Kate sighed. ‘Look, if you come up to the room, it’ll only slow the whole thing down. Please just trust me on this.’
‘Ugh fine, but I want you all back down here in thirty minutes or I’m asking for the room number at reception and coming up,’ Norman said, sitting down awkwardly on one of the lobby couches.
‘We’ll be down in thirty minutes, don’t worry!’ Kate said before dashing off. She legged it to the elevator, and took it to her floor. Half an hour was not a lot of time to fill the girls in and pack all their cases.
But she had no choice.
She had almost blown up her life on this trip and now it was time to do some serious damage control. Trevor was gone; Norman was here. She kept repeating it in her mind. She no longer had a husband but she still had a fiancé. Dear Lord, even hearing those words in her mind made her feel like a lunatic.
When she reached the room, Kate flung the hotel room door open and thankfully saw the girls waiting inside.
‘Kate, what’s going on?’ Natalie said as soon as she walked in.
‘The shit just hit the fan, that’s what’s going on. Everyone start packing,’ Kate instructed.
‘Is Norman really here or was that a joke?’ Siobhan said.
‘Do I look like I’m joking?’ Kate said, pointing at her running mascara and frizzy hair.
‘Wait, wait, wait!’ Chloe said. ‘What happened with Trevor?’
‘I don’t have time to explain. Norman wants us downstairs in thirty minutes. Please start packing!’
‘Kate, take a deep breath and tell us what happened,’ Natalie said, putting her hands on Kate’s shoulders.
‘Trevor signed the annulment,’ Kate cried. The tears began to flow again as soon as she said it.
‘But I thought things were just about to work out?’ Chloe said.
‘They were but I ruined everything. I told him the truth. I told him that the woman I saw go into his apartment was Charlie.’
‘But Charlie is a lesbian,’ Natalie said. ‘She told me so herself.’
‘I know that now, but I didn’t know that back then. He mentioned a manager called Charlie but I just assumed it was a man!’
‘That’s very problematic, Kate,’ Natalie said.
‘I know. I’m a monster!’
‘But shouldn’t everything be okay now? He never cheated, which means he never broke your heart,’ Chloe said.
‘But I broke his! I told him why I never came back to him and he was furious. He hates me!’
‘Kate, you need to chase after him!’
‘I was about to. But just as he was walking away, Norman appeared out of nowhere!’
‘How did he even find you?’
‘He has her chipped, remember?’ Natalie said, unimpressed.
‘My head is spinning,’ Kate said, sitting down on the bed. ‘Norman is downstairs waiting to take me home!’
‘Jesus, Kate, this is a real clusterfuck,’ Siobhan said. ‘And not in a good way.’
‘We all have to pull together. Here’s the plan . . .’
‘What number plan are we on now?’
‘We’re all going to pack and meet Norman downstairs. And we’re going to make sure we don’t let anything slip about what happened on this hen party. Then we go to the airport, leave Vegas and never come back,’ Kate said as she stood up.
‘You can’t leave if you have unfinished business with Trevor,’ Chloe said.
‘I’ve had unfinished business with Trevor for nine years. And he just walked away from me. He got in his town car and went straight to the Little White Wedding Chapel to submit the annulment. So, I would say our business is well and truly finished!’
‘Eh, hello!’ Natalie said. ‘I finally found someone I connect with and we have to leave? Charlie is waiting for me at the bar.’
‘I’m sorry, Nat, but we don’t have any other choice. Norman is literally in the lobby!’
‘I vote to chase after Trevor,’ Siobhan said, raising her hand.
‘Siobhan, please. He’s gone!’
‘He’s not gone, he’s just hurt that you broke his heart over something he didn’t even do. He loved you and you disappeared on him without any explanation,’ Siobhan said, sympathetically.
‘But when I tried to give him an explanation, he looked at me with pure disgust.’
‘Yeah, because if you trusted him nine years ago, this never would have happened. He kissed his manager on the cheek and you crucified him for it. I told you that you can’t be so extreme, blocking people out of your life without telling them why! It’s you, Kate! “You’re the problem, it’s you!”’
‘I am fully aware of that, but when I tried to apologize he grabbed the annulment and signed it. He doesn’t want anything to do with me!’
‘So is the marriage officially annulled then?’ Natalie asked.
‘Not yet. It’ll be sent to a judge tomorrow and he’ll approve it,’ Kate explained.
‘OR SHE!’ Natalie said. ‘Women can be judges as well as managers, Kate.’
‘Natalie, please don’t make me feel worse than I already do.’
‘Kate, there’s still time to make things right,’ Chloe said.
‘No, Chloe. Trevor is gone!’
‘Oh please, men are never truly gone. They cool off and come back. Here, give me your phone,’ Siobhan said, holding her hand out.
‘For what?’
‘Just give it to me!’
Kate handed Siobhan her phone and she opened Instagram.
‘Siobhan, please, what are you doing?’ Kate panicked.
‘I’m just going to call him on Instagram,’ Siobhan said as she looked up his profile. ‘Oh . . .’
‘Oh?’
‘User not found,’ Siobhan winced.
‘OMG, he blocked you!’ Chloe gasped.
‘Ouch,’ Natalie said under her breath.
‘You know what? It’s what I deserve,’ Kate said, accepting her fate. ‘I have nobody but myself to blame. It’s a taste of my own medicine and honestly, it makes everything a lot clearer. I cut Trevor out of my life and now he’s cutting me out of his. So now my choice is clear. Norman is the man I’m destined to be with.’
‘What if—’ Chloe began.
‘Girls, that’s the end of it. I’ve been dumped by my husband. It’s time to marry my fiancé. And I need us all to swear that Norman never finds out about Trevor. We take this to our graves. Understood?’
‘Understood,’ the girls agreed.
‘And you all have to be nice to him. Please don’t do anything to make this situation worse.’
‘I can’t be held responsible for what I say to Norman,’ Siobhan said.
‘Siobhan, I’m begging you. I need to stop my life from blowing up in my face. Do it for me.’
‘Ugh . . . fine! I’ll be nice.’
‘Okay, now everyone start packing. We need to be out of here in twenty minutes.’
Thirty minutes later, the girls were ready to leave the hotel room. It would have been twenty minutes were it not for the ridiculous amount of clothes Chloe had packed in her three Louis Vuitton suitcases.
‘Come on, girls, we’re way behind. Everyone out of the room,’ Kate said sternly.
‘I’m almost done!’ Chloe said.
‘You brought way too much stuff, Chloe. Twelve pairs of knickers for a weekend is insanity,’ Natalie said.
‘Well, in her defence, she does have a habit of pissing herself,’ Siobhan laughed.
‘Shut up, Siobhan!’ Chloe snapped.
‘Okay, let’s go!’ Kate said.
The girls wheeled their cases out of the room, with Kate taking Chloe’s third one. They got in the elevator and rode it to the ground floor. When it opened, Norman was standing there waiting.
‘There you are!’ he said, unimpressed. ‘I was just about to come up. That was way longer than we agreed!’
‘So nice to see you too, Norman,’ Siobhan said, sarcastically.
‘Sorry, Norman, we were just double-checking everything. We’re ready now,’ Kate said as they got out of the elevator. ‘Natalie, could you go and check out? Everything is already paid for. Just give them these key cards.’
‘Ugh, fine,’ she agreed, taking the cards.
‘As long as it’s not Chloe checking out and getting more extra nights added on,’ Norman said.
‘What?’ Chloe said, confused.
‘Chloe, you know,’ Kate said, elbowing her. ‘How you got us the free extra nights?’
‘Oh yes . . . of course. Classic me being an influencer,’ Chloe nodded along.
‘And Siobhan, you picked the wrong time to have sex in the room,’ Norman said.
‘What?’ Siobhan said, confused.
‘Siobhan, you know,’ Kate said, widening her eyes. ‘How you had a man in the room that delayed us packing?’
‘Oh yes . . . of course. Classic me being a whore,’ Siobhan said, biting her tongue.
Kate was in a fluster. All the lies were catching up with her. It was almost as if Norman was trying to catch her out. She couldn’t let him trip her up.
‘Kate . . . slight problem,’ Natalie said, rushing back over.
‘Oh God, what is it?’
‘So the room is paid for . . . but the bill for the minibar is $2,196.’
‘WHAT?’ Norman yelled.
‘Girls, I told you all not to drink from the minibar,’ Kate cried. But she was in no mood to argue with anyone. She just needed to get the hell out of Vegas. Kate opened her handbag and took out the massive wad of cash she had won in roulette.
‘Where the hell did you get that?’ Norman said, shocked.
‘I won it gambling.’
‘YOU WERE GAMBLING?’ he snapped.
‘Here, Nat, pay with this,’ she said, handing her the cash. ‘We’ll meet you outside.’
Natalie went back to the desk and Kate led the others towards the main door of the Bellagio.
But as they were walking, they heard a man’s voice shout at them.
‘STOP!’ the man’s voice said.
Could it have been Trevor? Had he come just in time to stop her from leaving? Why was that all she wanted?
But when they turned around, Kate saw it wasn’t Trevor but rather a police officer that was charging towards them.
‘DON’T TAKE ANOTHER STEP!’ the officer shouted.
‘Kate, what the hell is going on now?’ Norman panicked.
The police officer walked up to them and grabbed Siobhan. ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you,’ he said, turning her around. ‘Ma’am, you’re under arrest.’
‘Officer, there must be some kind of mistake!’ Siobhan said as she was being cuffed. But there was no mistake. She had been arrested on the night they blacked out and the law had seemingly caught up with her.
‘Officer,’ Kate said. ‘Can you tell us what’s going on?’
‘Your friend here is under arrest for soliciting illegal drugs,’ he explained.
‘DRUGS?’ Siobhan exclaimed. ‘I DON’T EVEN DO DRUGS . . . THAT OFTEN!’
‘Oh yeah? Then how come three nights ago you asked me where you could purchase crack cocaine?’
‘Crack cocaine? That’s impossible!’
‘Listen, Officer . . . ?’ Kate said, trying to find out his name.
‘Byrne.’
‘Officer Byrne. We had a lot to drink that night and our memory is a little fuzzy,’ Kate said. Norman was looking at her with disdain and she was mortified that this was happening. ‘Can you at least tell us what she said?’
‘She asked me if I had any crack and when I said no, she asked me where the best place to find crack would be,’ he said.
‘OH MY GOD!’ Chloe said.
‘Of course!’ Siobhan said. ‘Officer Byrne, there’s been a mix-up. I wasn’t looking for crack, I was looking for craic!’
‘Excuse me?’
‘We’re from Ireland. Craic in Ireland means something completely different. Having “the craic” means having a good time. And saying “any craic?” is a way of asking how a person is. Please, it’s just one big misunderstanding!’
‘Honestly, officer, she’s telling the truth!’ Kate said.
Officer Byrne looked Siobhan up and down. ‘So you asking me if I had any craic was you asking me how I was?’
‘YES! Honestly, I was probably chatting you up. I mean, look at you! I’ve always loved a man in uniform,’ Siobhan flirted. Officer Byrne was incredibly handsome with a thick handlebar moustache and a muscular physique.
‘Well, there is the issue of you resisting arrest. When I cuffed you, you made a break for it and evaded capture.’
‘I was very drunk. I never would have evaded the long arm of the law now that I’ve seen your biceps up close,’ she winked.
‘I’m getting married in two days, Office Byrne, and Siobhan is my maid of honour. We’re about to board a flight and leave Vegas for good. Is there any way you could let this slide?’
‘Hmm . . . very well. But only because my grandfather was Irish,’ he said, uncuffing Siobhan.
‘Well if you ever visit, you should look me up. If you google “things to do in Ireland”, I’m the top result,’ Siobhan winked.
‘I think you’re a bit too much of a troublemaker for me,’ Officer Byrne said. ‘But you girls have a safe flight home.’
‘WAIT!’ Siobhan said. ‘Can I at least get your number?’
‘Yeah . . .’ he said as he put on his aviator glasses. ‘It’s 9-1-1.’
Officer Byrne turned around and just like that, he was gone.
Natalie came over to the girls after paying the minibar tab.
‘What the hell was that about?’ she said.
‘Siobhan got arrested . . . again,’ Chloe said.
‘AND I MISSED IT?’
‘Forget the arrest. I think that man is the love of my life!’ Siobhan said, staring at him as he walked away.
‘Sweet Jesus,’ Norman said, massaging the bridge of his nose.
‘Siobhan, you’re lucky you’re not in jail!’ Kate said.
‘Plus, I think he just rejected you,’ Chloe said.
‘I must have him. I can’t live without him. I’m going to make it my life’s mission to be with him,’ Siobhan said.
‘Jesus, Libras really can’t handle rejection, can they?’ Natalie laughed.
‘If I streak through the lobby, he’ll have to arrest me again, won’t he?’
Chloe began to smell Siobhan’s neck. ‘What is that? Desperation by Calvin Klein?’ she joked.
‘OKAY, THAT’S IT!’ Norman snapped. ‘Everyone outside! We’re leaving this degenerate hellhole right now!’
Norman marched the girls outside and hailed down a taxi. ‘Airport as soon as possible!’ he said into the driver’s window.
‘Sure, no problem,’ the taxi driver said. He got out and opened the boot so they could all load in their suitcases.
Once they were all in, the engine started and they took off towards the airport.
Siobhan let out a sigh as she looked back towards the Bellagio. ‘The only man I ever loved,’ she said, longing for Officer Byrne. ‘And I never even got his real number.’
‘I never got Charlie’s number either,’ Natalie sighed.
‘Who the hell is Charlie?’ Norman asked.
‘She’s Trev—’
‘Charlie is just a girl Nat met at Omnia!’ Kate said, shooting her a look. She had almost said she was Trevor’s manager, and that would have opened an un-closable can of worms.
‘Right! Yes, just some girl,’ Natalie said, catching on.
Kate let out a sigh of relief. Was this what her life would be like? Tiptoeing around Norman? Praying he wouldn’t find out what had really happened on the hen party?
‘Don’t worry, Kate. We’ll be out of this shithole soon,’ Norman said, taking her hand.
But Kate didn’t want to take his hand.
All she wanted to do was stay.
Her heart was breaking, but she felt powerless to do anything about it. And it seemed as if the decision had been made for her.
Trevor didn’t want her. Norman did.
Perhaps it was as simple as that.