chapter seven

NIGHT AND DAY

 

“They’re on the twentieth floor,” Elizabeth said, walking back to the spot where we all stood in the casino lobby. She turned her head, looking over her shoulder, and continued speaking. “Daniel, back there, was very helpful.”

I didn’t know what she had done, after she had insisted on visiting the concierge desk alone, but apparently she was able to get the information we needed out of Daniel. The poor guy just stood there, behind his computer at the concierge desk, and blankly stared straight ahead. His eyes were completely glassed over.

“How long will he look like that?” I wondered aloud, keeping my voice at that whisper level that Summer would never be able to hear.

“Damn, I forgot about him. Thanks,” Elizabeth replied, and raised an eyebrow. She sent a breath of air his way.

I watched as Daniel blinked his eyes rapidly and looked around. It was obvious he had no recollection of the last few minutes. He looked pitifully confused.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep again,” Summer yawned.

Her body swayed, as she tried to remain steady on her feet. I was holding her hand, to assist in keeping her balanced. Elizabeth had promptly sent her back to sleep the second we’d all entered the limo, after her driver had shut the door. She’d refused to wake her until we arrived at our current location. It was only a fifteen-minute drive between the two casinos, but the Elizabeth induced power naps seemed to be taking their toll on my friend.

“Don’t worry about it,” I squeezed her hand. “It’s not a big deal. You’re just super tired.”

“Well who wants to go up and see if Delilah and Burke are still in the room, and if they’re not then search for clues?” Cozmo inquired, staring straight at me. “The ten of us traipsing around everywhere together seems a bit unnecessary. I don’t mean to be rude, Charity dear, but this isn’t quite what I was expecting when we were invited to join you in Vegas. I think you can handle this part by yourself.”

“Did he just call you Charity? Who’s Charity?” Summer looked at me.

“Um yeah, he did. It’s sort of my... well, it’s my middle name, and these guys have always called me Charity,” I answered with the first story that I could come up with. I wondered how she would take it. It sounded pretty plausible and I recently had acquired the necessary ID to prove it, I reassured myself.

I glared at Cozmo. “Nice one,” I whispered.

“How come I didn’t know that? Why haven’t I heard it used before? I mean, I’ve never heard Jason or Rachel, or even Marcus or Eve, call you Charity back in Telluride,” she puzzled with a yawn.

“I guess it’s because I had decided to just go by Emily when we made the move to Telluride. Old habits are hard to break for Cozmo.” I shrugged.

“It suits you. I like it,” Summer smiled. “So, is it like a secret nick-name that I can start to use too?”

“Sure, Summer. You can call me Charity if you want to,” I told her and then turned my attention back to Cozmo. “I’m sorry, Oz. This isn’t exactly my idea of a fun time either.”

“Look, I am taking Lizzy to that Pai Gow table over there and then we’re off to find a club. I swear this is not me abandoning your cause, it’s just me needing to unwind with my girl. If you require my assistance, just let me know and we’ll show up as fast as I can get to you. I promise.”

I knew he wasn’t trying to make me feel bad, but I did anyway. “You’re right. This is my issue, not yours. Go have fun,” I told him.

Cozmo started walking away, holding hands with Lizabelle. “Marcus, call me on your special phone if you guys need either of us. Just say the word, brother, and we’ll be there.”

“I know you will. Later, bro,” Marcus saluted his brother.

“Special phone?” Summer asked.

“Twin inside joke,” I told her.

“Well, come on. Let’s go up to the room and figure this out,” Eve said. She immediately started walking in the opposite direction that Oz had taken. “Come on, guys. The elevators are this way,” she called over her shoulder.

 

When we got up to the twentieth floor and located their room, Summer knocked on the door. I listened for voices, but heard none.

Elizabeth spotted someone from housekeeping, pushing a cart down the hall, and waved. As the woman approached, Elizabeth took a step forward. She positioned herself so that all I could see was her back and not the housekeeper’s face.

“How may I be of service?” the uniformed woman asked.

I heard Elizabeth whisper something so quietly that even I couldn’t tell what she said. Then she spoke in a clear voice, “I seem to have locked myself out of my room. Would you be a dear and open up the door for me?”

“Absolutely,” the housekeeper responded in a voice that was devoid of any emotion. She pulled the card key up from her belt and slid it into the door lock. The light on the door turned green.

Catherine guided Summer into the room first, followed by James, Marcus, and Eve. Lincoln and I lagged behind; we were mesmerized by the trance that Elizabeth had put this woman in. I decided that she must have used a similar technique to get the room number out of Daniel, down in concierge.

“Thank you,” Elizabeth smiled and then added, “Now, remember to forget us,” as soon as Summer was out of earshot.

“Absolutely,” she responded again in the same monotone voice as before. Her eyes glazed over, and she walked back to her cart.

“Wow, the security in this hotel must just suck,” Summer exclaimed, after everyone had entered the room and I shut the door behind us. “Did you see how easily that woman let us in here? She didn’t even ask for ID or anything!”

“Shameful,” Elizabeth tisked and shook her head.

“I found something,” Catherine said. She stood by the desk, holding a slip of paper in her hand. “I’ve got the name of a twenty-four hour wedding chapel, and an appointment time that is...” she paused to look at her watch, “thirty-seven minutes from now.”

Catherine clasped her hands, and smiled with satisfaction.

“See how easy that was. Well, you’re on your own then. I’m off. It’s been grand.” Elizabeth arched her eyebrows and turned toward the door.

“Thank you, my friend,” Catherine called out as Elizabeth exited the room.

“She’s kinda strange,” Summer whispered to me.”

“You have no idea,” I winked back at her.

Within fifteen minutes, the seven of us were all seated in yet another limousine that Elizabeth had provided for us. I thanked her silently in my head for that lovely convenience. It was so nice to not have to wait in a taxi line. If we continued with this runaround much longer, it would benefit us to hire our own car and driver. I wondered how many she had at her disposal.

It was getting close to three a.m., and I wondered how much longer Summer was going to be able to handle the pace we were keeping. She’d had a few naps, but I had no idea what kind of effects Elizabeth’s “sleeps” would have on her. Teenagers were hardy creatures, I reminded myself. They often stayed up all night.

Summer leaned back in the leather seats and tried to stifle a yawn. “I wonder if Dee realizes that she has to stay married to Burke until she is twenty-five. Otherwise the money reverts back into the trust,” she said.

“You didn’t mention that before. When did you find that out?” James asked her.

“My mom was telling me, right before I passed out in the hotel room earlier. I forgot about it until just now. It just popped into my head,” she said.

“My guess would be that she isn’t aware,” Eve said.

Marcus nodded his head in agreement. “Too many people these days just do not understand what commitment really means. You should NEVER pledge your life to someone else unless you truly mean it.”

Link clasped my hand and pulled it up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss in the palm of my hand and smiled my brilliant smile. “I fully understand the meaning of commitment,” he whispered in my ear, as he leaned closer and placed a kiss on my neck.

“As do I, my love,” I whispered back, and snuggled myself into his side.

Catherine smiled at our exchange. She’d waited many years for me to find my soul’s true mate. She had recently confided that she had somehow known, after my first movie date with Lincoln, that the two of us were destined to be together. It took me just a bit longer to have that kind of faith in a future life with Lincoln. But now I knew, without a doubt, that we were meant to be together... forever.

“It is good ammunition to have, if we get to them in time. Delilah most definitely hasn’t thought this all the way through. She probably thinks that she could turn around and divorce Burke, whenever she gets tired of him,” James remarked. “I’ve seen the way she views people. They are disposable to her.”

“It’s a good thing that I remembered it,” Summer added.

“Yes, very good,” I agreed.

 

After we pulled up to the twenty-four hour wedding chapel, we piled out of the limo, and entered the lobby. The smell of cheap perfume, musty air, and disinfectant assaulted my nose. My eyes, on the other hand, were assaulted by colors. The walls of the room were draped with pink satin, deep red carpet covered the floors, and purple velvet couches sat up against two of the walls. Since we were less than a week away from Valentine’s Day there were red and pink, heart shaped, Mylar balloons all over the ceiling. Each one had a long, purple, ribbon attached. After we walked through a sea of ribbons, a black lacquer desk with glass panels for viewing the tacky merchandise was directly in front of us. Elvis stood behind it.

It wasn’t the real Elvis, unless he’s an Immortal One in hiding, but I’ve never heard any tales about that. It was a pudgy, short, wig wearing Elvis. He had crammed himself into a too tight, sparkly jumpsuit. Short Elvis had oversized, gold, plastic glasses on his face. He plastered a cheesy smile on his face, as soon as we’d walked through the door.

“Group rates are available, uh huh, because you can’t help falling in love with him,” he sang, in an awful imitation Elvis voice.

“We actually came to see our friends get married. I’m hoping that we are not too late. Delilah and Burke...” I began to explain.

“The tiny little blondie and her man,” Fake Elvis cut me off. “Well, they are back in the chapel right now. She found her thrill, uh huh. But you’re a little late. Preacher man might be finished with them by now.”

“Oh no,” Summer cried out and ran toward the double door that stood on the other side of the black lacquer desk.

We scrambled after her as she burst through the doors.

Delilah and Burke were at the altar, leaning toward each other, engaged in a kiss. Delilah looked, as I expected her to, stunning. She wore a white, strapless, lace mini dress that stopped mid-thigh. Her hair was swooped up on one of her signature messy up-dos. It was that perfectly un-messy messy, that only Dee could pull off with perfection. She had on one of the highest pair of white lace pumps I had ever seen her wear. Her right leg was bent up behind her, at the knee, during their kiss.

Burke was wearing a very sharp looking black suit. No doubt purchased by Delilah, back in New York for the funeral. Together they made a spectacular looking couple.

They paused in their kiss and their heads whipped around, as Summer approached them.

“Oh God, Dee,” Summer gasped. “We’re too late aren’t we?”

“What are you all doing in here?” Delilah squeaked after a moment. She had found her voice again, after the initial shock of seeing our mini mob of seven barging through the wedding chapel doors.

“Trying to stop you from making a huge mistake,” James told her. He usually has a way of speaking to people, that calms them and puts them at ease, but Dee was too worked up.

“How on earth is securing my inheritance a huge mistake?” Delilah countered. “There’s no way I was going to allow my mother and father to have control of my money for even one day. I’m eighteen and married now, as you can see. It is too late for whatever silly intervention you guys had planned,” she declared, with a self-righteous look on her face.

“It’s not an intervention,” Summer said. “Your mom was worried to death about you.”

“Worried? Is that what she told you? More like worried about her own financial security. Especially the way she was talking about investing my money to make her bank accounts grow,” Delilah spat out the words.

“What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion.

“I’m sure my mother held back that information from you guys. She wouldn’t want anyone to know how upset she was after Grand-mére Prideux’s will was read. You see, I was granted the bulk of the estate. Grand-mére always loved how much I looked like her daughter, and she hated my father, so Mommy got snubbed. She only got about a tenth of the inheritance I got. But she would be able to have some control over my portion until I met the requirements. Marriage or twenty-five. I won’t have her sticking her grubby hand into my money, so I chose marriage,” Dee said, grabbing onto Burke for support. “You should have heard her crying and complaining that she should have been the one to get more money.”

“You know you have to stay married to him for at least the next seven years to keep your money. Otherwise it reverts back to a trust. And what is to stop Burke from divorcing you in a little while then grabbing a huge portion for himself?” I asked.

“What? Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I wouldn’t consult the lawyers? My lawyers are drafting a pre-nup right now, for us to sign as soon as we get back home. I wonder if that makes it a post-nup. Whatever. I’ll be offering Burke quite a settlement to stay for the minimum amount of time required,” she shot back.

A wounded expression immediately crossed Burke’s face. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said in a small voice.

“Are you sure this is the right decision for you, Delilah dear?” Catherine asked her.

“Yes it is,” Burke quickly answered.

“What about her, Burke?” Marcus asked. “What if she decides to leave you? Not through divorce or anything, but what if she decides to have a bit of fun on the side?”

I looked at Burke and knew, without a doubt, that the same thought had already crossed his mind.

“I would never!” Delilah gave Burke one of her famous pouts. “Anyway, with the promise of two million dollars, and the fact that we just promised to be faithful, you’ll stay married to me. We love each other, don’t we baby?” Delilah cooed, and then slid her arms up around Burke’s neck.

She drew him to her for a salacious kiss. I almost wanted to turn my head. I felt as if I were intruding. Watching the two of them made me sure of two things - that girl knew no shame and Burke wasn’t going anywhere.

“Baby, I love you so much,” Burke breathed. “We did it babe, we’re married. You are mine now.”

“We are, and I am.” Dee jumped up into Burke’s waiting arms.

A look of smug satisfaction came over her. She was sure that she had won this round of the prizefight against her mother. Burke just stood there in relief. He thought he’d found a way to have Delilah all to himself, forever. I had serious doubts that she would honor their marriage vows. She was banking on Burke’s almost stalker like devotion to her, and the promise of millions, to keep him around. I had to admit, she was probably right. She had him right where she wanted him.

“What am I supposed to tell your mother?” Summer asked, stunned by the whole scene.

“You don’t have to tell her anything,” Delilah said, and wiggled out of Burke’s arms. She grabbed a white lace clutch from the chair that was nearest her and pulled out her phone. She pushed a few buttons and then held the phone up.

It was on speaker, and it was ringing.

“Dee, baby, thank goodness you called,” her mom’s voice came through the phone’s speaker. She sounded groggy from sleep.

“Hiya, Mommy. I’m sorry to wake you,” Delilah spoke with an obviously fake, sticky sweet, voice. “But, I just wanted to let you know that I am a married woman now.”

“Dee, honey, we can get that annulled. It’ll be like it never happened,” her mom responded.

“Nah, I don’t think so. Oh, and Summer, and Emily, and her whole entourage just showed up... just as I was kissing my husband... you know, at the ‘you may now kiss the bride’ part. So, they were too late. Oh yeah, you should also know that I won’t be coming back to meet you in New York,” Delilah continued.

“Sweetie, what are you talking about? What about school?” Dee’s mom sounded confused.

“You see, Mommy, I am not as irresponsible as you think. Burke and I are flying back to Telluride from here. I need to pack up my stuff and get ready to move into our new condo. We will finish out our senior year and get our diplomas. Then I’m outta Telluride, for good! Although, I did promise my husband that we would come back for vacations.”

“Now wait just a minute, young lady.” Her mom’s voice took a harsher tone.

“Buh-Bye now,” Dee snarked, pushed the END button, and then waved to the mouthpiece. She turned back to us and said, “See. All done. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am on my honeymoon. I’ll see y’all back in Telluride. Come on, baby,” Delilah cooed.

She grabbed Burke’s hand and strutted out of the chapel.

“See ya round,” Burke smiled as they walked past us.

“Seriously?” Summer called after her. “You are seriously just going to leave?”

Delilah spun around, just before she made it to the door that led outside into the parking lot. “I love you, Summer. I really do. You’re a great friend. But I just got married, and I want to spend some time alone with my husband. Call me in a few days.”

Then they walked out, while Fake Elvis sang “Viva Las Vegas” to us all, at full volume.

“She’s got twisted realities again,” Eve whispered to me. “I saw more than one version of the conversation she had with her mother, after the reading of her Grand-mére’s will. That head of hers is a big mess of dual realities.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” I whispered back.

Summer was in shock for the entire ride back to the hotel. After she sent a text to her mother to say that we were too late to stop Dee, and added that she’d like to stay in Las Vegas for an extra day so she could be there for my wedding, then she just sat there staring into space. We all were mostly silent. I was exhausted from running around all night, and I slumped against Lincoln in the limo. Catherine rested her head on James’s shoulder, with her eyes closed. Eve and Marcus sat with their heads close, having a whispered conversation.

I smiled to myself as I heard Eve tell Marcus how much she loved him and thanked him for his devotion to her. He kissed her nose and smiled, then told her that he’d be with her until the end of their days. A warmth spread through me as I thought of Lincoln and how much I loved him, how much he meant to me, and how I would be with him no matter what.

For richer or for poorer, for as long as we both shall live... I couldn’t wait to say those words to him, and to hear them back.

We headed to one of the cafés in the hotel when we got back. It was either that or raid the mini bar for snacks when we got up to the room. Chips, nuts, and candy bars just didn’t sound appealing. So after a quick snack at the café, an elevator ride up to the rooms, and a hug and a kiss for my fiancé, we separated and entered our different suites. Summer stayed with me.

It may have been technically morning, but I was strangely exhausted and ready to go to sleep.