Handbags and Hooligans, a Presley Thurman Mystery: First Chapter Friday
Chapter 1
Walking into my condo, I kicked off my shoes and plopped down on my chocolate-brown Pottery Barn couch, which I loved because it was the most comfortable thing I had ever sat on. Without even taking off my coat, I sighed and rubbed Bella’s head. The way-too-big-for-the-couch mastiff was currently wedged in one corner of said couch, with her head on the arm.
“Rough day, sugar?” said Jared, one of my best friends and now roommate.
“Rough doesn’t even begin to describe it.” I closed my eyes. “Who would have thought catering to women and trying to make them look good would be so difficult?”
“Really,” he said dryly, his blue eyes twinkling. “Did you think you were the only high-maintenance chick out there?”
“Listen, there is high maintenance and there is off the charts. These women were off the charts. I know I should be used to it by now but these women were nuts.” Silk was the high-end clothing boutique I'd been managing for the last few months.
“You think you aren’t off the charts?”
“We’re not talking about me,” I said crossly. “You’re supposed to be giving me some sympathy for what I’ve had to put up with today.”
Jared and I had met at Muldoon’s and we quickly became good friends. He’d soon become one of my best friends, and a few months ago became my roommate. His lease was up and his rent was getting raised, and I was having some cashflow issues, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and move in together. For the most part, it had worked out beautifully. Jared had a good job as a graphic designer. Neither one of us had a serious boyfriend at the moment—at least mine didn’t live in the same town—and Jared was a blast to hang out with.
“When you get done feeling sorry for yourself for having to deal with the high-maintenance women of Chicago, give Anna a call,” Jared said. “She must have called at least ten times.”
“Did she tell you what she wanted?”
“No.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“Of course I did, but she said she had to talk to you. Call her right now. I have to find out what is so important. I’ve been dying over here not knowing.”
“Okay! Look, I’m dialing. See?” I said, exaggerating the process. While I was making fun of Jared, I was also really curious to know why Anna had called so many times. She’d been blowing up my cell, too; I just hadn’t had time to respond.
“It’s about time,” she yelled as she answered.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re going to Vegas,” she shouted into the phone.
“Yeah, for the bachelorette party. I remember. October thirteenth. I can’t wait!”
My friend Anna had just decided to get married a couple of months ago. Since she and her fiancé, Jeff, had been together for a few years, on and off, neither of them wanted a long engagement. Thus, she had been driving her mother and me—as the maid of honor—crazy with planning, even though we’d both told her that planning a wedding in a couple of months was guaranteed to turn her into bridezilla.
“No. For the wedding.”
“What?” Surely, I hadn’t heard her correctly. Bella cracked one eye open. Apparently my high-pitched voice was reason for canine concern.
“For the wedding!”
“Let me sit down,” I said. Jared was practically bouncing in his seat. “Anna, I’m putting you on speaker so Jared can hear this, too. He’s dying to know what’s going on.”
“That’s fine.”
“Now let me get this straight. You want to go to Vegas and get married?”
“Yes,” Anna said. “We are both tired of this planning stuff, and it’s all snowballed into something crazy that neither of us wants.”
“But... You said you wanted a big wedding.”
“I did. I still kind of do, but it’s just not worth it.”
“What about your mom?” I asked. “She’s put a lot of work into this.”
“She actually suggested it. We got into an argument over flowers, and she said if I didn’t like her ideas, maybe we should go get married in Vegas. So I said okay.”
“Do you think she actually meant it, or was she just mad at you?”
“She was just mad, and when I said okay she was shocked,” Anna said. “We talked about it, and then she made some calls and was able to get all her deposits back but one. She’s giving us the deposit money for the trip. It will cover everything in Vegas—we already checked—so my mom and dad are saving a ton. Everyone is happy.”
I wanted to be happy for her but I really wasn’t all that crazy about Jeff. I had hopes that she would come to her senses before the wedding but it didn’t seem like she was going to. Jeff had a wandering eye that I just didn’t like.
Yet a trip to Vegas sounded fun, and my brother was there. I was dying to meet his new girlfriend, Ashley, to give my big sister seal of approval.
Ultimately, it was Anna’s day, not mine, so I was going to go along with anything she wanted. “I’m all for it. When do we leave?”
“Wednesday.”
Jared and I exchanged a look, both our eyes bugging out.
“As in this Wednesday?” I said. “Two days from now?”
“Yep. As soon as we hang up I’m getting the plane tickets for all of us. You and Jared are coming for my side and Jeff’s two best friends are coming for his. Please tell me you can come.”
“Yeah! Vegas, here we come, baby,” Jared shouted.
“Of course we can come, Anna. We wouldn’t miss you getting married.”
I hung up with Anna after a few more minutes of discussing logistics and then decided to call Jesse.
My brother, who at twenty-six was several years younger than me, was the typical baby of the family. Spoiled, with no direction, he was always off on one thing or another, and while our parents were always on my case about what I was going to do with my life, they seemed to think it was okay for him to still be finding himself. He’d had a brief stint in college before trying a variety of jobs, such as a zip-line instructor in Mexico and a river guide in the Grand Canyon. He was almost discovered while acting in Los Angeles, and was currently trying his hand as a blackjack and poker dealer in Las Vegas.
Looking at my watch, I mentally calculated the time difference and figured it was six in the evening Vegas time. He probably wasn’t at work yet, if he was still working the night shift. I hit his contact on my phone and waited for him to pick up.
“Hey, Sis. What’s up?” he answered on the first ring.
“I am coming to Vegas on Wednesday.”
“Why?” he asked, before quickly adding, “I mean, that’s great, I’m thrilled, but just the other day you said you were broke.”
“I am, but Anna has now decided to fly to Vegas to get married. So free trip,” I filled him in on the whole story.
“Cool! I’ll pick you guys up at the airport.”
“I can’t wait to see you! And to meet Ashley.”
“You’re going to love her, Pres. See you soon.”
Now I just had to figure out how to get Silk covered. That, I wasn’t too worried about. Edie, Steph, and Lily, the salesclerks, were more than capable of running the boutique for me. My biggest concern was getting someone to take care of Bella. Not for the first time, I wished my dog wasn’t a mastiff. If Bella were one of those tiny dogs, I could just shove her in a carry-on and take her with me. It would make my life a lot easier.
But I did know someone who had a soft spot for Bella. My friend Willie, a detective with the Chicago police, would probably take care of her for me. In fact, he probably wouldn’t want to give her back. I texted him to see if he could help me out and got a quick reply—he said he would love hanging out with her while I was away.
With all of that taken care of, I knew I could relax and enjoy seeing my brother and his new girlfriend, and celebrating the marriage of one of my best friends. Vegas would be a blast; I was sure of it.
What could possibly go wrong?
Happy Reading,
Laina
