Chapter 4

Skylar

I poured the boiling water over the chamomile teabag and inhaled the citrus infused steam. This was my favorite part of the evening. The day was done, and I could finally sit with my book and wind down with a hot cup of tea.

I had already lit the half dozen candles in my living room, and as I made my way slowly to the sofa, tea sloshing gently in my floral-patterned mug, my doorbell rang. I sighed and put the tea down on a coaster on my coffee table, feeling already that my alone time had been swept out from under me. Then I went to the front door of my apartment, peered through the peephole, and saw my sister standing there, grinning like a fool.

“Let me in!” Renee called, ringing the doorbell again. “I have something to show you!”

I opened the door, and she hurried inside, kicking off her rhinestone studded ankle boots and pulling her purse down from her shoulder. She rummaged inside it and withdrew a bunch of chaotically folded papers. “I present to you, your first vacation ever,” she said proudly, stuffing the papers into my hands.

“Can we sit, and I’ll look through it all?” I asked. “It’s been a long day.”

“Of course!” Renee cried, grabbing my wrist and dragging me into my own living room. She spotted my tea and made pleading eyes at me.

After pouring her a mug, we finally sat down on the sofa together. I unfolded all the papers in my lap and flattened them out.

A picture of a giant obelisk lay before me. “What the heck is this?” I asked my sister, flipping through more pages. I started reading information aloud. “The Citrine. The newest and highest rated hotel to book your accommodations for your stay in Las Vegas, Nevada.” I looked up at Renee. “Vegas?”

Renee nodded and clasped her mug of piping tea in her hands. “Yeah, what do you think?”

I thought Vegas was way too much for my blood. I got anxiety using public restrooms. How was I supposed to navigate one of the most densely populated cities in America? “I think it’s a bit loud.”

“Loud?” Renee arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah. You know I’m a low-key kind of person. There wasn’t somewhere else that was maybe a little more my speed?”
“Your speed?” Renee asked. “Sky, if I chose something that was your speed, we’d be going to Florida to visit one of the many popular senior homes or retirement communities. You need to live a little. It’s just one week. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but I think you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone just a little bit.”

“You sound like Mom,” I said, recalling the way our mother used to tell me I needed to take more risks. What mother encouraged their daughter to do such a thing? Mine only did so because everything I did was premeditated, down to the last second. Every decision was crucial, and I considered as many variables and outcomes as I could. I was a very careful, deliberate person, and my mother truly believed that life would pass me by if I didn’t change things up every now and then.

“Mom was right,” Renee said. “She knew what was good for you. We’re going. There are no excuses that can get you out of this one. I already called your boss, and you have next week off. We leave at noon on Monday.”

Everything felt like it was happening so fast. I tried to formulate words, but nothing came.

“And I have to tell you, Nikki is coming, too,” Renee said.

“Nikki?” I groaned, falling into the back of the couch.

Nikki was one of my least favorite people. She was my sister’s best friend, and the two of them had been inseparable since high school. She had been a good friend to Renee when our parents died in a car accident while I was in nursing school. Renee had been in her senior year of high school, and Nikki and I pulled her through the worst of it all. But now, Nikki was always around, and she drove me up the wall.

“I know, I know,” Renee said. “But to compromise, I got you your own room. Nikki and I will be next door, but if you need any time on your own, you can just go back to your room. A Nikki-free zone. Fair?”

“Fair,” I sighed.

Upon seeing the pictures of what the rooms looked like, I was starting to think that maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad. Everything was elegantly decorated, yet simple. Gold embellishments stood out against dark backdrops of obsidian and quartz. The beds were made with what looked like silk sheets, there were jacuzzis in the bathrooms, and the view of the Strip out the floor-to-ceiling windows was to die for.

“This place sure looks nice,” I said, flipping through more of the pages she had handed me. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s newer. A girl Nikki knows stayed there a few weeks ago and said it was incredible. Great service, decent prices, and a nice casino. The pool is supposed to be legendary, as well. I think it’s the perfect thing for you right now.” Renee leaned forward and put her hand on my knee. “You spend every day caring for other people. It’s time to spend some of that energy on yourself. You deserve it more than anyone I know. It’s going to be so much fun.”

I smiled and nodded, but I didn’t feel as excited as she seemed to be. This was daunting for me. I would rather stay home in my safe place. I would rather get up every day that week and go to the hospital and do my job. Texas was my home, and my happy place, and I had never felt the urge to leave.

Renee sighed. “You don’t want to go, do you?”
I met my sister’s eyes. I could see the disappointment in the slump of her shoulders. “It’s not personal,” I assured her. “You know me. I just like it here. I’ve never really cared to go anywhere. Travel isn’t in my blood.”

“You can’t say that if you’ve never gone anywhere,” Renee scolded, sounding like our mother yet again.

“I know, I just… I don’t know. Casinos and clubs and drinking booze on the street just isn’t my thing, you know?”
“Oh, believe me, I know. Chamomile tea and lavender-scented candles is your thing. So is being in bed by nine every night.”

“Yeah, because I get up at four in the morning,” I said.

Renee shook her head and lifted her nose at me. “You are going to come with us, and we are all going to have an awesome time. Trust me. What’s the worst that could possibly happen?”

I shrugged. I didn’t actually know the answer to the question. I supposed the worst thing that could happen was that I would hate it there and I would waste a week of my life holed up in a hotel room. Although if it was truly that terrible, I could just catch a flight home.

“Exactly,” Renee said. “So, stop overthinking it. It will be great. But now, we have to think about the important stuff. Do you have a bathing suit?”

I scowled. “Of course, I have a bathing suit.”

“If it has a skirt, or any fabric that covers your tummy, or shorts, it doesn’t count.”

I frowned as I considered the one bathing suit that was currently packed away at the bottom of a swimming bag I hadn’t touched in two years. It was a tankini top that I wore with a pair of Hawaiian board shorts. I swallowed. “Okay, so I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“Glad I asked,” Renee said. “Now, you’ll need to consider a couple of other things. You’re going to need clothes. You know, clothes? The things people wear who don’t wear scrubs out of fear of getting bodily fluids on themselves?”

I glared at her. “Yes. I have clothes, too. You just never see me wearing them.”

“Your clothes are hermit clothes,” Renee said.

“Hermit clothes? What the hell does that mean?”

Renee sipped her tea and shrugged one shoulder. “How many pairs of jeans do you own?”

“Two.”

“How many pairs of jeans do you own that fit you?”

I crossed my arms and proceeded to pout. She had caught me. I hadn’t worn jeans in ages. They were too restricting compared to the scrubs I was so used to wearing.

“Exactly my point,” Renee said matter-of-factly. “You need new clothes for this trip. And for life, in general. Things that fit you. And shoes. Good God, girl, you need new shoes. You absolutely cannot wear those work shoes of yours in Vegas. Not even on the plane to Vegas. Those stay here.”

“I’m not buying the heels you wear everywhere,” I said. “I’ll break my ankles.”

“I never said anything about you having to buy heels. Just shoes that look nice. They do make nice looking shoes that are also comfortable, you know? It’s not the eighteen hundreds anymore. You can have the best of both worlds.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. She had a point. I hated when she had a point. “Okay,” I said. “What else will I be needing for this vacation of ours?”

Renee launched into lists of all the things I needed to do over the next two days. Most of the things she said I instantly forgot about because they were completely unnecessary.

She wanted me to go to a tanning salon, which would absolutely not be happening. As a nurse, I knew what those beds did to a person’s skin, and I didn’t feel like doing the cancer dance when I hit my forties or fifties.

She also wanted me to make a hair appointment. I had scheduled haircuts every two months where I got the same trim. I wasn’t going to mess with a good thing.

Renee insisted on manicures and pedicures, which I begrudgingly agreed to. I couldn’t see the harm in having my fingers match my toes. Then Renee started saying how we had to make sure I had several new bikinis, and my nail color had to somehow go with all of them. Feeling a little overwhelmed, I told her I needed to head to bed and get some sleep before my last shift the following day. I promised I would get my nails done with her on Sunday after we went shopping for shoes, clothes, and if Renee had any say in it, a separate bikini for each day of the week.

After Renee left, I basked in the silence of my apartment. This was the last little bit of alone time I was going to have before leaving for Vegas. I was intimidated by the thoughts of packing my suitcase and getting to the airport. The thought of being in Las Vegas made my stomach flip.

I wondered if there was anything I could say or do to get myself out of going on this trip with my sister and Nikki. I knew that if I did, Renee would hold it against me for eternity. She was doing a very generous thing for me, and I would be a terrible sister if I ruined it all because I was afraid of a vacation.

How bad could it really be? I had seven days to do whatever I wanted. I could lounge by the pool sipping on pina coladas all day. There was nothing bad about that scenario.

As I brushed my teeth, I started daydreaming about lying on a pool chair in a red bikini with a massive sun hat and designer sunglasses. I could practically taste the coconut and rum already.