Page 19 of Ms. V's Hot Girl Summer

A lady, two persons down, stared at me as if I had grown an extra leg.

“You let your kids make a reservation? How old are they?” I filled my lungs before answering, because if not my temper would escalate and they were not responsible for my predicament.

“They are fifteen years old, but they’re very, very responsible.” I couldn’t keep the frustration from my tone.

“Oh, you brave girl, that decision wasn’t smart. Now it looks like you won’t be able to stay for carnival,” the woman said. At this point I was frankly over with the conversation.

“I’m not here for carnival. That’s the whole thing. I’m here for a cheerleading competition.”

“Cheerleading competition?” the front desk agent asked while checking in another guest. “No way there is a competition, I would know.”

“Yes, there is.” I breathed for patience. “I think it’s probably somewhere on the outskirts of Ofele. I think they call it an Ofele competition, you know how it is sometimes? You’ll have something like a little rinky-dink town, like close to like a bigger town. And you know, they want to make themselves a name, but they want to be able to pull people in, so they call it something else.” At this point I was explaining myself to the line and I had no need for that. Or maybe I was trying to convince myself.

“Ma’am. My two girls are both in the best cheerleading team in the county. Trust me. If there was anything cheerleading happening in this town, I would know even if it was in a hundred-mile radius.”

I decided to move forward because this could not be happening right now. This couldnotbe happening. So I just nodded as the other guests stared at me and pretended I had my shit together. I didn’t.

“I hear you. I hear you. It must be something else. You know how it goes?” Ugh, enough explaining. “But go ahead and carry on with your work.”

A lounge area served as the perfect location to make this call. I had never hit the keypad of my phone as hard as I was doing now. I don’t know how I didn’t break a nail.

“Ah, what’s up, Ma? You good,” Brandon greeted me. His surroundings were too quiet. Would a bus full of teenagers be this chill? Or were the technology companies getting that good at isolating noise?

“Am I good? No, no, no, no, I’m absolutely not good. Estoy bien enfadada ahora mismo. I’m standing here in the Ofele Resort and Spa, which, by the way, is a beautiful hotel. And they’re telling me that they do not have a delegation from Basquiat High. And of course, they don’t, because look at this hotel. It’s like five stars. Of course, Basquiat wouldn’t be able to afford this. And then I say, oh, maybe the boys are trying to, you know, give me a little bit of treat. And I’m not staying in the same hotel as they are. And I asked for the confirmation number you put on my notes application, and they cannot find the room.

“Brian and Brandon, what did you do?” My voice rose in volume until I exploded on a crescendo at the end of my soliloquy.

“Mom, listen…what happened was,” Brian interjected, probably standing right next to his brother.

“No, no, no, no. No, ‘what happened was.’ Do not even start. Tell me. Tell me, dimelo, don’t give me the runaround.Tellme what’s going on,” I said through clenched teeth. People were starting to really stare now. The shiny marble floor reflected back my frazzled face.

“Well, we thought you needed a vacation…” Brandon said.

“What do you mean?!” Two men in suits appeared in the middle of the lobby. They must have teleported. A glimpse of a white earpiece gave me the information I needed to avoid being kicked out. This was hotel security. I walked away from the lounge area and settled beside a large column that covered me from the rest of the lobby.

“I really don’t understand how this happened. How did this happen? What do you mean you want me to have a vacation? I don’t have time for a vacation. That event is happening in a month. I don’t have the time to be playing games in no, you know, paradise. Not right now.”

Not during carnival.Because that type of vacation was not for the new me. The old me though? She’d be ready to party.

“Mom. We wanted you to have a fun weekend. You haven’t stopped working in a long time. But both of us can tell that you need a break. So we planned to surprise you. And this was the only way to surprise you,” Brian said sweetly. Such a deceptive little devil! My palm slapped the marble column next to me, the burst of anger demanding outlet.

“This was not the only way to surprise me! You know how you could have? You could have had a conversation with me and explained to me that you were concerned about me not having time to rest. And then I would have told you that I was planning some trips soon and Milton and I had been planning to go to the Poconos this weekend. And you know what? I don’t need you both to be parenting me. I am the mother!” The two men in suits stared at me, then each other. Then one touched his ear. Shit. I needed to lower my voice. I searched around for a quieter area but the lobby buzzed with so many travelers ready for their carnival weekend. You would think my voice would get lost in the hubbub, but my vocal cords were somehow competition for the quiet excitement filling the space.

“Ma, we you would have dragged and not done it anytime soon. And that weekend trip, wasn’t Milton taking you to a work event?”

These children knew too much about my personal life. New boundaries needed to be set as soon as possible. Grabbing my bag, I gestured peace to the security guards, my two fingers awkwardly bending away from my phone. Nodding along with my peace gesture I speed walked across the polished marble searching for the nearest exit.

“Brandon Miguel and Brian Rodrigo, you both are in so much trouble, you know—never mind. We can discuss the consequences of your actions once I am back. I’m gonna try to get back home. I can’t believe you did this!”

“Oh no, Ma, you won’t be able to get back. You know, the city is packed with carnival goers and everything.”

“Oh, now you are worried? I’ll find my way, and the two of you are going to help me. Find me a way to get back home ASAP. Put your tía on the line.” I was about to give Miranda a big piece of my mind.

“Hi, girl,” Miranda said as if this was a normal call. The nearest exit felt miles away as my stomach knotted at what was to come next.

“Hey, girl?! What is going on? Why am I here?” Maybe if I approached this with the same calm I used when emergencies went off at events at work, I would get quicker answers. If I screamed at Miranda like I wanted to do, she’d tell me to fix my attitude and hang up on me.

Damned the healed hussy.

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