Page 71 of Rebuilding Friendship Inn

Robin expected to find a cramped room with two twin beds, two desks, two chairs, and two closets. That was exactly what she saw, and she wasn’t surprised at all that Mandie entered the room and started soaking everything in.

A window took up the wall between the two beds, and four shelves have been affixed to the wall parallel to the beds. Another acted as a headboard above the bed.

She looked to the right side, and Robin would be surprised if she chose that. It was closer to the door, and Mandie never liked being the closest to the entrance of a bedroom.

She looked left, and Robin wondered what she was trying to figure out. “This side.” She turned to the right and finally dropped her duffel bag on the bed. She groaned loudly as Robin tugged in the suitcase and closed the door.

“Why this side?” she asked.

“It has a bigger closet.” Mandie smiled at her, unzipped the duffle, and added, “All right. Here’s my sheets. Let’s get this room set up.”

Alice marveledat how efficient Ginny was. In no time at all, her bed had been made up, her clothes unpacked, and her suitcases stowed under her bed. She’d never had a lot of posters or knick-knacks in her room, and she stood at the end of the bed looking at the mostly bare walls.

She had brought a picture frame that held three pictures—one of her, Charlie, and Alice. One of her and Ray, her boyfriend who’d moved to Maryland to attend college, and one of her and Charlie.

Her backpack sat in her desk chair. She’d put her retro alarm clock and a neat row of her favorite paperback books on the desk too.

“I need a plant,” she said, turning to Alice. “And I could put a bean bag here.” Ginny loved bean bags, and Alice gave her a nod.

“All right,” she said. “We have to go to the store no matter what. We’ll see what they have.” Her stomach churned, and not only because she’d had to pick which twin to go with. Her ex-husband lived in the city, but he’d bailed on helping the twins move in. Alice couldn’t help thinking that he’d somehow poison the twins now that they were so much closer to him. Alice had asked Duke to go with Charlie so they could get everything moved in quicker.

“Your room is definitely the nicest,” Alice said. She held out her phone to show her the pictures Duke had just sent. “That’s your brother’s room.”

“It’s so dark,” Ginny said, peering at the photo on Alice’s screen.

“His window isn’t very big,” Alice said. “And he’s right next to another building.”

Ginny looked up, concern in her eyes. “I feel bad.”

“Why? You don’t need to feel bad. Charlie changed his mind a bunch of times. He’s lucky he got on-campus housing at all.” She pocketed her phone. “If you’re ready, though, we can head over there. I’ll text Robin.”

She’d sent pictures of Mandie’s room too, and it was fairly nice. The kitchen facility looked good too, and Alice did hold out hope that Ginny would maybe do a little cooking.At least in the microwave, she thought.

They turned to leave just as the door opened. A blonde woman stood there, and she said, “Oh, hello,” in a falsely bright voice. “She’s already here,” she yelled over her shoulder. When she faced Alice and Ginny again, she painted over the obvious disgust in her tone with that fake smile. “You must be Ginny.”

“Yes,” Ginny said. “You’re…Constance’s mother?”

“Step-mom,” another voice said, and Alice looked to the younger woman behind the blonde. She was about as opposite of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed person as someone could get, and Alice couldn’t help smiling at the dryness in her voice.

“I got it, Linda,” she said to the woman. “You can go.”

Linda opened her mouth, then closed it again. “I’ll go check on Reginald.”

“You do that,” Constance said.

Linda left, and Alice wanted to as well. Constance wore a pair of black jeans with so many holes and rips in them, Alice wondered how she could get her toes and leg through without ripping something wide open.

She wasn’t overly tall or short, nor necessarily thin or not thin. She did have a larger-than-average chest, which she’d stuffed into a black tank top. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore steel-toed boots with the jeans, no makeup, and bright pink nail polish. That last one really threw Alice, and she wished she had half the tact Arthur did for dealing with teenagers.

Ginny squealed and took the three steps to Constance. They hugged, both of them laughing, and then Ginny faced Alice. “Mom, this is Constance.” She smiled at her and then Alice. “My mom, Alice.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Alice said.

Ginny and Constance giggled again, which Alice so didn’t appreciate. She gave Ginny a look she ignored, and she supposed she should be happy her daughter had a roommate she got along with.

“Mom, can she come with us?”

Alice hadn’t been expecting that. “Oh, uh, don’t you need to move in, Constance?”

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