Whiplash Hotel

by Christine Crean

‘Screw that Amy. Why do people say that anyway? What good would anyone’s flippin arm do? Someone hand’s you their severed arm…and you say…eh thanks for that!’

  ‘It’s just a saying Liz’ Amy smiled at Liz. She had a way with words.

  ‘Never mind about that! Listen, why don’t you pop to Sligo for the weekend. You might actually enjoy yourself…what do you say? A few glasses of prosecco on the balcony and maybe the pub for lunch down the road?’

  ‘Well, now that you say it. I was thinking of getting away!’ A vision of hopping on a plane crossed through Amy’s mind.

  ‘How about something further a field?’

  ‘Oh my God, that’s a great idea! Where will we go?’ The excitement was clear in her response.

  ‘I’m pretty easy but how do you feel about New York?’

  ‘Sweet divine! Do you even have to ask?’

  ‘That’s settled then. New York, here we come!’

  Sorting time off work was the only problem. Both having commitments, it turned out that the soonest they could go was three months from then. This happened to be a couple of weeks before Christmas. Both agreed that it would be the best time of year considering that December was such a family orientated month. Amy had no intention of sitting under the mistletoe scratching herself and being miserable. Macy’s sale was more in her line.

  ‘Excellent’ she squealed aloud in her office clicking her mouse as she booked the flights. Nearly doing a dance to the printer she skipped by Sean. Unable to keep his curiosity to himself he asked her what was so ‘excellent’.

  ‘Well mister nosey pants’ she had no intention of keeping up the awkward feeling between them ‘I’m going to New York before Christmas!’

  ‘Wow, that’s great’ Sean seemed genuinely happy for Amy

  ‘Who are you going with?’

  ‘Liz’

  ‘Wow. You’ll have a laugh! What brought this on?’

  ‘Well, I’ve wanted to get away somewhere for a while and I love New York!’

  ‘Good choice’ Sean concurred ‘So you’re telling me that Dublin didn’t satisfy you then’ his cheeky grin had returned. Knowing that his reply had two meanings, she gave as good as she got.

  ‘Ah Sean, you know me better than that. It will take more than that to satisfy me’ she winked at him, turned her back on him and walked away smiling to herself. Leaving him to watch her walk away, she walked with purpose shaking her hips that little bit more than she would normally.

  Sean watched, smiling to himself as he walked back into his office and closed the door. Maybe Amy and Sean would be ok now. She didn’t want to count her chickens but at least they were getting back to normal. Whatever normal was these days.

  8

  As their holiday to New York was a few months away, Amy and Liz decided that a weekend together in Sligo would be exactly what they needed. Packing for the few days, Amy decided that she would throw in a couple of going out dresses just in case. It wasn’t that she felt like going out but she knew that Liz, once she had a couple of beers in her would be dying to go dancing. Amy hated dancing. Liz loved it. It was ok for her though. She was great at it. Once on the dance floor people would stop and stare. Liz was beautiful in any case but put that together with excellent moves and you would have a room full of people staring. Her skin was smooth and flawless and even though her features were not what one would call symmetrical, most would agree that she had something. It was a raw sexiness. Nearly every guy she wanted, she could draw to her. Maybe it was the fact that she felt sexy. She always said to Amy that if you feel saucy, you look saucy. The clothes she wore highlighted this belief. Liz always wore expensive clothes. She paid for clothes that skimmed her voluptuous frame. Skirts always hugged her hour glass figure and any top she wore gave a hint of her noticeable chest. This theory was definitely working for her. You could see it when she was on the dance floor. When the music played, Liz looked like she felt it was coming from somewhere within her. Whatever beat was coming from the speakers Liz, even if she knew the song or not, looked like a professional dancer. Never having had a lesson in her life music, catapulted her to a different place.

  Amy often felt jealous of her friends’ ability. However, she wouldn’t swap places with Liz despite the fact that her own life was falling down around her. Liz's childhood home was burned to the ground on Christmas day when she was sixteen. Her youngest sister was killed in the fire. Shauna was only six. It didn’t matter that the investigators said that it was faulty wiring in the century old house; Liz’s mum blamed her dad. Her dad blamed her mum. The family ended up living in council accommodation as their insurance had lapsed in their previous home. That meant moving from Loughrea to Sligo, as Liz’s mums family were around to help. This was a huge change for them all.

  Arguments were commonplace in the cramped accommodation, the father eventually turning to alcohol. When he became abusive and nasty, her only other sibling, an older brother Jason, moved to Australia. As a result, Liz worked all through secondary school to help her mother. She was also highly intelligent and was offered a once off chance to attend Trinity, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country with a scholarship. With money still very tight and her father as abusive as ever, Liz was petrified to leave her mother. Two years after her leaving cert, while she worked as a secretary for a construction company, her mother died from a stroke. She was only fifty-nine.

  Afterward, Liz never left Sligo. She moved out of the council apartment but checked on her dad every day after work. Eventually going to night school, Liz became a legal secretary and even planned to study law. Maybe she would get to have her own life one day but for the moment, she felt responsible for her father. Was it any wonder that Liz liked the attention she got or was somewhat of a hypochondriac? People in her family either died or moved away. Amy guessed it was her way of making sense of what had happened.

  Friday evening traffic was a nightmare coming out of Galway. It was six o’clock and Amy knew she would be lucky to be in Sligo by eight thirty. Sitting in traffic, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel she sang along to the radio. Moving slowly, inching her way down the N17 she turned her head watching the traffic coming from the other direction. They too, were bumper to bumper. A black jeep pulled up alongside her on the opposite side of the road. A man with bleached blond hair watched her just as she watched him. Realising that she was staring at a perfect stranger, she quickly turned her head unable to hide her smile. Glimpsing at the side of her eye, the black jeep hadn’t moved. Daring to look again, blondie was still staring and returning her smile. Lifting his hand, he gave a quick wave. Before she could wave back, the cars in both lanes started to move again.

  ‘What was that?’ She said out loud laughing. Feeling goose bumps after openly flirting with a complete stranger, Amy smiled continuously all the way to Tuam. Not only was she feeling better than she had in months, she was looking forward to a nice weekend with her friend. They would plan for New York and eat their way through an entire Chinese menu, the joys of a good girly weekend.

  ‘God, I thought you’d never get here. The Jacobs Creek was about to evaporate’

  ‘Don’t exaggerate’ Amy having some difficulty, hauled her case up the stairs to Liz’s duplex

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m fine. No help necessary here’

  ‘Suck it up Connelly, it’s a small case’ Liz shouted from the kitchen, too busy getting the wine. Following the smell of food, Amy found her friend dividing cartons of food. It looked like Liz had planned on feeding an entire army.

  ‘I wasn’t sure what you wanted from the chinese….so I got everything’

  ‘God, I’m starving’ Amy didn’t know where to start, her mouth was watering at the array of food on the table.

  ‘Well, horse it into ya Cynthia; we need to line the old stomachs. We’re getting our glad rags on and we’re going out’

  ‘A good job I brought a few numbers then!’ Amy laughed, taking a big gulp of sauvignon blanc.

 
‘Great’ Liz could barely contain her excitement ‘There’s a new pub opened in town, it’s meant to be really fab. We are SO going there!’

  ‘Well, you are the hostess, so I’m going where ever you are!’

  The two girls weren’t long getting glammed up. Both wearing dresses, Amy’s fitted, below the knee and blue while Liz wore a black short strapless ensemble with a thick chunky belt. Amy knew that she would be cursing herself an hour into the evening wearing the new pair of killer heels she got in River Island. Frank would have killed her for spending 60 euro on a pair of shoes that she ‘would wear once every six months’. Now that she didn’t have anyone to answer to she could buy an endless supply of shoes.

  Heading straight for the new bar that Liz had talked about, Amy was excited to be out. She didn’t go out as much as she used to and forgot about the feeling she used to get at the pit of her stomach at the thought of a night out. While she hated the dance floor, she loved the loud music, guys chatting her up and the laughs she would have with her mischievous friend. She might even have a sneaky cigarette, a guilty pleasure saved only for a night out. It had been a while since she drank her favourite wine but the bottle they shared back at Liz’s had her feeling happy and relaxed. Grabbing a seat by the bar, the two girls placed their wine glasses on the table.

  ‘So, tell me what’s going on with Sean?’

  ‘Ha ha, clever girl’ Amy tapped her index finger on her temple a couple of times ‘Very clever. Wait until a girl is good and liquored up…’

  ‘Ok, my plan is foiled’ Liz raised her hands up admitting she knew that Amy wouldn’t open up about what went on with them unless she had a drink on her.

  ‘Nothing is going on with Sean! We just had a bit of a thing’ Amy didn’t know what other way to describe it ‘Very briefly, when we went to Dublin. He got me through a bit of a tough few days and it just happened’

  ‘Did ye?’

  ‘God NO! Not even close’

  ‘Well, if I do say so myself, even though it’s been a number of years, he is pretty damn hot in the sack if you know what I mean!’ Liz raised her glass giving Amy a knowing nod.

  ‘Stop it would you and whatever happened…. it was just a kiss’ Amy laughed ‘Anyway, somebody else asked me out. They sent flowers to the office and…’

  ‘WHAT? Who sent you flowers and WHY am I only hearing about this now?’

  ‘I didn’t think that there was anything to tell, but when I got the flowers…I started thinking that it wouldn’t kill me to check it out. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?’

  ‘Eh, lets see…you could marry him and I could start sleeping with him behind your back’ Liz joked.

  Throwing a beer mat at Liz, Amy started fumbling at her bag feeling her phone vibrate.

  ‘Turn that phone off. It’s Friday night. You’re not at work now. Seriously, who could it be that’s so important?’ Jumping from her seat, Liz skipped towards the bar to get another drink, annoyed that her friend brought her work phone with her. Amy squinted at her phone in the badly lit pub, she saw a text message had come through. It was a strange number she didn’t recognise.

  ‘Please go out with me? I hope you don’t mind. I looked up your number on your company’s website….Anyway I thought that I had nothing to lose by asking you one more time. Dinner in Flannagans on Sunday night at seven thirty??? I’ll be there. If you don’t turn up I’ll get the message and promise not to hassle you any more, Adam : ) ’

  ‘Amy, are you alright, who was that?’

  ‘It was the someone else!’

  ‘No! What did he say?’

  Amy handed over her phone. Liz scanned it, a look of glee on her face.

  ‘No way! Is this fella for real? He has it pretty bad if you ask me! So tell me WHO is he? How did you meet him and what does he look like?’

  Telling her the entire story from the incident in Salthill to the interview the other day, Liz was already besotted with Adam. Amy was as confused as ever but thought that one little dinner never killed anyone. She was free and single and didn’t owe anything to anyone. Putting her phone back in her bag, Sean crossed Amy’s mind. She wasn’t sure really what had gone on with them but she had convinced herself that it was nothing and he was with someone else. She felt bad for Adam. He was gorgeous and she couldn’t not go!

  The following morning two very sore heads met each other in the kitchen for coffee. There were croissants and doughnuts but neither had the stomach to look at them.

  ‘Feck you and your wine anyway!’ Amy scolded as she held her head in her hands. Hardly even able to talk, the two hungover women stared at each other, one blaming the other for the copious amounts of alcohol taken the night previous.

  ‘I swear, I have a migraine’ Amy giggled.

  This started the pair of them laughing. They laughed so hard that Liz nearly fell off her chair. The last time anyone said the word migraine the effects of Sharon’s explosion would possibly have been visible from outer space. It was decided unanimously, after their hysterical fit of laughter, that a walk along the beach might be the best cure for their pounding heads. After that, they knew that they would be starving and promised each other, the hair of the dog and some pub grub would be in order.

  The rest of the weekend flew by in a blur. The two women having one laugh after the other. They planned their holiday, what they would do and where they would go shopping. Both of them were sad to say good-bye on Sunday. Amy unwillingly put her suitcase into the boot of her car. They had agreed amongst themselves that Amy would indeed meet Adam for dinner that evening. Fussing over what she would wear, tanning her up and doing her nails, Amy set off feeling butterflies in her stomach. What was she thinking? What would she say? She didn’t know this guy from Adam! ‘Hah’ she laughed aloud at her slip of the tongue. God, she was talking to herself. She would be a babbling mess by the time she got to Flannagans.

  9

  Checking herself in the mirror, Amy felt hot and sticky. It was oddly warm but that was enhanced by her nervous state. She felt anxious as she held out her hand to watch it shake up and down. ‘Shake it off, shake it off’ she mumbled to herself. Looking down at her outfit, she wondered what the hell she and Liz were thinking. The black dress was too tight. It clung to her. She wouldn’t be able to eat a damn thing. Parking the car as close as she could to the restaurant, she grabbed her umbrella. It has started to mist on her way into the city and she wasn’t about to let a half an hour of blow drying go to waste. Glancing at her watch, it was just coming up on seven thirty. The restaurant would be busy; it was Sunday night after all. A couple of minutes walking and she arrived outside. The door way led into a small hall, which in turn led to a flight of stairs. She hadn’t been to Flannery’s before but had heard great reviews. It was only a pity that she wouldn’t be able to eat anything. Walking up the stairs it was unusually quiet. All she could hear was the sound of a piano playing lightly in the background. At the top of the stairs was another door. Peering through the patterned glass, she was greeted by a maitre’d.

  ‘Ms Connolly, good evening’ Amy did a little jump. Since when did restaurant staff know their customers by name? She had never been there before and yet they knew who she was.

  ‘Yes, that’s me’ Amy smiled nervously not knowing what was happening. Doing a quick scan of her surroundings, she wondered if she had actually got the time wrong. The restaurant didn’t even look open. The maitre’d introduced Amy to their waitress for the evening.

  ‘May I take your coat’ the girl asked politely. Handing over her jacket, Amy was very curious.

  ‘I’m sorry, am I early?’ Amy stopped and asked the very efficient and clean cut waitress.

  ‘No, no, you are right on time! Mr Staunton is waiting for you’

  ‘Em ok, thanks’

  Making their way around the corner, every one of the tables in the restaurant was empty. A large black piano stood in the middle of the room. It looked like one that would be well placed in a hotel lobb
y. It was ever so shiny and had a wing gracefully pointed towards the ceiling. The grey haired man playing slowly and with precision, wore a tuxedo and nodded in her direction. She knew the harmony. It was one of her favourite composers, Ludovico Einaudi. Most people her age were not into classical music but Amy loved it. She listened to it when she couldn’t find solace in anything else and remembered her dad listening to it when she was a child. Every time she listened, she was brought straight back to her old sitting room in Loughrea. Examining the room further, she noticed that there were candles everywhere. Not just little votive candles on each table but everywhere. All shapes and sizes. There was no other light in the place. It was candle light making the room glow.

  Adam waited patiently, watching Amy surveying her surroundings. He too, wore a tuxedo. Suddenly feeling very under dressed, Amy wasn’t completely sure but this didn’t seem normal. The area where Adam was seated seemed stripped of all tables but the one at which he sat. Instead, candles littered the floor leaving a path towards him.

  ‘Hi’

  ‘Hi’

  ‘I’m so happy you came’ Adam stood to pull Amy’s chair out for her. Amy was a little overwhelmed and didn’t know what to say. Her favourite piece of music played in the background ‘I Giorni’. It was almost surreal.

  ‘Have you?’ Amy stuttered ‘did you?’

  ‘Yes’ Adam took Amy’s hand ‘dance with me’

  It was not a request. Adam took Amy and led her towards the piano where there was more room. Leaving his hand on her waist, he brought her closer. Not saying anything the waiting staff gazed from behind the bar at the most romantic display they had ever witnessed in their restaurant. Mr Staunton had come to them a couple of days ago with a strange request. He wanted the entire premises for an evening. Telling them that it was for something really special, they supposed it was for a proposal. He didn’t seem to care that it would cost a considerable amount of money. Not only had they to cancel all reservations but they had to find a professional pianist and a grand piano. The gentleman offered to pay double whatever it cost just as long as they would make it ‘perfect’. It was definitely that.