Did you miss Chapter One?
From Pampered to Death
Chapter Two
At last dressed in our swimwear, Paula and I dipped out of the
increasingly loud locker room. Once out of sight of the
younger women, Paula made a motion–accompanied by a loud, fake
gulp–like she was chugging a bottle.
“Yeah,” I said in agreement; we could still hear the women laughing
from the locker room as we arrived back in the lobby. “We picked the
wrong spa for peace and quiet.”
The woman at the counter smiled at us both as we entered. “Hot
tub is open, ladies, go on in.”
Best thing I had heard all day!
We entered the large room that hosted two separate hot tubs. The
room was pretty drab as far as décor went, and that made Paula cringe
slightly, as an interior decorator. The walls were an overly bright
orange color, and the only décor was a few fake plants in the corner.
Either way, the hot tub looked relaxing enough for me.
Paula and I ditched our towels on a lounge chair and slid into the
hot, steamy water.
“Oh yeah,” I said. “That’s the good stuff. Perfect for my sore
muscles.”
“Oh, shut up,” Paula teased, splashed me slightly. “The yoga class
wasn’t that bad. Besides, it’s good for you.”
“I’ll have nightmares tonight about it,” I said.
Paula laughed, and I sunk deeper into the water letting the hot
water relax my shoulders.
We were silent for a moment and within the short quiet time, guilt
crept back into my shoulders, tensing them up again. “Ugh,” I sighed.
“What is it?” Paula asked, alarmed.
“I don’t know. I couldn’t wait for today. You know, to spend time
with you and unwind, and now all I can think about is Laurie. I miss
her.”
“I know how you feel,” Paula said. “I feel guilty every single time I
leave my little ones with a sitter. But you know you need your time.
Remember the oxygen mask stuff they say on the airplane? You need
your oxygen mask on first before you can help anyone else.”
I nodded. “You’re right. I hope Kenny isn’t too overwhelmed with
all three of them,” I said.
“He’s a smart, well put together kid,” Paula said. “I’m sure he’s fine.
Although Danny can be a bit much.”
“I know. Your little man has more energy than anyone I have ever
met,” I said.
“Are you kidding? Did I tell you we had to move our couch to keep
him from sneaking into the kitchen and climbing up onto our table?
He watched some superhero movie with David, and now he thinks he
can fly. I’m scared I’m one ER visit away from having that little
munchkin taken away from me! He’s only two, and he’s already had to
have stitches!”
“Stitches? From what?”
“He jumped from the table onto the chandelier and fell. And to
make matters worse, David bought him a superhero cape—now he
thinks he’s Spiderman and that he can fly.”
“Spiderman doesn’t fly, does he?” I asked. “He sort of scales walls
or something.”
“Well, Danny doesn’t know the difference,” Paula said. “He calls
every superhero Spiderman. Though when he says it, it sounds more
like Speederman.”
GRAB YOUR COPY OF PAMPERED TO DEATH HERE
“That’s so cute,” I said.
“You say that now, but you better watch what Jim lets Laurie
watch. David wants to redo Danny’s room for his next birthday, and
do you know what he wants to do for him?”
“Superheroes?” I asked.
“Superheroes!” Paula cried out with anguish. “I can’t constantly be
pulling my little Speederman off furniture because his daddy wants to
bond over his unhealthy obsession with superheroes. I’m worried that
if he redoes Danny’s room, the superhero thing will take off to an
entirely unmanageable level. I mean … last week … Danny got into his
daddy’s tool kit that someone left out and found a hammer. My Speed‐
erman thought he was Thor for a day, and Thor put a hole in the
garage wall.”
I laughed, but Paula rolled her eyes.
“Sorry, Paula,” I said.
“You just wait. Laurie is going to reach that toddler age before you
know it, and she will be into everything at all times! I have baby gates
everywhere, but now Danny is trying to climb them because
Spiderman can climb walls, so he thinks he can too. Down one hall,
we have actually stacked two baby gates on top of each other because
the one was too easy for him to get over. I literally have to duck down
and go through the door on the bottom baby gate to get down the
hallway!”
“I hope Laurie is a little tamer than Mr. Speederman. And I’m
calling your son that from now on, by the way. He’ll be eighteen, grad‐
uating from high school, and I’ll be shouting Speederman from the
crowd.” I laughed.
Paula giggled at the thought.
“Laurie is just barely getting to where she sits up, but she pulls
herself up now pretty easily,” I said. “She’s started babbling a lot too,
so I’m hoping she’ll say her first word soon.”
“She’s only five months. That would be pretty early. I think Danny
was almost nine months before he said his first words. I was hoping
for Mama, but it was Happy Halloween!” Paula said.
“I remember.” I giggled. “We’d say Happy Thanksgiving, Danny,
and he’d reply Happy Halloween!”
Paula chuckled. “He said Happy Halloween straight through
Christmas and New Year’s!”
The door to the room swung open, and our laughter was cut short
as if we’d be chided for having a good time.
A woman in a black one-piece swimsuit entered. Her bathing suit
had a little pink bow on one hip, and she smiled as she approached us.
“Mind if I join you ladies?” she asked.
Paula and I smiled at her and scooted closer together to give her room.
The woman dipped into the hot tub and grinned, satisfied. She had
black hair accented by a streak of silver along the right side of her face
that gave her a look of maturity, but her youthful face made her
appear simply lovely.
“Have you tried out the sauna yet?” Paula asked, glancing toward
the side doors to the sauna room. “We’re probably going to give it a go
in a minute.”
The woman smiled widely. “Oh, I’ve tried the sauna plenty of
times. This is my spa.”
I sat up straight, my manners kicking in. “Well, it’s a lovely place.”
“She says that, but she’s been moaning and groaning about the
yoga class we took all morning,” Paula teased.
The woman laughed and leaned over, elbowing me gently. “I don’t
blame you. Sonya, the instructor, is a tough lady. You two took the
advanced class?”
“Yup,” Paula said, flashing me a devious grin.
“What?” I exclaimed. “You made me take an advanced yoga class?!
No wonder I’m so sore.”
“It was the one that best fit our schedule,” Paula said, “Anyway,
you’re fine. You’re tougher than you think.”
The woman laughed. “I’m Jane North, by the way,” she said.
“I’m Kate, and this used to be my best friend, Paula,” I said.
GRAB YOUR COPY OF PAMPERED TO DEATH HERE
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”I couldn’t stop reading!”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”Fast-paced and fun. I love these mysteires!”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐”Diana Orgain is my new favorite author!”
Stay up to date and Join the fun!
GRAB YOUR COPY OF PAMPERED TO DEATH HERE
Share the love!
