Chapter 48
“So, now what do we do?” Liz asked, glancing at Lulu, who was bouncing happily on the bed. “Honey, be careful.”
Lulu stopped and flopped down on the mattress, waiting for them to decide something.
“How did you do that?” Lucky asked. “We all have to tell her things three or four times before she listens!”
Liz shrugged. “I guess I just have a way with kids. Anyway, you didn’t answer my question. It’s too early to go to sleep, so what are we supposed to do in this roach motel?”
“I’m hungry!” Lulu said suddenly. Lucky looked at Liz and shrugged.
“I think I saw a Denny’s up the road. That’ll kill some time, and we haven’t had dinner yet.”
She sighed and stood up. “Why not? We’re just eating all kinds of healthy food today, aren’t we?” she asked sarcastically.
Lucky laughed and followed her to the door, checking to make sure Lulu was right behind him. “This coming from the person who runs Kelly’s?”
“Hey, Kelly’s serves wonderful, home-cooked food!” she shot back defensively.
“What are you, a walking advertisement?”
“Oh, shut up!” she grumbled, climbing into the car. Lucky chuckled as he hopped into the driver’s seat and started it up. After a short drive, they walked into the restaurant and waited to be seated. Liz shivered, rubbing her arms.
“Why is it always so cold in here?” she grumbled.
“How do you know it’s always cold here? You come here often?” Lucky teased.
Liz rolled her eyes as they followed the hostess to their booth. “No, but I’ve actually been to a Denny’s before. Many times, in fact. Those of us who don’t make millions of dollars every day can’t afford to eat at fancy restaurants all the time. Trust me, they’re all cold, all the time.”
“If you say so. I’m perfectly comfortable,” he responded, frowning at his menu. He hated it when she brought up the supposed fortune she thought he had. Sure, he was wealthy, but not nearly as rich as she seemed to think.
“You’ve got to be kidding! You’re not cold?”
He shook his head, glancing up at her over the top of his menu. “Nope.”
She looked down at her own menu, remembering how warm he had been that night they spent together in jail. His body had practically radiated heat, so it was no wonder he wasn’t cold now. She blushed at the memory, then cleared her throat and scooted out of the booth. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to the bathroom.”
“Yeah, sure,” he mumbled. She hurried away from the table, leaving him alone with Lulu. “So, what are you going to have, sweetie?”
Lulu studied the menu Liz had left on the table for a minute. “Pancakes!”
“Pancakes? Lulu, it’s dinner, not breakfast!” he said with a laugh. She looked up at him and pouted, instantly weakening his resolve. “Okay, fine, you can have pancakes.”
She grinned and kicked her feet happily as the waitress walked up to the booth. “Hi, can I take your drink orders?”
“Um, sure, I’ll just have a Coke. How about you, Lulu?”
Lulu looked up bashfully at the waitress and smiled. “Milk, please.”
She jotted down the orders, then looked back at Lucky. “What about your wife, do you know what she’d like to drink?”
Lucky just stared at her for a moment before recovering from the shock of hearing Elizabeth referred to as his wife. “Oh, she’s not my wife. Um, actually, bring her an unsweetened tea with lemon.”
The waitress smirked as she wrote it down. “You sure she’s not your wife?”
”What?” he asked, confused by her question. She just hook her head and laughed.
“Nothing, I’ll be back in a few to take your orders.” She smiled at Lulu, then hurried away to get their drinks. A minute later, Liz returned.
“She didn’t take our orders yet, did she?” she asked, nodding toward the waitress, whom she had seen leaving the table a moment earlier.
“Just the drinks,” Lucky said, still reading his menu, unable to decide what he wanted to eat.
“Oh, should I call her back here for mine, then?”
Lulu giggled. “Lucky ordered for you. She called you his wife!”
“His what?” she asked loudly. “Why would she say that?”
Lucky shrugged and glanced up at her. “She just assumed, that’s all.”
“So what did you order?” she asked, expecting it to be something horrible.
“Unsweetened tea with lemon,” he answered simply.
“How did you know that?”
“It’s what you always drink,” he said. “At the auction, at Kelly’s, at Burger King today....”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” she grumbled, annoyed that he knew her so well. “Anyway, I’m not nearly as predictable as you. Let me guess, Coke?”
“Yeah, but half the country probably orders that. It doesn’t mean I’m predictable.”
She thought for a minute, then grinned. “Okay, how much you want to bet I know what you’re going to order to eat?”
“That would be interesting, since I don’t even know yet!” he answered, putting down his menu. “You’re on though. How about loser takes the floor tonight?”
“Oh no, I’m not sleeping on that nasty floor!” she said, shaking her head.
“So you think you’ll lose?” he asked, smirking.
“No, but for all I know, you could order something strange just so I can’t win! I’ve got a better idea, how about winner gets to pick the music on the way home tomorrow? And you can’t change your order just so you can win. Order what you normally would!”
Lucky sighed, but nodded anyway. “Fine, it’s a bet.”
“You have to shake on it!” Lulu said, giggling at them. They looked at her for a moment, then reluctantly shook hands, trying to ignore the electricity they immediately felt as their hands made contact.
Liz pulled her hand away and cleared her throat nervously. “Okay, um, I guess I’ll write down what I think you’ll order on this napkin. Is that fair enough?”
Lucky nodded, still thrown by the handshake. The waitress came back with their drinks, then took out her pad for their orders. Liz went first, ordering the chicken fingers and a side salad. Lucky started by ordering Lulu’s pancakes, then glanced up at Liz for a second before giving his own order.
“I’ll have the Super Bird, no tomatoes, with some Ranch dressing on the side for the fries.”
The waitress finished writing, then collected their menus and walked away. Lucky looked up at Liz and groaned when he saw the huge grin on her face. “There’s no way you knew all that!”
She nodded and held up her napkin, which had his order, word for word: Super Bird, no tomatoes, with some Ranch dressing on the side for the fries.
“What are you, psychic?” he asked.
“No. I told you , you’re predictable. You always get that at Kelly’s, except there it’s just a turkey club. Face it, Spencer, you’re not as mysterious as you think you are!”
Lucky grumbled to himself as he took a drink of his Coke, glaring at his sister when she started to giggle at them. He then made a mental note to call his father as soon as they got back to the hotel room and give him a big piece of his mind!
