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College Years: The Next Year

Chapter 10

A Solution, A Problem

Maddie and Sarah pulled back into the driveway at Maddie and Zack's place. Sarah sighed and said, "It's crazy…but it just may work." Maddie laughed slightly and replied, "Trust me. It'll work." They got out of the car and headed inside. Zack and Cody were sitting on the couch, watching a game on T.V. Cody glanced back when they closed the door and said, "How'd it go?" Sarah sighed again and replied, "Not good. They denied us the loan." Both of the boys stood up and went over to the girls, hugging them. Zack asked, "Why'd they deny you? Your plans looked good."

Maddie shrugged and said, "They were good. The lady even said so…"

Sarah continued, "But our credit didn't look so good. Our credentials suck."

Cody stroked her back and said, "Well, it's okay. We'll figure something out. It just means we're back at the drawing board for a little while."

Maddie smiled slyly, "Actually, we already have an idea set up."

Zack looked at her quizzically and warily replied, "What is it?"

The girls exchanged smiles before saying in unison, "London."

There was a pause while Cody and Zack shared looks of confusion. It was Cody who finally asked, "London? You want to go all the way to London to get a loan? That's crazy!"

Sarah giggled and rolled her eyes before replying, "It's not too far. We just have to go to Boston!"

The boys started to protest but Maddie interrupted, "No, no, you're misunderstanding us," she laughed and continued, "We don't mean London, England. We mean London Tipton!" There was another pause while the boys processed. Then they both smiled and said, "Oooh." Maddie laughed again and turned to Sarah, "See? Even they understand how easy this will be." Sarah rolled her eyes and went off to the kitchen.

On Friday afternoon, the group flew into Boston. They arrived at the Tipton Hotel just as London was getting out of her limo. Maddie cried, "London!" The heiress turned around and saw Maddie and called back, "Maddie!" They rushed to each other and embraced. London pulled back and said, "I see college hasn't done much to improve your style." Maddie groaned and said, "Can't you just be glad to see me? I haven't seen you in ages." London smiled and said, "Of course I'm glad to see you, Maddie." She looked past her friend and saw Zack and Cody, pulling suitcases out of the trunk of the cab, and called over, "Zack! Cody!" They glanced up and smiled in her direction.

Later, in the lobby, Cody and Zack were finally able to each give London a hug. Zack asked, "Mom still on the 23rd floor?" London replied, "How should I know? I live on the top floor. I don't care about all the floors in between!" Cody started to reply, thought better of it, and said instead, "Let's just ask Moseby." Zack replied, "Good plan." They headed over to the check-in desk. Moseby spotted them and groaned.

Zack stopped and said, "What?"

"It's you."

Cody responded, "Yeah, so?"

Moseby groaned again and said, "After everything you did to torment this hotel, you really expected me to welcome you here with open arms?"

Zack rolled his eyes while Cody said, "Come on, Moseby. Cut us some slack! That was years ago. We've matured since then!"

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Zack sighed and said, "Can you just tell us where our mom is?"

Moseby replied, "I'm afraid I can't do that, boys."

Cody and Zack cried out, "Why not?"

"I don't know where she is."

Cody rolled his eyes and said, "Well just give us the key to her room and we'll wait in there for her to come back."

"No, boys. You see, I don't know where she is because she doesn't live in this hotel anymore."

Both were silent. Zack was the first to reply, "Why not?"

"She decided she didn't want to be our cabaret singer anymore. She said that ten years was long enough. So she packed her bags and left. She didn't leave a forwarding address."

They were silent again. Cody turned to Zack and said, "Why wouldn't Mom call and tell us?"

Zack thought for a minute before answering, "I think she did call, Cody. I remember her calling a while ago, but I was busy and said I'd call her back. But I never did."

"But why wouldn't she have called again? This is sort of important!"

"I don't know, Cody. I just don't know."

"Well, how are we going to find her?"

Moseby, hearing this, jumped in with, "Might I suggest calling her cell phone?"

Zack and Cody exchanged glances. Cody said, "Duh!" as Zack said, "Of course!"

Cody pulled out his cell phone and dialed his mother's number. It rang three times and went to voicemail. Cody sighed and said to Zack, "I'll have to leave a message," he waited for the beep, "Hey, Mom, it's Cody. Listen, Zack and I just came back to Boston and went to the Tipton. But Mr. Moseby told us that you'd left. Can you call us back and tell us where you are, please? Thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone and looked at Zack hopelessly.

Maddie and Sarah were sitting on the couch in London's suite. Maddie and Sarah were exchanging wary glances. London was looking at herself in the mirror. Maddie cleared her throat and said, "Hey, London?" London turned with a smile and said, "Yes?" Maddie sighed and continued, "We wanted to ask you something, a favor." London's smile faded as she said, "What kind of favor?"

Maddie replied, "A money favor."

"I'm listening. No guarantees, but I'm listening."

Maddie replied quickly, "Okay, Sarah and I are planning to open a restaurant. An Italian restaurant. But we don't have the funds." Sarah interrupted, "We tried to get a loan from the bank. But they turned us down!" Maddie continued, "And if we can't get the money, we won't be able to open the restaurant, and we'll both be screwed." Sarah, on the brink of tears, started, "This restaurant is our last hope." Maddie sighed and said, "We were hoping to borrow the money from you. We'd be glad to pay you back. And you'd get to eat there for free whenever you'd like. You would be our VIP. What do you say?"

London thought for a second. She finally said, "What's a VIP?"

Maddie stifled a giggle and replied, "Very Important Person. It means you wouldn't have to wait in lines, pay, or do any of that stuff. You would be treated like a star!"

London scoffed, "I'm already treated that way. Why should this be any different?"

Maddie thought for a second, but Sarah beat her to the reply, "How about we make you one of the partners?" Maddie's face fell as she turned to Sarah and whispered, "What?" Sarah shushed her and said, "What do you say, London? Partners?" London asked, "What's a partner?"

Sarah responded, "A partner would have a say in the restaurant. How it's run, what it looks like, things like that. Plus you'd get a share of the profit. If you become a partner and provide us the start-up loan, we'd pay you back with your share of the income."

London nodded. Maddie, having an idea, quickly said, "You could be the style consultant, London. You'd get to decide on all of the colors of the restaurant, how it's arranged, what the staff would wear. All of that. How's that sound?"

London smiled and said, "And all I'd have to do is sit around and design everything?" Maddie and Sarah nodded enthusiastically. They could see London was breaking. She smiled widely and said, "Okay, you've got yourselves a restaurant!"

Zack and Cody headed towards the payphone in the lobby of the Tipton, intending to use the phone book to track down their mom. Cody reached the box first and flipped through the book. He sighed with dismay and said to Zack, "The only number it lists is her cell phone, and the address is here."

Zack replied, "How creepy that cells are in the phone book…"

Cody rolled his eyes and said, "No, they aren't. It lists the primary phone number, the number that's associated with your banking, your credit, and all of that stuff. Typically, that's a home number. But she can't have the Tipton's number in the phone book as hers. This must not have been updated since she dipped out of here."

At this moment, the elevator doors opened, and Maddie, Sarah, and London came out and walked through the lobby, chatting and giggling. The boys made their way towards them, and heard them talking about the restaurant.

Sarah said, "Oo, how about a set menu for opening night? Like, a taste of what we have, but not everything?" Maddie replied with a big smile, "Yeah! Leave them wanting to come back for me, that's the idea."

London interjected, "I was thinking about color schemes. Should we go with a romantic "Night in Italy" sort of feel with reds and oranges and yellows? Or we could do a fun, more Mediterranean vibe with some bright blues and sandy whites. Oh, or we could use some greens, kind of show the more natural sides of Italy. I don't really have so much experience with the "outdoorsy" part of Italy, I prefer shopping in the cities, but I've seen pictures…"

Sarah's eyes were wide as she said, "Wow, London…you really seem to know what you're talking about…" Cody and Zack caught Maddie's eye and they started laughing. It was easy to understand Sarah's confusion. All she'd ever heard about London Tipton was how she was as dumb as a doorpost, maybe dumber. But London just smiled and said, "That's because, when it comes to designing, I do know what I'm talking about." Sarah smiled and let out a small laugh.

Maddie's attention turned toward the boys. She saw their reserved expressions and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zack replied, "Mom left." Cody continued, "She stopped working here and moved. She didn't tell Moseby where she was going, and she's not answering her cell."

Sarah looked concerned and asked, "She didn't call to tell you guys?"

Zack answered, "I think she tried to, a few weeks ago. I told her I'd call her back, but I never did."

London, suddenly realizing that the topic had permanently changed from the restaurant's color scheme, said, "Okay, I'm bored. I'll be in my suite." She started to turn away but Cody cried quickly, "Wait, London!" She turned back around, and he continued, "Has anyone else left the Tipton, other than our mom? Are Esteban, Arwin, Muriel, any of them still here?" London thought for a minute and said, still smiling, "No."

They waited for more, but she just kept smiling. Zack asked, "Where'd they go?"

"Well, I don't know. Esteban hasn't been here for awhile. I think he left a little while after you guys did. The last time I saw Arwin…he was walking out of the lobby, with your mom. Muriel…well, she may still be here. She's too lazy to leave."

Cody repeated, "Arwin left with Mom?" He exchanged a look of confusion with Zack. Zack asked, "What else has she neglected to tell us, huh?"

Cody turned and practically stormed to the front desk. He stopped in front of the desk, staring at Moseby, annoyance seething from his eyes. When he didn't look up, Cody reached out and tapped the bell on the desk impatiently. Mr. Moseby sighed and looked up, asking, "Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell us that Mom left with Arwin? That would have been immensely helpful."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that you didn't know."

"We didn't know she left, why would we know who she left with?"

"Well, it's not just about them leaving, Cody. I thought you would understand…"

"Understand what?" Zack was beside Cody at this point, listening intently.

"Do you mean to tell me that Carrie didn't even tell you about her and Arwin?"

Zack replied quickly, "Obviously we know nothing about it! What, are they dating?"

"Well, they were…" They waited, exchanging looks of confusion and irritation. Moseby continued, "I mean, they were dating as of a little while ago. Seems to me they had been for quite some time, I can't believe you never noticed."

Cody interrupted, "Yeah, yeah, we're terrible sons for never noticing our mother dating her secret admirer for 10 years, get on with it. What do you mean 'were dating'?"

Moseby shrugged, "Well, they went on a vacation to Las Vegas, and when they came back, they'd gotten married. A week later, their resignation letters were on my desk and they were walking out of that door."

Zack stared at Moseby and said slowly, "And you didn't tell us this before because…?"

"How was I supposed to know she didn't tell her sons she got married?"

Cody sighed and said, "Okay, well how about this. Did Arwin leave a number? Or an address?"

Moseby thought for a second and replied, "The only number and address I have are the ones to his mother's house. Oh, she wasn't pleased about him moving out and leaving the Tipton, let me tell you. She called here every day for two weeks to yell at me about letting him leave."

Cody put his hands on the desk, finding some new hope, and asked, "Can we have her number? Arwin's too much of a mama's boy to not tell his mother where he is."

Moseby opened his mouth to retort, then paused and nodded quickly instead. He motioned for the group to follow him. He led Maddie, Sarah, Zack, and Cody into his office. London, seeing that her contributions were no longer needed, took this as a convenient exit and walked back towards the elevators, her mind full of paint swatches and complimentary colors.

Once in Moseby's spacious office, he closed the door and went to the filing cabinet. After searching through the files, he pulled out two manila folders. He opened the one marked "Hochauser, Arwin" and flipped through a few pages. He finally pointed to a number and address and said, "There, that's his mother. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to finish my work." He glared at the twins and left the office. Cody immediately pulled out his cell phone and began to dial Mrs. Houchauser's number. Zack stopped him and said, "Wait, Cody. What are you going to say? 'Hi, my name is Cody Martin. My mom married your son in Vegas, and I was wondering where we might find them.'? No, that will start a rant and some anger, which we do not have time for. Let's think about this."

"What do you think I should say?"

"I'd make something up. Say he won something and you need his address to mail it."

Cody shrugged and re-dialed the number. He listened to the dull ringing for a few seconds, then heard an elderly woman's voice answer, "Hello?"

"Hello, ma'am. My name's Cody, and I'm looking for Arwin Houchauser. Is he at home?"

"No, he's moved out," Cody could feel the contempt coming through the phone, "What do you need him for?"

"He's won something, and we needed to arrange a time for him to pick it up, or get an address to mail it to."

"Oh! Well, I can give you his address," She recited the numbers and street as if she was reading it from a piece of paper, but Cody had a feeling as he scribbled it down on a notepad on the desk that she wasn't. He smiled and said, "Thank you, ma'am. You've been very helpful."

He was about to close his cell when she said, "Wait, what did he win, if you don't mind my asking?"

Cody's eyes widened and he scrambled for an answer, "Oh, well, he won a…a…" He shot a warning look to Zack, who mouthed a reply to him. Cody repeated it without thinking, "He won a coffee pot." There was silence on the other end for a moment, then she finally said back, "Oh. Well, isn't that nice. You tell Arwin if you see him that his mother says hello!"

"I definitely will, ma'am."

He hung up the phone and looked at Zack, his eyes narrowing. He glared for a minute, then said, "A coffee pot? A coffee pot?!" Zack put his hands up in front of him and said, "Hey, don't blame me! She bought it, didn't she?" Cody groaned, and headed out of the office, the notepad with the address clutched tightly in his hand.

AN- Well? 8 pages good enough? I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm happy dancing in the inside, really I am. So, I hope you liked this, I had a lot of fun writing it, which is a good sign. Maybe that means I'll pump out another chapter soon. Anyway, please review and tell me your thoughts.

Love,

Dangerous Combonation