CHAPTER 35
Seconds later, the door opened...
...and I found myself face to face not with Barry, but with Dee Dee! Right away, I imagined the worst...
...but before I could express my concern, she said, "I was asked to let you in. Barry wants me to tell you sorry that he's running a little late, but he'll be here soon."
I nodded, and wanting to be polite, smiled at her and asked, "So, Dee Dee, how are you doing?" You're looking well."
Instead of answering, she walked past right me and across the hall to her own room. Ten seconds later, I heard her door open and close.
Well, at least she didn't slam it...
...but apparently, she's still pissed at me about the Hamptons house!
I closed Barry's door.
Unsure what to do until he arrived, or how even long he'd be, I sat down in one of the room's two chairs and pulled out my phone.
Alyssa didn't answer, so I left a message saying, "Sorry I missed you, but just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you...and that I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night."
Okay...what to do next?
I glanced around the room for a book or magazine, but there was nothing...not even a room service menu to look at.
Maybe I can read tomorrow's Lit. class chapter now, I mused...
...but as I reached down to the floor for my backpack...
...I heard a key in the lock.
Seconds later, the door was flung open and Barry, striking a dramatic pose on the threshold exclaimed, "I've arrived! What are your other two wishes?"
I laughed, then answered, "Well, Barry, with you here, what more could I possibly-"
Before I could finish, he smiled and said excitedly, "Emma, I've brought you a surprise!"
At this news, I looked down at both of his hands...
...but they were empty. However he was wearing a jacket, so I wondered if it was something small, inside one of the pockets.
But before I could ask, he said, "Well, care to guess?"
"Uh...honestly, I have no idea," I said. "Can you just tell me?"
He nodded, but instead of reaching into his pockets...
...he stepped aside in the doorway...
...and I gasped, "Oh, my God...Alyssa?!"
"Guess who I just ran into in the hallway, while coming out of Principal Hawkins's office?" Barry asked...
...but before I could answer, he added, "...and who doesn't have to be home until after 10 pm?!"
"R-really?"
"Yes!" he exclaimed. "And so, I invited her to have dinner with us."
Alyssa smiled at me nervously, and said, "Hi,"...
...and I ran over to the door and threw my arms around her.
She hugged me back...
...but wouldn't let go...
...and so, I lifted her up off her feet and carried her inside.
Barry shut the door and walked across the room to where we were standing; then, looking down at us he asked, "Well, shall we get dinner out of the way first? When's the last time you ate anything?"
"Uh, a tavern ham and provolone sandwich, at lunch, in my truck...so, maybe five hours ago?"
"A small piece of an Italian sub, three hours ago, and I'm definitely hungry again."
Barry called the pizza shop and ordered lavishly.
While he was on the phone, I turned to Alyssa. "Why were you at school so late? Was it because of the sub sale?"
She nodded. "Marcie's dad owns the glass factory over on Mulberry Street, and when she told him about the sale, he called and told us he'd take all the rest of our subs for his day shift and swing shift employees. We were excused from afternoon classes to finish making them, and also ended up staying more than an hour after school; and, well, to make a long story short, we ran out of ingredients - both the ones for today and all the stuff we were going to sell tomorrow - so now, we're done for the entire year...thank God!"
"Well, then, will I see you tomorrow, in our usual place?" I asked eagerly.
"Of course! Oh, and when I found out I'd be at school late, I called Mom to let her know, and that's when she told me she wouldn't be home until 11, due to being stuck at some dumb dinner party/business function thing."
"But we're leaving here at 10:15 sharp, in case she gets home a little early," Barry interjected.
He then started rearranging the furniture, moving the coffee table over to the foot of his bed, with the two chairs pushed close together on the opposite side.
Alyssa and I sat down on them, and then he walked over to me and held out his hand and raised his eyebrows expectantly...
...and I obediently handed him my "list of demands."
Without looking at it, he set it over on the desk, saying, "I'll study this later, and then you and I going to have a very long discussion."
I nodded.
Alyssa turned toward me. "Oh, before I forget, let's see your wrist."
I held it out toward her.
She pulled the bandaid back a little and looked closely. "Well, to be honest, it doesn't seem much better than yesterday...but at least it's not any worse; so I won't bring it up unless Mom specifically asks."
As I was stating my appreciation for that, our food arrived.
Barry opened all the containers and set them on the coffee table, and then sat down on the end of his bed and told us to dig in.
The three of us didn't converse much during dinner, because we were way too busy stuffing our faces. Since he'd ordered a large and a small pepperoni pizza, we each had five pieces, and then I was forced to thumb wrestle him for the last one.
I lost.
For drinks, Alyssa and I had ginger ale, and Barry offered us a sip of his black cherry soda, which neither of us had ever tried before. She seemed to like it. I thought it was kind of sweet to have with an entree, but otherwise, I liked it, too.
Alyssa requested ice cream for dessert, which was fine with me since, after my chocolate lava cake "experience" two nights ago, I wouldn't be eating that again for a long time!
Once we'd finished, Barry said to her, "Why don't you wash your hands, while I clean up here?"
"No," I said, getting up out of my chair. "I'll do it."
"No, Emma, you won't."
"Yes, I will, Barry...I insist!" I told him...
...and seeing how determined I was, he relented.
I collected all of the trash and carried it to the end of the hall. After shoving it down the garbage chute, I returned to the room and took my time washing up.
As I walked out of the bathroom, I noticed that Barry had moved the furniture back into place and was sitting on the bed again, not on the end this time, but up near his pillow.
And then, I watched as he reached into the nightstand's top drawer and pulled out the free bible that I guess is in every hotel room in the US.
He looked down at it, and then across the room and said, "Alyssa, come over here for a minute."
