Page 28 of The Summer Request
“Next time I’ll offer you four Benadryl and a blindfold so you don’t have to worry,” she said.
Michelle cracked a smile. “Thanks. That would really help.”
The drive to The Henge Hotel was complicated by the usual Los Angeles traffic. Lisa, seemingly trying to avoid another spat, filled the silence with observations.
“I don’t know how you can stand it. Seattle traffic can be bad, but this seems like another level.”
Val shrugged. “You get used to it. Los Angeles more than makes up for it with the rest of her charms. The food, the people, the opportunities!”
“The opportunities!” Lisa clapped her hands together. “I wonder what opportunities we’ll have.”
“The chance to get arrested?” Michelle suggested.
Lisa shook her head. “No, not like that. I meant like the chance to see a celebrity.”
“Who do you want to see?”
She paused, deep in thought, before saying, “Paul Rudd.”
Val laughed. “Still running on thatCluelesscrush?”
“Yes, but he’s done a lotof things sinceClueless,” Lisa said matter-of-factly. “And he seems like the nicest guy. Though I guess I wouldn’t want to bother him. I’d just like to see him, you know? From afar.”
“Lisa’s going to try to crawl into Paul Rudd’s house,” Michelle said with a laugh.
“I am not! I am going to crawl into Lou’s house.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Michelle peered out the window. “What else has been going on with you out here, Val?”
She shrugged. “I was asked to teach a few lectures at Loyola.”
Lisa’s jaw dropped. “That’s so neat! Did you do it?”
Val let out a sigh. Lisa would find that exciting. It was nothing, though. Really nothing. “I did, and it was fun, but it’s not for me.”
“Why not?”
“Teaching is for has-beens. Plus, those kids aren’t serious about music. They asked me to come back full time and – ”
“Val!” Michelle turned to her, all stern and serious-faced. “This is a great opportunity. You should at least consider it.”
She waved a hand. “My best days are still ahead of me. Now that I’m getting rid of Reggie, I can finally take full control of my career.”
Lisa turned around from the backseat. “I have to ask. Who gets your LA mansion in the divorce?”
“No one,” Val said with a laugh. The truth was they’d had to sell that off years ago. When her album sales dried up, so did all of her opportunities to perform. Their cash flow abruptly stopped, which was quite rude of it to do, considering how costly their lives had become. The house, along with other things they’d gotten used to, was just too expensive to keep.
She missed it sometimes, but that was all in the past. Her one-bedroom apartment was cozy enough, even if it wasn’t fancy. At least she wasn’t worried about it being broken into while she traveled. Low maintenance was good. The mansion was never low maintenance.
“Where are you staying now? Can we see it?” asked Michelle.
“Nah, you don’t want to waste your time there. My place is way across town.”
Their fear of traffic was enough to get them to stop asking, and once they saw The Henge Hotel, Val’s dinky apartment was far from their minds.
It was pure Californian luxury. Unlike the glitzy Ocean Drive in Miami, the hotels off of Santa Monica’s Ocean Ave basked in a more low-key glamour. There was an old money feel, without the need to show off with flashing lights.
The Henge Hotel was the picture of Mediterranean Revival architecture: the red clay roof, white stucco walls, and casual patios blended seamlessly into the ocean landscape. It was one of the few hotels that was oceanside of the road, standing a humble four floors tall, unlike their previous hotel high rise.
