Hell's Hotel by Lesley Choyce

Author:Lesley Choyce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lorimer
Published: 2010-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

Welcome to the Club

Tara’s father was clearly upset about Tara losing her job. He wanted to speak to Mrs. Klein, but Tara talked him out of it. She hadn’t told him the real story. If she was lucky, he’d never find out.

Their time together was often very quiet. He rented several DVDs but, no matter how hard he tried, it was clear that they weren’t interested in the same sorts of films.

“Whatever happened to Josh?” her father asked one night after a movie, while they were eating ice cream at Dairy Queen.

“He’s history,” she said. “We ended our relationship so he could go into politics. He’s going to be president of the student council.”

“Josh?”

“Yeah, I know. Surprised me too.”

“How are things going for you in school, anyway?”

“Fine,” she said automatically.

It was the familiar little chant. But it wasn’t true anymore. School used to be easy. Now Tara had a hard time concentrating. Her grades were really slipping.

“No, that’s not true,” she confessed finally. “I’m not doing very well right now. I don’t know what it is.”

“I think you’re still upset about your mother and me. I feel very bad about that.”

“I know, I know. You’re still on a guilt trip. Well, it’s done. I can’t change that. So the way I feel is my problem, not yours.”

“Maybe you should see a counsellor. I know some excellent people on staff.”

“No, I don’t need that sort of help. Maybe I just need a change, too. Remember I was talking about travelling when I graduated, going to Asia maybe?”

“Your mother and I certainly haven’t ruled out the possibility. But it would use up all your savings and then some.”

“What if I wanted to take some time off from school and do it now?”

Her father now looked very serious. “I think it’s premature. You’re too young.”

“I could handle it.” Her favourite phrase. She always used to say that she could handle anything. Jenn had believed her. So had Emma. Her parents were usually convinced as well. But now, as she said it, the words sounded less than truthful. It was a dream, a fantasy, this travel thing. She knew that her dream of travelling, of going to exotic locations and learning the language, getting to know the people and living independently was still just that, a dream. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she couldn’t handle doing it alone.

“I think you should wait.”

“Guess you’re right,” Tara conceded.

Her father smiled. He probably figured that for once Tara was actually listening to his advice. But he couldn’t see into her head. He couldn’t see the whole picture.

Tara wished that she and her father could really talk. He always said they were good friends but it was never like that. There was always a distance between them. She could never really understand what made him tick, why he was so in love with his job. She and her mother had been close until the time her mom took up photography. Even so, Tara had always relied on friends for the heart-to-heart things: Josh, Jenn, Emma.

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