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Mary regained her forward momentum toward her passport and couldn’t figure out why she was still in motion. This was ridiculous. “Mrs. V. could send you to the middle of Borneo,” Mary pointed out.
“Could,” Deidre agreed. “But the website says you get three destinations: the best one to improve your romantic life, the best to change your career life, and the best to change the trajectory of your life. Well, she says, ‘align with your life’s purpose.’” Deidre drew in a deep breath. “Any change would probably be good, so I figured that I’d look at the places Mrs. V. tells me about and pick the one with the fewest poisonous snakes and cannibals.”
Mary got on her knees, lifted the dust ruffle on her bed, and laid her fingers on the pad to open the safe with her prints. “That sounds like a solid plan. But your next birthday isn’t until June, almost a year away.”
“Right, well, she’s got a two-year waiting list. I mean, this woman is really popular.”
“Totally not following you here,” Mary said, putting her cheek to the floor and using the flashlight on her phone to reach into the fire-proof safe she’d bolted into the floor.
“Mrs. V.’s client for DAY OF THE WEEK died.”
“Died?” Mary grabbed her passport and sat up. “That’s kind of an extreme way to get out of improving your life.”
“I know, right? When the appointment became available, Mrs. V. looked over her list, chose me as the person she wanted to work with in that time slot, and said I had to come to take that appointment.”
“The dead woman’s spot.” Mary’s brow drew together. Did this sound legit?
“Yeah,” Deidre dropped the cheerful from her voice, “that’s kind of not the way I want to think about this. So she’s in Haute Nendaz, Switzerland.”
“Where there’s chocolate.”
“And lots of gooey melted cheese, I’m told. Do you have your passport number?” Deidre asked.
Mary opened the blue cover to the hideous photo of her with red clown lips. It was bad, worse even than her driver’s license, and in that photo, the light reflected off Mary’s glasses, making her look like an eyeless zombie. “Why am I giving this to you?”
“Because I’m not going by myself. Mrs. V. told me,” Deidre affected a British accent, ‘You’re not to come alone.’”
“That sounds,” Mary paused, looking for the right word, “ominous. Kind of Agatha Christie-esque.”
“I already called my brother and told him he had to give me his travel points. With his wife on third-trimester bed rest, they aren’t going anywhere, and the points’ll just go to waste.”
“Right, well,” Mary said, “waste not want not.”
“It says I can use the points for hotels, too,” Deidre said. “And there’s plenty for us to go together as long as we share a room.”
“Tomorrow, though?”
“Stop. I can feel you digging your heels in. And I’ll physically drag you if that’s what it takes. You’re going with me.”
“I have my pole dancing class. I love that class. I —”
“Look, you don’t start your new job until next week. And yes, you love your pole dancing class, but it’s only an hour long. After that, you’re not doing anything but moping. You were moping when I called, weren’t you?”
“Little bit moping,” Mary admitted. “Beginning of the school year used to be a big deal here. No boys. Just me.”
“And your fortieth birthday,” Deidre said. “That can’t be overlooked. You’re about to head over the hill.”
“Yup, thanks.” Mary closed her eyes and tipped her head back. “That, too.”
“So why mope when you can eat yourself into a cheese coma?” Deidre asked, then plowed ahead. “The best tickets are for tomorrow at five a.m. We fly to Atlanta, then Geneva, then we have the train. It’s only four blocks from the train to the hotel I’ve already booked. So pack into a wheely bag. The next day, we’ll have the morning to do a little sightseeing and grab some lunch at a cute little outdoor café. I have my appointment in the afternoon, so you can do whatever you want. They have a pool and sauna at the hotel.”
“Five a.m. tomorrow morning?” Mary shook her head.
“Now, I only signed up for two nights at the hotel. We can decide if we like it there and want to stay or—we’re right there in the middle of Europe—we can go anywhere, you know? Grab a train. Be spontaneous. You’re shaking your head. I can feel you shaking your head. Mary, isn’t that what we both just pinky swore to? We’d work on being less organized and just get out there and experience?”
“I’ve never pinky sworn to anything in my life.” Mary rolled her hips to plop her butt onto the carpet, allowing more blood flow to stop the pins and needles prickling in her feet.
“Huh, maybe I dreamed it. Okay, what’s that passport number?”
