Rob turned around and scanned her from head to sneakers. Her round face was covered in blush and powder. She was probably one of the bridesmaids Hannah had called him about during the weekend. She had a ski-slope nose and pretty, sparkling eyes. Her teeth were a too-perfect bright white.

“I’m Rob, a friend of Hannah’s from college,” he said, grinning back at the lady in pink, whose vicious smile grew as she eyed his bloodstains. “I was supposed to be at Bee’s wedding, but my flight was delayed.”

“That’s quite a delay,” the lady in pink said, jutting her hip to the side. The woman’s husband, a thick-necked man with freckles and wavy hair, was lost in thought, tapping his toe nervously.

“Yes. It was a big delay. I missed some of the festivities, I assume.”

“You missed all of them.” The pink lady was no longer smiling now. She was growing tired of the conversation and noticed that her husband was making his way out the door.

“Would you happen to know Hannah’s room number? I want to surprise her.”

The pink lady hesitated, looking him over carefully. “Hannah’s friend Rob, huh?” She gave in. “She should be in 140. Her room was next to mine.”

Rob almost ran down the hallway. After the long journey, he was desperate to see Hannah’s face. He wondered if they’d have time to take a nap before checkout.

But when he got to the room, it was Vicki who greeted him.

Hannah

Hannah could hear Vicki and a male voice on the other side of the door, but she couldn’t make out who it belonged to. At first she assumed it was the hotel’s cleaning service, but there was no discussion of towels or checkout times. She could hear the man mumble questions and then Vicki thoughtfully respond. Suddenly Hannah panicked, concerned that the voice might be Tom’s. She cracked the bathroom door so she could make out more of the conversation.

“Don’t call me Vick. No one calls me Vick,” she could hear Vicki say.

“I always called you that,” the man said.

“I always hated it,” she said playfully.

Hannah knew who it was then and quickly wiped the fog that had collected on the bathroom mirror so she could see how she looked. There were dark circles under her eyes and her face was pale like a vampire’s. There were also weird indentations all over her body. She’d fallen asleep in her dress and bra, and her face had been pressed hard against the pillows and a washcloth. Her awkward landing position for the night had left her with diagonal lines across her neck and, more noticeably, her right cheek, which was peppered with little dots. Well, Hannah thought, there was nothing she could do about any of it. Her makeup bag was out by the bed. She was shocked. How was he here?

“So you made it, huh? What are you doing here now? The wedding is over, Rob,” Vicki said in the next room.