The Green-Eyed Maid Inn

“This isn’t going to change anything is it?” Shannon asked cautiously. The whole vibe had turned on a dime, and she looked ready to bolt for the elevator.

I ended up borrowing an unopened tube - because germs - of pink lip gloss from Claire, but thankfully she had a spare to loan me. It was a total spur of the moment decision, and I guess it had to do with what Avery had told me the other night, you know? Just little small hints though, rather than turning my whole face into a canvas like she liked to.

Still, she was incredibly sweet about it and even helped me with the application since, being honest with her, I told her I didn’t normally wear makeup and never had bothered learning.

Christie for her part, never said a word either, although, as we entered the lobby together with Emily and Claire, me in my street clothes including a Harvest of Hearts concert tee that I had worn that day, and them in their uniform outfits, Christie nudged me gently.

“Hey, you’ve got my number now, dork. Call me sometime okay?”

I leaned over and gave her a quick side hug. “I will. I promise,” I said. “It was great running into you again.”

I was surprised to see that it wasn’t just Shannon waiting for me in the lobby either. She had another girl with her, about the same age as us I’d guess, although a little more fancy in clothes and even longer black hair, rocking a designer top and skirt. She was wearing sneakers though so I guessed, correctly it turned out, that she was going with us. That was kind of a relief for me. It felt less awkward going as a small group, given that neither of us had half a clue what the other was really like yet.

Another woman, older, in her early to mid 30s I’d guess, loomed large over the lobby without even trying. A giantess of a woman who easily would have dwarfed Erika, let alone me, she wore her extremely long black hair in a French braid that still left enough hair to reach the small of her back, and a black blazer with khaki slacks and black sneakers.

I only really noticed her because, when I approached the girls, I became the focus of her very undivided attention. She didn’t scowl, exactly, but she wasn’t smiling sunshine and rainbows to see me, either.

Hey, sorry that took so long. I had to borrow some lip gloss from a coworker so I don’t look completely terrible,” I said a little nervously. Shannon shook her head.

“You look great,” she said, quickly adding, “We figured you’d be at least like twenty minutes to change out of that heavy costume,” she trailed off, and then quickly motioned to her friend. “Oh hey, Riley this is my friend and band mate, Sinead. I hope you don’t mind I invited her along too? The others wanted to catch up on sleep since the plane ride was a bit rough.”

“Hey there. Nice meeting you,” Sinead said, and I knew instantly that she was from the northwest of Ireland. I smiled genuinely back at her.

“Dia dhuit,” literally ‘God be with you,’ I said in my best Galway Irish-Gaelic accent which admittedly is not easy to do in just two words, but I could tell by the way her jaw dropped that I’d passed the authenticity test. Grandma would be so proud.

“Dia is Muire duit! An bhfuil Gaeilge agat?” she asked excitedly - God and Mary are with you. And, literally translated, ‘Is Irish in you?’ but roughly meant ‘Do you speak Irish-Gaelic?’ And I did, at least, bits and pieces, which I admitted to.

“Bits and pieces,” I said with a smile. “My family is mostly stereotypical Boston Irish for better and worse, but I have a lot of extended family in Doolin, and a few that live further inland. One cousin who lives in Galway, and a couple spread out further north than that.”

Sinead burst out laughing. “Sure enough you’re one of us. You were right Shan. She is adorable.”

I blushed again. “Thanks. I think,” I said playfully, getting a giggle from the pair of them as we set out together. “I want to apologize upfront that this may not be the most interesting tour. The only reason I actually know anything about the Cambridge area is because my two older sisters were obsessed with the area growing up. I learned a lot just through osmosis.”

“Oh that’s fine,” Shannon said. “To tell the truth, I just kind of wanted to decompress anyway, and like I said not spending another damn day inside a damn hotel - even one as gorgeous as the Inn, on such a lovely day.”

“And she wanted to get to know you better,” Sinead chimed in, causing a sharp gasp from Shannon.

“Sin!” she yelped, her cheeks flushing.

“What?” Sinead giggled. “There’s no shame in it.”

Shannon sighed. “I am so sorry about my so-called friend’s blunt honesty, but she’s not wrong. It’s so bloody damned rare that I meet someone who doesn’t immediately want something from me, y’know? I had to know if it was all an act.”

“Only a little,” I admitted. “Like, we have strict rules about how we present ourselves working with guests, but, I also just really enjoy helping people. I know, I’m weird,” I trailed off for a moment and then shrugged.

“No you’re not,” Shannon said. “It’s sweet.”

“It’s rare,” Sinead added, “But not weird at all. You’re the gem of the GEM,” she teased.

Shannon groaned lightly at the wordplay, but laughed. “Nice.”

As we rounded the corner, I noticed in my peripheral vision that the giantess, and I mean that literally, not as an insult, as the woman in the black blazer had to be at least 6’6” - was picking up her pace. “Can I assume the black haired lady who looks like Paul Bunyan’s daughter is your security detail?” I asked.

They burst out laughing at that. Shannon nodded. “Yeah, that’s Nicole. Don’t let her scare you. She’s an absolute doll of a woman.”

“Little surprised you even noticed her,” Sinead laughed. “I mean yeah, she’s bloody tall, but she’s normally better about blending in than that.”

“I think it’s because she was staring daggers at me in the lobby, too,” I said. “Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have. But as long as she’s with you,” I shrugged a bit and even slowed down, giving Nicole a chance to catch back up to us as I gave the girls a brief bit of history on the area that I could remember from my sisters.

“And on your right,” I said in my best Barbie Tour Guide voice, “You’ll see a circus clown hailing a taxi because Portland isn’t the only weird city.”

“Raiméis,” Sinead said, roughly meaning nonsense or rubbish. She turned, looked, and then burst out cackling. “Oh my God you were serious.”

Shannon giggled loudly as she shook her head. “I guess even birthday clowns appreciate public transit here, hey?” she teased.

We continued around the area for a bit, making a complete circuit that landed us back outside the Inn, and I walked them back inside. Shannon surprised me with a hug.

“That was so, so much fun,” she said. “Can I assume you’re a Harvest fan?” she asked. “I mean, your top kinda gives it away, but,” she added playfully.

I laughed. “Oh, yeah. Heedless Despair, Harvest of Hearts; my sister and I are like the biggest Midnight Dolls fans to. Their music is sublime,” I said, and that made Sinead snort and start giggling. I glanced at her. “What?”

“Um, about that,” Sinead said. Shannon elbowed her hard. “Oh come on now. You can’t seriously tell me you don’t recognize Shannon McQueen?”

Shannon glared at Sinead.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” I finally managed. “Now I feel bad talking how much I love your music and not even realizing I was talking to you this whole time.”

“This isn’t going to change anything is it?” Shannon asked cautiously. The whole vibe had turned on a dime, and she looked ready to bolt for the elevator.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said reassuringly. “I just meant... Okay,” I sighed, “So since you guys are in the industry I’ll just come right out and say it. My auntie Rose - Rose Moore, works for Harvest of Hearts. She’s their lead sound engineer, but jokingly likes to call herself just another roadie. She gets me and my sisters in to hang out with the band backstage at all their local concerts when they’re in town.”

“And?” Sinead prompted, although she was giving me a knowing grin, like she knew more than Shannon or myself did. She probably did. She reminded me a lot of my sister Avery, who just had this uncanny intuition sometimes.

“And because of that I’m not really the type of person who changes how I feel about someone just because they’re famous. But I was trying to apologize for gushing and sounding like an obsessed fan because I do get it. You get that crap all the time.”

“Atta girl,” Sinead giggled. “I knew you were one of us from the start.” She winked.

Shannon it seemed, had been actually, physically holding her breath until that moment. She exhaled, her smile returning. She looked around. “Does anyone have a pen? Marker? Something?”

“Aye, miss,” Nick spoke up from behind the counter, producing a Sharpie. I kind of wished he hadn’t because, without missing a beat, Shannon grabbed the marker, ripped the cap off, and before I could even offer her a piece of paper, she grabbed me by the hand and scrawled her phone number right onto my palm. With the damn permanent damn marker. Even Sinead looked genuinely surprised by that one.

Shannon hugged me again, and after we said our good evenings so they could head back to their rooms and get ready to head to the concert, Nicole rather than following them, strode up alongside me. She gave Nick a brief, but stern look, and he melted backwards like she had just delivered him an axe handle chop to the chest.

“Let’s talk in private,” she said more than asked.

“Sure,” I said. “We can use the employee area?” I asked, more than stated. There was absolutely no question about the power dynamic here. She was the security detail, and in a very literal sense, Shannon’s hired muscle. And Shannon had just scrawled her very personal, very private phone number on my hand - in damn permanent damn marker.

Nicole walked with me into the back office hallway. We stepped into the first room, and she pushed the door shut behind her. “I’m going to level with you, Riley, wasn’t it?” she asked. I nodded. “Riley, any day that I don’t have to clothesline someone into next Tuesday is always a good day for me.”

I cracked a small smile. “I think it’s been an amazing day so far.”

She gave me a kind of sidelong glance. I don’t think that was the response she had been expecting because after staring at me for a long moment, she cracked into a grin and started laughing pretty hard. “Wow. You really aren’t scared of me are you?” she asked. “I love it.”

“Do I need to be?” I asked. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I really do like Shannon and Sinead. They’re really fun to be around. But I don’t want to cause them any trouble-”

She held up her hand and shook her head. “As long as you keep being your honest sweet self, there’s not going to be a problem. The reason I wanted to talk in private was so I could apologize. I misjudged you, and that doesn’t happen often. But, I am sorry. You know,” she said, “Giving you the stink eye in the lobby earlier,” she translated, but I couldn’t help feeling like she was trying to say something more, without saying it outright. “It’s just, I see a lot of crazy. I guess I tend to see the worst in every situation.”

“Oh, that,” I said. “I just assumed you were doing your job, although, no offense, I did check with them that you were actually with them and not a crazy stalker.”

“And if I had been a crazy stalker?” Nicole prompted. I seemed to have piqued her curiosity, which surprised me. I shrugged.

“There’s a police station probably a minute’s walk from where I first noticed you following us. I would’ve taken them there.”

“Good girl,” Nicole beamed, putting her big hand on my shoulder for a moment and patting it twice before she turned to open the door again. Sinead was standing on the other side, fist raised as if she had just about knocked. I even saw her flinch as her hand struck air.

“Goddamit, Nicole,” Sinead sighed. “How do you do that?”

Nicole winked at me before answering, “Wrestler’s intuition,” she said. But I had heard it too. Sinead’s shoes had a distinctive squeak, especially on these floors. I was surprised Sinead hadn’t noticed it.

“Right,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, you’re not giving our girl the third degree are you?” she asked. “Because I want to get a selfie with her in costume before the week’s out and we have to move on to the next venue.”

Nicole laughed. “Nope, Just having a friendly chat,” she answered as she stepped out into the hallway, leaving the two of us.

“I’m sorry about that,” Sinead sighed. “I love her to death, but she really is a mother hen. Unfortunately she has to be.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m really not allowed to come back to work until my shift tomorrow, but since you’re staying here at the Inn I can pose with you any timethis week.”

Sinead laughed at that. “Thank you. I really do want a selfie, but that’s not actually why I came back down. I needed to know that you’re okay with,” she made a vague gesture with her hand toward my own. I looked down, Shannon’s number staring in bold, black, damn permanent damn marker back at me. I smiled.

“This?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Sinead said. “Look, Shannon’s not touched. I’ve known her awhile now. She’s just not in a good place right now. Please don’t judge her for being a little eccentric?”

“At first I thought it was just because she wanted to see more of the city. I know that had nothing to do with it now,” I said sheepishly.

“Not even a little. She has feelings for you, and I need to know that you’re okay with that.”

“We just met though,” I said. Sinead shrugged her shoulders.

“We’ve been on the road non stop since December. We’ve missed family birthdays, spent Christmas in a bloody airport freezing our asses off, probably gotten food poisoning more than once from questionable petrol station sushi... It gets to you. Add to it that Nicole is literally having to beat off boys left and right who think that if the Angry Lesbian rocker just meets the right guy she’ll totally swoon for them, or maybe they’ll get two girls, me and her.” She almost spat, but managed to stop herself.

I would’ve forgiven her for that one, though, even if I would have had to clean it up, Kendra’s warning be-damned. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know it’s rough.”

“Yeah it is, but you make her smile, just being around her,” she said. “She’s been severely lacking in reasons to smile, and that means a lot. Just, If you’re not interested in her,don’t break her heart, okay? Don’t lead her on. Just tell her straight. But if you are interested, and I’m just being an overprotective bitch, you can tell me, too.” She grinned. “I won’t be offended.”

“I am interested,” I said. “I’m very interested actually. I love being around her, too. When she smiles my heart races. But I don’t know if she’s going to want to be with someone like me after she finds out the truth.”

“What?” Sinead asked. “You already have a girlfriend? Boyfriend?” I shook my head.

“No, I’m not seeing anyone,” I said.

“So what’s the trouble then?” she asked.

“I’m just dealing with... a lot right now too, trying to figure out who I am. The only thing I am sure of is that I want to be her friend, and yours if you’ll have me, and... Maybe if she really is looking for something more than just a friend, we could go out to dinner before you guys have to leave town”

“Is that a firm yes then?” Sinead asked. “Can I tell her you want to go out to dinner with her sometime this week?”

I bit my lip for a moment, but then I nodded. “I might not get this chance again. If it comes down to it, I’ll talk to her about the things I’m dealing with and let her decide if she wants to keep dating after that. If you want, you can tell her we can double date with my sister and her girlfriend. Or if you and the band want to just get together for a group hangout even, just you know, whatever she’s comfortable with is okay with me.”

Sinead grinned as she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close. “You really are just too adorable,” she giggled. “I’ll tell her she’s got a date with an angel, and it’s her pick of venue and how much security she wants tagging along,” she teased.

“Thank you, Sinead. I’m sorry, I’m not making this easy on you.”

Sinead laughed. “You’re making this a damn sight easier than she is. I just want my best friend to be happy.”

As Sinead walked away I looked at my palm, and then pulled up my phone to add Shannon’s number to my contacts. I composed a text, deleted it, composed another one, deleted that too. I sighed and finally just wrote, ‘Hey, it’s Riley just wanted to make sure u have my number too :) Really excited to talk to u again soon.’

I hit send, and before I had even left the hotel lobby, I got a reply.

‘Was literally about to take a shower lol Riley thank you Sinead said you wanted to go out soon hows tonite?’

‘Dont you have a concert?’

‘Lol yes after that silly!’

‘O ok yeah that sounds great! Text or call me when youre ready and we can do whatever youre ok with.’ I wondered if the sparkling heart emoji was too much, but I added it anyway. The face with hearts for eyes in her response said it all. I had a date with Shannon freaking McQueen.