Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks [135]
“Sure. But enough about the D and D. Okay? You’re not funny.”
“Sorry, Frodo.”
“Still not funny.”
“I think so.”
“Can’t you find something else to do besides make fun of me?” Milo asked, though secretly he was enjoying the banter very much.
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said. “Can you check us in?”
Emma turned and made her way past the hotel desk and into the restaurant on the far side of the lobby. Milo approached the high counter and waited for an employee to appear from the doorway behind the counter, hoping that it might be Lily.
It was not.
Milo handed his credit card to an African American man named Nigel and waited as the man, whose name badge declared him an assistant manager trainee, processed the transaction while somehow managing to repeat Milo every step of the way without ever making any eye contact.
“Hi, I’d like to get a room for the night.”
“You’d like to get a room for the night,” Nigel said, already pounding away at the keyboard. “A single, sir?”
“No, I need two beds.”
“You need two beds,” Nigel repeated, pounding away again.
Nigel eventually handed Milo two card keys to open the room, recorded his request for a six A.M. wake-up call in the computer, and asked if there were any bags to bring up to the room.
“We’re all set,” Milo said. “I can handle it.”
“You’re all set. Very good. Thank you, Mr. Slade.”
As Milo turned to see if Emma had returned from the restroom, he felt a thundering clap on his back that nearly knocked him off his feet. “Hey! Movie man! You’re back!”
Eugene was standing before him, wearing the same blue coveralls and red bandanna from two days ago.
“Eugene!” Milo said with genuine enthusiasm, reaching out to shake his hand. Eugene brushed it aside and wrapped his arms around Milo in an embrace that nearly lifted him from the ground.
“What you doing back here, man?” the large man asked with excitement.
“I’m on my way home,” Milo explained. “I needed to stop for the night.”
“Who’s this?” It was Emma, approaching the two men from across the lobby.
“Eugene,” Milo said. “This is Emma. Emma, this is Eugene.”
“You didn’t have a girl the first time you were here, did you?” Eugene asked.
“No,” Milo said. “Emma’s going back to Connecticut with me.”
Eugene offered Milo a less-than-conspiratorial wink.
“We’re just friends,” Milo said.
“Right.” He winked again, in an even more obvious manner than he had the first time. Emma winked back, causing Eugene to furrow his brow and stare her down for a moment.
“Hey, is Lily here?” Milo asked.
“No, not tonight. She’s off tonight.”
“Too bad. I was hoping to say hello.”
“Yeah, she liked you, man.”
“She did?” Emma asked. “Who’s Lily?”
“Just someone who works here,” Milo said.
“And she likes Milo?” Emma asked, directing the question at Eugene.
“Yeah. She said that he … what’s your name again?”
“Milo.”
“Yeah,” Eugene repeated. “She said that Milo was a nice guy.”
“And that means she likes him?” Emma asked.
“Probably,” Eugene said. “Lily hates just about every guy she meets. If she says you’re nice, you’re already better than most of them.”
“And you thought that no one would be interested in you,” Emma said, smiling.
“Sure,” said Milo. “The girl barely knows me, lives more than five hours from my home, and said that I was nice. Lots of potential there.”
“Maybe not this girl,” Emma said. “But sometimes it’s just nice to know that someone’s interested. It gives you hope that it’ll happen again.”
“You don’t know that?” Eugene asked.
“I know—it’s sad, isn’t it, Eugene?” Emma asked. “But he’s a Dungeons and Dragons nerd, so what do you expect?”
“A what?”
“Never mind,” Emma said. “Milo, I think I’ve got a solution to your karaoke problem.”
“You found a place?” Milo asked. Even though his karaoke demand continued to pound away in his mind,