Arms Hotel, Friday Evening

[spin_kick_snap]

So, when Kathy's dad had called to inform her the family was coming out for Parent's Weekend this year, he'd put her in charge of getting them a room at the hotel. And Kathy, knowing how particular her dad could be about things, had put in a lot of thought about where they should stay and what kind of room it would be best to get them. At first, she'd considered a hotel in Baltimore proper, just to keep them away from anything crazy the island could devise over the weekend. She'd only reluctantly given that idea up when she realized that there was no way they'd be able to get a cab past the Causeway and her parents would not appreciate having to climb all those stairs just to see an on-island hotel they could have stayed in.

Then she thought about getting them a junior suite or something, just to make sure they'd be comfortable, but she knew that her mom would freak out about the price tag. The rooms weren't that expensive, but after three plane tickets, Kathy was just going to err on the side of economical. It seemed smarter. She didn't want her family thinking she didn't appreciate how much it must have cost to fly out here or that she had become careless and extravagant. The cabins had seemed really cute and would be good for privacy, but she didn't want to take one away some someone who needed it. Or have her parents run into the type of people who'd need one. Such a meeting wouldn't end well for anyone.

Instead, she'd finally settled on a basic room, but with a king-size bed instead of two doubles. Sarah could bunk with her in her dorm--which would give them time to catch up by themselves--and they could have a nice hotel room to themselves. Maybe they'd see it as a mini-vacation and her dad would stop grumbling about the expense of flying out here.

"Here's the room," she chirped, opening the door for them. "Oooh, you have a nice view through the window! I'm glad they were able to take care of that." She gave her parents a hesitant smile, it all looked good to her. The room was clean and spacious and the view really was nice. "The bed looks comfortable. I bet you'll sleep really well on it."

[Open, if anyone would have a reason to stop by? Also, tw for emotional manipulation in Kathy's thread with her parents.]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"Please, Dad, don't say that! You're not a failure, you're not! I'm the one at fault, please don't blame yourself. I'm really sorry, Dad."

Kathy was miserable, caught between resenting her dad for behaving like a child and feeling awful for daring to think such a thing for even a moment. Her dad was trying his best to raise her the way he thought was best and she was the most ungrateful of children to resent him for it.

But, oh did he make it easy for her to feel ungrateful sometimes.

"Let me go and fetch my stuff from my dorm," she said, knowing that he would settle for nothing but unconditional surrender. "Some pjs and clothing for tomorrow? Does that sound okay?"

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

Mr. Li still didn't acknowledge Kathy, but he nodded once to his wife.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Mrs. Li agreed. "Toiletries and clothing for Sunday, too. Plus whatever schoolwork you need for the weekend. Surely you must have homework to do?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Well, he'd thawed enough to respond to her mom, even if he still wasn't addressing Kathy directly. That meant she was on the right path.

"Of course," she said. "I have some additional reading for my AP courses. And a history essay to write."

Which meant that she could bring her laptop along and maybe check Tumblr or something after her parents went to sleep.

"Umm...oh! I should also talk to the hotel staff about getting us a new room. So that we can all sleep in beds. I can fix this mistake of mine and maybe we can continue on like nothing ever happened?"

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

That, apparently, was enough for Mr. Li. "Yes," he said, nodding. "Get us a new room before you fetch your things. No reason for you girls to sleep on the floor like...barbarians."

Okay, the word he'd used was not 'barbarians,' but a slur in Korean that Kathy had been horrified to learn the meaning of when she was a child.

He patted her shoulder, instantly genial now that he was getting his way. "Good girl. Try to remember that this is how you should behave, Katherine, and we'll have no more of these unpleasant episodes this weekend."

[spin_kick_snap]

The shift from silent fury to smiling indulgence always unnerved Kathy, but she nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you for overlooking my poor behavior," she said, trying not to sound at all sullen. Nothing could send him back into a sulk faster than if he thought that their appreciation for his forgiveness was insincere. "I'll go talk to someone on staff immediately, okay?"

On her way out, she tapped on the bathroom door and stuck her head in. "All clear," she whispered.

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

"Ew, I totally could have been peeing in here," Sarah said, wrinkling her nose at her sister. "Normal people wait to hear the okay before just opening the bathroom door."

Then, more quietly, "Thanks. You okay?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy shrugged. "It's over, and that's what matters," she said, sotto voce. "I'm off to get our rooms changed before he gets mad again. Lay low for a bit, okay? We don't need anything to set him off again."

And louder. "Uhh, you don't get bathroom privacy after you decided that it was okay to walk in on me so you can do your makeup in the mornings. I don't want to hear it from you, brat."

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

"You didn't complain when Mom did it!"

Ahh, the trials and tribulations of three women and one bathroom. Of course, as the only man, Mr. Li was able to use the bathroom whenever he wanted in complete privacy.

"And, Kathy? Thanks. For trying, I mean. Sleeping in your dorm sounded super-fun. Maybe we can make it work next year or something?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Of course not! It's mom! She had to put makeup on to go to work! You were just too impatient to wait for your turn!"

She returned Sarah's smile. "Maybe. You'll be in high school next year, so maybe Dad'll ease up. Who knows?"

Neither of them believed it, but it was nice to think all the same.

[the-family-li.livejournal.com]

"Katherine, you're not dawdling, are you?" Mr. Li's voice held a note of warning in it.

[spin_kick_snap]

"No, Dad!" Kathy said, giving her sister the V-sign and closing the bathroom door. "I'm just on my way downstairs now. I'll get this all squared in a jiffy!"

So long as the hotel manager was understanding.

Please, she thought fervently as she headed to the elevators to the lobby. Be understanding...