Free The Key to Paradise by Kay Dillane Page A

not going to get it anyway.” I mumbled to my own reflection.
    “Stop that loser thinking,” Nana snapped pushing me towards the door. “That’s the problem with you young women, you’re all so hopelessly insecure and worried about what everyone else will think. It makes you dither and doubt yourself. Once you get to my age you’ll realize everyone is so busy worrying about themselves that they hardly have any spare time to worry about judging you.”
    “I don’t know if that’s better or worse.” I said feeling less insecure but more invisible.
    “It’s better, trust me. There’s nothing more freeing than not giving a good God damn what anyone else thinks.”
    She gave me a final push out the side door into the carport where I was surprised to see Verna, Lily, Lois and Ellen standing around Nana’s Buick.
    “Are you here to wish us luck?”
    “Wish you luck?” Verna gave me a questioning look. “You didn’t think you were going to Miami Beach without us, did you?”
    I actually had. How stupid of me.
    I squeezed into the middle of the wide bench back seat hoping I wouldn’t be too rumpled from the long drive. Ellen and Lois took the seat on either side while Nana, Verna and Lily piled into the front.
    “We should go to Prime 112 for dinner.” Ellen chirped beside me. “I hear David Beckham and those basketball players always go there. I wouldn’t mind meeting David Beckham.”
    It was going to be a long ride. A two hour conversation followed weighing the various benefits of soccer players’ legs versus basketball players’ height. If I had been seated next to a window I would have stuck my head outside and begged Nana to roll it up and end it all. But by the time we made it through Homestead I realized that the spirited debate on who was hotter: Lebron James or Dwayne Wade, had taken my mind off of the upcoming meeting. Now it all came crashing over me again like an ice cold wave.
    “Do you know the area where she lives?” I asked Nana.
    “Oh yeah, we come up here regularly to hit the casinos. I know Dade and Broward counties like the back of my hand.”
    “What’s it like?”
    “Very ritzy. Right on the beach. She must have some serious money.”
    “That’s good news, honey.” Lois said patting my leg. “If she has so much money she won’t need much of yours.” I struggled to swallow the hard lump growing in my throat.
    As Nana eased the boat like Buick through the crowded streets, the bodegas and strip malls gave way to stores I had only read about in magazines. Fendi, Bulgari and Versace replaced empanada stands. High above them towered condos that seemed to stretch to the sky. I was feeling distinctly out of my element but I tried to remember Nana’s words. Sure, I could sell two kidneys and a liver and still not be able to afford a place in this building but that didn’t mean I was any less than Mrs. Bannister.
    Nana valet parked the Buick giving the driver strict instructions on how to bang on the side of the steering column to get it out of park. I could feel my cheeks burning hot.
    “I saw a little Cuban restaurant down the street. Do you want to go grab some drinks and I’ll meet you there when I’m done?” Please, please, please.
    “Don’t be ridiculous, dear. We’re going with you.” Verna said clutching her vinyl purse to her chest and beaming from ear to ear.
    “You need the moral support.” Lois said blinking at me through her thick glasses.
    Crap.
    I knew there was no way I could talk them out of it and if I waited any longer I was going to be late. I had known more than a few upper crust WASPs in Boston and I knew making them wait was a strict no-no.
    I gave the uniformed doorman a wavering smile and made my way into the lobby. It was at least two stories high and swathed entirely in marble. A small fountain stood in the center hinting at quiet luxury, discrete good taste and old money. A bank of mahogany elevators stood to one side and a large lobby desk