Free Catwalk by Melody Carlson Page B

and pry Paige away from the display case before she attempts to break in and snatch the beauty products.
    Our two-bedroom suite turns out to be just that. Sweet. But Paige doesn’t seem to even notice the cool contemporary furnishings, big windows, or even the luxurious amenities, like a cashmere throw at the foot of the bed. Cashmere! But I have a feeling that nothing is going to impress this girl tonight.“You get undressed,” I say as I hand her a fluffy white terry robe. “I’ll run you a bath.”
    She just nods. “Thanks.”
    I pour some fragrant-smelling bath product into the elegant tub and run the water, making sure that it’s nice and warm but not boiling hot. And before long Paige is settled down into the bubbles and giving me her wish list of hair and beauty products. While she’s soaking, I call Fran and relay this list to her.
    “I just got a kit of basic personal products from the hotel,” Fran tells me. “I’ll give Paige’s list to the concierge and hope for the best. Is Paige in bed yet?”
    “She’s just getting out of the tub,” I say, feeling more like a mommy than a younger sister. “I’m loaning her a T-shirt from my carry-on to use to sleep in.”
    “Well, give her one of those pills and tuck her in and kiss her good night, Erin. That girl really needs some beauty sleep. And she’ll be lucky to get four hours at this rate.”
    So I show Paige the bottle of sleep-aid pills. “Fran thinks you should take one of these,” I tell her.
    “Good idea.” She reaches for the bottle and I retrieve an Evian from the mini bar and hand it to her. And before I can repeat “just one pill,” Paige pops two into her mouth and washes them down. “What’s wrong?” she asks me.
    I just shrug and hope that two pills aren’t too much. Not that there’s anything I can do about that now. “You better get to bed,” I say as I take back the pill bottle. “Just try to relax and don’t worry about the morning. Fran and I will wake you up and you’ll be fine.”
    She nods and then smiles. “Thanks, Erin. I couldn’t do this without you.”
    “Just rest, okay?” Then I turn out the light and grab a quick shower. By the time I’m done, Fran is back.
    “They’re sending the boxes from the studio up. I asked if they could have someone press them in time for morning, but that’s not going to happen this late at night.” She glances over to a closet. “Do you suppose there’s an ironing board in here?”
    I hunt around until I find one in the bedroom closet. I make a fair amount of noise pulling it out, but Paige seems to be sound asleep. Then I remember the sleeping pills. After I’m back out into the main part of the suite, I tell Fran about Paige taking two pills.
    “You let her take two?”
    “I didn’t let her. I told her one and then she took two.”
    Fran frowns.
    “Is this going to be a problem?” I ask, anxious.
    “Let’s hope not. But just in case, make sure that coffee pot is in the kitchen ready to go in the morning. I’ll set my alarm for five thirty.”
    As I’m setting up the coffee pot, the boxes from the studio arrive and, while Fran’s taking a shower, I unpack the boxes and just start in on the ironing. Does it strike me as odd that my first night in the Big Apple is spent waiting on my sister and ironing clothes at three in the morning? Maybe. Or maybe some people are just designed to be caretakers…and others are just designed to need caretaking. Anyway, it doesn’t really bother me. Much. Mostly I just want Paige to be ready to pull off the morning show without any more unnecessary stress to her or to me.
    It’s nearly four when I finish ironing. I pressed more clothes than needed, but I wasn’t sure what Paige would wantto wear and I was trying to cover my bases. I already told Fran to get some rest, and I’m just thinking about grabbing a nap too when I hear a quiet knock at the door. I look out the peephole to see it’s a bellboy holding a large