The Spa
Chapter 2.
Denise arrived at the location provided by her app. The New You Spa was located just on the outskirts of town, up on a hill and surrounded by trees. As she pulled into the parking lot, Denise noticed several very expensive cars in the lot: a Lexus, a Mercedes, and a Range Rover. As she parked ever so carefully next to the Lexus, she wondered if she had made the right choice to come here. She was not rich, far from it; she barely made enough money teaching to pay her rent and bills each month. She picked up the flyer that she had brought with her, taking another look. They knew her name, they knew what she did for a living—she figured they must have gotten her name from a list somewhere, or maybe they pulled up the roster on the school website and sent a flyer to all the teachers. Denise made a mental note to ask around on Monday, see if any of her colleagues had gotten one.
She took a deep breath and reminded herself that first, this was free; and second, that she deserved it. She was, as the flyer stated, ‘exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed’, and maybe this was just the thing she needed to refresh and re-energize herself.
Denise slid the tote over her shoulder, and grasping the flyer in her other hand she walked towards the entrance. The building was larger than she’d expected, and had available parking spaces for at least 50 or 60 cars. Denise spotted a small Volkswagen near the front that wasn’t any more expensive-looking than her Kia, and that set her mind at ease a bit. Somebody else in here is in my socioeconomic class, she mused as she pushed open the door and walked to the front desk.
“Hi!” the receptionist greeted her. “Welcome to the New You Spa!” The receptionist was blonde, bubbly, and Denise noticed her perfect skin and hair right away.
“Yes, hi, I’m Denise, I called a little earlier, I got this flyer,” and she handed it to the receptionist, noticing the girl’s nails which were also flawlessly manicured and painted pink to match her blouse.
The receptionist began typing, her smile never fading. “You have your ID?” Denise reached into her tote and produced her driver’s license. “Denise Miller...got it!” She handed the license back. “And you are doing the full weekend package, right?”
“Yes, I think so—umm, what all is included in that? I meant to ask on the phone.”
“You get a full body massage, personalized for each client, an invigorating facial, mani/pedi, meals that are nutritious, delicious, and cleansing, access to our steam room/sauna, pool, and other areas! All you have to do is relax and let our trained staff pamper you and take care of everything!”
“Wow. I, umm, I’ve never been to a spa before,” Denise admitted.
“Really? Well trust me, Denise, you will love it! Everyone deserves to relax and get away from the stress and exhaustion of their lives sometime. It says here you’re a teacher, wow, then you deserve this more than most people!”
“Thank you,” Denise replied with a smile. “It’s nice to be appreciated for a change!”
“Okay, you’re all set, just have a seat in the lobby and one of our staff will come get you shortly!”
Denise nodded as she turned away from the desk. The receptionist had seemed almost TOO happy, but at the same time she had put Denise’s mind at ease a bit. Denise took a couple of steps into the waiting room, which wasn’t terribly large; it had eight chairs, all quite luxurious-looking, and between every two chairs was a table with magazines as well as a tall potted plant.
She glanced around, being careful not to stare—several of the women who were seated looked to be ‘upper crust’ as her family referred to the rich. She noticed one young woman who, like herself, didn’t fit that mold, and assumed she must be the owner of the VW. There was only one seat available and it was right next to one of the richer-looking women who had her phone pressed to her ear. Denise slowly made her way over and carefully sat, placing her tote on the other side away from the woman who hadn’t looked in her direction yet.
“Yes, darling,” Denise couldn’t help but overhear the woman say, “I am at the spa. I do wish they would screen their clientele better here—for what I pay for a session, I shouldn’t have to sit next to... well, someone so clearly beneath me.” Denise gulped as she realized the woman was talking about her; her face became flushed. And the woman still hadn’t even glanced in her direction. “You did make that reservation for dinner, didn’t you? Yes, now there is a place that understands what ‘exclusive’ means. Well, ta-ta.” The woman smoothly brought her phone down, clicked it off, and slid it into her purse.
Denise took another deep breath and channeled a bit of bravery as she turned towards the woman. “Hi, I’m Denise. This is my first time here!”
The woman slowly turned her eyes towards Denise, as she looked down her nose at the young teacher. “Ah, you must have gotten one of those ‘free’ passes.”
“I did, how did you know?”
“Well it’s obvious you can’t afford to be here.” The woman sighed and turned her eyes away again.
“No, you’re right, I can’t, I’m a school teacher, and—”
“Don’t care.” The woman quite brusquely cut her off.
Denise glanced down at the woman’s expensive outfit and then noticed her heels. Her eyes widened. “Wow, I absolutely LOVE your shoes! Where did you get them?”
“They are...Christian Lou-bou-tin,” the woman replied coldly, slowly sounding out the last word. “And they cost more than you make in a month.”
Denise pressed on. “Wow, I have heard of them but never seen a pair up close! I could never think of being able to buy them. Wow...”
“Yes, now please, do move away, and don’t even think about touching them.”
A door a few feet away opened and a blonde woman in a white smock, white slacks and shoes walked through. “Ms. Devereaux, we’re ready for you,” she said to the woman sitting beside Denise.
“Thank heavens,” the woman huffed. “If I had to sit there for one more minute,” she added as she took one last look down at Denise, her stare cold and heartless. Denise shuddered, feeling rather embarrassed, even as she recognized the last name—Lucille Devereaux was one of the richest women in the county. Her husband was a developer that had built many of the area’s more expensive neighborhoods. And Denise had sat next to her, and was going to be getting a spa treatment at the same place! She swelled up a bit with pride, forgetting for a moment how the woman had put her down right to her face.
Denise settled back into her seat, glancing around the room at the others who were waiting, wondering if any of them were as rich as Ms. Devereaux. As she turned back to the door that had opened a few minutes earlier, it opened again. A different woman, red-haired and similarly dressed all in white, approached her.
“Ms. Miller? We’re ready for you.”
Denise practically jumped out of her seat, snatched her tote and eagerly followed the staff person through the door. She still didn’t know quite what to expect but she was looking forward to finding out!