Roger had to hurry in the shower. There was no time for further exploration of her borrowed body. She washed her hair with copious shampoo, rinsed then repeated the process, hoping to remove any trace of Alan’s semen. She then used the conditioner as Liz had suggested.
She dried, as much as she could with a towel, then tentatively opened the bathroom door. “Roger “ was gone. So were Liz’s suitcases. All that was left on the bed was a single outfit, Liz’s handbag and her carry-on bag. Roger had no choice but to dress in the white lacy underwear, floral shirt and very short grey skirt. She was also annoyed that it seemed she was going to be wearing heels yet again.
By the time she was dressed there was no time to use the dryer to properly dry her hair. She tried to run Liz’s brush through it to remove any tangles but was largely unsuccessful. The sunglasses then went on to hide her bloodshot eyes. She only had 5 minutes left to be on the bus. She wasn’t going to get breakfast. The stain was apparently set now and had not come out when Roger had tried to rinse it. She threw the dress into a plastic bag then into the bottom of Liz’s carryon bag, then dumped Liz’s remaining possessions on top.
As she suspected she was the last to arrive at the bus after having to wait at reception to hand in her key. It was 5 minutes after the scheduled departure time by the time she approached the bus
‘Roger’ and Louis and a man who Roger had to assume was the bus driver, were waiting at the door to the bus as Roger ran as quickly as she could in the unfamiliar heels. Louis rolled his eyes in disapproval and told her to “Hurry up” but ‘Roger’ handed her a welcome cup of coffee.
Coffee in hand she mounted the stairs and looked for a seat.
She was greeted with a lot of unfriendly stares, including from Maureen, seated in the front row. She noticed her own backpack on the seat beside Maureen, obviously reserving it for ‘Roger’. There were no nearby empty seats and besides Roger wanted to hide, so she made her way down to the back of the bus where she found an empty pair of seats. She sat down in relief. Only once she had put on her seatbelt did she notice Sonya sitting across the aisle.
By then the bus was departing. Roger just sat there and sipped the coffee, not even listening to what Louis was saying over the loud speaker.
……….
They spent several hours driving to tourist spots in Barcelona. “Just for photo opportunities” according to Louis. Every time they stopped most of the bus passengers got out to take snaps, however Roger stayed in her seat. She wasn’t too worried about listening as most of the places they had already visited in the last couple of days, besides Maureen was out each time taking snaps and Roger did not want to confront her. Instead she remained in her seat recovering from what she now realised was a hangover. At one stage Sonya moved to the seat beside her and said “You’re looking a bit seedy this morning. Too many cocktails?”
Roger just replied “Uh Ha”. She didn’t want to speak with Sonya either, being embarrassed by the events of the previous night. Sonya got the hint and returned to her own seat.
It was only after they left Barcelona and stopped at a gas station for morning tea that Roger actually left her seat. Having a full bladder and worried about changing her pad, she joined all the other women queuing for the ladies’ rest room. Being tardy she found herself at the back of the line. She had to hurry when she finally got to a cubicle as time was running short. Her pad was sopping but fortunately not leaking.
When she finally emerged she was confronted with an upset Maureen waiting by the sink “What the hell is wrong with you? That hair is a total mess! And you haven’t put any make-up on!”
“Err… I slept in. I was lucky to make the bus” (Roger didn’t yet know that it was actually Liz in Maureen’s body).
“Give me your brush. I’ll do your hair” Maureen found a hair brush in Liz’s handbag and began working on Roger’s long red locks. “Have you got some lipstick? Put some on while I do this. You have a reputation to establish. I don’t want everyone thinking Liz Maguire is a bogan”
Carefully Roger applied the lipstick tube from Liz’s handbag to his lips, as Roger had shown her the other day.
“So what on earth did you do last night? How did you manage to sleep in?”
It was hard to talk while applying lipstick so Roger had an excuse to delay answering. Finally she replied “I kept Sonya company and went to a bar with her. I have to hurry to the shop and buy a drink and something for breakfast”
“We’ll talk later then!” said a huffing Maureen "At least you now look semi presentable"
Roger made it to the counter purchasing a pre-made ham and salad roll and a bottle of water. As she was paying Louis informed her it was time to get back on the bus.