It was picked up on the third ring. “Marie Vasquez’s room,” Celia’s voice said.
“It’s us, C,” Jake said. “We just checked in.”
“I was starting to worry about you,” she said warmly. “Your flight landed at 4:30, right?”
“We had checked baggage,” Jake said. “And then the traffic was terrible. We’re here safe now though.”
“What room?” she asked.
“We’re in 2112,” Jake said.
“Just down the hall then,” Celia said. “I’m in 2103. Hang tight. I’ll be right over.”
“Can’t wait to see you,” Jake said.
Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Jake opened it and a moment later had his arms full of a five-foot eleven-and-a-half-inch Venezuelan female. She hugged him tightly, letting him feel her breasts against his chest, and then kissed him soundly on the mouth. She looked incredibly beautiful, her hair down, a pair of form-fitting slacks outlining her butt and legs, a low-cut blouse showing off her cleavage.
“Wow,” Meghan said, wide-eyed at the greeting.
Jake actually flushed a little. Celia stepped back and looked him up and down. “God, I’ve missed you two,” she said. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“We promised we’d be here,” Laura said, stepping over and holding out her arms.
The two women embraced just as enthusiastically. Celia bent her head down and gave Laura a resounding kiss on the lips as well. Laura blushed at the gesture but seemed very pleased by the affection. Meghan continued to stare at them, wide-eyed. She was now blushing as well.
“Hey, Meghan,” Celia greeted. “Glad you could come with them.” She hugged her with a more typical Celia hug. She did not kiss her (much to Meghan’s relief). Celia then turned her attention to the little red-haired girl that was toddling around the room. “Madre de Dios!” she exclaimed. “Is that little Caydee I see?”
“Caydee!” Caydee shouted with glee. She was pretty good at saying her own name (it helped that it was two very easy syllables).
“Is she talking now?” Celia asked.
“She’s getting there,” Laura said. “She can say Mama, Dada, Caydee, May-kin (that’s what she calls Meghan), Essa (that’s what she calls Elsa) and a few other things.”
“And she’s walking too!” Celia said. “And look how big she is now!”
“Growing like a weed,” Jake said. “Twenty-one pounds now.”
“Come here, chiquita,” Celia said, kneeling down on the floor. “Come give me a hug!”
Caydee smiled and toddled quickly over, holding out her arms as she went. She slammed into Celia and gave her a big hug. She then kissed her several times on the face.
“You remember Celia, right, Caydee?” Laura asked.
“See-ya!” Caydee said, delighted.
“That’s right,” Laura said. “Celia!”
“See-ya!” she said again. “Owe me!”
“Owe you?” Celia asked.
“She’s saying ‘hold me’,” Jake said. “She wants you to pick her up.”
“Oh, of course,” Celia said, laughing. She picked Caydee up and gave her another hug.
“See-ya owe me!” Caydee giggled.
“I think she missed you,” Laura observed.
“I guess so,” Celia said warmly.
They made a little idle chit-chat for a few minutes and then Celia suggested they go downstairs for dinner. Jake and Laura were up for this—they had eaten appetizers on the plane but nothing since—even though their bodies were still on west coast time.
“I don’t want to dress up though,” Jake said. “Let’s go somewhere we can have an eleven-month-old in a high chair and I can wear these jeans and this shirt.”
“There’s a pizza place across the street,” Celia suggested. “Genuine New York pizza. I’ve eaten there before.”
“Let’s do it,” Jake said.
“Uh ... should I stay here?” Meghan asked shyly.
“Not unless you want to,” Jake told her. “You do like pizza, don’t you?”
“I love pizza,” she said. “I just thought maybe you all would like to be ... you know ... alone.”
“Alone time will be later,” Celia said. “Come with us. The pizza is on me. Tomorrow night we’re eating in the Park Place here in the hotel though. That’s a dressy place full of snooty people. Jake will pay for that one.”
“I didn’t bring any dressy clothes,” Meghan said. In truth, she did not really even own any dressy clothes.
“Then we’ll go shopping tomorrow and get you some,” Celia said. “We’re in New York City, at Park Avenue South. And we’re girls. Shopping is what we do.”
“But ... uh ... I’m not sure I can afford ... you know...”
“You don’t need to afford anything,” Laura said. “Our treat. Now come on. Let’s go eat.”
They made their way downstairs and across the street to the pizza place. They were recognized for who they were, but that did not seem to really cross anyone’s eyes. The other customers looked at them, and there were some whispers, but no one approached them. They ordered a large combination pizza and a single slice of cheese pizza for Caydee. She chomped it contentedly while drinking water out of a sippy cup. The adults shared a pitcher of draft beer to chase their pizza down.
After eating, they packed up the leftover pizza in a cardboard box and returned to Room 2112. Laura changed Caydee’s diaper and put her in her jammies. It was technically now her bedtime, but she was also on west coast time still and did not seem the least bit sleepy. Jake, Laura, and Celia had a few glasses of wine from the bar and talked about how the tour was going. Meghan simply sat on the couch, watching television, drinking a diet Pepsi, and feeling awkward as she saw the looks and touches the three lovers were sharing with each other.
“You know,” she finally said, “Caydee’s probably going to be up for a few more hours. The jetlag and all.”
“Probably,” Laura agreed.
“So ... uh ... if you all want to ... you know ... be alone, I’ve got her. I’ll make sure she gets to bed and all that.”
Laura smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, Meghan,” she said. “I think maybe we do want to be alone.”
“Yes,” Celia said, perhaps a little embarrassment in her tone. “That would be nice.”
“Go,” Meghan said. “Caydee and I will read some books and maybe do some coloring.”
They went, telling Meghan what room they were in and that she should call them if anything happened. She promised she would.
Once they got to Celia’s suite—which was pretty much identical to the one that Meghan and Caydee were staying in—Jake suggested that he and Laura take a quick shower as they had been traveling all day.
“Fuck that,” Celia said, shaking her head. “I’ve been waiting for months for this. I do not want to wait any longer.”
“We might not smell so fresh,” Laura said.
Celia grinned lasciviously. “That’s okay,” she said. “Sometimes that makes it better. Now, give me some loving.”
They gave her some loving. It was very enjoyable for all concerned, sweaty smells and all.
It was as they were laying on the bed, letting the sweat dry and enjoying the afterglow, that the phone began to ring. They all looked at it for a moment and then Laura, who was the closest to it, picked it up.
“Marie Vasquez’s room,” she said. She listened for a moment and then said, “Oh ... hi, Meghan. What is it? Is there something wrong with Caydee?” She listened again and then looked over at Jake. “Caydee’s fine, but Pauline called the room looking for you.”
“Pauline? What does she want?”
Laura put the phone back to her ear. “Did she say what she wanted?” Another listening period. “Okay, thanks, Meghan. We’ll take care of it.” She hung up. She turned back to Jake. “She didn’t say what the issue was. She just told Meghan to have you call her at home right away.”