by Laina Turner
I smiled. “Likewise.”
He hesitated for a second, then said, “May I have your number? We could maybe get coffee or something one morning? If you want to, that is.”
“Sure, that would be nice,” I said and gave him my cell number. He entered in to his phone and then I did the same with his.
The elevator door opened to my floor. “Have a nice night.”
“You, too.”
I walked to my room and when I closed the door behind me I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and immediately wished I hadn’t.
Holy smokes I was a hot mess. I can’t believe I had sat through dinner looking like this. How embarrassing.
I went through my nighttime routine, replacing my face cleanser and night cream with the sample soap and lotion bottle the hotel had. Thank goodness I carried a spare toothbrush in my purse. I had been so worried about clean clothes, I hadn’t thought to pick up new toiletries. I’m sure the hotel store had everything I needed. If my luggage wasn’t back by morning, I would have to do that.
Since I had no pajamas, I stripped down to my underwear and crawled under the clean sheets. I channel surfed until I found a re-run of Law & Order and left it on to sleep. I slept better with noise; something that had driven Brian crazy. One more thing I no longer had to worry about. I was more tired than I thought and quickly fell asleep, thinking much better thoughts than I had been last night.
Chapter 4
The ringing phone on the nightstand woke me up. I looked at the clock and saw it was already eight am. I couldn’t believe I slept so late. Bimini was on Eastern Time just like home, so I shouldn’t be jet lagged. I normally didn’t sleep in, I must have been tired. My arm reached out and I grabbed the phone on its third ring.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Towne, this is Andre from the front desk. Your luggage was just dropped off. Would you like us to bring it up?”
“That would be great!”
I hung up the phone and threw on my clothes from the night before just in time to hear the knock on my door.
I had never been so excited to see suitcases. Tipping the bell hop generously after he set the suitcases down, I quickly opened the one that had the majority of my clothes and toiletries. I grabbed my cosmetic bag and went to hop in the shower.
How nice it was to have my own shower gel and face wash. It was the little things you didn’t fully appreciate until you didn’t have them.
I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my hair and another around my body and walked back to my suitcases to decide on an outfit. I had nothing more strenuous planned than to relax on the beach and catch up on my reading, so I chose a simple sundress.
I finished getting ready, grateful to have my stuff back, and then opened the second, smaller suitcase, where I had my shoes, jewelry and some other odds and ends that I probably didn’t need but couldn’t leave behind.
“What the hell?” I said after opening the suitcase.
This wasn’t my stuff. I was looking at… I wasn’t exactly sure but it definitely wasn’t the array of sandals I had packed.
In the middle of the suitcase was a box surrounded by packing peanuts. The annoying kind that got all over and always had a lot of static electricity so were a pain to get off your clothes. The box wasn’t big, maybe a little bigger than a shoe box and had a lid. I was curious as to what was inside but then didn’t want to invade someone’s privacy. I looked at the outside of the suitcase again and it looked just like mine, though so did a million others out there. Black wasn’t exactly a rare color in suitcases. There wasn’t an ID tag, except for the one the airline had put on, so I wasn’t sure who it belonged to.
I heard my cell phone ring, taking my attention away from the suitcase. Grabbing it off the nightstand, I saw it was Nadine.
“Good morning,” I said to her.
“Good morning to you. How is tropical paradise? And you’d better say good. We got five inches of snow here last night. I could use some eighty degree weather, but since I’m stuck here am going to live vicariously through you.”
“The weather has definitely been gorgeous. I’ve just had some luggage issues,” I told her and gave a rundown of what happened with my luggage. I started to tell her about the dinner last night and my not so amazing outfit when Nadine interrupted me.
“Wait, wait, wait! Who is this Steve guy? Sterling, spill it! I can’t believe you already met a guy and the first thing you tell me about is missing luggage! What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” I said, laying back on the bed feeling like a teenager talking about my latest crush. I had to admit to myself I had enjoyed my flirtation with Steve last night. It had been a long time since someone had made me feel desirable. And Steve had, in spite of how atrocious I looked.
“Like I said, we both tried to go to this restaurant here that was closed, which really sucked. It looked amazing from the pictures online. The floor is glass with a salt water fish tank below…”
“Tell me about the restaurant later. I want to hear about this guy.”
“He’s just a guy, Nadine. A nice guy and a cute guy but this is a big place. I’m sure I won’t see him again.”
“You mean to tell me you didn’t get his room number?”
“Uh, no. It’s not like I want to sleep with him. Though we did trade phone numbers.”
“Why not? You’re single, he’s single, a little fling could be just what you need. You need to get back up on the horse.”
“You’re impossible, Nadine.”
“I’m just saying you need to let loose and have fun! And on that note I need to run. I have some fun of my own to have in the form of a legal brief to write.”
I hung up after promising her to have fun and then realized I hadn’t got to the part in the luggage snafu where I was missing my shoes and had someone else’s mysterious box and packing peanuts.
I decided to stifle my nosiness and I called the airline and told them what happened. Hopefully, they could figure it out. There wasn’t anything of much value in my suitcase and even though it left me with only one pair of shoes, I didn’t mind having an excuse to buy more. I was just grateful to have my clothes back.
I grabbed my kindle and threw it in my tote bag with some sunscreen and a towel. Then headed downstairs to bask in the sun.
I was soon settled in a lounge chair, complete with umbrella and table where I sat with my bowl of fruit and coffee. The hotel had a 24-hour beverage and snack service and I was enjoying being waited on.
I sat there staring at the beautiful beach and the rolling waves of the ocean and couldn’t help but to feel a little sad that I was here experiencing this paradise alone. Brian and I had never taken many vacations and those we did take had been with the kids. He had always been working so much and I guess it never occurred to either of us to take a vacation together. Not that it was all Brian’s fault. At the time, I couldn’t have imagined going somewhere and leaving the kids at home. Though, maybe if we had spent more time on vacations or spending time with just us, we would still be together and he wouldn’t have found someone else. And in some ways, maybe that would have been worse. I fundamentally still believed marriage was permanent and divorce wasn’t an option. Hypocritical, I know since I was divorced. But I couldn’t ignore the fact that Brian and I didn’t have much in common in the latter years of our marriage and didn’t I deserve, didn’t we both, to have a life with someone who enjoyed spending time together and shared common interests?
To be completely honest, I had long ago resigned myself to my life being the way it was. Not that it had been bad. Just not very fulfilling once the kids didn’t need me so much. While I probably would have never made the move to leave him, maybe he did me a favor? I still had so much life to live and I didn’t want to just watch it go by.
While it was scary to start over at my age, I had some great years in me yet. Maybe Nadine was right. I needed to put myself back out there. Just see what happened
and at the very least have some fun.
“Is this seat taken?” A woman’s voice interrupted my thoughts, pointing at the chair on the other side of my table.
“Nope, it’s all yours.”
“Thank you.”
The woman sat her stuff down, she must have had the same idea as me today, as she pulled out her kindle and started reading.
We sat in silence, me enjoying the peaceful serenity and the gentle noise of the waves and sun shining overhead. I felt she was probably enjoying the same. Who wouldn’t be?
About an hour went by and I started to feel hot. The sun was almost directly overhead and it was getting pretty toasty. I could feel the sweat starting to drip down my cleavage and it wasn’t a very comfortable feeling.
I glanced over at the woman next to me who was fanning herself with her kindle, obviously just as hot as I was.
She saw me looking and we both burst out laughing.
“I’m Wendy Sawgrass,” she said, reaching her hand over the table separating our chairs and I shook it.
“Sterling Towne.”
We started talking and I learned she was recently widowed and on this trip with her sister who didn’t like the sun or the heat.
“Why she came on this trip is beyond me,” Wendy said. “She’s done nothing but complain the entire time. She’s been driving me crazy.”
“Maybe she just wanted to enjoy your company. Even if it was somewhere she didn’t care about.”
“Maybe, I just know it’s going to wear on my patience. We’ve never been able to get along for long stretches.”
“Maybe she doesn’t mind you doing your own thing while she does hers.”
“True. How would you like to join us for dinner tonight?”
“Really? If you don’t mind me intruding on family time, I would love to.”
“You wouldn’t be intruding at all. In fact, you would probably help keep the peace. We don’t argue as much when someone outside the family is around. You know, putting up appearances and all that.”
“Well, then consider me your mediator. I would love to accept that position.”
We settled back in to a comfortable silence but after about forty-five more minutes I couldn’t take it anymore and needed to get out of the heat. I packed my stuff up and looked at Wendy.
“See you at dinner.”
“Looking forward to it,” she said.
As I walked back up the path to the hotel I found myself smiling. It was nice to make a new friend. Make that two new friends in less than twenty four hours. Life wasn’t looking too bad right now.
Chapter 5
I was hoping to have a call from the airline waiting for me when I got back to the room. I was ready to switch out my luggage and get my shoes back, but no messages.
Oh well, at least I had my clothes. And shampoo. I kept staring at the little suitcase and the box within, my curiosity killing me. I couldn’t help but wonder what the heck was in there, even though it was more than likely someone’s underwear and socks. Someone who wanted them extra safe so they boxed them up. I laughed at the thought.
The hotel phone starting ringing.
“Hello?”
No one said anything. “Hello,” I said again, thinking maybe they didn’t hear me the first time. I could tell someone was on the other line, but since they weren’t saying anything, I finally hung up. Strange.
Not two seconds later, my cell rang. “Hello.”
“Sterling,” a man said.
“This is she.”
“It’s Steve.”
Oh. My. God. I could feel my face getting hot and I was glad he couldn’t see me. My heart started racing and I wondered why the hell I was reacting this way to a man calling. I hadn’t so much as talked to anyone from the opposite sex in twenty-five years, more than just platonically that is. I was so out of practice, it wasn’t even funny.
“From last night?” he said hesitantly when I didn’t immediately respond.
“Oh, I know,” I said, mentally kicking myself for not having a better response. “I’m sorry, I remember you, I was just distracted when the phone rang. Of course, I remember you. I can be forgetful but I usually remember people I just met less than twenty-four hours ago,” I said, fully embarrassed at how I was rambling.
“When you didn’t answer I thought maybe I was more forgettable than I thought,” he joked.
I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t want to gush and tell him he was unforgettable, though admittedly he had entered my mind more than once today. So I just sat there silent like an idiot again.
Steve cleared his throat. “Anyways, I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight. It seemed to work so well last night.”
“I’m sorry but I already have plans. I met this lovely woman at the beach today and she invited me to have dinner with her and her sister.” I rambled, not wanting him to think I was blowing him off. I was sorry, I would have loved to have dinner with him.
“Oh. I guess that’s what I get for waiting until the last minute to ask a beautiful woman out to dinner.”
Did he just call me beautiful? I was thankful he couldn’t see me blushing.
Before I could respond, he started talking again. “Well I don’t want to keep you.”
“Coffee tomorrow?” I blurted out before I thought the better of being too forward.
“Sure,” I could tell by his tone he was smiling and, for some reason, that made me very happy.
“9 am? At the outdoor pool area?”
“That works for me. Have a nice dinner, Sterling.”
“Thanks, Steve. Oh, hey by the way. Did you call my room before my call?”
“No. I don’t have your room number. Why?”
“Nothing important. Someone called right before you did and didn’t say anything. Probably just a wrong number. Anyways, see you for coffee tomorrow.”
As I was finishing getting ready to meet Wendy and her sister, my eyes were drawn to the suitcase once more. I walked back over to look at it. What if there were something valuable in there, or yet worse, perishable. Was it irresponsible of me to not take proper care of it? Or was I just trying to rationalize opening it?
Rationalization, I admitted to myself. But I decided to look anyway. I’m sure whoever had my suitcase was looking at my shoes. Surely they wouldn’t be too upset if I opened their box. Besides, shouldn’t I know what’s in my room? What if it was a tarantula or something?
I went and got my manicure scissors out of my cosmetic bag and cut the tape holding the lid on. When I finally lifted the lid, I saw something I would have never guessed was inside. There, lying nestled in what looked to be linen fabric was a gold statue of a Buddha. Now, I was no art expert but I knew quality when I saw it. I was more than certain this was real gold. Not to mention, I was sure no one would go to this much trouble to pack a fake cheap replica so well. I did know enough about fabric that I could tell this was expensive linen and not many people would wrap a cheap statue in expensive cloth.
I picked it up, amazed at the heaviness. It felt solid but as I turned it over for a complete look I heard some rattling. I turned it upside down and saw a small plastic stopper in the bottom. Figuring I might as well continue the rest of the way snooping, I pried the edge of the stopper out with my fingernail until I could grab it and pull it all the way out. I tipped the statue back over to allow whatever was in there to fall on my hand. I don’t know exactly what I had been expecting but this was definitely not it. In my hand, I was looking at three very sparkly, very large diamonds. Whoever this suitcase belonged to must be out of their mind. So why hadn’t they raised holy hell to get it back? Then I thought what kind of person put gold and diamonds in a suitcase and trusted a commercial airline with it? In some ways it made me even more curious as to whom this belonged to. Some really eccentric person who never had the airline lose their bags.
I looked at my watch and saw I only had five minutes before I was supposed to meet Wendy. I’
d better hurry up or my lateness would border on rudeness. I put the diamonds back in the statue, plugged the hole, and put it back in the box. Putting the lid back on, I put the box carefully in my tote bag. I wasn’t about to leave it in my room now that I knew what it was. There was no way I wanted that level of responsibility. Even if I was wrong and it wasn’t valuable, I wasn’t going to take that chance. I was going to take it to the front desk and have them put it in the hotel safe. I was glad I looked, I thought to myself. I didn’t want to be responsible for something this valuable. Whoever this belonged to must be frantic.
Once I had safely delivered the package to the concierge, I delivered myself to the dining room where Wendy and her sister were waiting. Looking forward to some good wine and conversation with new friends.
“Sorry I’m late, I had to stop at the front desk.”
“No worries, we were just enjoying a glass of wine and this divine shrimp cocktail while we were waiting. Sterling, meet my sister, Amanda.”
“Hi Sterling, nice to meet you,” she said, reaching over the table to shake my hand. She and Wendy looked almost identical. My sisters and I looked nothing alike. Something that had made us both mad when we were younger. We had watched the Parent Trap one too many times and wanted to be able to fool our parents.
“You, too, Amanda. Again ladies, I appreciate your waiting.”
“We’re just glad you’re here now. You just said you had to stop at the front desk. Was there a problem with your room or something?” Wendy asked, seeming concerned.
“No.” I replied and gave the waiter who had just walked over my drink order. “Remember how I told you this afternoon that somehow my suitcase got switched with someone else’s? Well, I opened it up. I know, bad of me to invade someone’s privacy like that, so no judging.”
“We would have both done the same thing, wouldn’t we, Amanda?” Wendy interrupted.
“Most definitely. I wouldn’t want something unknown in my hotel room.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” Their words made me feel a little better but I still felt guilty. “When I opened it up there was a gold statue in there,” I said, lowering my voice which was silly in this loud, crowded dining room. No one was even paying attention to me and there wasn’t a reason to whisper.
