Clouds Below the Mountains

by Vivienne Dockerty

  Kate and Sonya looked at each other with their eyebrows raised a little. What was this about a suite, they had only a bedroom?

  “I’ll tell you later,” whispered Greg, as he passed them by to get Evan.

  ***

  “Oh, look Fred, postcards,” said Mavis as they walked up to the foyer. “I promised Ethel I’d send her one and I’d like to send one to Val and Lillian.”

  “What is it with you women and postcards?,” queried Fred. “Every year we send postcards and no one gets them until a week after we’ve got home.”

  “Oh, go on, Fred, it’s part of the holiday. It shows you’re thinking of them while your enjoying yourself.”

  “We haven’t started enjoying ourselves yet. Why don’t yer wait until we are and the you can start writing them?”

  ***

  “Jenni, can you come into Mr. Sanchez’s office please?” said Kath. “He’s got something he wants to tell you.”

  “Will you be with me?,” asked the girl nervously, “He makes me feel frightened.”

  “As long as I’m no longer than a couple of minutes, the Welcome meeting starts at ten.”

  “Thank you,” said Jenni gratefully and followed her along the foyer.

  “Ah, Senorita Woods, come in and sit down,” said Mr Sanchez, standing courteously behind his desk, until Jenni had sat down.

  “Is it all right if I stay for a couple of minutes, Sir,?” asked Kath, “ then I really must go to the meeting.”

  “Yes, yes, sit next to Jenni.”

  “Now, “ he said, looking at the girl with something akin to pity. “Mr Reeves has been released from police custody and should be making his way here. No charges are to be laid, because Miguel said it was a misunderstanding on your boyfriend’s part and no bones were broken. We are taking it as read, that you do not want to press charges over his assault on you, but the problem lies in the fact that we cannot allow our guests to be witness to such a debacle. Therefore, the owner of Periquito Travel and I have agreed, that Mr Reeves will not be allowed to keep the room that was allocated to him. However, we realise that you are in a country that is strange to you, so you will be given every assistance by Kath here, to make arrangements for a flight back home.”

  “Do you understand Jenni?” asked Kath gently. “When your boyfriend gets back, you and he will have to pack and remove your belongings from the bedroom?”

  “Oh,” said Jenni quietly, wondering why Simon could not just apologize and then they could be allowed to continue with their holiday.

  “I’ll have to leave you now, dear,” said Kath, opening the office door, then backing out. “I’ll see you after the meeting and we’ll see what we can sort out.”

  Jenni rose to follow her, then stopped and looked at Mr. Sanchez.

  “Is there no way you would reconsider if Simon apologizes? He has spent a lot of money on this holiday and it was meant to be a treat for me.”

  “Far be it for me to interfere, Jenni,” he said, “ but if Mr Reeves were to take a flight home as soon as possible, I can’t see why you shouldn’t continue with your holiday here.”

  Jenni looked at him in amazement. Was that an option? Would Simon wear it if she suggested that to him? The alternative was to go home with him, put up with his whinging that the world was against him, watch him in a drunken state next time he came from the pub’ to meet her, but most of all, have to put up with his sexual domination. Was she prepared to do that for the rest of her life?”

  ***

  “Welcome everybody,” said Kath, as she stood with Lucy at the side of the table in front of the guests, who were clutching glasses of wine or orange juice and listening to her expectantly.

  Kath’s boney face had taken on an air of importance. She really enjoyed having a captive audience and she felt that the Welcome Meeting was the best part of her job.

  “Firstly, I would like to talk to you about Health and Safety. Periquito Travel pride themselves on caring about the health and safety of our guests.”

  She went on to tell them about only drinking bottled water because of the high mineral content in the local water, where the nearest pharmacy was and what to do if a doctor was required. She underlined the need for vigilance concerning parents with young children, both at the swimming pool and high floor balconies.

  Then she asked Lucy, to distribute the packs with all the information regarding what she had just said and to note that there was a booking form in the pack, for any one interested in booking any of the excursions.

  The guests started talking amongst themselves, as Lucy walked around handing out the information packs, which were within a folder showing a picture of a yellow and green parakeet emblazoned on the front.

  “Are you thinking of going on any of the excursions, Greg?” asked Paul. “We were thinking of maybe taking the kids to Aqualand, Jack would love the dolphins there. Though we’ll wait until the weather picks up a bit.”

  Greg felt Kate’s foot kicking him lightly under the table, which the two families had arranged the chairs around.

  “We don’t usually make our minds up on the first week, Paul,” he replied. “We wait until boredom sets in, then see if we can get on a trip later.”

  “We’ll probably hire a car,” Paul replied, feeling slightly disappointed that the other family wanted to do their own thing. “We’ll listen to what the rep’ has to say about the excursions and if there’s anything we fancy, it’ll probably be cheaper to do it ourselves. You know, we could hire a people carrier between us?” he ended hopefully.

  Greg felt another kick on his shin.

  “As I said, Paul, we don’t like to make our minds up about anything just yet.”

  “Could I have your attention please?”, said Kath in an effort to bring the meeting back under control.

  “Lucy, will now give you the benefit of her experience on these trips, except for the boat trip. You haven’t been on that yet, have you, Dear?”

  “No, I’m not a good sailor,” Lucy said with a grimace, “ but I am sure when the better weather comes, I could risk it.”

  She went on to describe the excursions she had been on, which hadn’t been all of them, as Kath had said, nor had she been to the island of La Gomeras. She recommended the Jungle Park, a full day excursion to see crocodiles, lions and tigers, the Loro Parque with its parrots, penguins, gorillas and wild cats and she finished off with the trip to Mount Teide, either by a jeep tour or conventional coaching. Of course there were many other excursions to go on, but they could have been there all morning if she had been left to describe them.

  “Thank you Lucy, well done. I will now run through the facilities of the Hotel Valia and then I think you will have all had enough of listening to us. Sorry to have to mention it, but your times of departure next Tuesday for both the Gatwick flight and Manchester, are on the notice board at the back of the rep’s desk. You will find our desk in the corridor, just beyond the foyer on the way to the beauty room. There is always someone there from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, unless we are on airport duty. And before you go, I would just like to mention that out of those hours, Lucy and I would be grateful if you would respect our off duty time. We will not appreciate being disturbed during meal breaks or leisure time. If your inquiry is urgent, you can contact head office at any time.”

  “We’ve only just got here and she’s already reminding us we go home next Tuesday,” whispered Doreen. “We haven’t seen the sun yet. I wonder if you can ask for a refund, if you don’t see the sun on your holiday?”

  “Don’t be daft,” said Jean. “We saw it yesterday.”

  ***

  Jenni went down to the Pool bar to get herself a drink. She hadn’t been asked to give her wristband back, so she assumed she could still order. Though the clouds in the sky looked dark with the threat of rain, people were still sat resolutely on the sun loungers, though most had a cardigan or a thin sweater on.

  “Buenos dios, Senorita,” said Miguel, who
was working at the pool bar that morning. “What can I get for you?” He smiled at her sympathetically. He had heard that her boyfriend had been released from police custody and was coming back to the hotel.

  “Will you be leaving, Jenni?” he asked, after he had filled a paper cup with the fresh orange juice that she had asked for and placed it on the counter.

  “I don’t know, Miguel,” she answered miserably. “ I would have said “yes”, if you had asked me earlier, but I have had time to think while I’ve been waiting for Simon and Mr. Sanchez has said that I can stay if I want to.”

  “Without your boyfriend?”

  Jenni nodded.

  “Then why don’t you stay? A pretty girl like you should not be unhappy, tied to a man who only hurts you. If I was your man, I would spend my life making sure that your happiness came first.”

  “Oh, that’s so romantic,” she said, laughing suddenly.

  Then her smile faded and she sipped her drink sadly.

  “You don’t want to tell him that you want to stay here on your own. Is that it, Jenni? Will he take it badly?”

  Jenni nodded her her head again. “I have to admit I am rather nervous. He’ll go mad probably when I tell him that I want to stay here.”

  “I would help you if I could,” said Miguel, “ but I have to stay here or I would be dismissed.

  Perhaps Lucy could be there when you tell him?”

  “I’ll ask her,” said Jenni, “ but she is in the Welcome meeting. Let’s hope Simon arrives after that.”

  ***

  “Well, it’s almost lunchtime,” said Fred to Mavis, looking at his brown strapped watch as they came out of the Sunlight Bar.

  “Do you want to eat already, Fred? My breakfast hasn’t digested yet.”

  “We’ve paid for it, we may as well have it,” her husband replied. “Tell yer what, we’ll have a walk to the tennis courts. I’m sure I saw something about archery. We’ll dander over and look what’s going on.”

  “Can’t we sit down on one of those sofas and go through these excursions?”, asked Mavis.

  “What do you think?, he replied and walked on towards the patio door.

  ***

  Lucy and Kath came out into the foyer with almost empty boxes, having distributed most of the contents at the Welcome meeting.

  “That went well don’t you think, Lucy?”said Kath. “Though I think if the weather was better, they would have been quicker to make their minds up.”

  “They’ll probably come to our desk after lunch, Kath. Anyway we have a few signed up already for the evening trip on Sunday to Raffles. Will you be going on that one or do you want me to go this time?”

  “We’ll see what other trips get booked up as well,” Kath replied, who quite liked to go to the Raffles Cabaret, as there was a three course meal included whilst watching the show.

  “Uh, oh, don’t look now Kath, but that chap has come back. Do you want to speak to him or shall I?”

  “We both will, it will be good experience for you, though I hope this kind of situation doesn’t happen again.”

  “Good morning, Mr. Reeves,” Kath said pleasantly, walking over to him. “Could you give us a moment of your time? Lucy put these boxes behind our desk, there’s a dear.”

  “I was hoping to get to my room to get these clothes off and have a shower,” answered Simon. “These are minging. There aren’t any showers in jail, yer know.”

  “Yes, I heard there was an altercation in the Sunlight Bar last night, Mr. Reeves. That is something we have to talk about, if you don’t mind.”

  “It was that little cow’s fault,” said Simon, unrepentant. “If she had stopped with me in the bedroom like I told her to, none of this would have happened. Where is she anyway?”

  “I’m sure she will be in the hotel somewhere. After we have had our little chat, I will ask Lucy to look for her. Meantime if you would step this way.”

  Kath intended to speak to Simon in the owner’s office, thinking that Mr. Sanchez would have probably left the building or had gone to lunch, but as she opened the office door without knocking, she found the owner busy with paperwork at his desk. Kath was thankful, she had to admit it, she hadn’t been looking forward to telling the young man he had to go.

  “Ah, the wanderer returns,” said Mr. Sanchez, seeing Simon standing sulkily behind Kath in the doorway. “Do come in, both of you.”

  Lucy, who at that moment had returned to see what Kath was doing, was told by Mr. Sanchez, as she hovered, that she was to search for Jenni and bring her back quickly.

  Her heart sank on behalf of the girl that she had befriended, this was the time of reckoning as far as Jenni was concerned.

  “You what!,” shouted Simon, incredulously, “you’re throwing me out? On what grounds? I’ve paid good money for this holiday. Gone without stuff so that I could give my bird a good time. What’s she had to say about it, have yer spoken to Jenni?”

  “Mr. Reeves, try to understand where I’m coming from,” said Mr. Sanchez. “ My hotel is full with holiday makers. They come to relax, get away from the stresses of life back home. Last night they were assured of quality entertainment, but little did they know that they would be entertained by you shouting abuse at your girlfriend and attacking a member of my staff. I cannot let you stay here in case there is a re-occurrence of your behaviour.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t allow people to drink themselves into oblivion,” Simon blustered. “It’s ridiculous serving alcohol from morning ‘til night. They wouldn’t stand for it in England. You’re a load of greasy dagos’ as far as I’m concerned, even the bloody police couldn’t speak English.”

  “Well, I certainly can,” said Mr. Sanchez, getting up from his chair, feeling insulted at the young man’s words. “I probably speak English better than you can and once Miss Woods arrives, you will be escorted by my security guard to your bedroom, where you will pack your belongings.”

  “I’ll sue,” retorted Simon, though he was feeling that he wasn’t on steady ground anymore. “You’ll have to do something,” he said, rounding on Kath with a look of disbelief.

  “I think that our company is only morally bound to see that you are safely on an aeroplane,” Kath said, hoping that she was right, because Periquito Travel couldn’t afford a court case. “I don’t think it is in our remit to find you other accommodation.”

  “We’ll see about that, I’ll see my lawyer when I get home,” he said, though he was only bluffing, as he hadn’t a clue about how he went about it.

  “Fine,” said Mr. Sanchez. “I will telephone for my security guard to be on standby.”

  Just then, after a knock on the door, Lucy stood on the threshold with a timid looking Jenni behind her.

  “So there you are, you bloody bitch,” cried Simon. “This is all your fucking fault, did yer know that we were being flung out?”

  “Simon……I…”

  “That’s enough, Mr. Reeves,” said Mr. Sanchez, coming around from his desk to stand by Jenni.

  “I will not tolerate that kind of language in front of females. I have decided you don’t have to go with him Jenni, you are very welcome to stay.”

  “What! What have you been doing behind my back, that this ponce is allowing you to stay, while I’m being flung out on my ear?”

  Simon moved towards Jenni, ready to grab her arm and tell her that she was going with him whether she liked it or not, but Ralf Sanchez, in his younger days, had studied self defence. His hand shot out to stop him and Simon found himself tottering back, falling over a chair.

  “Get Security”, shouted the owner, to anybody that was listening and Lucy with Jenni found themselves in the foyer.

  The security guard, a different one from the night before, had been casually hovering by Reception waiting for the call from Mr. Sanchez. On seeing the two girls falling out of the office, he pushed past them and rushed in through the door. There was a silence all around, as the reception staff, cleaners who had been working in th
e nearby toilet, people passing by, all held their breaths to await the outcome. There was a sigh of relief, when a tousled looking young man came out of the office, with the security guard holding onto his arm.

  “You’ll be sorry,” he said venomously to Jenni, as he passed her by with the security guard and Kath bringing up the rear, so that she could check there was no damage done to the room. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get back to the airport next Tuesday and I’m taking all the money with me.”

  He snapped his white wristband with his free right hand and threw it in contempt onto the floor.

  “Oh no, what have I done,” whispered Jenni, even now feeling that all this had been her fault in the long run.

  “Nothing,” said Lucy briskly. “Now come down to the bar and I’ll get you a brandy.”

  ***

  “Thank heavens we can get our meal in peace,” said Kate to Greg and Sonya, as the family sat eating their lunch in the dining room. “I thought for a moment you were going to agree to hiring a people carrier before, Greg. You know you like to do our own thing, when we’re on holiday.”

  “I was tempted I must admit,” said Greg, as he tied a napkin around Evan’s neck, because the child wasn’t looking where he was spooning his spaghetti.

  “We couldn’t have Evan and Jack together in the back seat of a car anyway, it would be bedlam. I know the little girl is quite sweet, but those two together would give me a headache,” Kate continued

  “I wonder where they’ve go to?”, asked Sonya, looking around her.

  “Probably gone to their suite,” answered Greg, putting the emphasis on suite.

  “What was that all about?”, asked Kate. “Did you know there were suites for hire when you booked the hotel?”

  “No, I didn’t, Kate. I would have booked one instead of the two separate bedrooms, but apparently Paul emailed the company and asked was there anything he could upgrade to? It seems that the owner allows guests to hire his suite of rooms, when he’s not using them.”

  “Ooooh,” said Kate and Sonya in unison.