“Should we check in or wait… for Josie?” My words trail off as I step into The Cove and onto the marble floor. I can feel my mouth drop open as I take in the magnitude of this hotel.
“The guys weren’t kidding,” Katelyn says.
“No, they weren’t.”
The guys, being our husbands, insisted that we turn our girls’ week away into seven days of pampering. Despite our best attempts at finding a nice hotel with a nice beach, the guys became adamant that we treat ourselves, as a gift from them. As a thank you for taki
ng care of them, their families, and lives while they’re on tour.
For a month or longer, the guys bickered about where we should stay, what we should do, and even as to where we would go. It came down to Betty Paige and Eden suggesting that everyone’s recommendations for a hotel be put into a hat. Whatever name was drawn would be the place that we would stay.
Of course, arguing ensued about who would draw a name because in all honesty, Jimmy, Liam, and Harrison are children in adult-sized bodies and they can’t agree on a single thing most of the time.
In the end, Paige drew the name because she was the youngest in the room, and all Eden wanted to do was go surfing; our indecisiveness was taking up valuable wave time.
And that is how we ended up standing in this grandiose lobby, with our mouths hanging open, acting like we’ve never seen anything like this before.
“I should’ve come here on my honeymoon,” Katelyn says, causing me to laugh.
“Did you and Harrison recently tie the knot and not tell us?” I ask.
Katelyn looks over and smiles at me. My heart beats fast, thinking that one of my best friends would take the plunge without having our family there to witness the act.
“No,” she says with a devilish grin. “Harrison and I are extremely happy with the way things are now.” Katelyn steps forward, dragging her suitcase behind her as the sound of her flip-flops echoes throughout the lobby. It’s a sound I hate, but have grown to tolerate it with Eden wearing them every day.
I follow her quickly toward the registration desk, curious of what has been booked for us.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. James, Mrs. Davis,” the clerk says before either of us can give our names.
I glance quickly at Katelyn who rolls her eyes. “I’m sorry, but how do you know who we are?” she asks. “Surely, our reservations are under a different name?”
“Most of us in Atlantis are big fans,” the clerk tells us as her fingers move wildly over the keyboard. “When we found out you were coming, we all became very excited.”
“How does one find out?” I ask.
The clerk stops, but doesn’t make eye contact with us, meaning our question goes unanswered. Great. Perfect. No privacy.
All thoughts of being hounded run through my mind. We were probably better off bringing the guys; this way we’d have security with us and people wouldn’t dare try to ask us questions.
The young woman slides our keycards to us and rambles instructions on how to find our room and our private cabana. She goes into detail about our itinerary, telling us when our trip to the spa is, the day we’ll visit the dolphins, and our Island tours. “Here is a list of restaurants, and when you’re ready to go to Aquaventure, let us know. The bellhop will be here shortly to help you.”
“Thank you,” we both say. We step away from the desk and wait for the bellhop to take us to our room. I have every doubt in my mind that I will get lost if I try to find my room by myself. I only need to be shown once, maybe twice, before I can find my way there.
“That had to be Eden’s idea,” I say, looking over the flyer for Aquaventure.
“Do you think we should’ve brought the kids?” Katelyn asks.
I adamantly shake my head. “First off, you don’t have small children. Yours are gown and out of the house; why on Earth would you want to vacation with them?”
Katelyn opens her mouth to stay something, but closes it quickly.
“Second, we need this! Look at this place, Katelyn. They picked it for us because they love us and know we need a break. I do wish they were here though.”
“We could call them?” she says, but I shake my head. “I know you’re right. I’m feeling—”
“Like you have an empty nest?”
She looks at me wide eyed. “Yes. I hate that the kids aren’t together. Mostly, Peyton though; she’s alone in Chicago and I worry about her. I’m constantly watching the news… and I hate the news, Jenna. There is so much crime. Harrison tells me that Peyton is fine, and that she’ll call if she needs anything, but I still worry.”