THIRTEEN
A picture featuringone of the resort’s many pools greeted Maddie when she flipped to the next page in the folder. Unlike the other three pools, though, this one contained a swim-up bar. She’d stayed at a lot of places and swam in a lot of hotel pools, but she’d never used one with a swim-up bar. And she was looking forward to trying it out next month. But, of course, it wasn’t the only resort amenity she was looking forward to enjoying.
When she’d called the Great Getaways Travel Agency and described the type of vacation they wanted, their price range, and what amenities they’d like at their hotel, Ava came back with three possible resorts. They’d dismissed one immediately because, while the cheapest, it was the furthest from the beaches, and the only amenity from their list appeared to be a small outdoor pool. Maddie and Keith had agreed that while they didn’t need the resort to have an Olympic-size pool, it needed one large enough to fit more than five people at a time.
The other two options had been comparable in every way except one. The Sherbrooke Caribe Beach Resort had its own beach, which only hotel guests could access, while the other had lovely views of the ocean, but guests needed to drive and use a public beach. So, although slightly more expensive, they’d opted for the Sherbrooke resort. And tonight, on her way home, she’d stopped at the travel agency to pay the balance on the trip and pick up the final paperwork. Since she was doing that, Keith offered to grab takeout after he finished his workout. And she expected him any minute. About forty minutes ago, he’d let her know he was leaving the gym and going to Asahi, a restaurant that prepared both Japanese and Chinese cuisine.
Maddie’s eyes scanned the list of water activities guests could engage in at the resort. Scuba diving and paddle boarding, she recognized. In fact, she enjoyed paddle boarding and often went when she visited her parents, since they lived close to the beach. Sea trekking and snuba, she’d never heard of, but she was open to trying almost anything. One thing she did plan to do at least once was rent an inflatable tube and just float on the ocean while she worked on her tan. Already her summer tan had faded, and the winter hadn’t even started yet.
Curious about both activities and with nothing better to do, she typed “sea trekking” into the search engine on her phone.
“You can barely see two feet in front of you tonight.” Keith’s voice carried into the kitchen, pulling her attention away from her search results. “I didn’t even know it was supposed to rain today.”
“The forecast called for it, but not until much later. Looks like they got it wrong again.”
Keith stopped at the table long enough to set down the takeout bag and kiss her cheek before crossing to the cupboard for plates. “Is that the info on our trip?”
“Yeah. I was just looking over the activities the resort offers. Hey, do you know what snuba is?”
“Never heard of it. Why?” Rather than return to the table, he opened the fridge. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“Whatever you’re having is good.” Maddie looked back at her phone and the search engine results for sea trekking. “It’s listed as something we can do at the resort, along with sea trekking, scuba diving, and paddle boarding.”
“No idea of what sea trekking is either.”
“According to the internet, sea trekking is a guided underwater walking tour to depths between three meters to nine meters depending on the location.” Maddie did some rough calculations in her head. “Which is roughly nine to thirty-two feet. This web page says it’s suitable for anyone over eight years old and doesn’t require previous diving experience.”
Maddie liked the sound of that. She’d considered learning to scuba dive a few times. Once, she even found a place nearby that offered the certification course. But, in the end, she’d decided against it. While she loved the idea of seeing life under the ocean, the realization of all that could go wrong while at such depths stopped her.
Keith handed her a can of ginger ale and took the seat next to her. She’d started keeping soda in the house, more for him than herself. But occasionally, Maddie did like some ginger ale or root beer. Cola or anything with the word “diet” before it, though, she passed on all the time.
“It could be interesting to try. What’s it say about snuba?” Keith asked.
“Just about to look it up.” Maddie typed the unfamiliar term and waited for the internet to do its magic.
Opening one container, Keith picked a spicy salmon roll from it and popped it into his mouth before removing the covers from the others. “Do you want to eat in here or in the living room while we watch TV?”
Monday morning, Keith and Spike were escorting Stan Bond on another of his Venezuelan trips. When Ax had informed them, her initial reaction had been “better them than me.” Disappointment had followed because the assignment meant Keith would be gone for five days. And since he was leaving soon, they’d opted to stay home and watch television rather than go out with friends. Keith wanted to finish the third and final season of the originalStar Trekseries this weekend so they could move on to the movies when he got back. Honestly, she didn’t care either way.
Opting for a tuna roll, she clicked on the top result from her newest internet search. “Other room. We’ll be more comfortable. And to answer your other question, snuba is a cross between snorkeling and scuba.”
“I’ve done both and prefer scuba.” Keith added several pieces of sashimi, some she couldn’t identify, and a few sushi rolls to his plate. “But hey, if you want, we can try every activity the hotel offers,” he said, filling the space left with the restaurant’s house fried rice.
She’d had fried rice from many places, but Asahi made the best, in her opinion. She could happily eat it as a meal.
“But I won’t object if you want to lounge naked on our balcony all week drinking cocktails, either. You booked us a room with a balcony, right?”
“It has a balcony as well as a king-sized bed. But no in-room hot tub. If we want to use one, we’ll have to go to the pool area. There’s two down there.”
“Won’t be nearly as much fun.”
She agreed with him. At the same time, though, she liked the idea of sitting in a hot tub while sipping a tropical drink and watching the ocean. “In that case, what do you think about getting a couple’s massage one day?”
The resort had a full-service spa that offered everything from facials and pedicures to massages.
“Is it something you want to do?” Keith asked, leaving the kitchen.
Plate and drink in hand, Maddie followed him. “They sound relaxing, and the spa has a few different packages.”