Chapter 2 – Checking in
The cab ride took longer than I remembered from my previous visits to New York and Madison got bored of looking out the window quite quickly, settling for eating M&Ms and listening to music on her iPad Mini after the first 15 minutes of me trying to point out interesting things to her. I, on the other hand, could never get bored of watching the tall buildings and crowds of people rush past the window as we drove down Fifth Avenue quickly approaching our hotel.
We pulled around a corner and stopped in front of what was to be our home for the next week, J W Marriott Essex House. Situated directly across from Central Park and it being the hotel I had stayed in on my last visit to the city, I had felt it was a good starting point for any exploring Madison would certainly want to do whilst we were here and also because it wasn't too far from Madison Square Garden which is where we would be heading in 2 days' time for Madison's birthday surprise. I leaned over and pulled out one of the little girls ear phones, mine that she had taken out of my bag,
"We're here; can you pack your iPad back in your backpack while I get the rest of our things please?" I asked her. She nodded silently and I climbed out of the cab, thanking the driver for opening the door for me, and brushed my hands down the front of my skinny black jeans. It was strangely hot and humid standing on the curb as the cab driver pulled our suitcases out of the back of the car and handed them to the bellman who placed them on to a trolley and disappeared inside with them. I pulled my hair up in to a messy bun and secured it with the hairband I kept around my wrist, usually for Madison hair but the back of my neck was starting to feel clammy already. "Come on munchkin," I said bending down to help Madison out of the cab, "let's go check in so we can explore the hotel. I hear they have a lovely swimming pool, do you want to go swimming?"
"I'm not sure mummy, I'm hungry and tired," she replied letting go of my hand to rub her eyes as we climbed the few steps to the glass doors of the hotel.
"You just ate a whole sharing bag of M&Ms in the taxi, how can you be hungry right now?" I swung open the glass door in front of me and held it open so she could walk through.
"Do they have pretzels here? Like that store in the shopping centre at home? I want one of those," she looked at me expectantly.
"The pretzels are so much better here, we will see if we can get you one after we check in ok?" Nodding tiredly she took hold of my hand again and walked with me to the desk where a blonde woman stood waiting to greet us.
"Hi, my names Callie I'll be checking you in today. Can I take your name please?" She was in her late 20s with long blonde hair pulled sleekly back in to a perfect bun. Wearing a black pencil skirt, white blouse and black blazer she was exactly what I would expect the staff from a hotel like this to look like. Prim and perfect in every way.
"Yes, it's Davis. Nicole Davis," I responded, smiling politely as she turned to her computer screen and started tapping away at the keys.
"Ahh, yes I have you right here. Room 3184, I'll just get your key card and some paperwork for you to sign, and then we will have your bags taken up to your room Miss Davis."
"Thankyou," I looked down at Madison who had sat on the floor by my legs with her head in her hands staring at the glass doors of the hotel entrance. She looked shattered; I made a mental note to have her take a nap once we had eaten.
"OK," I turned back to face Callie, "if you could just sign this we can get you all checked in and ready to go," she slid a piece of paper and a pen across the desk in front of me and went back to typing on her computer. Signing the paper where she had put an X I slid it back across to her swung Madison's back pack up on to my shoulder. "Here's your room key, its 11th floor. You can take the elevator just over there in the lobby; there is an informal dining room on the floor below your room and a formal dining room on the 2nd floor. There is also a gym, pool, spa, and Pilates studio on the 3rd floor which are all open 24 hours a day except the pool which closes at 6pm. Your bags will be delivered to your room, and I hope you enjoy your stay with us Miss Davis." I took the room key from her,
"Thank you very much Callie." Pulling Madison to her feet gently I slipped the room key in to my pocket and swung her up on to my right hip figuring it was going to be easier and possibly 10 times faster to just carry her up to the room than it was to try and convince her to walk. We crossed the reception quickly and entered in to the lobby area Callie had referred to. Tub style chairs and sofas spread out around the marble floored area and small coffee tables were placed evenly in between making it look like a sort of casual meeting space people would congregate in before heading out in to the city on their adventures. Floor to ceiling windows let in huge amounts of light from outside and gave a clear view of one side of Central Park. As I stood waiting for the elevator to arrive looking out of the window I noticed a black people carrier pull up in front of the hotel. Three large men in black clothing jumped out started grabbing bags out of the van and talking to the people still sat inside. The door on the side of the van slid open revealing a blonde haired woman carrying a sleeping toddler in one arm and struggling to pull a buggy out of the van with the her free hand. I glanced around to see that the man that had hopped out of the same van were busy checking in and carrying bags up the main staircase towards the balcony that overlooked the lobby. I sighed loudly and walked over to the table by the window, placing my bag down on the table and sitting Madison on the sofa in front of the large window.
"I'm just going to go there and help that lady OK? Do you think you can just sit here for me a second and look after my phone?" I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket and handed it to her knowing that the second I turned my back she would load up one of the many games that she had insisted on downloading before I brought her an iPad for Christmas, that drain my battery within five minutes. She nodded her head and I took one last look around the empty lobby before slipping through the glass entry doors and outside to the black van.
