Sweet Lantern

Chapter 33

Alice

When we arrive at the hotel, Darry goes to check us in at the big mahogany desk that sits, a half circle, in the center of the foyer as you walk into the front entrance. I wait for him at a sitting area beside the front doors, with our bags surrounding my feet.

The lobby is beautiful, and there are a few people buzzing around; mainly staff it looks like from their matching uniforms. It's a very clean, well-kept lobby; the glass chandeliers are beautiful and light the area well enough to see that they take pride in this being the first place that their visitors see. They've taken great care to ensure that their first impression is a good one.

The two people behind the desk are friendly enough, well groomed, and both have been smiling genuine smiles at us since we arrived. They help Darry sign us in and the lady comes around the desk with a single key, attached to a red plastic key holder with the numbers 115 etched into it in gold.

She points down the hall to our left and tells us it's the third door on the right. Wishing us welcome and to have a great stay, she walks back to her assigned station and we head off to see our room.

I'm so excited waiting for him to unlock the door, eager to see the room. I can barely settle my nerves enough to stop from bouncing up and down slightly, behind Darry. When he opens the door, he steps aside to let me enter first. When I step into the room, I stop flat. It's still light outside, so the first thing I see is the large wall-sized window that overlooks the ocean; the sandy beach, the white waves washing onto the shore. There are people playing in the water, building sandcastles, and sunbathing. I can't speak. I can't move. I'm in total awe of the scene before me. Darry moves into the room behind me and stops to put his hands on my shoulders and then I hear him whisper, "Are you OK?"

"I-I-yes, I'm OK. Darry, look..." I say, not turning my head, but reaching up to grab him by the chin, turning his face to the window.

We both stand there, quietly watching. Watching the waves come in and then drift back out. The kids down below, sand stuck to their arms and legs, as they carve letters into the earth beneath them. The people in the water are splashing each other, they look so tiny and insignificant against the vast expanse of blue water and blue sky.

"It's so much different than just seeing it in movies." I finally manage to squeak out.

I reach for Darry's hand and we stand there for a few more minutes, watching out the window, unable to speak through processing the sight before us.

When we're able to move again, we put the bags on the bed and begin to unpack, looking for our bathing suits and sandals. "I can't wait to put my toes into the water!" I tell Darry, the excitement bursting through my words. "I can't wait to feel the sand under my feet." He tells me, and I know he's just as excited as I am.

When I pull my bathing suit up, I look in the mirror and see my baby belly pushing against the sleek black fabric. I pull my hair from the bun that now sits atop my head and let it fall down my back. No time to care how I look in this bathing suit today, I'm going to put my toes into the ocean! I grab two towels from the rack behind me and head back into the room. "Are you ready?" I ask, seeing him slide his feet into his flip flops. He's wearing the same swim trunks he bought the night that we went to the falls.

"Ready when you are, sexy." He winks at me and crosses the room to kiss me before we leave. Grabbing my hand, he spins me around to guide me out the door. "Oh! We might need the key." He says as he catches the door with his foot and disappears back into the room to retrieve the room key from the table.

"Alright, let's go. We have a little while left of light; I think."

When we walk outside, we turn the corner and follow the path that leads down to the beach. I can smell the salt in the air and there's a nice breeze coming in from the water that whips around my hair, cooling my skin from the heat of the sun that is now blazing down on us.

The seagulls flying over, caw as they dip down over the water and fly back up again.

And then there's the sounds of the waves gently lapping at the shore, then pulling away again. It's so nice, so relaxing, and is vastly different from anything in Cedar Ridge. I feel like I have not only traveled a few states over, but I have entered a completely different world.

I hear Darry, calling my name in the distance and it confuses me, but I don't turn to find him. He was just right next to me. The water gets closer and closer until it hits me and the cold rushes over me, sliding up my spine and shocking my senses. I turn and turn in the water, letting it whip up around me, the surge trying to pull me deeper and deeper into the ocean.

"You are a trip! I couldn't even keep up with you. Are we a little excited?" Darry laughs when he reaches me. And then I realize, I ran from him when I saw the water. I hadn't even noticed letting go of his hand, much less that my feet had begun to carry me faster and faster away from him and toward the water in front of us.

I blush and look up at him, "Sorry, babe. I didn't even realize it. I just wanted to feel the water so badly." I laugh at how silly I am, and he laughs with me as he joins me in the splash of waves now surrounding the both of us.