Acapulco Nights Read Free

bones.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    “Are you ok?” Janice asked me for the third time.
    The printed papers fluttered down the busy streets of Acapulco, lost to the wind. Here is where my journey would begin, at the Playa Del Mexico Hotel, a thousand miles from home, from James, and from the life I had built.
    Somehow I found my voice, “Yes, I’m all right.”  Our taxi pulled away from the curb, leaving me and my suitcase behind. I dumbly reached for it.
    Janice put her hand on my arm, “Let the bellboy get it. He’s bringing the cart around now.”
    Yes, the bellboy. We were on vacation, staying at a posh hotel. No need for me to schlep my heavy suitcase.
    I turned away from the street and the papers blowing away. I pasted on my widest, happiest smile. “So, what do you say we get a couple of Tequila Sunrises and get this party started?”
    “Now you’re talking!” Janice cheered.
    Linking her arm with mine, she led me through the huge glass entrance doors at the top of a wide stone stairway.
    *
    “Can you believe this room?” My traveling companion plopped herself down on the suede sofa in our expansive suite. She leaned over and whipped open the mini-fridge grabbing several tiny bottles of vodka and two containers of orange juice.
    I stood right inside the door. The view mesmerized me. Far below us blue water extended as far as the eye could see and beyond that a brilliant sky filled with a few puffy white clouds. I wanted to dive into that water and lose myself in its clear depths—close my eyes, hold my breath, and let the powerful tide sweep over me.
    “Did you see the flyers all over the elevator?” Janice’s voice brimmed with excitement.
    How could I have missed dozens of bright orange flyers pasted to the inside of a gold-plated, mirrored elevator? “Yeah, the ‘Welcome Fiesta’?”
    “That’s the one. We are so going to be there.”
    “You got it.” I wanted to make Janice’s vacation the best ever, even if I had to be willing to put up with a few dozen drunk men and several rounds of limbo in order to achieve it. “It’ll be kinda funny to go to a ‘welcome’ party half way through our trip.”
    “Who cares what they name it? Guaranteed fun—and an open bar!”
    I smiled as she mixed together the drinks in two of the plastic cups sitting next to the ice bucket. She seemed so relaxed and happy here. This trip would do her a world of good.
    “Here,” Janice handed me a cup. “We can go down to the cantina later, but it looked like you needed a drink right now. Must have been a rough week at work.”
    I gratefully took the cheap cup from her hand, half-filled with orange juice and vodka, and turned away from the view. Without saying a word, I took a large gulp. First beer, now vodka. I hoped I didn’t get sick from the combination.
    “Guess I hit the nail on the head, huh?” Janice asked with a tweak of a smile on her face.
    “You could say that.” I took another big swig, leaving only a trace of juice and vodka in my cup. I waited for my stomach to rebel, but it had calmed since the plane trip.
    “Right back at ya.” She raised her cup to me in a sort of salute, and then downed half of her drink. Giving a satisfied smack, she said dolefully, “I’ve had a rough six years at work.”
    “Hard to believe it’s been that long.”
    “Straight out of law school. God, I thought I’d never pass the bar.” Janice slumped back against the couch cushions, as if she were reliving the stress of the exam. “The first few months on the job were murder.”
    “At least you passed the first time you took it. Not everyone’s that lucky.” I took a seat in a comfortable-looking wingback chair.
    “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Before I passed it, I felt as if I had the life sucked out of me—working, studying, working, and studying some more.” She took a long sip from her plastic cup. “But looking back on it, I’m not sure why I bothered.”
    “What do you mean? You’ve always wanted to