Chapter 3.
I feel like the story is getting a bit slow, but it is still going.
I looked in my crystal ball and I saw that in the next chapter things will pick up a little.
Last time I checked, I still didn't own anything concerning the people and places that I write about.
When they woke up the next morning she was gone.
She had left a little note saying:
'Phone reception when you are ready for breakkies.
Thnx for the walk home last night.
Love Jeanne aka Cheeky Dutch(hihi)'
Johnathan looked around in search of the phone seeing that Phil was already dialing the number of the reception.
'Hi Phil here….yeah yeah we are up and about… yeah that'll do, thanks'.
'She's going to sort us some breakfast and will bring it up in a bit'.
Not long after that she knocked on the door, let herself in and rolled the serving table inside the room. She greeted the guys with a bright smile.
'Good morning Captain Hillstrand, Captain Harris. I thought you would prefer the English breakfast over the continental one, I hope it will be enough.'
There was enough food to serve a whole crabboat after an 48 hour grind. The sight of it made both John and Phil chuckle a little. She putted the food out for them and poured the coffee in the mugs.
Johnathan grabbed her arm, looking at her hand that was wrapped up in a bandage.
'How's your hand Cheeks?' he gave her a concerned look while asking.
She tried to laugh it away 'It's nothing, just a little bruised. Trust me, my head feels a lot worse'.
She felt ashamed about the whole spectacle of the night before.
'I wonder what the guys face looks like to be honest, you got quite a punch on you' Phil said.
'Oh I bet I can tell you later what it looks like, because I am most certain that he will show up again sooner than later.' She couldn't keep a sigh in while she spoke the words.
'Who is he Cheeks?' Johnathan asked her.
'His name is Frank, he is my ex-husband and he doesn't really grasp the whole 'breakup and move on with your life' aspect of the divorce yet.' she said as she shrugged her shoulders.
'Anyways, besides the fact that your breakfast is getting cold, I need to get back to work.' She turned around to exit the room, but stopped she hesitated for a moment.
'Maybe it is out of place, but if it fits with your plans I would like to take you out tomorrow night. '
'Sounds like a plan Cheeks' and with that Phil and John accepted her offer.
'Great' She smiled 'that's a date then!'
As she walked out the door she said 'Captain Harris, Captain Hillstrand, if you gentlemen need anything just call … '.
'The reception, we know'
Over breakfast Phil and Johanathan talked about Jeanne, who they had been calling Cheeks, but who seemed to go around as Dutch.
They felt for her, she seemed friendly and they wondered how she ended up with such and douchebag of an ex-husband.
They were very curious to know what brought all the hostility between her and Frank.
They laughed when they recalled her right punch and were impressed with the fact that after so much alcohol and little sleep, she still had such a bright smile in the morning.
'She's one tough cookie' Phil said.
After breakfast it was time for them to head out to town. See what Amsterdam had to offer them.
Cheeks was sitting at the reception as they walked through the lobby. Her face lit up when she saw the captains.
'Going out gentlemen?' she said without expecting an answer.
She needed to answer the phone that was already ringing a couple of times.
'Have fun!' she mouthed to them as she listened to the caller on the other side of the line.
They nodded and went out of the hotel.
Phil and Johnathan spend the afternoon walking through Amsterdam. It amazed them how tolerant and laid-back the atmosphere was in the city. Eventhough they were often recognized from the show and asked for autographs or pictures, it didn't bother them much, it happened to them all the time back home.
Everyone who has been to Amsterdam on their travels will tell you all the stories about the red light district, the drugs etc. You don't quite believe it until you see it for yourself.
Being healthy men, wait, forget healthy, but being men nevertheless they made their way to the red light district.
'I must have died and gone to heaven' Johnathan said when they walked past the barely dressed women standing in the red lit windows.
'Certainly brings a whole new meaning to the definition of window shopping' Phil allowed himself to get distracted by this lady who tried to get his attention by stroking over her panties.
'Works for me' he said under his breath as he winked at her. She motioned him to come in, but he declined and they walked on.
'Seeing is believing and yeah baby, I am a believer!' Johnathan cried out as happy as a kid in a candy shop.
They saw coffee-shops everywhere, but learned quickly that you have to go to a café to get a cup of coffee, for weed or hash you go to the coffee-shop. They had whole menu's on the table with all kind of crazy names for the marijuana.
A first time in Amsterdam can be quite a bit to take in when you aren't used to some of the extremes in life. Phil and Johnatan had seen their share, though it was still a bit surreal to them.
They became more and more convinced that this was more than the perfect place for them to spend their holiday.
As they moved on a guy walked straight up to them and stopped them. He looked at Phil and asked him where the red light district was.
'What do you mean, where is the red light district? Do you think I look like someone who has to pay for sex?' Phil raised his voice a bit more than necessary. He stepped a bit closer to the guy, who started to look a bit pale and mumbled something that sounded like 'sorry' as he took off.
'Oh God Phil, out of all the people here on the street, that unlucky bastard just had to pick you to ask that.' Johnathan laughed. 'He'll be crying to his mummy tonight, the big mean man was nasty to me.'
Phil and John couldn't stop laughing. They walked on and ended up at Sharkey's . As they walked in through the curtain they saw Mike behind the bar.
He turned around and grabbed a bottle and three glasses.
'Thank you for taking Dutch home last night, she text me this morning to let me know she was all right' Mike offered the captains their drink, Crown Royal.
'I suppose we need to thank you, apparently she is going to take us on a date tomorrow night' Phil answered.
'That will be night you will never forget' He said with a grin on his face.
'Do you know where she will take us?'
'Oh yeah, I think I got an idea all right, but I think I am better off keeping my mouth shut' Mike put his hands up to emphasize that he wasn't going to tell.
The three of them talked about nothing and everything. Phil and Johnathan shared their first experiences in Amsterdam from that afternoon with Mike.
They learned that Mike also had a connection with the sea. He used to be a surfer back in the day. He travelled around the world, surfed all day and partied all night. He made his money entering surfing competitions and working at the beach bars. He had met Dutch on some warm beach nearly 15 years ago. She was nineteen, he was twenty-six. She went home and when he ran into some trouble he decided to come to The Netherlands to visit her. To cut a long story short, her dad offered him a job, he opened the bar and never left.
Phil's nosey nature couldn't help him wondering what kind of trouble Mike could of ran into all those years ago, but his questions weren't answered within the conversation and he decided not to push for it.
Stories kept flowing as the booze kept coming.
All three opened up about the good, the bad and the naughty in their lives concerning women, drugs and rock and roll. It was a proper male bonding session.
They didn't notice that Frank had come through the door into the bar until he stood right beside them and ordered a drink.
'Dutch not around tonight Shark?' Frank said as the three of them looked over to him. Frank tipped his imaginary hat at the two captains.
'Frank, she isn't here, and if she was, she wouldn't want to speak to you. Let it go mate, let her go.' Mike said.
'Shark, you know I can't and you know I won't'
Frank threw some money on the bar 'Nevermind the drink, have a good evening all' He turned around and walked out of the bar.
'What's the story between Frank and Dutch?' Phil asked.
'I can't tell you Phil, you would have to ask Dutch.' However he continued talking.
'Frank used to be my best friend, not long after we arrived in The Netherlands he started dating Dutch. He swept her of her feet. I hated him for it, I wanted her to be with me. However I didn't want to lose her all together, so I sucked it up and even went to their wedding. It was a turbulent marriage for a couple of years. The bad times took over the good times and eventually Dutch decided she had enough off it. He wasn't willing to let her go without a fight so she turned to her dad for help. He helped her out and Frank and Dutch divorced about 10 years ago, every now and then he shows up and makes her life hell.'
'Ten years ago? Seems more like they broke up a couple of months ago from what I saw last night' Johnathan said.
'I know' Mike let out a sad sigh and emptied his glass before filling all three up again. Mike obviously sat on his talking chair because he continued.
'I love Dutch to bits, she means the world to me. We have been friends now for so long and we have been through hell and back.'
'Why aren't you like together together then?' Johnathan asked.
'We tried, but we figured out pretty quickly that we are better friends than we are lovers.' Mike smiled 'not saying there is anything wrong with her loving though.' He added as he gave the captains a meaningful look.
'I guess we are too scared of losing a good thing. I have been seeing women off and on, but they have a hard time accepting my lifestyle and the role Dutch plays in my life. Hard to explain, when it comes down to it, I will always be with her without actually having her. Same goes for her I suppose, she has been dating. Pretty decent blokes as well, some I wouldn't have had any problems with if she would have settled down with, but she doesn't. She is happy on her own, doing whatever she wants to do, whenever it is she wants to do it. When it comes down to it, she's got me. She takes after her old man, he wasn't one to settle down either.'
'Uh hum…. I see you are making friends Mike' Dutch said sarcastically.
They were talking so much that they didn't see her come in and stand behind them.
'Sorry hun, I just couldn't keep my mouth shut'
'It's alright babe, I suppose you have done me a favor. I am just not much of a talker, I am much more of a drinker.' She said as she leaned over to give him a kiss.
'So what does a girl need to do to get a drink in this place' She putted her arms around Phil and Johnathan and looked at them to see if they were buying her one.
They spend the next two hours talking, laughing and drinking together.
'Boys, I am calling it a night, Shark we'll meet you tomorrow?'
'I will be expecting you Dutch' Mike said as he hugged her goodbye.
Phil and Johnathan said goodbye too so they could walk back with Dutch to the hotel. No one mentioned to her that Frank had made an appearance earlier, but they didn't feel comfortable knowing she would walk the alley on her own.
She hooked her arms again through Phil's and Johnathan's and walked out the bar as she looked back to Mike who gave her an approving nod.
'Since you are more able to speak tonight, where do you live Dutch?' John asked as they walked through the alley.
'I live in the hotel. I thought about getting a house, but what's the point really. I own the place, the work never stops and I am there all the time. Buying a house just seems to be a waste of money when you got about sixty rooms to crash in every night.' she answered.
Phil and Johnathan looked at each other over her head. It never really crossed their minds that Dutch owned Dutch Harbor.
As they walked into the hotel, the guy with the boy-band look was sitting at the desk again.
'Déjà-vu, Dutch! You picked up the same men as last night! You know you are repeating yourself darling? What is it, are you losing your game or are you just getting old? '.
'Shut it Ken'. She rolled her eyes at him.
'Whatever Barbie' he said teasingly.
'Want to have your keys Dutch? Or are these gentlemen taking you to up their room again tonight for a little after partying?'.
'Watch your mouth Ken' she laughed 'don't bite the hand that feeds you'.
'Ouch, that's cold' He laughed.
She pretented to have a swing for him and he back up pretending to be in fear.
'We'll take her of your hands mate, come on Dutch you are coming with us again.' Phil said as he pushed her towards the elevators.
Ken laughed and winked at he wished the captains a good evening. When they walked off to the elevator, Dutch looked back at him and saw how he made some shagging movements. She shook her head, she knew she wouldn't hear the end off it.
Back in the room she took her shoes off and crashed down on the sofa. A moment later there was a knock on the door. 'roomservice'
She got up to open the door, wondering what it could be.
She opened the door and saw a servingtable with a small plastic carrier bag, a bottle of bubbles, sandwiches and the keys to her room.
She took the items inside and looked in the carrierbag. She laughed when she realized it must have been Ken who quickly grabbed some sexy sleepwear for her.
She threw her keys behind the door on the floor a habit she had for a couple of years now.
On her way back, she dimmed the lights and took three bathrobes out of the wardrobe. She threw Phil and Johnathan one each and ordered them to get comfy. She gave the bottle of bubbles to Johnathan to open it.
'No shaking!' she said as she gave him a firm look.
Phil laughed, he really started to like this girl.
Johnathan stripped off his clothes and putted on his bathrobe, Phil followed his lead.
She stood before them and watched them.
She slowly started to undress herself. Stepping out of her tight jeans, she looked amazing in front of the view over the city that their window gave them. She took of her shirt. With just her bra and panties on they could see her tattooed body. As they noticed on the first evening she had a few nice colorful pieces.
She had a v-shaped tattoo on her lower back that showed two lions back to back. It was done in a very subtitle way. She had two tattoos on her sides with lilly's and orchids that were done in a Japanese style.
Johanthan and Phil just sat there looking at her.
The show was over when she putted on her bathrobe and took the champagne from Johnathan. She poured three glasses and handed it to them.
'What happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam' she said as she toasted with the captains.
They ate the sandwiches as a late supper and finished of the bottle of bubbles.
They talked some more about nothing in particular until she fell asleep resting her head against Phil's shoulder. Johnathan lifted her up, so Phil could get of the sofa without waking her. He got the duvet she had used the night before and made sure she was all comfy.
'Snug as bug in a rug' Johnathan said as he looked at Phil.
They left her sleeping on the sofa.