AN: I messed up. I should have done more research instead of using my memory. It is not the Radisson Hotel I am thinking of it is the Hyatt. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you for the feedback. Sorry it reads like a travel guide. I guess I get hung up on details. I will work on that. I just wanted all the flight information to be correct because I was sure someone would check up on my.
Chapter 4: Someday Soon
The next morning it was up at a more reasonable time. They all met for breakfast in the restaurant in the Hyatt. Once again like everything in the hotel it was first class. They ate their fill and started to make plans for their day.
"What time does the rodeo start?" Holly asked David who has by now committed the itinerary to memory.
"It starts at about 1:00." David said as he was putting cream in his coffee.
"Well do we want to go do some shopping this morning?" Holly asked.
"Yes" "Ya" "Sounds Good" "Yes" "Yeah Yeah" "No!" "No!" When they looked at each other David and Jade just laughed. Here they were again finding themselves on the same side.
"Well fine. The two of you can stay here and find something to do. But I for one am going to go shopping. Did you know that our money is worth more than the Canadian money? That means everything is on sale all the time." Trina was suddenly awake and excited about some part of this trip.
"Ok try to leave some money in the account today ladies." David said to his wife and daughters.
"Will you be okay here by yourself Babe?" Tori asked.
"What do you mean by myself? Your dad and I are going to hang and see what we can find to do right here." Jade gave her that look that told Tori don't make me go shopping with you.
"I will go talk to the concierge and set up a taxi van to take us to a mall." Beck said getting up from the table tossing down some cash for his breakfast.
The group settled up the bill for breakfast and walked to the lobby. The shoppers got into the yellow taxi van and were off. Jade and David were left standing in the lobby.
"Well it is now nine thirty. I will meet you at eleven right here. I have an idea. I am going to have a swim. Do you want to come?" David asked Jade.
"No I want to go check on my email and straighten up the room before housekeeping gets there." Jade said with a smirk.
"Clean the room? Do I want to know?" David asked.
"Well you live in the same house as Tori. Have you seen her room? Her idea of looking for clothes in a suitcase is throwing everything in the air and leaving it where it falls. Someone has to clean up after her." Jade said exasperated.
"So you are the one that has been cleaning her room. Oh well she is your problem now." David said wiping his hands together.
"No not my problem yet. There is no ring on that finger." Jade smiled.
"Not yet!" With that David turned and went to his room.
At the mall everyone kind of split up and did their own thing. They did see that cowboy seemed to be the theme in every store in the mall. The cab driver told them that they couldn't go to the Stampede without a cowboy hat. It is even okay if you have never left the city to wear one during Stampede. Besides he said it will keep the sun out of your eyes and off your neck. It can get either hot or wet in the stands depending on the year.
It wasn't long before it was time to return to the hotel so they could get ready to go to the rodeo. When they all got back together it looked like the women had bought everything in the mall by the number of bags they had. Andre and Beck were laughing at the fact that Robbie was carrying all of Cat's bags. He looked like a pack mule.
It seemed that the only thing that Beck and Andre bought were cowboy hats. Andre bought a dark brown hat and Beck bought a black hat. Beck was one of those people who could wear anything and look cool. He looked natural wearing his hat and sunglasses, Andre with all his little braids he didn't look as cowboy as Beck.
Jade made her way to the lobby and found David sitting on a leather couch waiting for her. "So where are we going?" Jade asked.
"Come with me." David led the way down the hall.
It wasn't a long trip. They turned and entered the Sandstone Lounge. David took a seat at the long wooden bar while Jade took a seat a little more carefully. She looked around to see if anyone was looking at her. There was no one in the place as they had just opened. David ordered a Molson Canadian Beer and asked Jade what she wanted.
She had a puzzled look on her face. She was sitting in a bar with her girlfriend's father who was a cop. She thought that maybe he lost his mind. "Ah ya a beer." Jade muttered.
The bartender asked to see her I.D. She knew that this was not a good idea. Then to her shock David said, "Show him your driver's license Jade."
Instinctively she thumbed through her wallet and was looking for her fake I.D. when David reached in and grabbed her real license and handed it to the bartender. Jade was sure he would ask her to leave. He simply handed it back and thanked her.
Jade was starting to think that these Canadians must be too dumb to do simple math because she was only eighteen. It must have been written all over her face because David said, "Jade it is okay. In Alberta the age is eighteen. You are legal here."
"Maybe I judged these Canadians a little too harshly." She smiled
The beer were placed in front of them and they started to relax. The place was nice. A little high end trying to look like a cool country place. But it was okay. The TV was over the bar and there was a buffalo head over the fireplace. The funny thing was instead of country music there was jazz music being pumped through the place.
They both enjoyed the beer. It was different than any that Jade had ever had, but then she only really ever got what was on sale. When David finished his beer the bartender reappeared and asked, "Sir would you and your lady like another beer?"
Jade began to laugh. He must have thought that they were together. That was funny to her. David should be so lucky to get a hot piece like her. The bartender was looking at her wondering what he said that was so funny.
"Yes one more and Jade is not my lady she is my daughter's girlfriend" Then they both laughed.
Jade loved to drop the bomb on people to see them squirm and stammer when they found out she was a lesbian.
The bartender didn't even flinch. Jade thought that this was odd. "Are you here to get married?"
"Ah no we are just here on a family holiday." Jade said rather disappointedly she was not getting the reaction from this guy that she wanted.
"It is just that we get a lot of couples from the States coming to Canada to get married. We have no restrictions on gender here." The bartender said.
Jade was really getting an education in this country. She had only known Beck before and judged an entire country by what she knew about him. Maybe she was wrong and that was hard for Jade to admit.
They sat and talked about movies, books and music. They found that they had a few that they could discuss. It turned out that they both had seen a lot of the horror films from the seventies and eighties. When Jade's phone buzzed she knew it had to be Tori. Who else would be texting her.
It wasn't long before the entire group was gathered in the doorway of the small lounge. They were holding a lot of shopping bags. David put some money on the bar and they got up to join the others.
"Jade, Dad what are you doing drinking?" Holly was shocked.
"We only had a couple of beer Holly. We are fine." David said trying to cover up the fact that he was feeling the buzz from the beer.
"Ya you have to like this place. At eighteen I am legal here." Jade said with a big smile.
"Take it easy on the beer here. It definitely will kick you if you aren't ready for it." Beck said as a warning just a little too late.
"So what is with the hat Andre did you walk into the shop and ask for them to make you look like a dork?" Jade grinned at him.
"What is wrong with this hat? I like my hat. Beck told me it looked good on me. It looks good on me? Right Tori? Cat?" Andre was fishing.
They split and went to their rooms to unload and get ready to go to the rodeo. When they got to their room Tori was impressed with the room. At fist she thought housekeeping packed her bag again for her, but then Jade set her straight on that. She put a few bags down and grabbed one and told Jade that she bought her something.
"Everyone got hats. It is kind of a thing I guess. I knew I had to find the right hat for you or you wouldn't wear one." Tori always had to tell the story about each purchase when she went shopping.
She then pulled a hat out the bag she was holding. It was a straw hat that was sprayed with black paint and had the sides scrunched up. The key feature was the little skulls it had on the hat band. Jade wanted to protest, but when she saw the skulls there was no way she could. She tried it on and looked in the mirror and found that she actually looked pretty good in this hat.
When they all gathered together they were waiting for Cat and Robbie. About the time Andre was going to go speed them up the elevator door opened and there they were. They were dressed in rather kitschy outfits.
"Hey it is about time Woody and Jessie!" Jade said with a smirk.
"No it is us Cat and Robbie." Cat said confused.
"We know. Let's just go." Tori tied to move things along because Cat could make this last all day.
When they got to the Stampede grounds they were overwhelmed by the smells of carnival foods and the sounds of the rides. There was a band playing somewhere that could be heard through the voices of the crowd. They worked their way to the entrance to the rodeo and found their seats.
They watched with interest as Robbie read from the program explaining each event. They agreed that it seemed quite dangerous. It didn't take Trina long before she got bored. She wanted to go to the midway so that people could see her in her rhinestone covered hat and new cowboy boots she bought. She pestered until Andre said he would go with her and ride the rides.
They enjoyed the rest of the rodeo and made their way out to the grounds to find Andre and Trina. Cat and Tori went to the cotton candy stand. Jade put of a struggle pleading with Tori not to let Cat have sugar, but it was of no use. So to punish Tori Jade too a big piece of her cotton candy.
It was Sonya that spotted Andre and Trina walking towards them. When they joined up Beck noticed that Andre was no longer wearing his big ugly brown hat.
"Hey bro where is your hat?" Beck questioned.
"Don't worry about his hat. It was ugly anyway. There are still a few rides we have not ridden. I thought that we saw Mel Gibson. But it wasn't. However Andre convinced me to ask for his autograph and made me look foolish." Trina said without taking a breath.
"She deserved it. She did. She ate three corn dogs and then we rode some rides. She puked in my hat!" Andre said in his injured voice he saved for moments like this.
"Good call Trina" Jade said with a smirk.
They walked through the midway and played some games. Even Jade had a good time. She and Tori walked hand in hand just enjoying the summer evening.
They ate at a steak restaurant near their hotel. Jade had a salad of course. She had such a great day she even let Tori enjoy her meal without lecturing her about meat and animals. Jade's mind was also on the fact that Tori promised to make up to her for removing her scissors from her bag. She couldn't wait until they got back to the hotel. It promised to be a good night.
An: Thanks again I do not take my audience for granted nor do ignore your reviews. The Song Someday Soon is by Ian Tyson. It is about a girl who is in love with a rodeo rider. SM