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CHAPTER 14: WHAT A TRIP (PART 2)

"So THEN what happened?", asked Kay, a small pile of Hershey

miniatures candy wrappers in front of her on the bed.

Mia, Eloise and Kay were sharing a room at The Hershey Hotel. Mario

was in the room next door. Charlotte and Shades had a room down the

hall.

They had arrived earlier that day and after several rides at Hershey

Park, as well as all the candy she could eat, Eloise had finally

passed out on the floor in a pile of comforters between the two Queen

sized beds.

"That is it! And now so I'm confused! I like him, but should I even?

And I don't even know what's going on. Plus I kind of still have a

thing for my ex, but don't you dare tell the others! Oh, you can't

tell them any of this, you know that right? Not one word!", said Mia,

her mouth full of chocolate, as she sat on her bed facing Kay.

"Relax Mia! I know how to be discrete, but if you want my advice...

Drag him to bed! He and Joe are both so sexy! You and your grandmother

is very lucky!"

"Its the latin blood in them. Can we talk about something else now?

Like, did you notice the ring on Charlotte's finger?"

"An ENGAGEMENT ring?"

"No, it doesn't look like it, but it is new all the same and I bet it

is from Shades"

"Oh", said Kay, who was getting a little bored and decided to snuggle

down into her pillow.

"You know, I have known those two for a long time and I am really

happy that they finally got together. I mean not as happy as when

Grandma and Joe got together, because they had waited way longer and

they just had an absolute need for one another...But Charl and Shades,

they are just so good together, don't you think? It makes me jealous

sometimes, all these happy couples around me. Although, I guess I

could have a happy ending to if I would just figure things out. Maybe

I should talk to grandma about Mario, she can be very wise, of course.

Maybe I can even talk to Joe about it. Nobody knows Mario better then

him and he knew Nick too, plus he is like an expert on matters of the

heart. What do you think? "

Mia's endless banter was met by the faint sounds of Kay's snoring.

"Well, good night Kay", Mia said as she flung the candy wrappers onto

the floor and laid down herself, "Don't worry about me. I will just

figure things out for myself"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So, are you having a good time? You seem a million miles away?",

Shades asked Charlotte, who laid in his arms, gazing off into space.

"I'm sorry honey. Yes, today was wonderful", she said as she planted a

kiss on his cheek and snuggled up to him a bit more, "I'm just

thinking about my mother"

"Just what I was hoping you would be thinking about at this moment"

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be", he said kissing her shoulder, "What's bothering you in

regards to Nanny?"

"Nothing really. I just hope that she is ok. She was so nervous about

this weekend"

"Well she's not a virgin Charlie. I am sure she can figured things out"

"That is NOT what I meant!", she said giving him a look.

"Well sorry, what did you mean then?"

"I just hope she feels as happy and loved with him as I always feel with you"

"Well, that IS sweet Charlie", he said kissing her softly, " He loves

her, even I can tell that, and I am sure he will make her very happy"

"Yeah"

"Now, I love your mother, but..."

"Ok, ok... not another word"

"Words are overrated", he said kissing her again.

"I agree", she murmured back, but broke then kiss to ask him, "When

should we tell the others?"

"Tell them what?"

"Shades!"

"Oh, you mean about that ring on your finger? Whenever you want.

That's up to you"

"Well, I wanted to tell Eloise first. Maybe we can do that tomorrow?"

"Sure. Then we can call your mom before we tell the others"

"Oh, how did you know I was thinking that?"

"Because I know you! So, tell me. Were you happy with how I asked you?

I know it wasn't very romantic"

"What do you mean? We were eating chocolate covered strawberries in a

nice little cafe"

"In a theme park!"

Charlotte laughed at this, "Oh, so what! I thought it was perfect! You

got down on one knee didn't you? ...And all those wonderful things you

said..."

"They were all true Charlie"

"I love Mr. Kutaway!"

"I love YOU, the future MRS. Kutaway"

"You had better! I do not make a habit of accepting marriage

proposals, but I made an exception for you"

"Well, I thank you for that! I will also be getting you a better ring

when we get back to New York. That thing doesn't even look like an

engagement ring"

"No way, I love this ring! I will wear it until the day I die"

"Really?", he asked, holding her close. to him.

"Really", she whispered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fred paced back and forth in his room. This was a strange situation,

if he had ever been in one. He had been a bachelor all his life and

here he was at Niagara Falls, a place catered to couples, at a very

romantic Hotel, also catered to couples, waiting for a woman. His nick

name was "Beast" for God's sakes! He didn't belong here. Why had he

invited her here? It was a whim, that's why. He was always a

spontaneous kind of guy, but now it had gotten him into trouble.

This was all Wilkes Thompson's fault! He had met with him this past

week to go over his contract as Head Coach and the seed had been

planted in his head. Wilkes was smiling rather annoyingly throughout

there meeting. When Fred had finally asked him about it, he had known

the guy a long time after all, Wilkes finally told him why he was so

elated. He was taking his significant other to Niagara Falls for the

weekend. They had never been away together and he was looking forward

to it. Fred couldn't care less about this and wrapped up their meeting

as usual, having a drink and talking about their respective golf

games.

Later that day however, he had run into Leota, a substitute teacher

at the High School where he coached. A woman he had been attracted to,

and frankly, in love with for years. She was uptight and generally

regarded as demanding and cold. She walked around acting as though she

was above everyone, which was extremely annoying to all around her.

He had no reason to desire her and yet she had invaded his thoughts

more and more lately it seemed, especially after finding out that she

had been offered a permanent position at the High School. She dressed

in prissy suites and heels. She was in her mid fifties, thin, with

short hair which was dyed brown, she wore dark lipstick and favored

contact lenses. She was pretty, but not in an obvious sort of way. She

certainly was not as pretty as she could be if she would just loosen

up and loose the frown that was permanently plastered on her face.

He had asked her out several times over the years and she had always

declined in a snippy way, which more then hinted that she thought he

was below her. They were always at each other, whenever their paths

crossed. She was constantly calling him a "undignified oaf" or a

"intellectually challenged slob", but he could tell that underneath

the insults she was attracted to him a little bit. So he kept on

pulling pranks on her and embarrassing her any chance he got. What

better way to a woman's heart?

Then a few days ago when he ran into her, he finally got a brake...

A FEW DAYS BEFORE

"So you are here to stay I hear", he asked, leaning on the door frame

of her classroom where she was setting up her things.

"Mr. Thompson, I do not have time for your nonsense today. If you

would kindly leave"

"Just trying to be friendly madame"

"Well, go be friendly to someone else"

"Why do you hate me so much anyway? What flew up your ass and died?"

"I beg your pardon!"

"I SAID, what flew up..."

"I HEARD you quite clearly, thank you! You know I think "Beast" is a

most fitting name for you! I would use it myself if it wasn't so very

undignified"

"Oh, well we couldn't have that. Mrs. prim and proper. So? Why is it

that I leave such a bad taste in your mouth?"

"You are a foul mouthed jock, with the

I.Q. of an ape"

"Apes are very intelligent animals", he said smugly.

She turned to look at him then and walked over to stand in front of

him, "They also hurl their own feces", she said as she stood before

him. She being the one with the smug smile now.

"Have dinner with me"

"Of for God's sakes!", she said as she whirled around, giving him the

opportunity to check her out from the rear, not bad.

"Come on, you know I make you as hot as you make me"

"You are deranged!"

"Is that a yes?"

"It most certainly is not!", she said as she seated herself and

fiddled around in a drawer.

"You don't want to have dinner with me Leota?"

"No, I do not!"

"Well, then how about just going to bed with me?", now he knew he was

not being a gentleman,and probably crossing a line, but he couldn't

help it. He was dying to see what her reaction would be to a question

like that, he just wouldn't make a habit of it.

"Not if you were the last man on Earth"

"So, that's a maybe?"

"I would rather make love to a 110-year-old man with no teeth, in a

wheel chair!"

"Wow, thanks for the visual"

"You know this is sexual harassment don't you?"

He thought for a moment. She was right. He had crossed the line, now

he would have to apologize.

"You are right. I am sorry. I will let you be", he said as he turned

and left. Maybe he had been wrong, maybe she hadn't been attracted to

him. Had he been harassing her? That thought hadn't occurred to him

before. No, it was just the way they flirted, but she might have

interpreted it differently. Maybe he should just forget about her, but

as much as he hated it, he adored her and he wasn't sure he could. A

voice interrupted his thoughts...

"Mr. Thompson...Fred, wait!"

He turned to see her walking towards him down the hall.

"You weren't harassing me. Well, you WERE technically, but I am aware

that it is just your twisted way of flirting with me. I just, well,

wanted you to know that I don't feel threatened by it or anything"

"Afraid I would stop giving you all the attention didn't you?", he

asked smugly. She liked him, it was very obvious to him now. She hated

herself for it a little bit, but she liked him.

"Oh please! I am simply being the bigger person"

"Bigger person! Look at you. You're a toothpick, accept for those

hips, they are kind of big for your body"

"Well, you are fat! And you really have to pluck those eyebrows!"

"I am not fat and who cares about my eyebrows, I'm a guy!"

"Fine you're not fat, but you are ugly"

"Other women don't seem to think so"

"They are probably just drawn to those tattoos under all that hair on

your arms. SOME women find that kind of thing attractive. Your here is

grey too and you are too old to be sporting that military hair style

of yours"

"Your hair is grey too, under all that dye darlin and I have been

wearing my hair like this for forty years"

"Exactly"

"Hey, I have a full head of hair, which is more then most guys my age can say"

"Well, I suppose that's true"

"So what you are saying is you find me attractive?"

"Oh God!", she said spinning around, but he reached out and grabbed

her hand softly. Spinning her back to him.

He looked at her for a moment, deciding to drop all the crap they hid behind.

"Have dinner with me this weekend. PLEASE"

She looked back at him, her face slowly relaxing. She was more

beautiful then he had realized. Was she going to say YES?

"No", she finally said softly. He was about to protest, but she lifted

her finger and placed it on his lips to silence him. He enjoyed the

contact, he had to admit to himself. She took a deep breath as she

thought for a moment, contemplating something, before continuing,

"But I will take you up on your other offer", she said, lowering her

finger as she stared straight into his eyes.

"WHAT other... ", he trailed off, remembering the other suggestion he

had made. No way was this happening, "You don't mean..."

She raised one eyebrow as her eyes slid down to his crotch and then

back to his eyes, "Does the offer still stand?", she asked seriously.

"Your toying with me", he managed to get out. For the first time, it

was she who was shocking him and she loved it. He could tell.

"I never toy. So what will it be? Do you WANT to sleep with me? Or

where you bluffing?"

He gathered himself together. Two could play this game, "Just say when

and where"

"Shouldn't you arrange all that? It was your idea"

"Ok, we'll get a room"

"I am NOT going to some sleazy motel where you bring your women"

"First of all, I do not engage in casual sex as a general rule. Do you?"

"Certainly not!", she said slightly outraged.

"Good. Then I will also confide in you that I haven't dated in a

while, but don't worry. I'll manage to rise to thee occasion"

She rolled her eyes at this.

"Secondly", he continued, "I was thinking someplace nice, but

someplace where we will not run into anyone we know"

"Yes, I certainly do not want to be seen by anyone checking into a

hotel with YOU!"

"Then why do you want to do this?"

"Because I... I, I think you need this to get me out of your system.

That, and... I just want... I, I have my own reasons as well,

alright?"

"Alright, no need to get testy honey"

"I am NOT your honey. Now I have a lot of work to get done, so tell me

where to meet you"

"How about Niagara Falls?"

"That is hours away!"

"You SAID you didn't want to run into anyone we know and they do have

a lot of nice hotels there"

"Fine. E-mail me the name of the place and I will meet you there", she

said as she turned to leave.

He watched her as she made her way back down the hall. This was

couldn't really be happening. He wondered if she would actually show

up. Probably not. She probably wanted to have him spring for a nice

room and then leave him hanging, but he was too intrigued to care. He

would go and see if she showed up.

"Wait!", he called after her, "What is your e-mail?"

"LeotaDaniels..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Clarisse woke up from her nap feeling groggy. Where was she? Oh, yes.

Suddenly she remembered where she was and the fight she had with

Joseph a couple of hours before. She sat up and unzipped the tent to

poke her head out. It was starting to get dark. There was no sign of

Joseph. Maybe she had been too hard on him. It wasn't really his fault

that she took an instant dislike for camping, but she couldn't help

but feel that he was being smug and cocky about the whole thing. Just

then her cell rang and she looked down to see it was him. She thought

about not picking it up, but decided she would.

"Hello?"

"Hi"

"Hello"

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"Just checking in. It is going to be dark soon"

"Where are you?"

"Sitting in the car"

"That's not that far from here. Why didn't you just come back if you

wanted to speak with me?"

"I wasn't sure you wanted to see me"

"...or maybe you didn't want to see ME?"

"Listen Clarisse. We are obviously not enjoying ourselves. Why don't

we just go home?"

"I will not! I am not a quitter Joseph Delgado"

"I know, but this is ridiculous. I don't even have a place to sleep tonight"

"Sleep in the car"

"I am not leaving you all alone at night. Something could happen to

you! There are wild animals out here, not to mention other campers"

"Are you trying to scare me into inviting you back into our tent?"

"No, I'm being honest with you in the hopes that you will relent and

we can go home"

"I am not going home! If you insist on not leaving me alone then come

back. You can sleep in the tent... On the other side", she said,

trying to mask her sadness.

"Fine, I'm on my way"

"Joseph? Wait..."

"What?"

"I'm sorry"

"What?"

"I said, I am sorry. Don't sound so shocked"

"Well... me too"

"Really?"

"Yes, I should have prepared you for what it would be like out here,

but I had no idea what kinds of things you were bringing... I swear

you think I was trying to sabotage you"

"Well, it felt a little that way, but I overreacted. Which is why I apologized"

"Well, I appreciate that. Although it does surprise me. I thought you

would leave me hanging a little bit longer I must admit", he said as

he exited the car and headed back to the tent.

"That was my original plan. After you left before, I swore to myself

that I would show you!"

"This is war! Huh?", he said with a little laugh.

"That is exactly what I said!"

"Well my darling, you forget then that I am always on your side in the end"

"Am I a difficult person to live with Joseph?"

"Yes"

"Thanks a lot"

"I am being honest. I knew it going in and I am compensated by the

fact that there is no other person I would ever choose to live with.

Besides, I am aware that I can be just as hard to live with"

"True!"

He laughed at this, "So are we friends again?"

"Always", she replied, "What about a happily married couple?"

"Always", he replied. He could see the tent now, "Lovers?"

"Lovers? Well, I don't know Sir", she said coyly, happy that they were

making up. This was better then dragging on a fight only to win or

loose later. Who cared who won or lost? Wasting time on fights at

their age made them both loose, she reasoned,

"Lovers?... Yes my darling, ALWAYS"

"Good", he said to her as he unzipped the tent and tossed his phone

into the corner.

"Oh!", Clarisse exclaimed at the site of him, closing her phone as well.

"I missed you", he said as he laid beside her and kissed her lips, cheeks, neck.

"You were only gone two hours", she said laughing as he slid his hands

up her shirt.

"Do you know what the best part of fighting with you is?", he asked in

between kissing and undressing her.

"Ah, I am guessing from the direction of your actions, making up?"

"Oh yeah", he said with a big smile on his face, before nuzzling her

neck and tickling her torso until she was laughing hysterically.

"Stop it! Stop!"

"You want me to stop kissing you?", he asked teasing her.

"You... Sir... are... Im...possible!", she managed through her

laughter as she reached up and pulled his face down to hers and kissed

him. The kiss was passionate and deep right away, causing him to

forget about his tickle pursuit in exchange for something much better.

He whispered something to her in spanish, which she didn't quite make

out, but it sounded rather delicious!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fred looked to the door, having heard a knock. Had she actually came?

He shook himself out of his trance and went over to answer the door.

Opening it he saw that it was her. Dressed in a soft white dress, with

a flowing skirt which made her look much more feminine and much less

severe then usual.

"Well, I'll be damned", he said looking back at Leota Daniels, "You showed"

"Yes, may I come in?"

"Naturally", he said allowing her to pass, Smelling her perfume as she

did so, and closing the door behind her.

"Well then, shall we go out to dinner first?", he asked. He couldn't

believe it, he was nervous. He hoped to god it didn't show.

"We might as well. I see you are wearing a suit for the first time in your life"

"And I see you have chosen to not dress like someone's granny for once"

She narrowed her eyes at him, which he realized turned him on

incredibly, but he decided he should really tell her how good she

looked.

"You look gorgeous", he said genuinely, which made her face relax a

bit, but she rolled her eyes all the same.

"Thank you. You look adequate"

He laughed at this, which made her smile a little.

"Sit down. I will make you a drink before we go", he offered and she

obliged. He took her suitcase and placed it next to his before heading

to the little bar in the suite. As she sat at the table near the wall

she reflected that he actually did look appealing, in a way. He

certainly wasn't what she considered her type, but there was SOMETHING

about him. He was older then her she thought, but only by maybe five

to ten years, yet he seemed to have a certain kind of character about

him that came from life experiences, that she herself had not

experienced . Her musings were interrupted by noises from the next

room. It sounded as if two people were... Oh!

"I know", he said looking at the expression on her face and handing

her the drink he had made her, "This is the third time I've heard

them"

"Huh", she said, suddenly remembering why she was there.

"Maybe we can give them a run for their money later", he said,

determined to not let her know that he was actually quite terrified.

"I think I will need a few more drinks to compete with that!", she

said, making him laugh loudly, which in turn made her smile. She took

a sip of her drink, hoping to calm her nerves from the assault they

were taking from the noises next door, when they heard what was

apparently the completion of the act.

"OH, MY SAINTED AUNT FANNY!", rang through the air from the room next

door, causing Mrs. Daniels eyes to fly open.

"Nanny?"

... TO BE CONTINUED