Andy drank the last sip of his Guarana soda as his Varig Airlines flight was beginning its descent at the Foz do Iguacu Cataratas International Airport after changing flight in Sao Paulo. It was a thirteen-hour flight from LAX to Guarulhos Airport in Sao Paolo and another one-hour domestic flight from Sao Paulo to Iguazu Falls. He had had two Guarana sodas in the first leg of his flight and a third one on the second leg of the flight. It was a popular drink among Brazilians, and he understood why. He took a mental note to bring some back to Los Angeles. Grateful that his long flight was almost over, he arranged his presentation notes back to the briefcase and double checked that his flash drive was still where he kept it.
He sighed looking out the view. It was indeed a beautiful tropical country. He could see the lush trees and the river as the plane touched down. It was a vast contrast to the tall, urban buildings greeting you when you arrived at the LAX airport.
None of the delegates were in uniform so it was hard for Andy to recognize any one on the same flight as he. He knew Captain Taylor from Robbery Homicide and Chief Pope came in a day prior, intending to have a little recreation for two days before the actual seminar tomorrow.
Andy didn't want to have a little vacation to explore Iguazu Falls until after their seven-day seminar, he wanted to focus on his presentation about the two cases and the means and procedures their department Priority Homicide took in order to solve them.
Hailing a cab as he left the airport, he was grateful the driver knew a little English and chatted with him on the way to the hotel. The driver mentioned Das Cataratas Hotel was the only hotel inside the National Park directly overlooking the Iguazu Falls. The other luxury hotels were a thirty-to-forty-minute drive from the National Park.
"Hi Lt. Flynn!" greeted a tall, slender woman with a shoulder length blond hair standing at the reception area, waiting to be checked in. Andy Flynn was in queue behind her in the reception.
She noticed the blank expression on Lt. Flynn's face and proceeded to introduced herself.
"Lt. Melissa Drake… Special Operations… we worked together on that Midnight Strangler Case…" she said as she took her key from the receptionist.
"Oh yeah… sorry, my memory fails me sometimes. That was maybe two years ago," he said, as though explaining why he couldn't remember her. He was genuinely apologetic. She had the All-American beauty that probably wasn't used to being unrecognized by her peers.
"Your division head is Winnie Davis, is that right?" asked Andy.
"Yeah, she decided to send me instead."
She lingered around a bit and continued her conversation with Andy. My room number is 407 in case you want to hang out before the seminar tomorrow," she said before heading towards the elevators.
Perhaps the old Andy would gladly accept that invitation but not the new one. He had been straight for some time, no longer frequenting bars or clubs, no longer interested in casual hook-ups. He was nearing fifty in a few years and had long since improved his perspective in life.
A certain woman flashed in his head, a woman he had long been fighting his attraction for. Straight or not, he would bend the rules for her if she had invited him over. He grinned thinking about her straight-lace attitude and knew it would never happen.
Andy looked around the Colonial Spanish design of the lobby. From where he stood queueing to be checked in, he could clearly see the majestic looking waterfalls right across the hotel. Three men in casual denims were having an afternoon tea in one of the settees by the open French door leading to the veranda. He recognized the unit heads he had met a few times, Captain Tim Smith from Narcotics, Captain John McMahon from Training and Commander Nathan Burns from SWAT.
He greeted them as he passed them by on the way to his room. He didn't know how many they were in the seminar, but he presumed they were at least fifteen.
His roommate was not around yet when got in. Andy tipped the English-speaking concierge handsomely after he had opened the balcony door for his better view of the rainforest and hanged his suits on the closet.
"This is the menu for room service, sir if you become hungry. The swimming pool is open until midnight," explained the concierge before leaving the room.
Feeling jet lagged in the long flight, Andy slept for several hours. When he woke up it was already dark. He noticed the queen beside his was still unoccupied, and no sign of his roommate was in the room. He wondered if he was foolish enough to decide to arrive the day of the first day of the seminar. He was glad room service was still available as it was past 10.
He waited for the arrival of his room service before proceeding to take a shower. He discovered Brazil was a country fond of steaks and other gourmet meat delicacies. He read in a tourist brochure there were steak buffets in almost every corner. He decided on the Porterhouse, and a Greek salad to go with it.
The click on the door as it was unlocked by the hotel card and the arrival of his roommate was suppressed by the noise of the shower. Disregarding the bathrobe hanging on the closet, Andy opted to wrap the lower half of his body with the bath towel as he stepped out of the bathroom, ferociously drying his hair with a smaller hand towel.
His roommate was depositing her baggage in the other closet when their eyes met, and a small scream of disbelief and shock emanated from them both.
She pushed him away instinctively, but he was like a sturdy wall that did not flinch.
"Captain Raydor! What are you doing in my room?" asked Andy incredulously, trying to ward off another blow that might come his way with both hands.
"Your room? This is my room!" she exclaimed.
"Lt. Flynn! Don't you dare let go of that towel!" she screamed scandalously.
"Then don't try to hit me again," he yelled back.
"There must be some mix-up in the reception," she said, a little calmer as she exhaustedly sat on the unused queen bed, trying not to look at Lt. Flynn.
It was impolite not to look at the person's face when you are conversing, but she was simply scandalized by his near naked appearance.
She would have run out back to the lobby and demanded a different room, but she was simply so exhausted from the ordeal she had just went through at the airport. She needed a minute or two to rest and compose her thoughts.
"Cover yourself," she demanded.
"I am covered," he reasoned out.
She could smell the fresh scent of his soap mixed with his own masculine scent. It was making her heady. Of all the people she had to run into half naked, it had to be him-she had been fighting the attraction she felt for him for a long time.
"Ma.. ma.. maybe you should cover up a little more, Lieutenant," she said, still avoiding his eyes.
"Okay. Try not to scream again otherwise people might come barging in here," he said.
She was too tired to run back to the lobby and decided to dial 0 for the reception and report the mix-up. Perhaps, Lt. Flynn wouldn't mind being a gentleman by moving into the new room instead of her ash she was truly tired.
"I'm sorry, Captain Raydor, you were rooming with Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, and it was overlooked that her replacement was not of the same sex. I apologize that we are fully booked and cannot move you to a different room until tomorrow noon. I'm deeply sorry, mam. I promise I will reserve that room for you."
She was aghast. "This can't be! You can't expect me to share a room with a man not my husband!"
Andy emerged from the bathroom wearing a clean pair of trousers and shirt as though he was ready to go down to the reception area to handle the mix up.
Finding Sharon on the phone with the receptionist, Andy grabbed the phone from Captain Raydor and politely reiterated the change of room. Again, the receptionist explained the predicament. He was more understanding and told the receptionist they truly appreciate the next available room she will be reserving for tomorrow.
"Why are you letting her off the hook? She should do something!" exclaimed Sharon.
"Look, Captain, neither of us like the situation but she can't do anything because the hotel is fully booked. If you had arrived earlier, then this would have been rectified. Another female officer could take you in for one night, or I could squeeze myself in with Taylor or something. But all of that is impossible now as everyone is asleep."
"I'm not sleeping in the same room with you, Lieutenant," she said adamantly.
"Be my guest, the other hotels are thirty minutes away! Captain, be reasonable, it's the middle of the night. Please don't do this. There's a separate queen bed you can sleep in. I'll stay on my bed. You stay in yours."
Without waiting for her to reply, he went back to the bathroom to change into his pajamas.
Sharon remained where she was, seated on the other bed, still dressed in her travel clothes, speechless. Andy realized she must be hungry. He offered her half of his steak and salad, but she politely declined, too tired to eat and told Andy she would be taking a shower.
"I'll be sleeping with my gun," she said before disappearing in the bathroom.
"Suite yourself, Captain," he replied, half laughing in amusement.
When Sharon emerged from the bathroom, Andy was already sound asleep on his side, facing away from her bed.
She sighed in relief. She was not the pajama type. All her sleepwear were soft and flimsy, and the last thing she wanted was for Lt. Flynn to have a free show.
