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Chapter 16
From the first museum they went over to the second thing on Elizabeth's wish list. The Centro Ceremonial Indigena de Tibes or the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center. This was considered to be one of the most important archeological sites in the Antillies. It dated to pre-Columbus times and gave historians a peek into the lives of the Igneri and Tainos tribes. The area was discover in 1975 after tropical storm Eloise caused the Portugues River to overflow.
There was a lot to see here, but three areas got the immediate attention of the group. First was the cemetery where the remains of 186 humans had been found so far. A lot could be learned about a culture by how they treated their dead. The unearthed remains themselves provided answers about things such as eating habits, social habits, and how religions were practiced. They also got to glimpse at what was buried alongside the bodies, while learning of the burial rituals practiced in the tribes.
The guys were fascinated with the many ball courts located throughout the site. Sports were an important part of the culture, and while working on this dig archeologists learned that the custom of organized team play dated back further than previously realized. Based on the number of courts and the amount of land excavated to create them, it was assumed that tribes spent a good amount of time participating in recreational activities. The petroglyphs that were on many of the rocks surrounding each court helped show how and what sports might have been played in those areas. The history buff in Jason was very much enjoying those.
There was also evidence that the courts weren't just used for sports. Simulated warsthe tribes. Large gatherings were also thought to be held in the space, such as when one tribe would visit with a neighboring one.
Liz was reading one of the many legends located around the area. "I am really enjoying learning about the history of the area. Seeing how the culture was established." She told her guy when he wandered over.
"Me too." Jason put his arm around her waist as he also read the information on the other use of the courts.
The tribes would gather for areytos. Social occasions where there would be music, singing, and dancing for many hours. During these celebrations the oral history of the clan would be shared and passed down to the next generation to preserve their way of life.
"Want to go have a closer look at the artwork now?" Jason wanted to know. They had been in this one section for almost forty-five minutes now.
"I don't mind if we stay here for a little while longer. There is a lot to see." Liz smiled up at him. They would explore the art before leaving. "There is a talk scheduled for ten minutes from now on the recreational activities the tribes might have engaged in. I think that will be fascinating."
"After that we'll go see the art they've unearthed." Jason knew what she was doing. Elizabeth was bringing the focus back to him. "Deal?"
"Deal?" Liz looked around. "Let's go stake out some seats. The guys can join us when the talk starts."
Once the talk was finished, they gang headed over to the next section of the archaeological site. Like the other sections of the museum there was plenty to see, but Elizabeth found herself drawn to the array of ceramics. Even in school this was not a medium she had any talent with, but she always enjoyed viewing pottery. When the Port Charles museum did an exhibition on Native American ceramics she had been there on opening day.
What the pieces might have been used for, such as religious ceremonies and burials, was documented for those visiting the site. Almost the entire evolution of the art form in the region could be seen from the artifacts that were excavated. Since they were still working at the site the archeologists were hoping to find even more pieces of art as the dig progressed. She would love to come back during a future trip down and see if more items had been unearthed.
"That was amazing." Liz said as they headed back to the where the cars were parked. "Are you ready to see more of Ponce?"
"I am." Jason assured her. "Now I could use some lunch."
"Good idea." Liz was getting hungry. "Who picked the restaurant?"
"Renaldo." Jason said holding open the door and stealing a kiss as she got in. "You can cross another dish off your list." He teased once he was behind the wheel.
"If one is on the menu, I certainly will." Liz told him as she buckled up and settled into her seat.
They stopped for something to eat before heading to the Plaza Las Delicias, the main plaza in the city. It is actually composed of two squares the Plaza Munoz Rivera, the smaller of the two, which was on the north and the Plaza Degetau located to the south. Las Delicias offered them a lot to explore and see, including quite a few statues. They stopped in front of the Lions Fountain, built in tribute to the firefighters of Ponce, for some pictures. Not just of the fountain itself but some group shots as well.
Elizabeth wanted to visit the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, or the Cathedral of Our Lady Guadalupe or simply Ponce Cathedral to those local to the area. She had packed a sweater for this occasion because her top didn't offer enough coverage to be respectful of the sacred space. Just walking up to the church took her breath away as she took in the edifice.
For over three hundred years chapels had stood on this very site starting with a small chapel in 1670. In 1835 that small structure was demolished and a larger church was constructed, that building became the core of the even larger Neoclassical structure that finished construction in 1937. The one they were now visiting. Over the years the cathedral was damaged by fires and earthquakes. That included the destruction of the two original towers in the 1918 earthquake. Yet the building endured and still opened its doors to worshipers every day.
They visited Casa Alcadia, Ponce City Hall, which was the oldest colonial building in the area dating back to the 1840s. They spent some time at the Armstrong-Poventud Residence which stood as another example of the Neoclassical architectural heritage found across the island. The Cruceta El Vigia was also on Elizabeth's list so they went to the top of the one hundred foot observation tower and took in the views. She made sure to snap plenty of pictures.
"Ponce hosts a good number of festivals each year and we've somehow managed to come down when they aren't holding any." Liz said looking at her phone and reading the city's website. "I should have timed my kidnapping better." She said making a joke. If she had been looking up she would have seen none of the guys found it funny. She went back to her list before looking at everyone else.
"I want to go to Caja de Muertos, or Coffin Island in English, but the boat doesn't leave for another ninety minutes. So what would you guys like to do in the meantime?" She looked at the crew. "We can visit the Hacienda Buena Vista, which is a coffee plantation. It's been a while since you've had some and they give out free samples." She said being a smartass. "Or there is the Parque de Bombas, which is the museum dedicated to firefighting here on the island. That's over behind the cathedral. Also in that area is the Castillo Serralles, a museum dedicated to rum and sugar cane."
"Do they give out samples there as well?" Max wanted to know.
"Doesn't say." Liz answered laughing. "I've never even had rum before."
"You should change that before leaving the island." Renaldo could tell Jason the best brands to pick up.
"Which one appeals to you?" Jason wanted to know.
"If I'm going to be drinking rum, then we should go to the Museo Castillo Serralles so that I know what I'm about. I'll be able to impress the girls with my knowledge when I go back home." Liz looked at her guy. "Normally we drink tequila but rum might be a good change of pace."
"Tequila?" Johnny hadn't known that. "Really?" The ladies partied harder than he realized. "Mixed drinks?"
"No." Liz gave him a dirty look. "Just because we are women doesn't mean we have to get drinks that come with umbrellas. We do shots. Lick it, slam it, suck it." She said with a wide grin and then a laugh when Max choked on his water. "We have to get you a girlfriend so she can come out with us. That way when she sees you, she can teach it to you." She looked at the list. "I think I'd like to go to fire fighters museum. We can save the rum for another day." There were several museums dedicated to rum on the island, so when she was ready they could pick one.
"Sounds like a plan." Johnny said with a grin of his own.
"Come on guys." She said putting away her phone. Jason linked his fingers with hers and they set off to see more sites.
They were on Coffin Island after a forty-five minute boat ride. The uninhabited area was a protected natural reserve. This was due to local turtle traffic and the fact that flora and fauna not found anywhere else in the world grew there. Four of the five beaches were open to tourists, but were patrolled by staff and security to make sure they weren't defiled.
They had just finished a tour of the island's lighthouse when Liz's phone rang. "It's Diane. Hello."
"Hello." The attorney was in her office. "How are you feeling?" She hadn't seen Liz before Jason whisked her away.
"Good, Puerto Rico is gorgeous." Liz walked over to a bench and took a seat.
"That it is. I love taking a long weekend and going down." Diane and Francis rarely visited during longer vacations. She preferred Italy for long stretches of time off. "Since you are resting, and enjoying the sites I will keep this call brief. I just wanted to let you know that you are the newest shop owner in Port Charles."
For a moment Liz was struck speechless.
"Liz? Are you still there?" Diane wanted to know. There was a lot of silence on the line.
"Yes. I'm here…I just…don't know what to say." Liz had honestly expected something to go wrong. Like the bank refusing to lower the price, or someone else snagging the location. "Wait I do know what to say, thank you."
"You're welcome. I didn't have to do much. All I did was point out that no one else wanted the space." There had been no other bids at all since it came onto the market. "The building sitting there empty benefits no one." Diane knew she had the power in the negotiations before stepping foot in the room. She was prepared to stay in the office until she got her way, something that became clear when they entered hour three of the meeting. "Closing is in three weeks, you don't have to be here. I can fax everything down for you to sign and you can send it back."
"I want to be there." Liz wanted to sit in the room and sign the paperwork. "How much was the final price?" Diane had said that they weren't going to pay the asking price. When the attorney named the number Liz was stunned again. "That's forty thousand below the list price." Which gave Liz a sizeable cushion for any unforeseen issues that might crop up, since Cody was sending a crew to do all the construction.
"Have I mentioned that I'm very good at what I do?" Diane asked laughing.
"When I get back we are going out to dinner to celebrate." Liz told her friend.
"Deal. Go share your news with Jason, and I will see you when you return home, or at closing. Whichever happens first." Diane couldn't wait to go shopping at Elizabeth's boutique.
"Thank you, again." Liz said hanging up the phone and pretty much running over to Jason. "I got the building!" She said just before the tears started. This was a huge moment for her. Her store was going to a real brick structure, and not just online.
"Congratulations baby." Jason just held her close. "Elizabeth bought a building back home. She's going to be opening a store." He explained to the guys who looked confused, and alarmed, by the tears. "We need to celebrate your good news."
Liz just nodded and took the handkerchief Jason held out.
"When is closing?" He knew she would want to be home for that.
"Three weeks." Liz leaned into him. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate this with him.
"We'll have something that night, so we can celebrate with everyone else." Jason would call his grandmother. They could do it at the mansion. Sonny could handle the food.
"I would like that. Everyone has helped me get to this moment." Liz couldn't have made it on her own. "Thanks guys." Everyone but Lee had bought something from her, and he hadn't met her until this trip so that wasn't surprising. She wasn't going to exclude him from the round of thanks though.
"You're welcome Liz, and congratulations." Johnny spoke for the group. He was proud of how far she had come.
"Okay." Liz said wiping her face again. "I need a bathroom to wash my face, and then we can get back to our day."
"There is one to the right." Renaldo pointed it out.
They walked down the path and when the door to the ladies room closed Johnny looked at Jason. "You are doing something tonight to celebrate this right?" He asked checking. "You can't lump this into the fact that you are going out in two nights, although she will say that is fine." He knew Liz well enough to make that call.
"Of course I'm going to do something. This huge. It needs to be celebrated. There is a problem to get past. It's going to take us almost an hour to get back to Ponce, and then almost two hours to get back to Dorado." Jason was working the time out in his head. "Then factor in getting changed we are looking at a very late dinner. There are nice restaurants here, but we aren't dressed appropriately for a celebration." He said mapping out his options. "Here is just easier, so we need to make that work."
"Yes, it is." Johnny nodded his approval. "Lee can find a restaurant. Renaldo can you find a hotel room for them to get changed in?" O'Brien started handing out assignments.
"I can do that." Renaldo pulled out his phone. He also told Johnny the name of a nice menswear shop. "I have no idea about women's clothing though." Leyla did most of her shopping on her own. He generally bought accessories like scarves, and a few had come from Liz.
"I will handle that." Johnny would do a search of the shops in the area. "I know Liz's sizes."
"How exactly do you know my girlfriend's sizes?" Jason wanted to know, he didn't have that information.
"Because I'm a shallow clothes horse." Johnny said like it was obvious. "I can tell you Diane's clothing and shoe size. Same with Emily, Nadine, and Georgie. I haven't been creeping on them, but when you buy enough custom clothing you pick up that skill. Liz can more than likely do it with any woman she passes on the street. Once she finally branches into men's clothing the same will be true of men. I'm going to tell Max what your sizes are because he's going to be putting together your outfit." Johnny then put action to his words.
"That's scary." Jason said because his friend got them all correct. He wasn't the same size as when they shared the bungalow. Jason had packed on some muscle in the ensuing years, not enough to make him bulky, but enough to change what size clothing he wore.
"Don't be jealous of my superpower." Johnny said laughing. "Everyone has their assignments, let's do this so that Liz doesn't catch on."
"Shouldn't be a problem." Max said putting his phone away. "Only one of us should be doing searches at a time."
"We should also head back to Ponce, so we can pull all this together." Renaldo put his phone away as well. Mainly because he was done. "Jason, why we go back is all you."
The mob boss nodded. He was going to tell her the truth, or at least a version of it.
"I thought we were going to dinner?" Liz looked over at her boyfriend. They spent another thirty minutes on Isla Caja de Muertos before he asked if they could head back to Ponce so they could get dinner. She of course said sure.
"We are. We have to get changed first." Jason said with a boyish grin. "Today was a big day for you, and I want to celebrate that. The guys helped me by making arrangements while I distracted you." He wasn't going to take all the credit.
"I would have been okay celebrating on our date and then with our friends." Elizabeth said smiling. "But I really love that we are celebrating tonight. I love that you get how big of a deal this is for me." She felt supported.
"I'm proud of you." It was important for Jason to say that. He needed her to know that.
"Are we eating here?" Elizabeth was excited to see what he planned for them.
"No. We are getting changed upstairs. I don't know into what though because Max and Johnny shopped for us." Jason explained laughing some. "Max for me and O'Brien for you."
"Should be fine then. They both have great taste." Liz wasn't at all worried. "Hopefully there will be a sewing kit in the room, just in case. Being short I generally have to adjust hemlines, which I can do in under ten minutes." She knew tricks that would work in a pinch.
"Come on." Jason got out of the vehicle and came around to help his girlfriend down. Renaldo and Lee were already waiting. Max and Johnny had turned off before they reached the hotel because they needed to pick up the clothing. Lee said that the restaurant was nice enough for a celebration but at the same time relaxed enough that the guards wouldn't stick out in their jeans.
"I love the older touches that so many buildings on the island have." Liz said as they walked through the lobby. The hotel had a European feel to it while at the same time it celebrated the tropical location. They were standing by the elevator waiting for the key so they could go upstairs.
In the room Elizabeth took a moment to look around. The fresh flowers caught her attention and she snapped a picture. Jason smiled and watched her step out on to the balcony. When there was a knock on the door he went to the front of the suite. "Thanks." He said taking the two garment bags.
"Reservation is in forty-five minutes." Johnny told his friend. Although Jason's name was well known enough across the island that if he showed up late no one would make a big deal about it. However Jason hated to be late. "The green bag is for Liz."
"We'll be ready." He said closing the door. "We have thirty minutes." Jason told Elizabeth, leaving enough time to get to the restaurant. The green bag had a small gift bag attached to it.
Liz was curious about that too so she looked inside. "Makeup samples." Just enough to do her face once. "That Johnny O'Brien doesn't miss a trick. I may steal him from you after I've built my fashion empire." She joked.
"He would go for free clothing." Jason was only half kidding.
"I'll be back." Liz said taking the bigger of the two bathrooms because the lighting was better. She stripped down and set the water temperature before grabbing the shower cap and shower gel from the hospitality tray. She didn't have time to deal with wet hair. Stepping under the water she started to get clean.
When her shower was done she stepped out and dried off. She grabbed the complementary lotion and wrapped herself up in the fluffy robe. Tipping over the small bag Johnny had gotten for her she looked through the items on the vanity. Her backpack was on the sink as well and she had a few items in there that she needed so she dug those out. While she rarely carried a full bag of makeup out with her she did have some essentials. Grabbing her hairbrush she dealt with some tangles before putting her hair up in a messy knot with some wispy pieces around her face. The style was on trend right now and would hopefully work with the dress.
Looking at the clock, Liz saw that she needed to get moving or else they would be late.
Looking in the mirror Jason saw that he was in pretty much the same color palette as earlier. Max had gotten him a dress shirt in the same deep red as the t-shirt the mob boss was wearing. The big difference were the pants and shoes which were both black instead of blue. This outfit would be a good addition to his wardrobe down here because date nights with Elizabeth would happen often when they visited.
The door opened and he turned so that he could see what Johnny had picked out for Elizabeth. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." Liz loved the dress. Johnny had also gone with the same color scheme that she was wearing earlier in the day. In his defense yellow was never a bad choice when it came to her. The damask dress was a fit and flare design. The jacquard print garment had an open back and she liked the unexpected flash of skin. So did Jason when she turned to show him. It was a perfect fit, including the length stopping right at her knees. Her friend had also picked up a pair of nude strappy heels to finish off the look.
"We should get going." Although he could stand in this very spot for the rest of the night and just look at her. Jason held out his hand so that she would come closer. When she was standing next to him he leaned forward and kissed her.
Liz smiled up at him when the kiss ended. She had so many great things to remember from this day. So far it was the highlight of the trip, but the amazing thing was that the trip wasn't over. During the boat ride back to Ponce she and Jason decided to leave for home three days before her closing. So they had a good amount of time left in Puerto Rico. "We haven't moved." She told him.
"I know." Jason kissed her again. Another soft, lingering press of his lips on hers. The bed was right there, and if he didn't want to celebrate the next step in her business he might try to talk her into room service. "Now, we'll go now. I'll grab your garment bag." He made himself move.
Still standing in the same spot, Elizabeth smiled as he walked away. Alone she fanned herself. His kisses always made her melt. They needed to get away from the bed before she jumped him.
"Ready." He asked coming back into the room, they would grab his bag on the way out. He would also leave a tip for housekeeping.
"Let's go celebrate." She said linking her arm through his and heading out into the night.
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