Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Stephanie Meyers does. I do own this plot and storyline. I own my own original characters and a sweet little Chromebook I just love.
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, products, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: All attractions are the property of their owner's. Information was from personal experiences and the owner's websites.
Chapter 28: Viva Las Vegas
EPOV
The next morning, I'm jarred awake by banging on my door. I peek through my squinted eyes at the alarm clock, which reads six o'clock. The city that never sleeps is living up to its reputation. The banging at the door continues and I shuffle over to it. As I open the door, Alice rushes in. "I need coffee. Come on, hurry up so that we can go and get back here before breakfast."
Not even questioning her or saying a word, I rush to get dressed and we are out the door just as Rose emerges from her room, following us to the elevator.
After grabbing some coffee from the nearby Starbucks, we climb in my mother's SUV. I drive to the horse boarding place, while the two of them chat about their spa day. From what I can gather, it's at Treasure Island and they're all getting some kind of signature package. I thank the Lord when we finally pull into the boarding facility. The girl talk is killing me.
"Good morning," Charlene greets us, with Gracie in one hand and Lleu in the other. I immediately take him from her and cuddle him in the crook of my arm as we walk to the barn. I look over and Alice is loving on Gracie. Rose just shakes her head at us both with a smile on her face.
"So, both animals did great last night, Alice. Gracie was running the house within minutes and Smoke ate and ran around the paddock," she informs Alice. "And, that little man was his usual, playful self."
"Good to hear," I respond, rubbing his belly. "How much bigger will he get?"
"Not much. I doubt he will be over three pounds, if that," she replies. "He was the runt of the litter. Then, I think that having to have surgery, on top of everything else, stunted his growth."
"Wow, so small," Rose states. "Your daddy is gonna have to get you a bell so he doesn't lose you in the big house," Rosalie coos to Lleu. She then redirects her attention to me as she pets his head. "I know you can't take him into the kitchen, but maybe we can find something so he can still be near you while you're in there."
We stay for a couple of hours, playing with the animals. It's really hard to leave him here, but I know he is in good hands. We drive back to the hotel, rushing upstairs to shower and get ready. We're the last to sit down at the table for breakfast but my mother has already ordered our food.
"How are the animals?" my father asks, smiling.
"They're good. Gracie and Smoke both did well last night," Alice replies before digging into her food.
"Ok, ladies. It's time for us to head out," my mother states once everyone is done eating. She leans over and kisses my father. "We'll see you later and remember, we have to leave here at five to pick up the tickets in order to get to our seats on time."
"Yes, Dear. We'll be ready," my father answers for us all as they leave the table. "Ok, guys. Our tee time is at ten-twenty, and we still have to talk to them about renting out clubs and carts, so let's go," he commands.
We follow him to my mother's SUV and climb in. Chatting about random things for the next twenty minutes as my dad drives us to The Desert Willow Golf Club.
You know that saying, 'You have to see it, to believe it?' Yeah, that's today. I don't think I could be any more embarrassed than I am right now.
After renting our clubs and carts, we head to the green. The golf cart only seats two people, so I'm the lucky soul that gets stuck riding with Emmett. We make it over to the first hole with no problem. All of us take our shots, then head to the next hole.
My dad goes to tee up for his next shot, but Emmett has already set it up for him. My father takes his shot and the ball explodes, scaring the hell out of us all. All of us are startled, not to mention another foursome on the tee box over. Emmett is trying desperately to hold in his amusement, and failing. Evidently, Emmett had replaced the ball with an exploding one. To say my father is pissed is an understatement.
Then, when we get to hole ten, Jasper reaches blindly into his bag to pull out a driver as he and I are chatting about Lleu, but stops short in the conversation when he looks at me with an odd expression on his face. He slowly turns around, pulling his hand out of the golf bag with not a club, but a snake.
Now, there isn't much Jasper is afraid of. But, he is deathly scared of snakes. I can't tell you exactly how long he screamed for. But, I do know that my father is able to calm him down enough so he can show Jasper it's a fake snake.
Needless to say, Jasper is ready to beat the shit out of Emmett with the driver after that.
Now, I'm not sure if the final incident should be blamed on Jasper or Emmett. Jasper, still pissed off about the snake incident, decides that he's going to run us off the cart trail when we're on our way to the fifteenth hole. Emmett swerves to keep from going into a pond, but I didn't grab the bar fast enough. I proceed to fly out of the cart and into the muddy pond. Once I'm able to stand, I realize that I'm covered from head to toe in mud. Not just dirty water, but thick, gooey mud.
Thankfully, I had put all my stuff in the golf bag, so it isn't damaged.
After the manager let me clean up, and my dad finds me some clothes, we are kindly asked to leave the premises.
We're on our way back to the hotel, when Ben busts out laughing. "That has to be the funniest golf game ever. I'll never forget my first time golfing thanks to you guys."
It's close to four by the time we make it back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner and show. I want to relax a little before getting ready for tonight. After the hell I just went through, I think that I deserve it.
As I walk into my room, I spot a bag sitting on the bed next to the clothes I laid out for tonight. I open the bag, finding three of the cutest puppy shirts. One is light blue with 'Daddy's Boy' written in dark blue. There is also a white one with 'Meme's Angel' and a black one with 'Spoiled' in red. I can't wait for Lleu to wear these. After sending a 'Thank You' text to my mother and sisters in-law, I jump in the shower.
I'm ready and waiting for everyone else in the hotel lobby at ten minutes to five. I find an open spot on one of the couches and have a seat. I turn when I feel someone sit next to me, a little too close for my liking.
"Hey, handsome, I'm Jane. You wanna go have some dinner with me?" a blond girl asks. She's wearing way too much makeup, and is falling out of the dress she's wearing. I'm not a prude by any means, but this girl is not even close to being of any interest to me. She has trouble written all over her. I'm just about to respond when, surprisingly, Angela comes to the rescue.
"Actually, Miss, if you will kindly remove your hand from my boyfriend, we can get going on our dinner plans," she states in disgust grabbing my hand, pulling me up from the couch. We are making our way over to the rest of my family, when she stops and turns back, "Oh, and a word of advice. When you dress like a tramp and smell like a tramp, it makes you a tramp." Angela quickly turns back around, not allowing Jane any room to say a thing in return. I feel a little disgruntled when I see the others, who are doing their damnedest to hold in their laughter.
"Thanks," I whisper to her.
"You looked like you were gonna be sick, and those two," she says pointing at Rose and Alice, "couldn't keep a straight face."
"She came out of nowhere," I blurt out. "I was so shocked that I couldn't even respond."
"Yeah, well, let's not attract anymore trash," my mother states, looking at the retreating girl with distaste. "Let's go stand in the taxi line before we're late."
It takes us three cabs to get there, but we make it to Excalibur with enough time to get our tickets from the will call window and find our seats. Emmett is so excited at the thought of getting to eat with his hands, that he is practically bouncing in his seat.
I swear, he will never grow up.
As we're walking out, Ben and Angela are walking along side of me. "So, did you guys like the show?" They both look at each other and start laughing, while I raise my eyebrows in expectation of an answer from them.
"The food and the show was an awesome experience. I'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed it. But, what we were just talking about was Emmett. He had to be the best form of entertainment there," Ben explains while Angela giggles into his arm. We are still discussing being the winning color when my mother interrupts us.
"I made the itinerary for tomorrow, taking in to consideration everyone's choices and then mapping them out. Fitting in breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, one person will get to do theirs' now because, I believe, that it will be appreciated more at night," she rationalizes. "So, Angela, you get to lead us tonight, Hon."
"YES!" she proclaims, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Thank you so much, Esme. Come on everyone, we'll need to take a cab there, because it is too far of a walk."
Soon we're arriving at the Bellagio, but Angela leads us back towards the street.
"We're going to see the fountains. They play really loud music and the water is choreographed to dance to the beat," she explains. "They do different songs every fifteen minutes."
"I saw this online. It's really cool looking," Jasper agrees.
Just as we find a place to stand, the music starts and it is really amazing. We stay for three shows before catching a cab to take us back to our hotel.
"Ok, be ready to go by eight," my mother tells us. "Meet in our room and then we'll leave to have breakfast."
The next morning, Alice and I are up at five in order to go check on the animals. We make it back to the hotel with enough time to take a shower and get dressed. Since we're going to be walking a lot today, I put on my old worn in Converse and hurry to my parent's room right at eight.
"Didn't want to visit your niece and nephew this morning, Rose?" I smirk at her disgruntle face.
"Six, I can do, but five? No way," she answers, yawning. "Plus, your idiot brother just had to play slots until well after midnight."
"Why is it when he does something stupid, he's our brother?" Jasper asks, goading her on. "But, when he does something sweet, he's your husband? You know, he isn't your husband very often."
"Yeah, but I love the big dope, anyway," she snarks out. "But, I expect him to act better today. I don't think that I can handle him getting into any more trouble like he caused yesterday."
"I'll be good, Rosie," Emmett buts in, smiling at her with his big dimples showing.
"Ok, lets get going," my mother directs us toward the door. "First stop, Mandalay Bay."
"YES!" Jasper exclaims, sounding more like Angela did from last night.
My mom really thought out our day. We only had to take a couple of cabs, since everything seemed to be within walking distance from each other. We take a cab to Mandalay Bay and head to Raffles Cafe' to eat breakfast. Of course, Emmett has to have a Belgian Waffle. Rose points out an omelet to me, similar to one we found on my iPad and was looking to order it, until she saw that it is made with goat cheese. We all laugh at her pouting face.
After breakfast, we follow the signs and make our way over to the Shark Reef. I actually think Jasper skips the whole way there. He is always watching the Discovery channel and loves learning about everything having to do with nature.
The Shark Reef is a total educational experience. You feel like you're immersed in the ocean along with these creatures. It's unbelievably eye opening to see what our environment is going through.
"That was the coolest experience," Emmett proclaims. "Nice pick, Jasper. Ok, Mom, who's next?"
"You and me," she answers easily. She turns to the rest of the family and explains what's happening next. "We're heading over to Luxor. Emmett's wants to go to Score exhibit and I would like to see the Titanic artifacts," she answers as Emmett does a fist pump.
I can tell the girls aren't as excited as the guys are about going to Score and my thought is confirmed by Alice.
"If we don't want to do another person's pick, can we just shop or gamble while it's their turn?" she asks. "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but sports is really not my thing and I feel like I would rush through it."
"Not at all, Dear," my father pipes in. "I think as long as we all stay close and on the same property, it should be fine. If you want to shop or gamble at the Luxor, then as long as you stay at the Luxor, I don't see a problem."
"You ain't gonna hurt my feelings, little sis," Emmett encourages. "Just make sure that everyone has their phone on loud enough to hear them. It can be quite noisy in the casino."
So Alice, Angela and my mother go to look around the different areas of the casino and gamble a little, while we enjoy Score. My mother purchased these Attraction Passes where you can get into three attractions at a discount. We would still have to pay admission for the others.
Score is an interactive fantasy stadium where you get to participate in all the different sports. It is really hands on and exciting. Rose is having a blast passing footballs and playing basketball. She is completely oblivious about the fact that she is making all the males forget what they're doing. When she notices that she has an audience, she walks over to where Jasper and I are just finishing a NASCAR pit crew challenge letting us know she's going to find the others. My father decides that he is done and is going with her, but we're all pretty wiped out and have had enough. So after finding Emmett and Ben we leave the stadium.
We find the others as soon as we walk out of Score, sitting on a bench next to the Titanic entrance.
"Is everyone going to Titanic?" my mother asks.
"Yep," Emmett quips out, as we all look at him wondering of his quick response. "What, it was an awesome movie. Everyone ones needs to learn about the facts and history."
My mother just shakes her head, smiling at him. Yep, he can be mature at times. Just not all of the time.
Titanic is weird, to say the least. I've seen the movie and countless documentaries on the subject before, but to actually walk through the rooms and to see some of the actual artifacts is a bit emotionally overwhelming for me. People died on this ship, and although this is just a recreation, it's still a little eerie. While I enjoyed the exhibit, I'm relieved when it's time to leave.
"You know I love history and museums, but that was just...strange," I comment as we walk toward the front of the Luxor. "I don't know, maybe strange isn't the correct word."
"I agree," my mother admits. "It was a little creepy? I kept waiting for some little girl to come up and say, 'That's my doll.' or 'That's my favorite dress'."
I see a couple of my family members nod their head in agreement and I notice that Emmett is unusually quiet. My mother, breaks us out of the meloncholly state we are in.
"Now, for our next stop, we're heading to that crossover and to the Tropicana."
"My turn," my father belts out, a smile lighting his face. "Let's see if you have what it takes to join my family," he says, trying to sound Italian and failing miserably. We just laugh at him.
My father's choice for today is nothing like I expected it to be. The Mob Attraction immerses you in this journey through the underworld of organized crime. Emmett kept hooting and hollering at the interactive holograms, while me and Jasper found a greater interest in the actual artifacts themselves. Our family has an ongoing best to who would become "part of the Family" or who would be "sleeping with the fishes."
As we're walking out, Alice burst out, "Holy Cow! That is one of the coolest things I've ever done." I would have to agree with her, it is pretty cool.
"So, I know this seems a little crazy, but we're going back across the street to New York, New York," my mother explains hesitantly. "I want to give us a break between the two worlds of crime. Ben chose The Roller Coaster and I'm sorry to say, I will not be participating in that one, either. I don't do heights."
As we head over to the crosswalk, the others are deciding who is going to Soho Village to shop with my mother and who is riding the coaster. Once we have it figured out, we're told to text her when we're done and they'll meet us at New York Pizzeria for lunch.
I'm so glad we didn't eat before riding this thing because I would be sick. I usually love fast rides, but the drops and twists are a little too much. I'm still dizzy as we make our way to the pizza place.
"You ok, Bro?" Emmett asks with concern.
"Yeah, just dizzy," I tell him as I fall into the seat next to my mother. Only Ben, Jasper, Emmett and myself chose to ride the coaster and I can tell by the uneasy looks on the other's faces they are relieved that they chose to sit this one out.
"Son...," my father starts with tension.
"I'm fine, Dad. Just a little dizzy," I tell him. "It was just the drops and twists. There wasn't time to catch your breath in between."
"That's why I can't ride them with Ben," Angela cuts in. "I get jarred around too much and then I get a headache afterwards."
After drinking a coke and even eating a few slices of pizza, I feel a little better by getting sugar back into my system. I know that my pick is coming up next and I want to be able to enjoy it.
"So, next is the MGM," my mother explains after we all finish eating. "Edward picked the CSI Experience. You can take your time going through it, but on average is about an hour and a half."
We walk to the MGM and by the time we make it inside to the entrance for CSI, I'm feeling almost back to normal.
I didn't get many free nights when I owned the restaurant, but when I did, I'll admit that watching CSI was a guilty pleasure of mine. I always like seeing how they worked through the details and the clues, leading them to the killer. So, when I learned that there was a CSI attraction in Vegas, my decision for the day was a no brainer.
The entire attraction is based on the tv show and guides you through with videos featuring some of the cast members of the show. It's very hands on and you feel like one of the investigators helping solve the crimes.
As we're walking out, Jasper and Emmett were comparing their certificates. Emmett is pouting just a bit because he was qualified as a rank just below Jasper. In the CSI store, I see Emmett buying crime scene tape. I look over at Alice, both of us shaking our heads and make our own purchases, mostly shirts.
"Ok, now we need to take the monorail over to Harrah's," my mother tells us, as we walk out of the store. "From there, we'll walk to The Quad for Rose's Auto Show."
"This is going to be awesome guys," Rose exclaims. "It's an exotic car museum where you can actually buy some of the most unique and eclectic automobiles in the world. There is even famous cars there."
It does end up being a cool place. They have cars that use to belong to Johnny Carson and the limo that JFK rode in. I'm trying to keep pace with Rose as we walk by some other really great cars that are for sale, that is if you want a fire truck made in nineteen-fourteen. Rose is in car heaven, we don't even need the audio tour because she knows just about everything about all the cars there.
"Well that was cool," Jasper states. "Now, Alice is the only one that hasn't done her pick, so what are we doing next, babe?"
She smiles shyly at my mother, who nods her head. Alice grabs Jasper's hand and starts walking, throwing a 'follow me' over her shoulder as she leads us across the street to the Mirage.
Once inside the casino lobby, she turns to all of us with a huge smile. "Ok, I want to do more than one thing and Esme said if we have enough time before dinner, I would get all my picks because they're all right here. The first, is Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. If we still have time after seeing that, I want to walk through the atrium, visit the aquarium and see the volcano erupt."
"Well then, let's get to it, short stuff," Emmett consents, trying to ruffle her hair, which she slaps his hand away before he could do any damage.
The Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat is enchanting, to say the least. I enjoy going to zoos and seeing animals and such. I know that Jasper is really into it as well, but the animals here are some of nature's most exotic and majestic creatures. Even getting to pet a dolphin; I thought Alice was going to jump in and go swimming with them she was so excited.
Since we did have a little time before dinner, we amble our way to the aquarium, which is actually a huge saltwater fish tank that is located in the lobby. On the way out, we walk through the atrium, which is an indoor rainforest with a waterfall. As I looked around at everyone, I could see them almost visibly relax.
"I'm starving," Emmett complains. "Where are we eating dinner, Mom?"
"Across the street, at Margaritaville," she says, shrugging her shoulder. "They have good fish tacos and I want a margarita."
We didn't have to wait long because my mother had called ahead and made reservations. As soon as we sit down, I order the crab dip and nachos as appetizers for everyone.
"...and to drink?" our server asks.
All the guys order the Landshark Lager, while the ladies order the house margarita. I have the surf and turf as do most, except my mother, Alice and Angela, who order the fish tacos. The atmosphere is fun and relaxing. It's needed after a long day of walking.
"Edward," Jasper calls out, getting my attention. "Do you want to get everything you need for Lleu here, or wait until we get to Texas?"
"Um, probably just what he needs now to travel," I say turning to Alice. "We can get the rest later, right?"
"That would be better," she answers, thinking. "Just the main stuff for now. You have the list Charlene gave you, right? You have to get the right food and treats or he can get sick."
"Yeah, I have it," I tell her. "Rose put a pet record app on my iPad and I'm going to enter all the information in there tonight so I don't lose it."
"So, if we wake up by eight, pack and have breakfast at the hotel, then we can go load up the animals and be at the pet store when they open at ten," Jasper confirms. "I'll stay outside with the horse, Gracie and Lleu can go in the store with y'all. Then, we'll be on our way to Flagstaff."
"Sounds good," my father agrees. "That will put us there around four."
Our food arrives and all conversation is forgotten. There's live music, a margarita volcano and mermaids holding our attention now.
We stay at the restaurant for well over an hour after we finish eating, just talking and getting to know Ben and Angela a little bit better. On the way out, we stop at the Margaritaville store and casino. Jasper and Ben walk to casino, while the rest of us look around. I find a cookbook and some seasonings I want, along with a t-shirt for Cassie and one for me. My mother is shaking her head at me with a smile.
"What? It's cute," I defend.
"You'll spoil that child, and Bella will have your ass," she laughs at my pout.
"And, who exactly are you buying that for, huh?" I ask, seeing the small shirts and flip-flops in her hand.
As we're checking out, I hear a loud commotion coming from the casino, just outside the door, along with my family's voices sounding excited. We finish up and go see what's going on. The first thing I notice is Jasper's megawatt smile and Alice hugging him with tears in her eyes.
"What's going on?" my mother questions.
"Your son just won five grand playing a penny machine," my father fills us in. "Apparently, Jasper was going to try his luck on the Parrot Penny machine, because as he said, 'It just looked cool' and pushed the max bet button and won a little over five thousand dollars."
"That's really cool, man. Congrats," I say, giving him a slap on the back. "So, drinks at the hotel tonight are on you?" I joke.
"I was thinking a round of blackjack," he tells me with a smirk.
"Oh, hell. You just want to take our money," I joke back. "We all know you'll whip our ass' in cards."
So, after Jasper collects his winnings, we catch cabs back to our hotel. My mother takes my bags upstairs to her room with Alice, while the rest of us go gamble. They're both going to come back down after changing. Alice had spilled something on her shirt and my mother says her shoes are hurting her feet.
Jasper, Emmett, Ben, my father and I find an open table with a five dollar limit, each of us lay a hundred dollars down to get our chips. Rose and Angela wander off to the slot machines.
Emmett and I are both out pretty quick, "I told you. You only wanted to take our money." Jasper just laughs at us.
As I get up to go find the girls, I come face-to-face with the same girl from the lobby. "Hey handsome, I've been looking for you all night. You want to go up to my room?" she croons like a talking child.
"Actually, I would rather you didn't look for me or talk to me at all," I growl out harshly. "You're making yourself look desperate and I ain't interested, nor will I ever be."
As I push around her, she raises her voice, drawing attention from my family still at the table, "No one tells Jane 'No'. You will regret this. I will get what I was promised."
"Girl, I have been through hell and back. Don't threaten me or you will be the one with regret," I warn and can feel my blood pressure rising.
"Come on, Edward. The trash is starting to stink," Emmett butts in, directing me away from her.
"Is everything alright over here?" a man in a suit asks.
"Everything is fine, but this girl just keeps harassing my brother after he has already told her to leave him alone several times. Then, just now, she threaten him," Emmett answer the casino employee. "That's her," he states, point at the girl's retreating figure.
"Jane Aro. She's been here for a few days, now. You aren't the first person that she's harassed. I'll take care of it, Sir," he informs, before walking off.
"Aro, I've heard that name before," I say, looking at Emmett. "Where have I heard that name?"
"Dr. Nick Aro," my dad says, coming up behind us. "He was the doctor that caused the problems at the hospital for me. He is a friend of Eleazar's. Watch out for her, Edward.
We don't want any trouble, and I'm sure she recognizes our family from all the media."
We found the girls playing slots and decide to call it a night after Emmett filled them in on Jane. Angela was pissed and wanted to hunt her down. It's always the quiet ones.
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