2.4 -- Putting Down New Roots
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After passing out in the room, the day ticked by way slower than I would've liked. There wasn't very much to do at the Riverblossom Resort. The pool was clean and the buffet tables were stocked, but aside from that it was missing several essentials. That, I was sure, was why it was only sporting a 2-star rating SimTravel.com, but considering it was the ONLY resort in Riverview, I guess no one had any room to complain.
Through out the day, I found it harder and harder to make eye contact with Mom. Every now and then she'd 'surprise' me with some new fruity drink concoction she ordered from the bar and wanted me to try and I was then forced to interact with her. But more often than not, I just wanted to lay face down in the pool and not look at her. Though I think If I'd actually gotten in the pool...I would've drowned. I mean, I was ready to pass out. Sleep was like a drug that I'd suddenly gotten a taste of and my body needed a fix. But like any addiction, it had to be kicked.
When the sun set on Riverview that day, the rest of my family retreated to their rooms. Mom and Marcel were sharing a room with the dogs while Antoine and Sondra took up residence in another room. And that left my sisters and I to share the last room. But Allete and Camille knew they'd get to claim rights to the bed, because I wouldn't allow myself use for it. I watched a little bit of tv with the volume down low, then went downstairs and ate my weight in chocolate covered pineapple skewers. Sadly, the conversation with the the snack bar girl wasn't to riveting and I resigned myself to lounging by the pool until the staff closed it for the night.
For the first time in the long time, I was actually bored. Evenings were once the best time for me: I could quietly get things done and come up with new designs, but all of a sudden it seemed like such a drag and a chore to stay awake as I normally did. My mind was whirling with a mixture of my dreams and my concerns about getting my family safely to Isla Paradiso. I knew Camille was itching to get the resort thing started, she kept picking out all the things Riverblossom could've done to improve their guests' experience---from firing the front desk girl to getting someone to fix the broken fountains. In fact, her and Allete got into a in-depth conversation about themes and color schemes. Antoine and Sondra were cute as could be, stealing kisses and talking about the future and how many kids Sondra wanted (Antoine looked terrified when she said the number five). And mom....I didn't know about mom. She seemed content wherever she was, but I didn't know if it was genuine or her being senial.
Well...could've easily been both. She was no spring chicken.
"Sorry, ma'am, we've gotta close up the pool. It's past 10."
I let out a soft sigh as I sat up, "It's really only 10?"
What am I supposed to do all night? Well there's one reason why people sleep. Quick way to pass time.The bellhop, who apparently doubled as the pool boy had a gentle smile on his face as he walked behind my chair and up to the dining area, "I'll let you relax a little while longer. Still got to clean up everything else."
I found myself rolling onto my stomach in the seat and watching him move around the upper deck. He said a few words to the snack bar worker and she soon left her post and headed into the lobby. Then it was just us.
"You do this all yourself? I thought that was housekeeping." I said to him.
Bobby laughed a little, "I am housekeeping. I'm the bellhop, housekeeping, concierge, snack bar operator and occasionally a chef. But that's only on busy days. Which don't come to often. It's pretty sad that a hurricane watch is what's given us the most amount of business in months, but business is business."
I couldn't even begin to imagine working as much as this man did, "Wow...how do you keep all those roles up without keeling over?"
Bobby shrugged, "Ain't to hard." His accent gave me that familiar tingle from before, "And then I get my paycheck and move on."
I slid out of the chair and stood upright, then moved over to the steps and walked up onto the deck, "It's very impressive." I said as I picked up a few abandoned plates from guests who'd eaten there before, "I'll help. Got nothing better to do."
"Oh, no, ma'am, I'm not supposed to let you help. Company policy"
He said it so kindly. In a way that made him akin to a sweet country boy in a movie who really didn't want me to lift a finger. And that, my friends, made me feel a bit like putty for a moment. Now of course, he really didn't want me to, but what was I going to do the whole night? I was at a loss.
"Don't worry about it." I said with a laugh, "Absolutely nothing going on here. I can clear a few tables"
No was not an answer I willingly took. Bobby kept an eye on me as I scooped up plates and napkins and abandoned dishware, then with a light shake of his head joined me in the cleaning. At this point, I found myself falling into a sense of...I don't know...security around Bobby. It was really really really strange to feel at ease around a bellhop I'd only talked to a grand total of three times, but something about him just settled my spirit all together. It was a good feeling. I'd never met someone like it, but maybe there were people in the world who just exude good vibes. Vibes that are strong enough to calm the whirling mind and pounding heart of a so-called heiress with bad dreams.
As the evening went on, Bobby and I did a thorough cleaning of the deck area and, when I told him my sisters and I were interested in resort management, he showed me the shack that had the pool controls: water temperature, water pressure valve (which was, as the front desk girl said, broken), chlorine capsules and all sorts of cool little things that I likely wasn't going to remember the next day. But at the time, I was captivated by all the information. And when everything was cleared up, cleaned up and set for re-opening the next day, it was 11 o'clock.
"I don't normally share this spot with people. But considering you just halved my workload for free, I guess I can share." Bobby said to me as we leaned back in the grass.
"Greatly appreciated, sir." I said, "Though I should probably get up to my room before my sisters start thinking I abandoned them.
I expressed the need to leave, but leaving did not happen. In fact, I stayed right there on the grass looking at the treetops and talking to my new friend. Anyone looking at us would see a couple of fresh lovers star-gazing, but all I felt was the closeness of a good person who kept my tension level low. Bobby and I were so incredibly different, but talking to him was fun. While his accent wasn't strong, he was a southern boy through and through. Farming, animals, hay barrels, line dancing, big families, cookouts--the whole nine. A stark contrast to my fashion savvy, technology loving, glitz and glamour self.
Somewhere during our conversation, we started talking about family. Bobby was the only child of Robert and Mags Newbie, a couple of high school sweethearts who shared a love of using what the land provided to survive. That was where Bobby got his love for nature and living off the land, though according to his own account, he was a bookworm as a kid.
"Allete would've loved you." I said with a laugh, "She's a bookworm and a nerd. Straight A's in class, perfect attendance. Everything."
"Pop was frustrated with me for not wanting to fish with him." Bobby said, running his fingers through his hair, "So to make him feel better, I went on a fishing trip with him and haven't looked back since."
"So now you're a country boy ~" An exaggerated southern accent left my lips and it made the both of us fall over in laughter.
"100%." After we picked ourselves up and readjusted ourselves to starting at the same treetop we'd been looking at for a while, he spoke again, "And you're from Appaloosa Plains."
I nodded, "Born and raised. Big family. Two older brothers, four if you count the sons my dad had before me met my mom. Antoine and Marcel from mom, Luke and Dakota from Dad. Then there's me, and my sisters: Camille and Allete. Fraternal triplets."
And that's where I stopped. For obvious reasons, family was a touchy subject. And so I looked up at him, attempting to communicate with my tired eyes that that was my limit, and I could tell he understood. Then we were quiet. Then we talked some more, and then we were quite. Then we talked more and we were quiet again...off and on, until next thing I realized...
I was asleep in the pool chair with the morning sun beating down on me.
"What the---Watcher---"
"Simmer down, Mrs. Delacour, you're fine."
Bobby was up on the pool deck, just as he had been the night before. Only now he was setting up and he had a smile on his face. I blinked at him, then squinted through the sunlight to see the amusement on his face at my confused state. Two minutes previously we'd been talking, and then suddenly I was knocked out on the pool deck! ASLEEP. I SLEPT AGAIN. Of course he hadn't woken me, why would he think to? Maybe he could've sent me up to my room, but no he just let me sleep in the pool chair. How did I even get into the pool chair? My brain spun with unanswered questions for a long while before it stopped and something occurred to me.
I didn't have a dream.
I hadn't dreamt! There were no nightmares. For the first time in my life, I had a deep peaceful sleep and...I felt amazing.
"You got tired of sitting on the grass." Bobby said, answering one of many questions, "Said the grass was wet, so we moved to the pool chairs. Talked awhile and then you passed out."
"And you just left me out here overnight?" I said in disbelief.
"No, I was next to you. I sleep out here every night---no room in the hotel for me." He placed a few plates of breakfast themed foods on the buffet table, then began setting up the snack bar.
What about your house then? Was my first thought, but decided against asking and sat up instead, rubbing my eyes as they adjusted to the bright sunlight. I wasn't sure what to say to him in response---I didn't feel any different, my clothes were still intact, so I could only assume that the story really as as he said. That I simply fell asleep and he didn't do anything to me while I lay exposed. Stretching, I cleared my throat.
"Well...thanks for looking out for me then. I'm going up to my room....suppose I'll see you around, Mr. Bellhop."
Upstairs, Camille and Allete were awake. The shower was running behind a closed door and Allete sat comfortably in one of the seats, which lead me to believe Camille was in the bathroom. I fell down into the seat next to Allete.
"I should advise you that lounge chairs are not optimal for a sound sleep."
I rolled my eyes, unwilling to entertain her with a response. The smirk on her face read that she not only saw me, but she saw an unconscious bellhop sleeping in the pool chair beside me. On the television screen, a weather man was pointing to various places on a map and explaining the highs and lows of each area.
"
Hurricane Regina laid waste to Isla Paradiso last night. The area's population was ordered to evacuate and further investigation in the early hours of the morning revealed that several buildings have been flooded and many destroyed. With Regina still raging, relief efforts are being organized and are scheduled to begin as soon as the storm has settled. Currently, the island is considered inhospitable to even it's natives and all flights going to the island have been canceled."
By the end of the weatherman's report, Allete's hand was pressed against her chest, her mouth wide open, and Camille had emerged from the bathroom to catch the tail end of the report.
"That's horrible...." Camille whispered.
Allete shook her head, "The power of Mother Nature. She is mighty indeed. Powerful enough to destroy entire settlements with a breath. I cannot begin to imagine what the people of Isla Paradiso are currently going through."
"Maxi, what are we supposed to do now?" Said Camille, the realization of the situation settling down on her, "We can't go to Isla Paradiso, and I'd rather be struck down than go back to Appaloosa."
"What other choice do we have, Cammy?" I answered, keeping my voice low and calm as I could manage.
The girl groaned, "We go somewhere else! It's not like we have a house in Appaloosa anymore. We sold it. So if we go back there we're going to...what...buy a smaller house? Go back to all the people who hate us because Mom couldn't keep her hands to herself?!"
"HEY!" I shot up from my seat, the volume of my voice louder than her's and possibly able to be heard by everyone else in the building, "Watch your mouth, Camille! I don't care how old you get, you don't say stuff like that about your own mother!"
"If Mom hadn't done what she did, maybe we would have born to some other father and Allete's nose wouldn't be so huge."
Allete shot up from her seat, offended, "Excuse me?!"
I held my hand up to Allete, halting her from speaking again. It'd do no one any good if she got involved. Camille shook her head and turned to me again.
"
Cammy, It doesn't surprise me that you, the spoiled and favorited brat of the family is having yet another hissy fit. But there are hissy fits about stupid things, and then there are fits that involve you laying blame and saying disgusting things about your own mother. And I will not deal with the latter. Whether Mom wanted to just get me out of the way or not, she made ME the heir. And it is MY responsibility to uphold the family name and make sure generations to come know what a good and brilliant woman our founder was. And I won't have your
garbage polluting that. Go it?"
There was a look in Camille's eyes that day. One of shock. Of surprise. Of horror. It had been years since I'd felt so empowered. Since I'd put Camille in her place. She was off her high horse. Finally. And it was visible in her entire stature and demeanor. She shrunk away from me and averted her eyes. I hadn't wanted to scare her, but she did need to be put in line. Whether or not she would remain as such, I didn't know at the time. But I'd not only silenced her. I'd reminded her, and myself, that I was the big sister who once prided herself in her vivaciousness, spirit, and drive. And for so long I'd forgotten them and let Camille have her fits and boss me and everyone around. But that was over.
And to think...I had Bobby to thank for that. In a very roundabout way. I fell asleep near him, had a peaceful sleep near him and woke up, apparently, completely renewed. Camille took a step back from me and crossed her arms, saying no more.
"We can't go back to Appaloosa. Camille's right about that." I said firmly, "We don't have a house, nor do we have a good name there. We can't go back, we can't forward to Isla Paradiso. So it stands to reason that we stay here. In Riverview. We'll split the funds that we've saved up in half: Marcel can stay with Antoine and Sondra, Mom will stay with us. Well...me. Us...I want all three of us to live together like we agreed before and take care of Mom."
"Surprised you want anything to do with me, Mrs. Big Bad Boss Lady."
I looked to my sister, "Big Bad Boss Lady wants to live with her sisters."
She sucked her teeth and let out a frustrated groan, "But what about our resort plans! We were going to open one. 'The Three Sirens' remember?"
"I don't know how we can do that, Camille. I don't think we have the money. And that's the least of our concerns anyway. We have to focus on getting moved in, not trying to buy a resort."
And with my comment not being what she wanted to hear, Camille turned on her heel and walked out of the room in a huff. I heaved a sigh and looked to my sister who had back down in the seat. She'd refocused her attention to the television and that left me to just sigh and think. And hope that there was some available housing for us. Otherwise, we
would be forced to go back to Apploosa Plains.
