Love Will Tell Us Where To Go

It really sucked that I remembered having caffeine doesn’t help jet lag until after we had our coffee. Oops.

“Ugh.” Harry tossed and turned in his chair in hopes of finally finding a comfortable position. “I’m tired but I don’t want to sleep but I don’t feel like being awake. Oh, and I’m thirsty.”

“Sorry, babe. The next time we drive by a fast food place we’ll get some water. Now that is something you should drink.”

“How are you even able to drive right now?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m more use to it.” Not really. I just wanted to get to our destination so bad I was powering though it. And I’m sure if I showed any indication of wanting to rest he would insist on driving for a while.

We stopped for some water not even five minutes later. Because being active is another tip for helping jet lag we decided to get out and use the restroom as well.

“It’s 7:15 here, so that means it’s…12:15 in London. We should be going to sleep by now. Or soon anyway.” Harry said as we walked back to the car.

“But we have to sleep based on the time here.” I reminded him.

He sighed and said, “I know.”

I giggled and pulled him toward me with the little strength I had. He gripped me tightly (as tight as he could anyway) and kissed my cheek. “Only thirty more minutes.”

“Step two is almost over!” I told him cheerfully. He smiled from ear to ear.

To keep Harry (and myself) from falling asleep the rest of the drive, we blasted the radio and even sang along. Not well, but we laughed at ourselves enough that it helped keep us awake just as much as the music.

7:45 finally arrived as we pulled into the parking lot of the train station. “Step two complete.” Harry said grinning.

“Let’s go!” I exclaimed. We rushed into the building as if the urgency of the situation just now broke through our jet lag.

It was clear where we were suppose to go once in the building. We walked up to a woman behind a desk and told her who we were. Luckily she was the woman Harry had talked to earlier. She took a minute to see if the tickets we wanted were still available. It felt like an eternity.

“Great news, you made it in time.”

“Heck yes!” Harry exclaimed before hugging me. I don’t think she was expecting that much enthusiasm.

By the time we paid for our tickets and went back to the car it was 8:00. “Alright. Now time to find a hotel.”

“Want to go somewhere with wifi to look up a place close by?” I asked. He simply nodded. He looked as worn out as I felt. And I’m sure he could tell as well.

We found a McDonald’s close by and went there. We weren’t hungry, but we did get some more water.

“Dang.” I said after a bit of searching. “Do you know how expensive hotels are when you stay fourteen nights?”

“By the tone in your voice I assume a lot.”

“Way too much.” I sighed as I calculated how much the cheapest place would be. “Even at $85 a night, the total ends up being $1190.”

The only response I got was a blank stare.

“About 50 pounds a night and 709 pounds total.” I added. That got more of a reaction. He moaned quietly and placed his head down on the table. “And the hotel is a dump, right?”

“I want to say no, but…yeah.”

“You know what? This table is comfortable enough. Goodnight.”

“Babe, come on.” I gently shook his shoulder. “It’s too early to sleep right now.”

He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes while yawning. “Are you sure that place is that bad? I mean, if it’s the cheapest thing we can get, do we really have any other options?”

I clicked through the pictures again as if the pictures would look different this time. They didn’t.

But despite my pessimism, we decided to at least look at the place in person before deciding against it. Who knows, maybe they’ve renovated since then?

They hadn’t.

The place reeked of smoke and the wall paper looked as old as the building. The atmosphere seemed to be a perfect fit for a horror movie.

Obviously it was easy to decide to not stay here for fourteen nights, but choosing were we should go…not so much.

Harry ended up hesitantly asking a man behind the front desk about other local hotels. We hated asking since it felt kind of rude, but at the same time…look at this place, could he really blame us?

Thankfully he was super nice and suggested that we check out some bed and breakfast’s instead of a major hotel chain. He said that some are cheaper or equally priced. Also, not only is the breakfast a plus, they often serve lunch and dinner as well.

He told us a few that he knew of and wished us luck.

“What about this place? Cute name, right? Maybe that place is cheap and clean.” I had gained hope. I just hope I won’t be let down.

“Let’s give it a shot.” he replied.

The drive there was short; only about five minutes away. The building was amongst other hotels and restaurants. The white siding looked worn down which made me lose some hope.

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Harry reminded me.

I smiled in reply. I love that quote.

Too bad that sometimes it doesn’t work for all situations.

“We should have known a guy working at a dump would send us to another one.” I said as I reached the point of complete and utter frustration. I drove over two hours today, I have jet lag, and all I want to do is have a place to stay.

“I’m sorry.” he replied simply.

Instead of getting in the car, I sat down on the curb. I don’t want to drive. I just want to breathe the fresh air.

He sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. I haven’t closed my eyes for hours.

Neither of us said a word. We just knew that we needed to take a break.

But as badly as we need a break, we need a place to take a break in. I opened my eyes and looked around. The parking lot is behind the house and faces a much different scene than the one in the front.

Back here you can see houses, not businesses. I mean, they’re still some on the street we’re on, but out in front of us, all houses.

I’m so jealous of them. They each have a place to rest their head tonight. If only we could find a nice person that would let us stay at their house for not much money or for free. Oh, and someone who wouldn’t kill us.

As I looked at the different types of houses, one in particular caught my eye. It was older, but fixed up. Kind of cottage like, but quite big. It had a lot of character. That’s probably why I noticed it.

And then I saw the best thing about that house. I sign on the front lawn that said “Serendipity Bed & Breakfast”

“Harry…look.” I pointed to the house that was two blocks away. I’m surprised I saw it.

“What?” he asked. “Wait…oh! Maybe that place will work.” I could hear the hope in his voice.

“Don’t be too hopeful.” I said.

He cracked a small smile and kissed my cheek. “I know you’re tired, love. I’m tired. But don’t worry. We’ll find a place.” He stood up and gave me his hand to help me up.

Since it was so close and we both needed exercise and fresh air, we walked there. As we walked closer to the Victorian style house, I could see the little details the owners had made to make the place look nice.

The wrap around porch had rocking chairs and swings. The welcome mat was so cute. As hopeful as I was about the condition of the place, I slowly lost hope in us being able to afford it.

As soon as we walked in, we were met by the smell of scented candles. Vanilla? I’m not sure.

Whatever it was, it smelled wonderful.

There was a short foyer that led to a room with a sign on the open door that said, “Lobby.” To the left was an opening to a dining room that led to a kitchen I couldn’t see much of. To the right was a shut door.

“Hey! Y’all just come on in!” the smiling woman with brunette hair said. She sat behind the desk in the lobby. We walked up to her and asked her if we could stay for fourteen nights and how much it would cost. That’s when I saw her name on her name tag: Allison.

“Hmm…well, let’s see.” She typed some stuff on a computer before saying, “There is a room available. In it is a king size bed and private bathroom.”

Just as I was about to ask her to crush our hope, I mean, ask how much that would cost, she excused herself and said she’d be back in a moment.

I walked over to the opening of the dining room to look at the kitchen. It was so cute. The cabinets were white and the counter tops were wood. There was also a sign that told the hours and days that breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served.

“Harry…there is no way we are going to be able to afford this place.”

“I know.” he replied somberly. “But maybe they’ll recommend another place. She definitely seemed nice.”

“Sorry, y’all.” she said as she came back. “Just double checking on the availability of the room. Anyway, the room will be $80 a night making it a total of $1,120.”

“Excuse us for a moment.” Harry said before grabbing my hand and taking a few steps away from the desk. “What?”

“I know right? That’s $70 cheaper than that other horrible place. Not including tax! I just…what?”

“Maybe we should look at the room first? I don’t know. I hate to be so negative. This just seems too good to be true.”

I had to agree. Seeing the room first seemed like a smart idea.

“I’m sure you’ll love the room. It’s nicely decorated and has a really comfortable bed.” she said as she got a key for our room.

“As you can see, in order to get to the rooms, you have to go behind the lobby desk, making it easier for guests to feel safe.”

The stairs led to a two long halls with several doors. Instead of going right, we went straight and to the very last room on the left. After opening the door, she told us to take our time to look around and that she’d for us in the hall.

The room was fairly large. It had two windows with a bed in between them. When we walked in, the head of the bed was against the right wall, making the end of the bed facing toward us. Across from it a flat screen television hung. Underneath it was a dresser.

There were bedside tables on both sides of the bed. At the end of the bed was a bench. There was a chair facing the television on the other side of the bed from where we were.

On the side we were, we walked down to a door on the right wall that led to a rather small but well kept bathroom with a shower.

The room was neatly decorated and vintage. The bedspread was white and fluffy and the pillows were floral. The walls were grey and have a few paintings on the wall of pretty scenic views.

I was so confused.

“This place is great.” I told Harry quietly.

“This place is amazing.” he replied as he sat on the bed. “This bed really is comfortable!”

I didn’t bother sitting down. If I did, I would have never gotten up. “Well, what are we waiting for then?” I asked with sudden energy.

“Let’s go tell her we want it.”

After telling her how much we loved it, she booked it for us. We paid with cash (this shocked her a bit) but we have no other way. It’s a good thing I not only saved a lot of money over time, but got some out of my bank account as well.

We walked back to the car and parked in one of the specific parking places for guests. I helped him take our bags to our room, but we didn’t even bother unpacking yet. We had plenty of time to do that.

By the time we got done, it was 10:00. Late enough for us to go to bed.

“Finally!” he exclaimed before I went to change in the bathroom. I came back out to see him already lying in bed with his eyes closed.

I got in the bed and was amazed at how right Harry was. Best. Bed. Ever.

“It’s 5:00 in the morning in London.” he said with his eyes still closed. He rolled over on his side to face me and opened them.

“My mother has read my note.” I said just as I realized it. We had been so busy, I hadn’t thought of it earlier.

“Hours ago.” he replied.

“I wonder how she reacted.”

“Babe, go to sleep. If you start thinking about stuff like that you’ll wake yourself up.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He really is. So I quickly pushed those thoughts away and focused on how tired I was and how great it was to finally close my eyes.

We faced each other and had our arms intertwined. I fell asleep rather fast and with hopeful thoughts in my mind.

Notes