By the time we landed in New York, I was more rested and ready to take on the next couple of weeks. Whether I find the guy I’m destined to spend the rest of my life with or not, I’ll still have an amazing time here with Laurel and Mrs. Stratton.
We get off the plane and head to baggage claim to grab our things. When we finally find our luggage, we go to the front of the airport to find a taxi to take us to our hotel. Once we get one to pull over for us, we pile our luggage into the trunk and take our seats in the back of the car. The ride is mostly silent, aside from the soft noise of the radio and the loud tobacco chewing of the driver.
It takes less than 10 minutes to get to our hotel and Laurel's mom pays the driver as Laurel and I grab our bags from the trunk.
The hotel is large, much larger than anything we have in Indiana. There had to be at least 5 floors with many of the rooms having balconies on the side of the building.
Once Mrs. Stratton had paid the driver and helped us carry the bags inside, we went inside to the counter. The receptionist behind the counter in the lobby gave us each our own key card after we checked in and we headed for the elevator.
There were a lot of paintings hung along the hallway that took us to the elevator. Many of them were encased in golden frames, some in wooden frames. They all looked very modern and made the boring, doorless hallway much more interesting.
We finally reached the elevator after admiring the paintings and pressed the button for our floor. I was starting to feel a little tired again as we stepped out of the elevator on the third floor and began to look for our room. Luckily for us, it was right near the elevator so we didn’t have to walk too much further with all of our bags.
Mrs. Stratton slid her key card in the slot and pushed the door open when the light turned green. When we stepped inside, we were shocked. There was a small kitchen with a microwave, fridge, and sink to our right and a small living room straight ahead of us. Off of the right and left sides of the living room were two doors which lead to two separate bedrooms. I guessed Mrs. Stratton would get her own room while Laurel and I share one.
Laurel and I walked into the bedroom to the left and found two beds pushed up against one wall, a television across from them. To the very left of the door was a little bathroom.
We set our things down and went to join Mrs. Stratton in her room. It was identical to ours, just with the bathroom on the right.
“This room is so nice!” She said when she noticed we had entered.
“It is, how did you find it?” Laurel asked, sitting down on one of the beds in her mom’s room.
“Just luck, I suppose,” she answered, pulling open one of the drawers on the dresser to put her clothes away. That’s a good idea.
I head back to my room and open one of my suitcases and start unpacking. I take it upon myself to take the right side of the dresser and let Laurel have the left. I take my shampoo and toothbrush into the bathroom and set it on the counter. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I flinch a little. Getting up early paired with a long flight is definitely not my friend.
I sigh and head back to the room, flopping down on the bed on my side of the room. I kick my shoes off and close my eyes. Before I know it, it’s 4 o’clock. Laurel and her mom are sitting on the couch in the little living room watching a rerun of America’s Next Top Model.
“Hey, look who decided to get up,” Laurel teases when I walk into the room.
“Sorry, I was just kinda tired from the flight,” I tell her, getting a glass of water from the kitchen.
“Well, now that you’re up, what do you say we go find something for dinner?” Mrs. Stratton turns the television off and stands up from the couch.
“Sounds good,” Laurel answers for both of us. “Where should we go?”
“Maybe we could find a nice pizza place or something,” I suggest.
Neither of them seem to object to my comment so I head back to my room to put on some more appealing clothes and a little makeup.
I find a pair of jean shorts that go to the middle of my thighs and a light green tank top in one of the drawers I filled earlier. I pull them on and head to the bathroom to find some makeup to put on. I’d left the majority of my makeup at home but brought the most important items with me.
My makeup bag is against the wall on the counter where I left it. I pull the zipper open and dump the contents out. There’s a lot less than I thought. I just put on some neutral eye shadow and swipe on some mascara and decide it’s better than nothing.
I pull on a pair of sandals and find Laurel and her mom in the kitchen ready to leave.
“Ready to go?” Laurel asks when I pull the door to our room shut. I nod and follow them out the door, making sure I have my cell phone and key card.
We call a taxi at the front of the hotel and hop into the back, asking the driver to take us to the closest pizza place. It takes less than 5 minutes to get there and we pay the driver. There are tables outside so we sit down at one and wait for a waitress to come and take our order.
A pretty blonde waitress arrives and takes our order and tells us it’ll be a 20 minute wait. We chat about little things back home until our pizza arrives. The place begins to get crowded as we eat since it’s dinner time but I think nothing of it.
I’m almost finished with my 3rd slice of pizza when my chest starts getting warm. At first, I think I dropped some hot cheese on myself or something but when I look down, my Pathfinder is turning red and warm.