* * *
Cathee’s sensible charcoal gray sedan, the one that had once belonged to her parents, matched most of the other cars in the Capitol Plaza parking lot. It looked like there was some kind of convention. Most of the cars looked suspiciously like rentals.
Cathee stepped out of the car, stretched, and moved to open Christina’s door. Although Christina could buckle herself in, she still needed some help with undoing the buckles. The booster seat wasn’t made for little hands to unbuckle. It was a safety feature Cathee had appreciated more than once.
“Let’s take our bags. I don’t want to come back to the car.”
“OK, Mommy. Do I get to carry mine?”
Cathee pulled out the matching bags and released the handle out of the smaller one. “You can wheel yours behind you. It’s too heavy to carry. Be careful.” While Christina reached for the handle, Cathee released the handle on her own bag and shut the trunk.
“Ready?”
Christina nodded, and they headed for the lobby.
A couple of quietly talking men were standing next to a marble-encased pillar. Cathee’s glance fell on them long enough to determine they weren’t employees. Nonentities. She walked on to the desk and proceeded to check in.
Garrett Andrews shivered. The man standing next to him, Darrin Jones, nudged him with his elbow. He snickered quietly. “I now know what being looked through feels like.”
Garrett nodded, his eyes still on the lovely young woman with honey gold hair. The child with her wore her hair the same way. Curls to the middle of her back. She looked like she was about four or five. But her hair was dramatically different. Dark brown, almost black. She turned curious eyes on him, eyes that didn’t see right through him as if he wasn’t there.
“Cold as ice.” Garrett shivered again.
“Maybe so, but the view is something.”
Garrett turned his attention back to Darrin and shrugged.
Darrin’s green eyes were amused. “I bet a round of golf you couldn’t make a date with her by, say, the end of the week.”
“I…I don’t know….”
“Come on. Your wife died almost six years ago, man. You won’t dishonor her memory by going out a time or two.” Darrin ran fingers through his red hair. The gesture meant some frustration. Garrett had known him long enough to recognize the sign.
He felt his own frustration rise. “I have gone out.”
“Yeah – with women you treat like sisters–and half of whom look like old maiden aunts.”
“Still…”
“You don’t need to shack up–just take her out a time or two.”
“What if she’s married?”
“Based on the drop of temperature when she looked at us, I’m sure she’ll let you know.”
Suddenly interested, Garrett grinned. “You’re on.”
They worked their way through the full-grown trees planted in the atrium to the restaurant. Seven stories above, the natural lighting glowed warmly through the peaked glass. Water fountains trickled soothingly. The myriad plants on the main floor and draping from the balconies acted as natural sound absorbers. It was easy to forget the hot Kansas sun in the cool sanctuary.
Christina watched the men until they were out of sight. The tall one with sandy blond hair held her interest. She liked the way his blue eyes met hers. He saw her. He reminded her of her preschool teacher. The one that liked to sing funny songs.
The men held no interest for Cathee. She tucked her key cards into her purse then reached for Christina’s hand. They quickly headed to the glass-walled elevator. Cathee stifled a shudder. She’d have to stare at the door. Being in a glass room zooming up six floors wasn’t something she’d normally choose to do. As the elevator moved upward, Cathee resisted the urge to sit on the floor. Instead, she addressed Christina. “Our room is on the sixth floor. We’ll be able to see a long way from our window.” She smiled at Christina’s delighted face as the elevator door opened to their floor.
The balcony railings reached chest high. Since Christina was naturally cautious, Cathee wasn’t worried about her climbing over to see the atrium floor six stories below, but her own fear of heights kept her close to the wall. Planters lined the railings at intervals. The verdant greenery was calming, as was the sound of falling water rising from the main floor. Cathee took a deep breath and smiled. It felt peaceful here, even though it was the sixth floor. She needed some peace.
“Which room is ours, Mommy?” Christina was skipping ahead, then stopped to look back. She obviously didn’t share her mother’s fear of heights.
“608. It’s just a couple of doors up on the right.”
Christina waited for her mom. Cathee slid the key card into the slot. When the light glowed green, she turned the knob and pushed open the heavy door. A fire door. Nice. Another slice of peace to add to the vacation pie. She smiled. “Let’s unpack our things and then try out the pool.”
“We get to go swimming? Yay!” Christina ran to the large wooden dresser that also served as a TV stand and opened the bottom drawer. “Can I put my things in here?” She looked up as Cathee closed the door.
“Go ahead. I’ll use the top drawer for my clothes. Let’s hang up our dresses in the closet. We’ll be attending one of the Topeka wards the day after tomorrow.”
A look of concern crossed Christina’s face.
“What’s wrong, Honey?”
“I don’t know anyone in that Primary.”
“It’s okay. It’s like our ward in Wichita. They all teach the same things. I’m sure you’ll feel right at home. I’ll help you find the Primary room.” She looked down at Christina a moment. “If you want, you can attend Relief Society with me, but I think you’ll enjoy your Primary class better. Let’s see how you feel when we get to church on Sunday.”
Christina’s face cleared. She pulled out her dress and handed it to Cathee then turned to her bag to empty her clothes into the dresser. As she finished, she pulled out her tankini. The bright orange and pink flower print belonged on a Hawaiian beach.
Cathee’s brow furrowed a moment, then cleared. It would be a long time before she could afford a Hawaiian vacation. There wasn’t enough left from her parents’ insurance to cover anything exotic. Her government salary was adequate but it would be years before she would be able to take Christina anywhere like that. In the meantime, Topeka was waiting to be explored.
After she hung up their dresses and her shirts in the closet, she pulled out her matching tankini and headed for the bathroom. “I’ll change in here. You can change in the bedroom. Just make sure you leave the drapes closed until we’re both dressed.”
“Okay, Mommy.” Christina’s voice was muffled by the shirt she was already pulling over her head.
Cathee was pulling a black wrap over her brightly covered tankini as she walked out of the bathroom.
“You look pretty, Mommy. I like your dress.”
Cathee smiled. “Thanks. I don’t like walking around in my swimming suit. Why don’t you grab a t-shirt for you?” Christina pulled out a neon green shirt to go over her suit.
Cathee slipped on her white leather flip flops. Christina clapped her hands in delight. “I like your shoes, Mommy. I can see your painted nails.”
“I’m glad you talked me into painting them before going on vacation. I like having our toenails painted alike.”
Christina giggled and wiggled her toes. “Me, too.” She slipped on her blue plastic flip flops then moved to the door.
Cathee grabbed the key card, and they both headed out the heavy door. It shut behind them with a satisfying thud.
The pool was a basic rectangle. Nothing fancy, but at least they had it to themselves. Even though it was modestly cut, Cathee didn’t like the exposed feeling of her swimming suit. It didn’t take long for Christina to lure her into the water.
Cathee was too absorbed in their game of Marco Polo to notice when Garrett and Darrin stopped outside the pool room to enjoy the view.
The soundproof glass kept their conversation private.
“If I wasn’t a happily married man about to celebrate my eighth anniversary, I’d ask her out myself.” Darrin grinned at Garrett.
“We don’t even know how long she’ll be here. She might not be attending the conference. What if she’s just spending the night?”
“Maybe the front clerk will take a bribe to let us know her schedule.”
Garrett turned to stare at Darrin. “I don’t think I heard you right.”
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“I’m not that desperate.”
“After five years, you should be.”
Garrett winced. “Would you quit reminding me? I don’t need you to keep a running calendar...”
“Sorry.” Darrin’s eyes dropped a moment. He hadn’t meant to hurt his friend. Anxious to change the mood, he turned to Garrett. “Did you want to come to my room to work on those slides, or should we go to yours?”
“I have the suite. Let’s go to mine.”
“Lucky dog. I had to settle for a basic room.”
“That’s because you’re not presenting. You’re attending. That’s the difference. They didn’t know I count on you to help with all the technical stuff.”
Darrin laughed. “Confessing your inability to work computers might’ve discouraged them from asking you to speak. I’ll keep your secret.” He grinned. “Besides, my employer is paying the bill, so I’m not hurting. I just would’ve liked the suite better.”
“Why?”
“I might’ve been able to persuade Sally to come. She could’ve brought Benjamin and Jarod.”
“A three year old and a two month old would’ve been hard in a hotel. Maybe you can bring Sally to next year’s conference when she’s not nursing.”
“You’re right. This year would have been hard.”
“How long do you think we need to work on those slides?” Garrett turned toward the elevators, and Darrin followed, taking one last look at the shapely woman and young girl splashing in the pool.
“A couple of hours should do it. They just need a little tweaking, plus we need to add a few slides to include information from the study that came out last week.”
Garrett nodded, and the two men disappeared behind the elevator doors.
About half an hour later, Cathee stepped out of the pool. The play had been invigorating. She enjoyed relaxing with her daughter.
A stack of clean white towels sat on a stray table. She pulled a towel from the stack and handed it to Christina, then took another for herself. After drying off, she pulled on her wrap. “Let’s go change, then we can eat a bedtime snack. Did you want to stay here or go somewhere else?”
“Let’s eat here. I like the trees in the restaurant. They’re awesome.”
Cathee laughed. “They are. It’s just like having a picnic, isn’t it?”
Christina clapped her hands. “An inside picnic! Thanks, Mommy.”
After sharing a decadent chocolate dessert in the formal restaurant, they headed back up to their room. They got ready for bed then turned on the TV and found America’s Funniest Videos. A few minutes into the show, Cathee heard Christina’s deep breathing from the neighboring bed. The trip had tired her out. Cathee pressed the “off” key on the remote and switched off the bedside lamp. She rolled over and sighed appreciatively. Nice. A soft mattress. Her heavy lids closed. Moments later, her breathing was as deep as her daughter’s.