Locked Away

Chapter 6-1

Chapter 6

It was terribly hot and humid, ‘sticky as molasses’ as Cam’s Gramma Anne would say when the three got off the plane. The air hung heavily over the area. It was almost too hard to breathe. The high altitude of the country didn’t help. The sun was high in the clear sky and there were few trees to offer shade. Just the short walk across the tarmac from the plane to the terminal building was enough to cover everyone with a glossy sheen of sweat. No one deplaning was quite prepared for the heat.

Michael leaned forward to whisper in Cam’s ear as they entered the terminal building. “Did I ever tell you how erotic it is to see you sweat?”

“I imagine it’d be more erotic if there was a better reason for it.” Cam looked up at her. Would Michael ever think about anything else?

As they came through the immigration station, a smartly uniformed young soldier was waiting for them. He snapped to attention and offered a quick salute. A limo had been sent to take them to their hotel.

“El Presidente will greet you at La Hacienda at two,” the soldier told them in his broken English. “I will take you to the hotel first but I will return for you at 1:45. El Presidente’s offices are just a few blocks away.”

When Cam told him, in perfect Spanish, how pleased they were at his attentions and how beautiful his country was, the young soldier became even more attentive and rushed the suitcases through security and into the limousine.

Once he was certain that they were settled comfortably in the limo and their bags were loaded securely, he steered the car past the dilapidated shacks that dotted the countryside. It took about twenty minutes before they at last entered the city proper.

The city itself was run down but there were several renovation projects that showed the country was trying to dig out of its downward slide. Most of the people on the streets had a pleasant-looking demeanor, seemingly content with their lives. The streets were clean and there were potted flowers in many of the doorways.

The hotel was small but had been newly renovated when it was purchased by a major North American hotel chain. Now it was trying to garner a four-star rating. It didn’t look like it was fifty years old and the concierges and bell-hops looked like they really enjoyed their jobs.

The three women were immediately shown to a top-floor three-bedroom suite. There was a service kitchen where the hotel staff could prepare meals for them or the women could make coffee or tea. The formal dining room and living room were opulently decorated in the finest materials. Artwork that looked to be original by local artists, not commercial reproductions, was on the walls. Furniture gleamed with painstaking polish.

After looking through the suite, Cam and Michael took the bedrooms on the north side, Alicia, the one on the south.

“I don’t know why they booked us two bedrooms,” Michael chuckled as she picked up her luggage from the bench where the bellhop had placed it. “Don’t they know we’re legally married? I’m definitely not sleeping in here alone when my wife is on the other side of that wall.”

“It’s protocol, sweetie.” Cam smiled as she walked past her and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’m sure this country doesn’t recognize same-s*x marriages.” She sighed. “I’ve only been on three or four other ‘diplomatic’ assignments but the service is always first class. It looks like more than what you or I would spend on a hotel room, but I have the feeling that neither of our governments is picking up the tab for this. We can roam from bed to bed, wherever we end up.”

“Whatever happens,” Michael said as she drew the curtain aside to look out the window. Their suite overlooked the beautiful manicured lawns and topiary of the hotel. “This place is beautiful. I hope we get some time for sightseeing. I’m sure everyone would love a souvenir.”

“We’ll get to see a lot of things,” Cam stated as she took fresh clothes from her suitcase.

“Probably more than we want to see,” Michael agreed as Cam stepped into the bathroom.