Paradise

Everybody loves to travel. Seeing new things, tasting new foods, and meeting new people is always a fascinating experience. The only con to travelling is how expensive it can be. Booking a flight, getting a hotel, and sightseeing can add up to thousands of dollars. I know they say “jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul” but you have to find a way to fill your pocket before filling your soul. And let’s just say, right now my pockets aren’t exactly filled. 

“You can book Aruba for 3 days,” the travel agent said, pulling me out of my thoughts. “The flight will cost around two hundred, but I found a cheap hotel for only fifty a night. You can even upgrade to a suite for seventy-five a night.” 

The acrylic nailed travel agent, appropriately named Linda, had been trying to help me find a tropical vacation for about an hour at this point. It probably would have taken much less time if I didn’t have such a tight budget. Her fake lashes almost busted off as her eyes bulged out of her head when I told her the price range. She had been shaking her head, muttering curses, and typing away at her computer in an annoyed manner since then. She was a grumpy woman, but I couldn’t quite blame her since she worked at a desk job to help people find their dream vacation when I can only imagine she hasn’t had a day off in a long while.

“How does that sound, sweetheart?” She asked while smacking her gum. 

I smiled from ear to ear at the crabby older woman. “Yes, ma’am, that is great.”

“Okay, great,” she responded and stared back down at her computer. She tapped at the keyboard for another few seconds before making eye contact again. “Now, I can book the flight right now for an extra dollar off, but I don’t think you mind paying an extra dollar…”

“Every dollar counts, so I would like the discount,” I contradicted her idea. 

She gave me a look that told me she thought I was crazy, but I didn’t really care. She went back to drumming a beat on her keyboard. She took longer this time before looking up. “And would you like to upgrade to the presidential suite, dear? I’d assume not since ‘every penny counts’.” 

I closed my mouth and smiled at the woman. “You know what? I think I will upgrade to the suite.” I made direct eye contact and smirked at her. “A girl’s got to treat herself every once in a while, right?”

“Right,” she said tightly while holding serious eye contact with her computer screen. “The suite it is. And will you be looking to do any sightseeing that you would like to set up here?”

I shook my head. “No thank you. I will be setting up my own excursions.” 

She sighed. “Alright then.” Linda printed a few things, typed even more into her beloved computer, and jotted some things down on a notepad. She threw on her best forced smile—which looked more like a dog baring its teeth at a person—to say, “Ms. Halle Goodfeld, enjoy your trip in paradise.” 

~ 

I looked out of the plane window as we started to descend into the Dominican Republic. The view I got of the crystal blue water was absolutely breathtaking. The greenness on the land looked lively, and I couldn’t wait to explore its contents. Once on the tarmac, the passengers were instructed to get off the plane and go through customs. The time I spent in the airport was a daze; I was looking forward to going on different adventures that customs, baggage claim, and security went by at breakneck speed. After hailing a taxi and telling the driver where to go, I pulled out my phone to look at my plan. I had written out thoroughly everything that I would do on my week long trip. Nature parks, beaches, churches, restaurants and monuments were all on the agenda. Upon arrival at the quaint, almost bed and breakfast type hotel, a man came out to take my bags. He pulled them into the building, and I was quick to follow him. The man, who I thanked, positioned my bag at the concierge desk. I spoke to the lovely woman behind the counter who gave me a key and then sent me off to my room. I reached my room right as I thought about this already being the best trip. I put the key into its designated slot, pulled it out, and then opened my door. I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and pulled it into my room. As I came out of the short entryway, I was greeted by a half naked man sitting on the bed. 

“Oh, my god!” I screamed and jumped a mile into the air.

The half naked man, who wore only a towel around his waist, flinched at my shriek.  “Holy crap!”

“What the hell are you doing in my hotel room?” I angrily asked the man while shielding my eyes. 

“Your hotel room?” The room robber asked with raised eyebrows. “This is my room. You have the wrong room.”

I scoffed at his accusation that I was wrong. “No, you have the wrong room.”

“Wow, what a great retort,” he muttered in a mocking tone. 

My mouth hung open at the blatant rudeness of the man. “How dare you barge into my room and then insult me? Who do you think you are?” 

“Who do you think you are assuming this is your room?” He spat back at me. 

“You know what,” I began, gripping my suitcase handle so hard that my knuckles turned white. “I’m going to go down to reception right now and sort this whole thing out.”

“Great,” he said although he didn’t sound all too thrilled. “Why don’t we go down there together, and hear what they have to say about you being in my room.” He stood up from the bed, and I turned away. 

“For god sake, put some clothes on and then come down,” I yelled in an annoyed tone as I stormed out of the room. 

~

“What do you mean there aren't any other rooms available?” I asked the receptionist through gritted teeth.

“I’m so sorry, but that is the only room left. We’re completely booked otherwise.” She explained sympathetically to me and the room thief. “I could help you book a different hotel.”

I shook my head at the suggestion. “This is the only hotel that I can afford.”

The man nodded his head toward me and added, “I couldn’t get a room at any other hotel.”

The lady smiled sheepishly at the two of us. “I can offer you guys complimentary breakfast for the week?” She stated her offer as a question which meant she had no other options and felt bad. 

“How could this have happened?” I asked, ignoring her olive branch. 

“Well, Miguel—” the receptionist motioned toward a tan young man who was playing some game on his phone, “—is new here, and he isn’t great with the whole scheduling thing.”

Miguel, almost sensing we were talking about him, looked up from his phone to stare at us. He smiled widely, his white teeth contrasting with his tan skin. I sneered at him with squinted eyes; he quickly looked back down at his phone. 

We spoke with the front desk executive for a while longer, but didn’t resolve the issue we had. After being offered ten different deals to make the situation slightly better, my unwanted roommate and I made it back to our room. Upon arrival, I sat on the only queen-sized bed. He stood in the hallway that led into the bedroom part of the room. 

“How long are you staying?” I asked dejectedly and held eye contact with the floor's rug. 

“I leave Saturday morning,” he replied, also looking bummed. 

I frowned since I had hoped he had been here the majority of his stay, and I would get part of the room on my own for some of my stay. “Same here.” 

We both stayed silent for a while. I imagined we were both thinking about ways we could resolve this situation. I sat and thought, but I couldn’t think up a single solution. There was really no way out of this one other than going to a new hotel, but that wasn’t an option for me due to finances. 

“I think we should come up with some rules,” the man said, pulling me from my thoughts. I nodded to tell him that he should continue. “First, we switch who sleeps on the bed each night. You get it one night and then I get it the other.” I hummed my approval of the rule. “We should make a schedule for showers. You can shower in the morning and I’ll shower at night or visa versa.” I muttered an ‘okay’ in response to the second rule. “And third, we are not on vacation together. We will go about what we were planning to do here alone. You and I share a room, but that is it. Understood?”

“Yes, I think those are good rules to have in place,” I answered. 

The two of us discussed our shower and bed schedule. By the time we were done, it was time for bed. Since he wanted the morning shower, I went to take my night shower. I rinsed away all the negativity from this ordeal. This slip up would not define my trip; I wouldn’t allow it. I got out of the shower to wash my face and brush my teeth. I threw on my clothes before going into the bedroom part of the room. My "roomie" was on the cot that a staff member had rolled in since tonight I got the bed. He was reading a travel guide with just a reading light. He looked up when he heard my footsteps, and he turned his light off. The room was dark now, and I put my hands out in front of me to guide me to the bed safely. I got situated on the comfy mattress as I heard him do the same. 

“Goodnight,” he whispered in a groggy voice. 

“Goodnight…” I responded. I trailed off when I realized I didn’t know his name. I sat up sharply in the darkness. “Hey,” I said to get his attention.

“Yes?” He replied while turning to face toward me. 

“I never got your name,” I told him. 

He sat up on the twin bed. “It’s Sage. Sage Martin. And your name?”

“My name is Halle. Halle Goodfeld,” I echoed his response before lying down and going to sleep. 

~

I woke up early the next morning to get a move on. I looked around the room as I sat up in bed to see if Sage was still there. Fortunately, it looked like he woke up early and already left. I jumped up from under the covers, and made my way toward the bathroom to get on with my morning routine. After washing my face, combing my hair, and brushing my teeth was done, I left the room to go on my first excursion. I walked down the stairs to the lobby and out the front doors. Right in the roundabout driveway was a small bus that read SHUTTLE on the side. I went onto the weathered blue bus, and asked the driver if they could take me to the rainforest. Once he said he could take me there, I took my seat. A few more passengers joined the bus before we took off into the Dominican. I looked out the window at the scenery; there was beautiful flora and fauna along the side of the broken-up road. Every once in a while there was a vendor trying to sell anything from starfruit to wooden figurines. We arrived about twenty minutes after we left the hotel. I made my way off of the shuttle after thanking and tipping the driver. I walked about 2 feet before I stopped dead in my tracks. 

` By a laminated map posted on wooden poles stood my roommate. He was wearing black basketball shorts, a white t-shirt, and black running shoes. I hated to admit how good he looked, but I was still upset that he was at the same spot I chose. Almost sensing that he was being watched, Sage turned around to look at me. He scrunched his eyebrows together and squinted his eyes before he realized how I was and his blue eyes returned to their normal size. Then, he began to walk toward me. I looked backward to see if the shuttle was still there, but it was long gone. When I turned around, he was directly in front of me. I flinched at the closeness and took a step backward. 

“You followed me,” he said as if it were a statement. 

I scoffed at him. “No, you looked at my itinerary and followed me here.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “You wish.”

Then we were subjected to staring each other down. It was childish, but we did it anyway. Finally, I decided to call a truce.

“You know what, we’re both here, so we might as well go into the rainforest,” I suggested. 

He looked up at the sky like he needed to weigh his options. He looked back toward me after a second, and said, “You’re right, but let’s be clear that you followed me.”

“In your dreams,” I chuckled as I passed by him and into the jungle. 

I made it toward the dirt path and Sage followed next to me. We walked the path in silence, and took in the beauty on our own. Green surrounded the two of us and a splash of vibrant colors from flowers or fungus would pop up every few steps. I heard exotic birds chirps and squeal. I listened as monkeys howled and yelled at one another way above our heads. The sound of a frog croaking echoed throughout the vast jungle. The two of us continued walking until we reached the most beautiful waterfall. It was so powerful I would hear it before we even got close to it. The water was surprisingly clear with 1 main waterfall and 2 baby waterfalls on the side. Before I could even think to move, my feet were guiding me toward the water. As I was walking along the rocks, I hit a particularly slippery spot and lost my footing. I braced myself for impact with the ground and shut my eyes. Instead of hitting the ground, 2 strong arms latched onto my waist and held me up. My eyes fluttered open and met Sage’s oceanic eyes. We stood there, me in his arms, for a good second before I started to stand. Sage helped me to my feet without a word. 

“Thank you,” I whispered as we continued on through the forest. 

He hummed, “You’re welcome.” 

~

It was our final day in the Dominican, and I was extremely sad. Sage and I, after exploring the rainforest, went to museums, towns, and restaurants where they served amazing Dominican cuisine. He was quite the travel buddy. By the final night, we were sleeping in the bed together; we did a lot of other stuff in the bed as well, but I won’t be getting into those details. 

Sage interrupted my thoughts by putting my suitcase down in front of me. We had just made it through security and customs. This was the moment I was dreading. Sage was headed home to Boston while I was going back to San Francisco. I had grown so attached to him, and now I was saying goodbye with the likelihood that I would never see him again. 

“This is it,” he sighed. He seemed just as bummed as I was. I think he was going to miss our amazing days and nights just as much as I would. 

“Yeah, I guess it is,” I shrugged trying to seem nonchalant. Except this wasn’t just an experience I could brush off. This was a trip I would never forget. Sage was a guy I would never forget. I flung myself into his arms, letting my suitcase fall. “I’m going to miss this.”

He threw his arms around me in a bear hug. God, I was going to miss these arms. “I’m going to miss you too.” He pulled back slightly to give my forehead a sweet kiss. 

We held each other there in the middle of the airport without a care in the world. I didn’t care who saw us. I didn’t care who was mad that we were slightly blocking the exit of the security area. I didn’t even care if I missed my flight at this point. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Over the intercom, a woman announced that the flight back to San Francisco and Boston were boarding. Sage and I let go of one another. 

“Which way is your gate?” I asked as I held back tears. 

He nudged his head in the direction behind me. “I’m that way. Which way is yours?”

I copied his action, but jerked my over his shoulder. “The opposite way.”

“I guess we should go now,” he reasoned while staring at the tiled ground.

“Yeah,” I choked. “Thank you for being my paradise.” A stray tear rolled down my cheek. 

He wiped my tear as 2 of his own streamed down his face. “Thank you for being my paradise,” he repeated with a crack in his voice. 

Then we left to never reach paradise ever again.