A vacation to remember

Sandra looked wistfully at the cute short set that she had packed, fingering it briefly before pulling the ankle-length light blue skirt and a matching top out of her suitcase. It was thirty-two degrees outside, and she’d love to take a dip in the cold pool before dinner. Her room was on the shady side of the villa and a faint breeze fluttered the curtains in the open windows, but without air conditioning it was only slightly cooler than outside. Even though it seemed deserted now, she knew the pool could quickly become busy. Sighing, she dressed in the thin clothing and refreshed her lip gloss before heading out to a lounge chair on the pool deck.

Most of the chairs were deserted, and she made her way to one that the sun had been beaming onto earlier. The palm trees and bushes cast long shadows across the cream-coloured cushions as she settled in, placing her book and water bottle on the table between her chair and the next. A smiling young lady dressed in a bikini and short sarong appeared and asked if she could bring the senorita a drink? Smiling back, Sandra ordered one of the fruity drinks with an umbrella and served in a coconut that she had discovered on her first day at the resort. 

As the girl walked towards the bar hut to fetch the beverage, Sandra admired her lovely, tanned legs and arms. Her own arms were pale in comparison, and she was momentarily jealous. Turning away, she adjusted the pillow behind her head and picked up her book. Removing the small paper clip that marked her page, she was soon absorbed into the story. When the girl returned with her drink, setting it down next to the water bottle, Sandra barely noticed.

The shadows advanced across the pool until they had chased the sunshine completely off the pool deck. The warm winds began to blow a little harder and carried a hint of the evening cool. Sandra was startled when the local church bells suddenly rang out at six pm, and she realized that she had better get to the dining room. Placing the paper clip on her page, she took a last sip out of the nearly empty coconut before picking up her water bottle and heading to the eating area.

A couple she had met at dinner last night waved at Sandra, and she made her way over to their table. They were excited to tell her about their sea-kayak adventure from that morning and she was happy to oblige them by listening. In between the waiters coming and taking their orders for food and drink, the couple regaled Sandra with stories about the creatures they had seen and their near-miss with a breaching whale. The food was delicious, and Sandra found herself enjoying their company as she lived vicariously through their tales.

Eventually, they turned their attention to her and asked what she’d been up to during the day. Smiling, she demurred and said she’d just lain about relaxing by the pool with her book. The wife turned to her husband and declared that Sandra “must accompany them to the market tomorrow!” They had discovered that Melaque had a large market on Thursdays and were eager to check out the vendors’ booths. Despite her various excuses, they wouldn’t accept no as an answer, and she finally accepted their invitation. They agreed to meet the next morning at 9 am and walk together.

~

When Sandra went down the stairs at the front of the villa to meet her new friends Scott and Emily they were already waiting for her. Emily wore a yellow bikini top with a short floral sarong tied around her hips. Scott was in Bermuda-style shorts with a colourful shirt. Sandra was wearing a long peasant skirt and a gauzy white top with long sleeves, a large wide-brim sun hat, and carrying a big beach bag.

“Planning on buying one of everything?”, Emily joked at the size of her bag. Sandra laughed along with her, and joked back, “you just never know!”. Setting off, they walked down the alley towards the market stalls, talking and joking as they went. It wasn’t far and soon they joined a crowded throng of shoppers. The market was several blocks long, and wide, with hundreds of booths set up under a fabric cover that protected the vendors and patrons from the blazing sun. Sandra, Scott and Emily agreed to meet again at the entrance they had entered the market in two hours in case they were separated.

The group managed to stay together the first little while, but after Sandra finished bartering with a vendor for a leather wallet, she looked up for her friends to find they had been swallowed by the crowd. Tucking the wallet into her large bag, she moseyed along the aisles, looking at the wares spread out on the tables. She found a few souvenirs to take home for friends and family stashing them in her bag as she wandered. Soon, it was time to head back to the entrance to meet Scott and Emily again.

Sandra looked up and down the aisles, trying to figure out which way she had come from. Stepping out from under the cloth cover to search for a landmark, she felt the sun’s full strength burn through her thin clothing. She turned this way and that but couldn’t see anything familiar. Looking back at the covered market aisle longingly, she set out in the opposite direction, hoping to find the entrance they had agreed to meet at. Within a block, perspiration was springing to the surface of her skin and Emily began to look for somewhere to escape the heat.

The street she was on was mostly private residences and at the next intersection she looked both directions, hoping to find a store or somewhere she could ask for directions. Seeing no signs, she turned right, hoping that she was at least heading back to the villa they were staying at. At the end of the next block, she looked again for somewhere to duck into, or at least someone to ask for help. The streets in this part of the small city appeared deserted, and she again took a right, thinking that eventually she would head back into the market area. 

The sun was blazing down on her and now she was really sweating, the trickles both tickling her neck and back. Dizziness made her vision swim as she wandered up and down the quiet streets, feeling desperate and lost. Finally, she saw a small group of people ahead and hurried towards them. They entered a courtyard and were closing the gate when she called out, “hello!” from down the block. A young Mexican boy looked up at her as she approached. “hola”, he responded.

“Please, can you tell me how to get back to the Villas Camino Del mar?”, Sandra asked breathlessly, ”I seem to be lost “. “Si,” the boy replied. “but it is a long ways from here and very hot out. You come in and we will find you a ride” he said in perfect English. “Would you like a drink?”. Gratefully, Sandra nodded her head “yes”, and stepped into the courtyard as he closed the gate behind her.

Tall trees and lush plants cast shade across the tiled garden area and immediately Sandra felt relief. She knew her face must be bright red from the heat and could feel the beginning prickles of the hives on her legs. As she took a chair and accepted a glass from the boy, she introduced herself. “Thank you, you saved me! I’m Sandra. What’s your name”? He smiled, “I’m Jose. Please wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Jose disappeared into the dark interior of the dwelling, and Sandra relaxed in the cool garden, sipping the flavoured water. All around the perimeter, colourful blooms smiled at her. Interspersed into the flower beds along one wall were grottos every few feet with statues decorating them. A musical fountain splashed down into a small pool in the corner and Sandra noticed fish swimming in the light dappled water.

Jose returned, with a tall, stern looking woman close behind him.

Speaking in his native tongue, he made gestures to Sandra’s face and sounded excited. The woman looked at her and nodded, before replying to him. Although Sandra caught a couple familiar words they spoke, she couldn’t understand their speech. But she was certain the boy was saying she needed a ride to her hotel. A few moments later, Jose turned to her and explained that his uncle would arrive soon and could drive her back.

Sandra thanked Jose for his kindness and smiled at the woman in gratitude as well. At first, she had thought she was Jose’s mother, but perhaps it was his aunt instead. With a nod and a quick smile back, she turned and walked inside, returning to whatever Jose had disturbed her from.

“My uncle Alejandro lives here with my mom and me. He is very nice, you will like him”, he boldly stated. Sandra wasn’t sure how to respond, but hoped he arrived soon. She could feel hives on her legs burning and needed to get into a shower soon, to cool the skin. “Jose, how did you learn to speak English so well?” she asked, trying to distract her mind from the pain. “In school, they teach us”, he explained, “but I also work part-time in a store, so I learn many words there”.

“You work?!” Sandra exclaimed. “How old are you, Jose? You look too young to work” she said. “I’m fourteen!” he said proudly. “Not too young to work! Besides, I like it. I get to speak with the tourists, and they give me tips, sometimes”. Sandra looked at him again with his smooth face small frame in an ironed white shirt and clean pressed jeans. She had thought he was ten or 12 years old at the most. He didn’t have any sign of facial hair starting, and his voice seemed steady, not cracking as young teens sometimes will.

“Hola!” a man’s voice boomed through the air and Jose jumped up. “Uncle Alejandro is here”, he said, and turned to greet him. “Hola Tio Alejandro!”. “We have a new friend here,” he said, before introducing Sandra. “Welcome Seniorita”, Alejandro took Sandra’s hand and kissed the back of it. Blushing, Sandra thanked him. As he released her hand, he grinned, and she felt a new kind of heat rising in her.

Jose launched into an explanation to his uncle about how Sandra was lost and needed a ride back to her hotel. He turned to her, and she realized that she had been staring while they spoke. Embarrassed, she looked down at the floor. His chuckle brought her gaze up to his dark brown eyes, where she saw the humour dancing. Grinning back, she noted the strong jawline and his handsome features, framed with jet black hair that curled loosely around his face.

“So, you need a ride home. I will drive you”, he stated cheerfully. Gratefully, Sandra thanked him again, and said goodbye to Jose. “Thank you so much for your kindness”, she said, and pressed a bill into his hands. “What is this for?” Jose asked, holding it up. “Just a small gesture of gratitude”, she responded. “No, seniorita”, he passed the money back to her, “you don’t need to pay me”.

“I’m sorry Jose, I didn’t mean to offend”, Sandra apologised. Tucking it back into her purse, she followed Alejandro out of the courtyard and back into the bright sun. He had a dark blue Mazda CX-5 parked on the street, that he was holding the passenger side door open on. Hurrying over to the car, Sandra sat down and buckled her seat belt while he went around to the driver’s side. The interior temperature was like an oven, and she was grateful when he turned the AC on. The hives on her legs felt like they were emanating heat, and she was grateful for the cooling that quickly began to blast out of the vents.

“You’re staying at the Villas Camino Del mar, I hear”, Alejandro confirmed, and Sandra answered, “yes”. “How are you enjoying it there?” he asked. “Oh, it’s very nice. They take great care of it, and it has a lovely pool.”, Sandra replied. “That’s good!”, he beamed a grin her way. “My cousin is a part-owner, and he talked me into investing in it. “I’m glad you like it”.

They continued making small talk as he wove through the narrow streets before coming to a stop in front of her hotel. Thanking him effusively, she stepped out of the car and walked into the foyer of the hotel. Her friends Scott and Emily were at the puzzle table and jumped up when they saw her. “Sandra! Are you ok?”. She was reassuring them that she was fine when she noticed Emily’s gaze go to something behind her. Turning, she saw Alejandro holding her shopping bag from the market. She must have forgotten it in his car!

“Thank you, again!”, she exclaimed, as she reached out to take it. “It is my pleasure, seniorita,” he said, smiling at her. “I am glad for another chance to see you. I would like to invite you for dinner with me, por favor”. “Oh!”, surprised, Sandra stammered, “th-thank you! That would be lovely!”

“Bueno, I will pick you up at 8 tomorrow evening”, he said, and kissed her hand again. As he turned and walked away, she realized she was still holding it up and dropped it to her side. Emily was wide-eyed as she whispered, “I see you met a friend today”. Sandra nodded, and then promised to tell them all about her ‘adventures’ over dinner that evening before escaping to her room.

~

Upstairs, Sandra gingerly stepped out of her skirt and pulled off the cooling thigh-length chafe shorts. Looking down at her legs, she saw they were covered in angry red hives from the heat. “Well, there goes any hope of wearing that short set tomorrow,” she thought. “Maybe a spring break getaway to a hot destination wasn’t the smartest idea for someone with a heat allergy.”

Cursing the doctor who prescribed her the meds that caused the allergy again, she set about dunking two towels under cold water in the sink before wringing them out and hanging them over the towel wrack. Then, pulling the tube of chilled aloe out of the mini fridge, she sat on the edge of the tub and gently applied it, both relishing and flinching at the cold. Next, she wrapped the damp towels around each of her thighs.

Sighing at the relief, she leaned back against the end wall and thought about her day. It had been a long time since she had felt attracted to anyone or invited out on a date. Why had she even said yes? She barely knew him, and she was only down on vacation. Still, he was very handsome and charming. What harm would it be to have one dinner with him? At the least she would have an entertaining story for her friends back home.

The end.