It’s a Small Uber World After All
Chapter Eight
Jenah
Sam smiled as she watched Holly walk toward the restrooms. “I’m so glad they’re going to make up.” She placed a hand on the lunch counter, spun her stool around, and faced Tina. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah. The little blonde sure has a temper, though.” Tina rubbed her chin. “She almost caught me with that punch.”
“Nah.” Sam shook her head. “She never had a chance. You still have terrific reflexes.”
Tina leaned forward until she was practically nose-to-nose with her partner. “Still?”
“You know what I mean. I... you....” Sam lost her train of thought as she gazed into beautiful blue eyes regarding her from such close proximity.
“I think,” Tina said in a low, sexy voice, “you just love happy endings.”
“Absolutely.” Sam murmured as she closed the short distance between them, drawn in by those eyes... those lips....
“Ahem.”
Both women’s heads snapped up. The waitress was standing behind the counter, frowning and tapping her pad with her pencil. “Will there be anything else?”
“Umm... no.” Tina pulled some bills from her pocket and put them on the counter. “At least, not right now.” She winked at the waitress, took Sam’s hand, and the couple sauntered out of the terminal, barely containing their laughter until they got out the door.
“Did you see the look on her face?” Tina chuckled, deactivating the BMW’s alarm with the remote as they approached the car. “I bet we’ll be the most interesting customers they have in there today.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Sam opened the passenger door. “Who knows what the next person entering the men’s restroom is going to find!”
That thought sent the pair into gales of laughter.
Tina went around to the driver’s side of the car. She started to get in, but stopped abruptly when Sam shouted, “Wait!”
“What is it?” The tall woman began scanning the parking lot for any sign of danger.
“There.” Sam pointed toward the terminal building. “I need you to stand over there for a picture.”
“You can’t be serious. You want a photo of where we stopped for a bathroom break?”
“Yes!” The musician rummaged through her backpack and got her camera. “It turned into much more than that, didn’t it?”
Tina had to agree. A simple detour in search of a place with decent facilities had somehow ended up with seaplanes buzzing overhead, a stranger throwing punches, and advice to the lovelorn. But, she had learned early on that when Samantha was involved, just about everything turned into more than one usually expected. And it made life pretty damn interesting.
She posed for the picture.
Still joking about what might be happening inside the terminal, they climbed back into the car, retraced the route to the highway, and merged with the traffic on I-4.
Sam aimed her camera at the large Disney World sign up ahead and took a snapshot. “This was such a wonderful idea.”
“What... buying five rolls of film?” Cause it sure looks like we’re going to need them.
“Noooo.” The blonde playfully slapped at Tina’s arm. “Going away for the weekend. It’s our very first vacation together.”
“Kind of makes it extra special, doesn’t it?”
“It’s already extra special because I’m with you.” Sam grinned and raised the camera, taking a picture of the driver’s profile.
Tina rolled her eyes at the mushy comment, though deep down she loved it. “How about getting out the information Vivian gave us? I don’t remember which exit we’re supposed to take for the hotel.”
“Okay.” Sam pulled the large Tropical Storm paperback from her backpack. Tucked inside the cover was an envelope with the directions and Disney tickets. “Let’s see... it’s going to be the next exit, then stay to the left and there will be signs for the hotel.”
Tina maneuvered the car into the far lane so she would be prepared to exit. “We’ll check in and find out the shuttle bus schedule for The Magic Kingdom. You want to go there tonight as well as Sunday, right?”
“Definitely! Tonight we can go on a few rides and see the parade and the fireworks display and....”
“Hold it.” Tina interrupted. “Before you get totally carried away, don’t forget we need to get up early tomorrow for that BardCon thing.”
“Of course I haven’t forgotten!” Sam affectionately patted the novel on her lap. “Maybe I’ll be able to get Melissa Good to sign my book... and there’s supposed to be a bunch of other people going who write these kinds of stories, too. Isn’t it exciting?”
“Hmm. I liked that book. It might be cool to meet the author.”
Sam smiled. That was as much of a ringing endorsement as her reserved partner was likely to express. When Tina first broached the subject of a Disney vacation, Sam suggested Memorial Day weekend so they could also attend the Bard event. At the time, Tina seemed uninterested in the convention, but had agreed to go.
“Here we are.” The accountant turned the BMW into the circular drive in front of the hotel, parked, and popped the trunk lid. Several employees immediately descended on the car. One opened Sam’s door and another began emptying the trunk of luggage. A third hurried to Tina’s door and made arrangements with her for valet parking.
The women went into the upscale lobby, got their keys from the registration desk and rode the elevator to the tenth floor. An employee was to bring up their luggage and shuttle schedule shortly.
As soon as Tina unlocked the room, Sam rushed past her, eagerly investigating every nook and cranny. “Wow. This is really fancy.” She admired the view of the huge lake and surrounding gardens from the window. “I LOVE it!” Green eyes shifted to the quiet form standing in the center of the room. “Did you choose this place?”
“Umm... yeah.” Tina shrugged and tried, unsuccessfully, not to blush. “Only the best for my girl.”
Sam ran the few steps needed to reach Tina and hugged her. The momentum pushed the surprised woman backwards. Fortunately, she landed on the luxurious king-sized bed with her arms full of Samantha Whitwell.
“Nice catch,” the musician smirked. “I was right when I said your reflexes were still good.”
A knock at the door startled them both.
“Who is it?” Tina called out as she untangled herself from Sam and stood up.
“Bellhop. I have your luggage, Ma’am.”
Tina went to the door and let the young man in.
He carried in the bags, set up the luggage stands he removed from the closet and laid a suitcase on each. Taking a brochure from his coat pocket, he handed it to Tina. “Here’s the shuttle schedule, Ma’am.”
Sam was trying not to laugh. But between the red-faced employee who kept sneaking glimpses at her sprawled on the huge bed and Tina bristling every time he said ma’am, it wasn’t easy. He managed to get his tip and back out of the room, only tripping once.
Tina scowled at the tiny print on the brochure and tossed it to Sam. “Why don’t you see when the next shuttle leaves?”
“Okay.” Sam turned on the lamp next to the bed and perused the schedule. “There’s one departing in twenty minutes. Do you think we can make it?”
“Sure.” Tina pulled her hair back into a ponytail, put on a FSU baseball cap, and picked up her backpack. “I’m ready.”
The blonde scrambled off the mattress and grabbed her toiletries bag from her suitcase. “Give me five minutes, Mellekas... five minutes.” She dashed into the bathroom.
They ended up just making the shuttle.
The short ride in the small air-conditioned bus was pleasant and in no time at all they were dropped off at the entrance to the theme park.
They joined the stream of people heading for the turnstiles and had their tickets ripped in half as they passed through. “Let’s save these.” Sam put the stubs in her backpack and smiled up at her companion. “Souvenirs.”
Tina looked at the bright smile, the face glistening with cocoa-smelling sunscreen, and the tousled blonde hair hanging over a Mickey Mouse visor. I won’t need any souvenirs to remember this day. “What would you like to do first?”
“Let’s walk around and find one of those booths that sell Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream.” The musician stood on her tiptoes but was unable to see anything beyond the crowd of people around her. “Then we can decide what we want to do after that.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They wandered around the park, ate their ice cream, and enjoyed a few of the attractions.
“Oh!” Sam pulled Tina toward an ominous-looking building. “The Haunted Mansion!”
“The parade is going to start soon...”
The blonde beckoned for the taller woman to bend down so she could whisper in her ear. “It’s REALLY dark in there.” A gentle nibbling of the earlobe followed the words.
What parade? “Let’s go!”
Thankfully, the line wasn’t too long and soon the pair was standing inside an octagonal room among a large assemblage of tourists. Suddenly, it became pitch black and the attraction began with a loud clap of thunder. Sam pressed against Tina’s side and a long, protective arm encircled her.
The group listened to an eerie introduction before being directed into the next area where they were seated, two-by-two, in moving cars.
Tina and Sam snuggled close together and held hands as they rode through the diverse assortment of gloomy, menacing rooms. As they neared the end, there was a mirrored wall that allowed the people to see themselves, along with a comical-looking ghost that was superimposed in their car for a few seconds.
“Look, T!” Sam pointed at the reflections of the cars preceding them. “See the ghosts?”
“Yes.” Tina felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. What’s going on here?
Sam gasped and stared at the reflection in front of them.
Two female ghosts hovered above the car. One had dark, flowing locks and wore an old- fashioned, billowing white shirt. The other had long, blonde hair and wore a cropped, sleeveless white top. Both had on black pants and black boots with silver buckles.
In spite of their odd attire, the resemblance to the couple in the car was unmistakable.
The spirits floated down and spoke softly to their respective look-a-likes. “Take care of her.”
“Always.” Sam and Tina responded in unison.
The car exited the Haunted Mansion and the safety bar released.
Neither woman moved.
“Ladies?” The Disney employee who was waiting for them to disembark looked at the dazed duo with concern. “Are you all right?”
“Uh... yeah.” Tina got out and offered Sam a hand.
On somewhat shaky legs, they started walking away from the attraction.
“I’ve never seen ghosts like that in there before.” Sam’s voice trembled a bit. “You saw them, too, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Who do you think they were?”
“I don’t know.” Tina put a hand on the blonde’s back and steered her further from the building. “They looked like pirates.”
“They looked like US,” Sam added. And unless I’m completely losing my mind, they TALKED to us. “This sure is turning out to be an unusual weekend, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.” Tina glanced over her shoulder and was relieved to see that, at the moment, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “It certainly is.”
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“That was amazing,” the warrior commented as they moved back out of the attraction. “I love that ride, but I don’t remember seeing those particular ghosts before.”
“No,” answered the blonde, shaking her head. “Neither do I.” She looked around again, noting the beautiful, clear day and the uncanny resemblance several couples had to one another.
“I like it here,” she continued. “So much to see aside from the gathering.”
“I know, Little One. Let’s go see what the hold up is from keeping everyone else from getting here.”
To be continued in Chapter 9 ....