This is the hotel we had in Cabo San Lucas. The hotel Merri's friend Cass found for us. The street was dirt. There were sidewalks, but they were a different height in front of every building. In front of the hotel, there was no sidewalk at all. I guess that's because the hotel wasn't really there anyway. Not right there at the street, lined up with the other buildings. The hotel was really down an alley about twenty five feet, and around behind all the other buildings on the block.
To the left of the alley, out there on the street with its own sidewalk, was a restaurant. To the right was another building and I think it had a crafts store or maybe a Laundromat inside. The craft store, or maybe Laundromat had its own sidewalk, too. Between these two buildings and their sidewalks was the alley. Maybe ten feet wide. Along the right side of the alley was a plywood bar and then there were four or five round white plastic picnic tables at the mouth of the alley, where the sidewalk would be if there was one and there were three more of the same kind of white plastic picnic tables in a line down the alley next to the bar. Those round white plastic picnic tables with plastic tops that have patterns molded into them and tubular metal legs and a hole in the middle for a white and green umbrella with little fringe around the edges and white plastic chairs that were molded to look like those fancy cast iron lawn chairs. Those kind of cast iron lawn chairs that look like lace with all the curly queues and curvy legs like lions feet. So these were plastic reproductions of cast iron representations of fancy lace and animal's feet chairs. Those kind of tables and umbrellas and chairs that you saw in the Montgomery Ward catalog for $24.95.
Just at the mouth of the alley there was a white case like from a delicatessen, with a glass front that slanted back so you could see into the shelves inside only there wasn't anything on the shelves. The alley was paved with cement paver stones with dirt in between. And because of those plastic chairs and tables and umbrellas and the plywood bar in the alley there really wasn't a lot of room for walking.
The bar was made of plywood with Rubbermaid self-stick shelf lining paper on top. The kind with blue and white ducks. There was a sort of slanted roof over the bar and a bunch of wine glasses and margarita glasses hung upside down from their stems up there. Behind the bar were three plywood shelves in front of a mirror, and there were some bottles of a local alcohol beverage on the bar with bits of cloth tied over the corks. There were about two dozen bottles of different kinds of liquor on the shelves. Scotch and whiskey and tequila and Kahlua.
The bar took up about four of the ten feet and then there were the round white plastic picnic tables and the umbrellas and chairs so we had to walk kind of zigzag between the tables and the bar. There was a Panasonic boom box behind the bar, playing Mariachi music.
Once we got past the tables and the bar and the Mariachi music, down at the end of the alley, where the two buildings on either side of the alley ended, that's where our hotel was.
There was a pretty big open area behind the restaurant. It was a courtyard surrounded on two sides by the hotel and on a third side by the back of the restaurant and on the fourth side by the back of the buildings on the side street. In the courtyard was a dry fountain, they were still building it, but you could tell it was going to be a kind of traditional Mexican fountain and pool, round pool with a kind of ornamental pile of shapes that could be fruit or maybe cherubs or perhaps round little animals like armadillos and leaves and flowers all cast out of cement with a little upright spray of water. The courtyard was partly paved with the same kind of concrete pavers and dirt in between that was in the alley and there were piles of paving stone and sand, like they were gonna get started any second now, but the sand had grass growing out of it and the weeds were pretty high in the part of the courtyard that hadn't been paved yet.
The check-in desk was facing the alley, from behind the check-in desk you could look down the alley past the plywood bar and past the round white plastic tables and chairs and umbrellas and past the deli case with nothing in it to the street. There was a plywood roof over the plywood check-in desk and behind the desk, watching us come all the way down the alley past the deli case and the plywood bar and the round white plastic tables and chairs and umbrellas and mariachi music were these three guys.
The guy on the left, his hair was dark curly hair. His eyes were dark and deep and closed like Plexiglas portholes eyes. His tee shirt said Party Animal on it and had a picture of a pit bull. The guy in the middle's hair was straight black hair and his eyes were open like arms reaching out to hug but not sure if it's appropriate eyes. Glad to see you but scared to talk to you eyes. The guy on the right was shorter and rounder than the other two and his hair was sand colored curly hair and his eyes were hazel laughing at the world eyes and his lips were full almost pouty lips that smiled up on one side.
That was Omar, that third guy. But we didn't know that then.
"Buenas tardes," The guy in the middle said.
"Buenas tardes," I said.
"Hello," Darlene said.
"Hi," Omar said, only we didn't know it was Omar, then.
The guy in the middle was looking at me like he was hoping I could speak Spanish.
"¿Habla Englais?" I said.
"Si, I mean, Yes." the guy in the middle said.
"Sure he does," the guy who turned out to be Omar said.
The guy in the middle was smiling pretty wide, but the edges were a little unsteady.
"We have a reservation," I said, "Reservacion?"
The guy on the left picked up the phone and dialed some numbers. He turned to look out over the unfinished courtyard, talking low and fast Spanish into the phone.
The guy on the right, Omar, but we didn't know it yet, moved over to lean against the bar and watch. He was still smiling, kind of up on one side. He lit a cigarette.
The guy in the middle was sweating, now. I was tired, just wanted to drop the bags and get some food. Just wanted to drop the bags in the room and stretch out on the bed for a few minutes and then go get some food at that Senor Sushi place we saw back around the corner. Didn't want to think about Spanish. Tried to think in Spanish, but there was this thick pink insulation thing around that part of my brain and I couldn't see through it. I looked at the guy in the middle and tried to show him how sorry I was that my Spanish wasn't working by looking at him that way with my eyes, but maybe it didn't come across that way.
I told him my name.
"And this is Darlene," I said.
"Roberto," the guy in the middle said, pointing at his chest with one finger and holding out his other hand to shake. We shook.
"Domi," Roberto said. Roberto pointed at the guy to the left. Domi was still on the phone. Domi's eyes flew all around the place while he talked. I nodded at Domi when his eyes landed on mine. He nodded and his eyes flew away again.
"Omar," Roberto said. Roberto pointed at the guy on the right, who we now knew was Omar. Omar waved one hand and crossed his arms, still smiling up on one side.
"¿Que pasa?" Omar said.
"Nada mucho." I said, before I remembered that I didn't know if that was proper Spanish or just something I'd made up.
Roberto had found my name in his book. Roberto showed it to me and smiled and nodded. Domi reached under the counter and pulled out a form, a paper for me to fill out with name and address and phone number. Domi was still on the phone, still talking, so he just nudged Roberto and pointed at me and then at the form.
Roberto smiled and turned the form so I could read it. He slid the form across the counter at me.
Maybe it was because I was tired. Brain dead. I looked at the form and it was all in Spanish and I had no idea what to do with it. Darlene reached over and took the form. Roberto gave her a pen and she started filling it out. Darlene put our names down in block letters and our address in cursive. Omar leaned over to look at the form while Darlene filled it out. He pointed at the state.
"California," Omar said.
"Yeah," Darlene said, "I mean, Si!"
"I lived in California," Omar said, "In La Jolla."
"Really?" Darlene said, "When was that?"
"Oh, about two three years ago," Omar said. "With my cousin."
Omar spoke English pretty good. Even with a strong accent he was easy to understand.
"Did you like it?" Darlene said.
"Yeah," Omar said, "but I couldn't find a job. Had to come back."
"That's too bad," Darlene said, "But it's nice here."
"It's getting better," Omar said. "More jobs, now."
I was staring at the second button down on Roberto's shirt. It was a white plastic button, just like a billion other buttons in the world, but my eyes were pointed at that button, even though I was really focused on something much farther away. I realized I was staring at that button when Roberto cleared his throat and brushed his hand over the front of his shirt, as if brushing off dust. I blinked a few times, then focused on Roberto's eyes.
"Where's our room?" I said. It probably came out kind of rude.
"Um," I said, "Donde la...como se dice; room?"
"Los Cuartos," Roberto said, "Vente Dos. Por Aqui. This way."
Roberto held out a key with a green plastic tag that had the number 22 stamped on it in silver. He pointed toward the courtyard with his other hand and started to walk that way. I picked up the bags and followed him. I looked back for Darlene and she was still talking to Omar.
"Dar?" I said, loud so she could hear. She laughed at something Omar said and then turned to look at me.
"We're in twenty two," I said, "I'm gonna drop the bags and then I'll come back and we can go get something to eat."
"Okay" Darlene said. She turned back to Omar.
I followed Roberto up the outside stairs to the second floor balcony. There were four rooms on the second floor.
From the second floor balcony you could see over the roof of the other wing, the one story wing. On the roof of the one story wing was a wheelbarrow and a pile of sand and some cinder blocks.
Roberto took the key back and opened the door to twenty two. It was a small room with a bath, the whole thing maybe twelve feet by twelve feet. Furnished like just about every cheap motel I've ever seen in the states, down to the dull landscape print on the wall over the bed and the shiny green quilt bed spread. The screen window was very large, and the screen was ripped. I looked in the bathroom while I was digging around in my pocket for a tip. All I had was US bills. The shower head came out of the wall of the bathroom and there was no curtain or door or even a raised sill around the shower. The whole floor was tiled and there was a drain in the center. There were towels on a small table by the bed. I gave Roberto a dollar, I guess he thought that was okay.
"Hot water?" I said.
"Si." Roberto said. He nodded and left.
I was thinking about a shower. A shower would probably feel really good, I was feeling kind of dry.
Darlene came in the room while I was thinking about the shower. She looked around, at the bed, at the print on the wall, at the lamps, at the busted screen.
"Oh, that's not good." Darlene said.
"What?" I said. I was thinking about a shower and some food.
"The screen," Darlene said. "I don't like it being open like that."
"We'll shut the window." I said.
"Then it'll be hot." Darlene said.
"Uh huh." I said. "I want to take a shower."
"Go ahead," Darlene said, "No, wait a minute. I want to see if we can get a different room."
"Why?" I said. I sat down on the bed. The bed squeaked in about fifty different places.
"The screen," Darlene said, "We can't stay here if the screen is ripped."
"Okay," I said. I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes. Just for a second.
* * *
"No, see?" Darlene's voice said. "It's ripped. Someone could just...walk in and, I don't know, take stuff."
Darlene's voice at first came from the palm tree on the beach I was lying on until I woke up in the room. Woke up in the dim light of this hotel room in Mexico.
There was a low voice talking to Darlene, but I couldn't hear any words, just a mumble of sound.
"Well, what about tomorrow?" Darlene's voice said. "Look, I'm not trying to be difficult here, but I won't feel, like, safe in this room with the window open and the screen ripped."
The mumbling voice went on a little, sounding soothing. I started to drift off to sleep.
"Okay," Darlene said, "But just tonight. Tomorrow I want a new room."
The door opened and I tried to sit up. It seemed like my muscles had lost the will to move.
"Thank you," Darlene said. "I appreciate it."
Darlene shut the door. I turned my head sideways and I could see her standing with her hands on her hips, looking at the window.
"Well, Bunny," Darlene said. "I don't like this."
"The screen?" I said. The word 'the' got stuck in my throat and didn't want to come out until I forced it and then it was only the last part of 'the' that came out, that made a noise you could hear.
"We'll have to shut the window." Darlene said.
"Want me to do it?" I said. I tried rolling sideways to get up. Tried rolling out from under those form fitting invisible lead weights that fall on you sometimes when you take an afternoon nap. I stretched out a hand.
"Help me up." I said.
"Help you up?" Darlene said. "Why, did you suddenly lose all your bones?"
I started to say something back to her but my mouth, once it got the idea of opening it went ahead and opened up all the way and even a little past all the way and my ears stopped up and my neck creaked and my jaw was really interested in trying life without the skin of my face for a moment there. When my facial muscles began to come back under conscious control I tried to finish what I had started to say, but I didn't remember what it was by then.
I said, "Rah rah rah roosh."
"Murmy murmy murmy?" Darlene said. She reached out and took my hand in both of her hands. She braced her feet and tried to pull me up. I went limp and she just pulled me a little sideways on the bed.
"Neener neener," I said.
"Is that so?" Darlene said. She stepped to the other side and tried pulling my arm across my body. I slid down to kneel on the floor, still leaning back over the bed.
"Absolutely." I said. Darlene stopped pulling for a second, trying to reset her feet, so I pulled hard and she was off balance so she came over on top of me pretty easy. Darlene landed kind of high, her breasts on my face and I stuck my tongue into the space between them. Tasted Darlene salty sweat.
"Eek." Darlene said, just like that.
"Oh, my." Darlene said, very quiet, "Help me someone, I'm being ravished."
"You're ravishing." I said, but it was kind of muffled by Dar's breasts so it came out more like "Mnough Fvavshin."
Darlene slid down to sit on my lap, but since I was on my knees, she just slid down the rest of the way to the floor. She was sitting in her sun dress on the floor with her legs out to either side and the wide cotton skirt pushed up past her knees and her arms out holding my hands trying to hold her up and her face red and round and pretty teeth showing in her smile, big smile making her cheeks all round up under her eyes and her eyes all shining and hazel and right then, right at that moment in the hotel in Mexico. Right at that particular time she was the most beautiful and wonderful and understanding and giving and talented and everything else good there was woman in the world and I loved her so much my heart was breaking. Could feel my heart pumping up so big it was cracking and splitting and blood was gushing out everywhere, but it was good blood. Not hurtful blood. Not like the blood was leaving my body all hollow and light headed.
"I love you," I said.
"Oh, bunny." Darlene said.
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