The Hotel Room

PS. Please note all and any details are fictional. Including names and places, etc.

I was really happy, preparing for my family holiday with my two daughters and husband.
Sherie and Jennifer were my two happy healthy kids. Sherie was aged four, and Jennifer was aged six. My husband had been recently promoted at work, he worked as an accountant
at the Guildford Company. This put him in a good mood. Keeping Sherie and Jennifer in front of the TV as an easy form of kids entertainment, whilst my husband and I organised the holiday trip to, well, where should we go? It would be too far to go to anywhere like Thailand. We were only going for a couple of days. I looked at my husband, Carmen, and he seemed to be thinking about the same thing, I don't know - he just had that look in his eyes and the way he cocked his head to one side. Definitely thinking.

We had a brief talk over tea, and with the kids happily chatting to each other in the background - we decided upon staying within the confines of our serene British countryside for the good old holiday chill out time. We decided upon Britain for several reasons. British holidays within the confines of our country home meant that we knew what to expect. There would be no cultural shock, because we wanted to relax and really relax, not half adventuring towards discovering new foods as well. That's the thing I liked about my husband, we shared a common trait that we both enjoyed something familiar, something we can relax and hold onto, like a comfort toy. There is a disadvantage to this comfort and familiar theme, is that we might get stuck in the same old routine all too often. But today was not one of those days, either way, we were happy the way we were. And as I often said to my husband, I was happy.

"There is a town in Oxford, like a mini city centre called Inkland. They have a lot of big city parks there. The girls like the parks, and I like the spa centres they have scattered all around the area. You like the cinema, we could all go there? I think? Hey? You listening?" I said. Carmen turned to me and looked at the internet screen with Inkland map and attractions listed in quite attractive detail. He seemed to be thinking, again. Yup, my husband was a deep thinker. And when Carmen was thinking, he was very quiet before making any eye contact. Typical Carmen, but everyone generally liked who he was because he was so easy to read.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Carmen replied. "I mean, the girls do like the parks and you do like the spa centres and yeah, I could, I mean, we could go to the cinema. Wait. Is there a theatre? Maybe one of our excursions could be a theatre and dinner package. You know, perhaps booked in advance?"

I checked online for about half an hour, so did Carmen. He seemed intent on watching a romance theatre play called Cinderella. I know, I know, odd because he is a man. But believe me, in the small gap of time I was married to this guy, he can be a right soppy guy. It didn't put me off, it was kind of endearing. You know, tough guy exterior and soppy interior. Of course, our daughters always believed it was me. Me, me, me, the romantic one. Well, I had to shield our daughters from one hell of a soppy father! Not that I'm not romantically inclined, but Carmen was more so. I wanted to watch Twilight, you know the one with the  vampire and with Bella Swan in it? I've always found her enticing to watch. To me, she acted really well in Twilight with Edward, the lead vampire character. But since the original actress, Kirsten Stewart wasn't actually in this theatre play, I decided that perhaps Cinderella would be a good alternative. Either that or the Wizard of Oz, and the whole family had already seen that, so Cinderella it was.

Sherie, hearing our conversation, asked me "Mum, what's the name of the theatre we are going to watch Cinderella at?"

To which I replied, "The Piccadilly Theatre, and Sherie, we are going to dress really well and pretty because we are going to have dinner there as well, okay, sweetie?"

Sherie just smiled. She was so sweet, her hair was shoulder length and brown. It was really shiny from that Hello Kitty shampoo and conditioner she used. Sherie had her favourite Barbie doll with her clutched in her arms, whom she lovingly named Lisa. The Barbie was named after her favourite aunt, who currently lived in Paris, France. Jennifer had darker hair than Sherie, but I loved hair, especially taking care of my daughters hair and I made sure both of them used a shampoo and conditioner that made their hair healthy and shiny. It made such a difference to appearances.

"So that's the first day of the excursions sorted, although we'll probably do some shopping around earlier in the day." Carmen said.

"Research a parking lot with cheap fares," I advised, as I was now making some more tea to drink and Carmen was still searching online for more information. I placed the milky sweet tea next to my husband for him to drink and I settled for a fresh orange juice. Jennifer switched the channel to The Simpsons whilst Sherie played with her dolls. Sherie enjoyed making her male and female dolls kiss each other, and do silly things - oh well, kids were kids, sometimes I don't know what Sherie had going on in her mind. But she sure was imaginative.

Two weeks later................

"What kind of a name for a hotel is this? The Hotel Room? It's just soooooo unimaginative!" said Sherie, she was grumbling during the car journey. I knew Sherie could be like this, she was the younger one. "Sherie! Who cares what the name is? I hope they have a swimming pool so we can meet cute boys!" Jennifer shouted back.

"Girls! Quieten down so we can relax and enjoy the journey more! We've only got fifteen minutes to go! We'll be entering the town city confines of Inkland soon. C'mon, be good, you girls. What music do you want to listen to? The Pop Princess CD?" Carmen soothed, as he always did to the girls when they got bored during car journeys. He knew both Sherie and Jennifer enjoyed listening to the Pop Princess CD. Luckily, they both enjoyed the same type of music. It was the way most families passed the time during long car journeys, reading a Glamour magazine or two, listening to music, eating some junk food. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford one of those portable DVD players that fit in cars for the daughters to watch movies in yet, that would keep them entertained. Like most family kids, the kids would bicker when bored. Sherie and Jennifer weren't easily bored, but this was getting too much for them, I guess.

We finally arrived at the parking lot of The Hotel Room. "Oh man! Finally! I was getting stiff legs in there!" Sherie complained. Jennifer was happier, "We've finally arrived! Thanks mum and dad!!" Carmen rolled his eyes, his typical daughters! I just observed this with a calm sense of detachment, as I looked forward to settling down my things into the hotel room.

We got assigned to Room 303, which was a big family room. The kids had their own beds, and me and my husband Carmen shared a double bed. It was very roomy, comfortable and the air conditioning was refreshing since outside, for British weather it was hot. I looked forward to a cool drink by the pool. And I knew Jennifer wanted to go swimming too, but for other reasons, like meeting cute boys - oh well, guess I'd have to keep an eye on her.
She was getting to the age where she was curious about the opposite sex. Natural, I just hope she doesn't bump into anyone creepy. Not that she would meet anyone creepy from a boy her own age, but someone like a child molester - I stopped the thought, because we were here to have a good time, and I was just worrying unnecessarily because Jennifer would be in sight the whole time.

I felt a wet, soppy kiss at the side of my cheek. "Hello Sarah darling, earth to Sarah. We have finally arrived and you are standing there silently. What were you thinking about dear?" said Carmen lightly. I looked at my husband and kissed him softly on the lips, sometimes this intimate way of kissing was more enjoyable than a full on snog.

"Nothing. Just you know, at Jennifer's age, she'll be thinking of meeting boys..." I whispered into Carmen's ears. "Bah! Humbug! Jennifer's an old wise head on young shoulders, believe me, I know her and she bosses boys about more than the other way around. You've got nothing to worry about!" replied Carmen easily. "Either way, we'll be keeping an eye on our two precious daughters!"

I gave my husband a tight hug. Hopefully he was right. It was me being overprotective of my own daughters again, although I knew Carmen would never accuse me of it. Being too overprotective of our daughters, that is.

We got our swimming gear together, Sherie had her usual Barbie swimming accessories and Jennifer her waterproof CD player. Jennifer got lucky once and bought a CD player that was waterproof for a reasonable price at a carboot sale during Christmas time last year. Sherie doesn't share her obsession for music. Jennifer just enjoys playing her Smile DK CD again and again!!

I looked at both our daughters when my husband and me were sun bathing by the swimming pool and commented "You know, sometimes I think Sherie would grow up to be a fashion designer and Jennifer would enter the entertainment industry. Don't you think it would be wonderful if that came true?"

My husband Carmen gave a cheeky bright wink and said "Yeah, I suppose so. You never know though, they might change. Don't tell Jennifer but I've seen her English writing skills and I have been harbouring secret hopes she'd become a journalist one day."
I grabbed my husband's hand gently, "That won't be bad either, as long as neither of them becomes too lazy and does things like smoking and drinking to excess. You hear horror stories about these families with kids who grow up to do drugs."

Carmen put up both his hands. "Yeah, I know. RELAX, we are here on holiday. You worry about them constantly. I'm thinking we can get a little private time when the kids are asleep. We won't have much energy tomorrow since we're out and about shopping and going to the theatres and dinner... you know what I'm thinking?"

"You think I'd forget? I enjoy kissing you, honey, but not in front of the kids..." I winked back, a smile forming now that everything seemed alright. "I'm going to make sure the kids have enough to drink...." I said, all serious now.

"Sherie? Sherie? Jennifer? Where is Sherie?" I asked Jennifer, a little afraid she might have gotten lost. "I don't know, she was stroking the dog a minute ago..." Jennifer mumbled to me, looking far off towards what looked like another six year old boy in the not too far distance.

"Carmen? Please, you stay here and look after Jennifer. I'm going to look for Sherie." I said, worried now and thinking of asking all around for my little darling. I asked a sun bather with really tanned skin and a stubby nose. He said he hadn't seen any young four year old girl, for he had been too busy sunbathing. I got similar answers from all the other sunbathers, desperate - I got dressed and asked at reception. The friendly professional woman immediately sent someone up to the hotel room to check if Sherie was in there. With baited
breath, I got the news that Sherie wasn't in our family hotel room.

However, there was a note written on our double bed. It said "If you want to see your daughter again, give us one thousand pounds by tomorrow at the postcode J98 0KK. We want the money given to us in a suitcase, and no police around. We will be watching you."

I clutched the note in my hand and swallowed. Some criminal had gotten a hold of my sweet darling daughter, what was I to do? The hotel staff lady saw the note and said "I think that postcode is near a mountain by the lake not too far from here. I think if you start your journey now you should make it there by tomorrow."

I didn't have a choice, did I? This bastard criminal had stolen our daughter in order to extract some money from us. I had no idea Inkland was a bad area to holiday in, otherwise I would have never come here, especially not with my two darling daughters. Trying to gather my strength, I got remains of my family gang, which was Carmen and Jennifer and explained what had happened. Whenever a situation like this arose, or any such other more minor emergency, Carmen and I would gather forces and tackle the situation with planning and discussion. We cancelled our tickets to see Cinderella and explained our situation to everyone who needed to know. We told them only what we needed to tell and got the money from the bank and the Tom Tom ready, to travel to the place where the bastard criminals took our daughter. I really hoped we could get her back.

THE SEARCH  FOR SHERIE

It was getting dark, the trail led to a forest area. Carmen and I spotted several deer out in the woods, it was getting so late Jennifer fell asleep. We tucked her in with her favourite pink and girlie blanket, it smelt of lavender, her favourite smell. Even in this dire situation, a sense of calmness descended upon us. We were going to get our daughter back. I had a blackbelt in karate, if that bastard criminal tried anything on my family, I would fight back. Hopefully they don't have guns, because guns aren't allowed in the UK. So much for a peaceful holiday! My husband had also armoured himself with pepper spray, so if he got cornered, well, he knows what to do. We wore protection vests, so if they did have guns - it'd be useless against us. Jennifer woke up, as the sun started to rise and we were nearly there.

"Jennifer, I want you to be very quiet, okay? Stay in the back seat and don't get out of the car. There are bad guys that we need to talk and negotiate with to get Sherie back. Okay?" I soothed Jennifer and she nodded - she could be obedient if she wanted to.

"Well, I think this is it. This is the place by the lake, I guess we'll wait here." said Carmen, looking at me gravely. I have never seen his eyes look so serious before. But this was a serious situation. Suddenly, a noise came from behind us. Two large strong men with brown hair and one with eyeglasses the other with odd teeth came out from the woods. One had a bull dog with them.

"Hello! Bought us our money?" the criminal spat roughly.

"Where's our daughter?" said Carmen calmly.

A third man came out of the woods, and in his arms, was Sherie!

Sherie was crying, she looked forlorn. I wondered what they did to her. "Mummy!" Sherie called in despair to me.

Carmen lifted the suitcase from the hiding spot and opened it. "Check it, all the cash is there."

One of the men checked the suitcase and gave a gruff nod. The man who held Sherie roughly shoved Sherie at us. "Leave, don't come back!"

Carmen and I quickly got Sherie into the car and we drove off, with Jennifer who just witnessed everything that happened.


Back in the car, Sherie seemed highly relieved to be back with family again. "Mummy and daddy! I was so scared! The scary men wouldn't feed me! I said I was hungry and he slapped me! Why didn't you come sooner? I was so so scared!"

"Oh Sherie! I'm so sorry! C'mon we'll have something to eat when we get back to the Hotel Room. I am going to ask the hotel to up their security! You nearly got in so much trouble because of lack of good security!" I was babbling, because I was so relieved my little baby was now okay.

THE NEXT DAY...

"You slept well?" I asked Carmen. He was next to me, we were kind of huddled together. Cosy, hard to believe, that yesterday was so fragile. That Sherie was in danger. Carmen and I then privately contacted the police of the criminal's whereabouts, then we packed and got ready to sleep. Got ready to get the hell out of The Hotel Room and Inkland, a place I didn't see as so safe for my kids anymore. Obviously, Carmen agreed with me. Nothing more important than the safety of the children. Nothing more important. Carmen stood up, stretching and yawning, grooming himself in front of the mirror. We all got ready and up and left Inkland, back to our home town.

"Well, kids, do you want to go to Disneyland instead? Daddy's still got a few weeks of paid holiday left." I asked Sherie and Jennifer, when we got back at home. Sherie and Jennifer looked at each other, their innocent eyes curious.

"Mummy? Will I get kidnapped by bad men again?" asked Sherie, she still seemed shaken.
Carmen took over the role of soothing and calming daddy role. He explained to Sherie such things happened occasionally when we weren't careful enough, besides the neighbourhood was rough. I was tired, I decided to call it a day for once and asked the girls to nicely choose a film to watch online and I made them dinner, which was spaghetti with mushrooms and sweetcorn. They enjoyed drinking plain old water, Carmen had the wisdom to train them to enjoy water. Because it was healthy. Carmen had an aunt who taught him about healthy living, he talked to me about it. A lot, and the importance of living healthy. I never get tired of listening to him, it was interesting, good stuff. Once, he showed me loads of articles on good health on the internet. He even went as far as to join a site with articles dedicated to informing people about good living for a monthly fee, with all the latest facts science managed to find.

Anyway, back to the story. Carmen and I decided to rest our tired selves in bed and we just chatted in bed. That's the thing I liked about Carmen, his willingness to talk for hours on end about anything. And right now, we were thinking about how to get enough time for him to recover and for me to find a way to entertain the kids at Disneyland, or at least, we were thinking of going to Disneyland. A treat for the kids, a rest for us. I was sure there was a place where they entertained the adults by giving them a resting place, perhaps a spa place? Yup, I was still hoping. As Carmen could still be hoping to go to the theatre.

"Let me switch it up that laptop and find a place at Disneyland." Carmen whispered as he kissed me on the lips and went over to the laptop as he did. I just sat in bed watching him.
He scanned the screen, looking up places anywhere at Disneyland within the UK that we could go to. Hours passed by, Carmen finally found a place and booked it. For tomorrow, we would set off. It was already set. Hopefully this time things would go to plan. He planned that he and I would see the Live Disney Shows there together, whilst we would also go to the Disney Spa while the kids went to the children's fairground full of kids rides supervised by staff. It sounded like a great plan.

We were both exhausted. I stole a look at the girls and saw them lying asleep on the carpet floor. I put them to their bed. I guess we weren't the only ones who were tired. I went back to the bedroom and put on Katie and Peter A whole new world CD on the stereo, the music we both liked to listen to when we were just huddled together in bed. I loved the smell of his scent, he smelled like citrus. My husband said I smelled like oranges, the bath gel I used. He liked that smell. He didn't know I used that orange bath gel because of him. I liked that he smelt me, his nose on my skin - he had very soft skin.

We had a very calm night, just kissing and cuddling each other. I looked forward to a better tomorrow. I checked the area safety rating of Disneyland, Bourneville. Yup, it was safe enough. Nothing bad. That was good enough for me. Because I checked Inkland and actually it had a very high crime rate. Carmen and I should have checked before hand. Oh well, life goes on. We got The Hotel Room into trouble with the police for not securing the hotel better in the first place, you know, hotel security and all that. Good, I thought, because good heavens help whoever it happened to next. Loses a kid, that is.

THE NEXT MORNING...

"All set and ready to go?" I asked everyone. A chorus of enthusiatic yeses erupted from the kids, as last night we had everyone informed and ready for the trip.
Things seemed a lot better today, with the sun shining and with all our gear packed. I made sure we woke up early enough with plenty of time to travel and everything we could need. I didn't like to rush, I didn't like to be deprived, Carmen was the same. We liked to be comfortable, as did the kids. So we planned everything in advance.

ARRIVING AT DISNEYLAND...

"Wow! Mummy! Look! Everything is so sparkly!" exclaimed Sherie. Jennifer, being slightly older, just looked around her in amusement. They say that Disneyland is a place for kids, well, I guess so. But since there is only one life to live, why not make it a beautiful one? And a holiday at Disneyland was a good way to do it. Jennifer tugged at me, "Mum, can I have an apple juice please? I'm thirsty." We got Jennifer her apple juice and Sherie had a diet Coke.

The Disneyland staff welcomed us, they were the most accomodating staff - so friendly, I felt really welcome. Unlike some centres with customer service that made you think you were imposing. The two staff in charge of taking care of Sherie and Jennifer was Andy and Brenda. Andy had dark brown hair, he wore eyeglasses whilst Brenda had blonde curly hair, they both were dressed in Disney uniform. I couldn't help smiling, the two staff had the cheesiest smiles ever, it must have been well practised though, it looked really genuine. Then again, Disneyland wasn't cheap, maybe they were really well treated and well paid.

The staff accommodating us, that is, my husband and me, was a woman called Janice. She also had the Disneyland uniform, for adults, with a purple sparkly top with Disneyland printed across the top of her t-shirt. Her pants were black and sparkly. The whole theme of Disneyland seemed to be sparkle, and I liked that. It was the kind of sparkle you found in some eyeshadows. The Disneyland Live Shows were starting soon, it was going to take place indoors in a big stadium. Man, I loved Disneyland! I heard about Disneyland from my friends, but this was promising. I went inside with Carmen, guided by the Disney guide, Janice. She led us to our seating arrangement.

We could choose from either having California sushi or some chocolate chip cookies. Ever sticking to his health ethic, Carmen chose the California sushi, as did I. We were offered all sorts of drinks, suprisingly, Carmen chose a light Vodka - hey, maybe it was because it was an entertainment occasion. Or perhaps the incident with Sherie really did get him a little shaken. Come to think of it, it wasn't that suprising, he did have his Vodka's occasionally. I chose a light, milky coffee. I wanted to choose something different too. Have you ever heard of the rumor that couples in sync did things that were similar to each other? Maybe that's what it was. Oh well, guess that's what they call a balanced diet. Hey, one option of healthy sushi (food) and one not so healthy (drink).

I looked around me. "I love the setting, look at all the blooming flowers. So colourful." I told Carmen. He just smiled. I loved his dimples. He looked so cute when he smiled. It made him look so full of character. A positive personality, which was a good thing. Another thing about Carmen, sometimes he doesn't talk a lot. (In theatre situations anyway). He just put his arms around me, and we waited for the show to start. The curtains that were all so red and velvety were still drawn.

We stole a kiss in the darkness when the red, velvety curtains lifted - the curtains seemed heavy, it slowly lifted. Wow! Wow! Wow! A line of the finest men and women I have ever seen greeted my eyes... they were wearing the type of clothing people wear when they go to perform in shows like the Riverdance. In fact, this looked a lot like a Riverdance show, at least the intro was. The performance, the choreography of the dancers were amazing, so agile, so quick and well timed. Their appearance was immaculate. I loved the men's white shirts, it was obvious they look toned from dancing, as was the women's. The men looked amazing in a clean, crisp white shirt and dark blue pants with black suede shoes whilst the women looked beautiful in a white frilly top and dark blue skirts and black ballet pumps.

The music carried the night off away, I think some sort of Irish quick, casual quirky music that really got the audience captivated.

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my short stories fiction corner, where I am writing for my own amusement, hopefully it will come out good - writing one bit at a time as and when it pleases me. :-) I sincerely hope that any readers who come across this website would enjoy my short stories.