Notes from a Spinning Planet—Mexico (11 page)

And so it goes for the rest of our meal. It's all traditional Mexican food and prepared perfectly. Ian seems to be adequately impressed. And when he asks for my help translating the bill, I'm impressed with the price. It's not as much as last night's dinner with Sid, and yet this meal was much better and for almost three times as many people. Plus I didn't have any concerns about being slipped a Mickey, especially after I saw how generous Ian was with the tip. I figure this must be a restaurant-owner thing to do, or else he hasn't completely figured out their money yet. Anyway, I'm glad he is so generous.

“Okay,” says Shelby as we're leaving. “Now you guys have to let me treat you to Cabo Wabo.”

“Cabo Wabo?” says Ryan. “What's that?”

“Just the best rock music in all of Cabo,” she says. “And it's only a few blocks over. You guys game?”

We seem to be game, so we let Shelby lead the way this time, and in a few minutes we find ourselves crammed around a small, high, sticky table in a very crowded bar with several levels. But the music is
so loud I literally cannot hear myself think. Or maybe my brains just numb from the good food and a long day in the sun. But since everyone else seems happy to be here, I try to play along. Even so, I'm getting a headache, and the pounding bass only accentuates the throbbing.

Naturally, everyone orders a “real” drink, and Shelby jokingly gives me a bad time for wanting a Sprite. But it's what I really want, and I don't see why I can't have it. I'm not sure if the band is really good or not, but the others appear to like them, and I'm starting to feel like a regular old fuddy-duddy Not cool when you're only twenty. I try not to keep looking at my watch. I figure, okay, I've got to do my time now. But if I'm invited to go clubbing again, I'll definitely decline. So what if I'm not a party girl? There's a lot more to life than listening to loud music and drinking.

Before long I have a feeling I'm not the only one who thinks this. I notice Ian glancing at his watch, and Sid has the little crease between her brows that suggests she's tired or getting a headache too. Shelby is sitting very close to Ryan and chattering away at him. He keeps nodding and smiling, but I honestly don't see how he can hear a word she's saying. Maybe he's just enjoying her proximity.

Anyway, I'm so relieved when Ian asks Sid if she'd like to go, and she agrees. At first I think Shelby is going to try to talk Ryan into staying longer and catching a cab home, but I guess she feels some sense of responsibility to Sid and me since we'll be rooming with her tonight. So she pays the bill, and we leave.

“Hey, we could run over there and catch the Cabo bus,” says Shelby once we're out on the main street again. She points to one of the buses across the street, and we head toward it. I think we're all
eager to get home, and we know the resort shuttle wont be here for another fifteen minutes.

“It can be a little crazy,” she yells as we pile on, “but it gives you some of the local color.” Its already crowded, and I find myself wedged between a couple of Mexican guys and an old woman. I'm not even sure where the others in my group are, but it's standing room only here. The bus starts moving, and I realize I need to hang on for dear life! The roads are bumpy, and the ride isn't exactly smooth.

I'm holding on to a pole and trying not to bump into strangers, hoping I won't go flying, when I notice Shelby just a few feet behind me. Instead of clinging to a bar, it looks to me like she's clinging to Ryan—and having a pretty good time doing it. They're both laughing as the bus jumps and jostles, and I try not to stare or look too horrified. In fact, I make myself turn around and look the other way. But I sense my face getting hot, and now I'm not only feeling green with envy but fairly angry too. I'm not sure I have a right to get angry, but it's how I feel.

As we bump along, stopping and starting again and again and actually taking more passengers on, I realize I'm going to need a serious attitude adjustment before we get back to the resort. For Pete's sake, Shelby is taking us in, but I feel like I want to scratch her eyes out. Well, not really. Anyway, I do some silent praying, and I really, really try to hand this whole silly thing over to God. Ryan and I never actually had a serious relationship going. We are only friends. And it was wrong for me to suddenly want our friendship to jump to the next level. Furthermore, I am actually risking his friendship by getting all bent out of shape over Shelby. I remind myself that Sid told me he
once had it bad for Shelby. So who am I to start playing the thwarted lover?

I guess I should be thankful it takes so long to reach our resort, about twice what the earlier shuttle took. But it does give me time to get hold of myself and to grow up! Finally, when we're not far from our stop, I notice that the two young Mexican guys next to me are actually sort of flirting with me. Not in a raunchy way, just in a friendly way. So I decide to practice my Spanish, and I learn that they work at a resort hotel in downtown San Lucas. They tell me the name of the restaurant where they work, which means nothing to me, but they suggest I come by to see them and they'll give me a free drink. I tell them where we ate tonight, and they seem impressed. Then they ask what I've seen since I've been in Cabo. I feel embarrassed to admit “not much.” Just as we're coming to our stop, the taller guy tells me I must go see a town called Todos Santos. He says I will love it, that it's where his family lives, and that it's a wonderful place.

“Gracias,” I say to him, repeating the name to make sure I have it right. He nods eagerly, saying it's about a hundred kilometers from San Lucas. I nod again, trying to remember how kilometers convert to miles. But I thank them both again, and as we're getting off, they remind me to come for my free drink. I laugh and say,
“jHasta h vista, mis amigos!”
and they call, “Buenas noches, senorita!” And we part as friends. That's not such a bad feeling. It's not until I see Shelby and Ryan getting off the bus behind me that I even remember what a foul mood I'd been in just minutes ago.

“Looks like you made some friends, Maddie,” says Ian as we
gather at the entrance of the resort and begin walking back toward the hotel.

I laugh. “I guess so. They want me to come to their restaurant for a drink.”

“Oh, you should!” gushes Shelby, like she wants to get rid of me.

I really need to lighten up.

Just the same, I ignore that comment, but then I tell everyone about how these guys recommended I go see the town called Todos Santos.

“Where is it?” asks Ian with interest.

“They said about a hundred kilometers up the highway. I was trying to convert that to miles.”

“That'd be about sixty miles,” says Ian. “But on roads like these, that might take a couple of hours. You never know.”

“So, its a bit of a trip?” I say, feeling a little disappointed.

“Would you like to go?” he asks.

“I sort of would.”

“Why don't we then?” Ian turns to Sid. “Want to go exploring tomorrow?”

“Sure,” she says eagerly. “I'm ready to see more of Cabo.”

“I'm in,” says Ryan.

“How about you?” Ian looks over to where Shelby is walking on the other side of Ryan.

“Well, I guess so. I've never been that far out of San Lucas before. Are you sure it's safe?”

“I can ask at the office,” says Ian.

Shelby looks at Ryan now, and I swear I can tell what she's thinking—she's thinking that she's not about to let him out of her sight for that long. Then she smiles and says, “Okay, if its safe, then I'm in.”

“We might have to take two cars,” says Ian. “Ryan and I just have a little Jeep Wrangler with a tiny backseat.”

“And our car only seats four,” points out Sid.

“Well, we'll just have to caravan,” says Ian as we get up to the buildings.

“Sounds like fun!” says Sid.

I think it sounds fun too. To be perfectly honest, it would sound like more fun if Shelby weren't coming. Hey, what happened to my attitude adjustment?

h, crud!” exclaims Sid as we're finally getting settled into our new digs, which turn out to be really swanky—like with a capital
S
swanky. There's even a Jacuzzi tub, complete with hot water 24/7.

“What's wrong?” I ask her.

“I forgot my laptop.”

“Forgot it?” I stare at her. This is a woman who usually guards her laptop with her life. No doubt Ian has done a number on her usual focused self. “Where?”

“At our other hotel.”

“Should we call Francesca?” I ask.

She considers this, then shakes her head. “No, that poor girl has enough troubles. I think I better drive over there and get it.”

“Drive where and get what?” asks Shelby as she emerges from her bedroom wearing a very pretty but scanty nightie. I wonder if this is how she dresses around her parents or if it's simply for our benefit. But I can't deny she looks good in it. Which bugs me.

“I'm going to have to go back to Playa del Monaco,” complains Sid.

Shelby frowns. “Are my accommodations that bad?”

Sid laughs. “No, your accommodations are fantastic! This feels like a five-star hotel.” She turns to me. “Maddie, have you felt those sheets yet? Im sure they must be six hundred thread count.”

Shelby smiles. “So why do you have to go back?”

Sid explains as she puts her sandals back on.

“You cant go alone,” I point out. “Remember, it's not safe for women to drive alone at night.”

She just shrugs. “I'll be okay.”

“No,” I insist as I slip into my flip-flops. “I'm coming.”

“She's right, you know,” says Shelby. “You should never go out alone at night around here.”

So we make sure we have a key card and then leave. Of course, this means we'll have to go to the oficina again to get back into our old room. But fortunately, although it's pretty late, Francesca is still there.

“I cannot give you keys since you are checked out,” she tells us in a quiet voice. “But my shift is just ending, so I can take you and let you in myself. I'm sure the maids haven't cleaned it yet.”

The man who is replacing her comes in, and they exchange information in rapid Spanish, and though I don't catch everything, I can tell it hasn't been a good day for Playa del Monaco. Big surprise.

“I am ready now,” she tells us as she pulls on a blue cardigan sweater.

We lead her back to our old room, where she slips in a key card. Sid goes in, then quickly comes back out with her laptop in hand. “I always hide it under the mattress,” she tells us, “just in case. But we packed so quickly that I completely forgot.”

“Under the mattress is the first place they look,” says Francesca.

“Really?”

“Si.” I wonder if Francesca lapses back into Spanish after work.

“Where then?” asks Sid as we walk toward the parking lot together.

“It is difficult to find a perfect spot in a hotel room. But sometimes a lower drawer, just wrapped in an ordinary piece of clothing. They usually go through top drawers, between mattresses, in purses. If a thief has enough time, he will find almost anything.”

“Do you have much of a problem here?” asks Sid as she stops at our car.

Francesca shrugs. “Sometimes.”

“How do you get home?” I ask her.

“The transport bus.”

“How about if we give you a ride?” I offer, hoping my aunt won't mind.

“Yes,” agrees Sid. “We'll drive you home as a thank-you for helping me get into my room.”

“It is close to here,” says Francesca.

“Great,” says Sid. “Hop in.”

As we ride, I switch over to Spanish, telling Francesca I need the practice, and she seems relieved. I ask her last name, which is Tarrago. Then I tell her we're going to see Todos Santos tomorrow and ask if that's a safe thing to do. She says its a wonderful idea and that her grandparents, who are dead now, once lived in Todos Santos. She's only been there once, yet as she recalls, it was very pretty.

I tell her I wish she could come too, and she says tomorrow and Saturday are her days off, explaining that a more experienced receptionist works her shift on those days, because it can get very busy.

“Why don't you come with us?” asks Sid. “We're taking two cars, so we have plenty of room.”