Chapter Three
A
hot, dry breeze greeted the Swensen sisters and their mother when they emerged from the air-conditioned interior of McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Doc had gone ahead with the limo driver who had been waiting for them. The driver would load their luggage and meet them at the town car and limo pickup area.
“I thought Doc’s best man was going to meet us at the airport,” Hannah said, relishing the feel of warm sun on her shoulders.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Delores replied, and Hannah noticed that her mother didn’t quite meet her eyes.
“He’s coming, isn’t he?” Andrea asked, and Hannah realized that her sister sounded nervous. What was going on, anyway?
“Yes, he’s coming. It’s just that he had to catch a later flight so he’ll meet us at the chapel.” Delores stopped for a moment and took a deep breath of the warm air. “There’s a delightful scent in the air. Is it some kind of flower?”
Hannah laughed. “I think it’s the absence of Deep Woods Off. You’re just used to smelling insect repellent in weather like this.”
“You’re probably right.” Delores gave a little smile as she turned to Michelle. “You’ve been to Vegas before, haven’t you, dear?”
“Only once. We flew out here two years ago for spring break.”
“Two years ago?” Delores began to frown. “But you told me you were going to stay with a friend.”
“I did stay with a friend. Her family lives in Vegas. Her dad’s a pit boss and her mother’s a blackjack dealer.”
“But you were too young to go to the casinos . . . weren’t you?”
“No, Mother. The casinos have restaurants and that means anyone can go inside. You just can’t gamble or drink if you’re underage, that’s all. The buffets were great, especially on the Strip. We had coupon books so we never paid more than five dollars, and we ate at a different buffet every day.”
“But you couldn’t drink or gamble.” Delores was like a dog with a bone.
Hannah shot her youngest sister a sympathetic look.
“I can now,” Michelle replied, giving her mother a smile and neatly sidestepping the parental-set trap. “Of course, I’ll probably stick to the cheap slots and poker machines. And once the gambling money is gone, I’m through.”
“Very smart,” Andrea said and then she pointed to a white stretch limo that was pulling up several feet from them. “There’s Doc.”
It took a moment or two to get into the limousine. Hannah slid all the way over on the seat and her sisters slid in next to her. Doc and Delores had the other seat and Hannah smiled as she noticed that they were holding hands.
Soon they were moving, heading into town. Hannah gazed out at waving palm trees, sparkling pools, and a riotous array of exotic plants and multicolored bougainvillea as they drove by.
“We have lilac trees and they don’t grow here,” Michelle said, correctly reading Hannah’s envious expression. “I heard that Christmas here is sad. People come to Vegas for Christmas when they don’t have anywhere else to go. Everybody else spends Christmas with family, but if you don’t have any family, you have to settle for steam table turkey dinners, and artificial Christmas trees with glitzy lights, and Styrofoam snowmen.”
Hannah thought about that for a minute. “That’s depressing.”
“I know. It makes me appreciate having a real family I can go to for Christmas with a real Christmas tree and real snow.”
“That reminds me,” Delores said, squeezing Doc’s hand. “Where are we going to have Christmas this year? Your house or mine?”
“We’ll just have to wait and see, Lori. Christmas is still three months away.”
“You won’t have to work on Christmas, will you?” Delores looked worried.
“Not unless there’s a pandemic. My new intern’s coming at the end of September.”
“You’ll have to spend time training him,” Delores warned.
“Not really. Marlene has agreed to take care of that for me. She’s met him and she thinks he’s going to be perfect for our hospital. And once he’s up to speed, we’re going to get a third intern.”
“But you only have two intern apartments.”
“That’s true, but there’s my apartment. I don’t think I’ll need that now that I won’t be spending so much time at the hospital.”
Delores started to smile. “Really? You’re going to give up your apartment?”
“I’m not exactly giving it up. I’m simply turning it over to my new chief of staff.”
“Marlene Aldrich?”
“That’s right. She’s earned it, Lori. Marlene has accepted every challenge I’ve thrown her way and I’m convinced that she can run the hospital just as well as I can . . . maybe even better. I plan on taking some time off so that we can enjoy married life.”
“Wonderful!” Delores looked happier than Hannah had ever seen her as she reached out to hug Doc. “Does Marlene know yet?”
“Not yet. I was waiting to discuss it with you.”
“That’s nice of you, but . . . why?”
“Because you’ve got a good head on your shoulders and you’ve been at the hospital long enough to have seen Marlene in action. Do you think she can handle the extra responsibility?”
“Absolutely. Marlene can handle anything that comes up. She’s a very capable person and everyone at the hospital likes her. Even more important, they respect her and I can’t think of anyone who would object to taking orders from her.”
“That’s settled then. And here we are at the Amante del Sol.”
“I’ve always wanted to come here,” Delores said, looking out the window as their driver pulled into a circular driveway and joined a line of cars who were unloading passengers. “It’s just gorgeous, Doc! I’m really going to enjoy this.”
“It’s only three nights, Lori.”
“But . . . I thought you said we were going to be gone for ten days.”
“We are. Today’s Thursday. We stay tonight and Friday and Saturday nights. Then, on Sunday morning, a car picks us up to take us to the airport and we fly to Seattle.”
“Seattle?” Delores looked surprised, but Hannah could tell that she was also intrigued. “Why Seattle?”
“That’s where we catch the ship.”
Delores gave a delighted giggle. “
What
ship?”
“The
Jewel
. It’s part of the Norwegian Cruise Line. I’m taking you to Alaska to see our last frontier. I’ve always wanted to ride on a dog sled and touch a glacier.”
Delores shivered. “But . . . I didn’t bring a parka!”
“Oh, yes you did. Claire chose a whole winter cruising wardrobe for you. It’ll be waiting for you when we get to our stateroom. I booked a family suite for us because, knowing Claire, I figured you’d probably need two closets.”
Delores laughed. “You’re probably right. Will we get to see whales and bears?”
“Definitely. Moose, too. And maybe even some timber wolves and an elk or two.”
“Oh, my! I should have packed my camera!”
“You did. Or rather, Andrea did. It’s in the suitcase in the trunk of this limo.”
“Thank you, Andrea!” Delores turned to smile at her middle daughter.
“You’re welcome, Mother,” Andrea responded. “I hope I didn’t forget anything.”
“I’m sure you didn’t, dear. And if you did, I can always replace it either here or on the boat.”
“Ship,” Doc corrected her. “They get testy if you call it a boat.”
“Really!” Delores stared at him in confusion. “Have you been on a cruise ship before?”
“Never, but after my father died, my mother went on quite a few cruises. She said the salt air was invigorating and when she was on a ship, she felt ten years younger.”
“This is sounding better and better,” Delores declared. “If we just stay on that ship, will I turn into your teenage bride?”
“You
are
my teenage bride. And you’re also my beautiful young lady bride. And my lovely mature woman bride. And . . .”
“Stop!” Delores interrupted him. “I’m getting older and older and you’ve gone far enough. I absolutely forbid you to even think the word
geriatric
.”
Doc burst into laughter and, much to Hannah’s amazement, so did Delores. As far as Hannah knew, her mother had never joked about her age before. She’d always pretended to be younger than her calendar years, but now that she was in love with Doc, she’d dropped the whole pretense. Perhaps it was because her age was clearly written on her medical records and Doc knew precisely how old she was. Or perhaps, just perhaps, it was the fact that she didn’t have to pretend any longer, now that she was about to marry the man she loved.
Five minutes later, Hannah, Michelle, and Andrea were being whisked up to the eighteenth floor in an elevator that rose so quickly, it almost took their breath away. They walked down a long, beautifully carpeted hallway, following the directional signs until they arrived at the rooms the desk clerk had printed on the sleeve that held their electronic room keys.
“We’re here,” Andrea said, arriving at the door. “And you’re right next to us, Hannah. You’ve got a single and Michelle and I are sharing a double.”
For one brief moment, Hannah felt like offering to switch with one of them. It would be nice to have a roommate. But then she opened her door, took one look at her room, and squelched that idea. Her room was huge and it was beautiful.
“Beautiful view,” she breathed as she walked down the steps from the bedroom, across the floor of the sunken living room, and out onto the balcony. Above her was an impossibly bright blue sky with lazy white clouds floating overhead like airborne white cotton candy.
Hannah turned her gaze downward. Eighteen floors below her was a huge swimming pool, its vivid blue surface sparkling in the sun. It was surrounded by beautiful tropical vegetation and flowers. A bit to one side, partially shaded by a thatched sunroof, was a large Jacuzzi. The pool area was flanked by tall palm trees, and ant-sized people in bathing suits were stretched out on lounge chairs. There didn’t seem to be anyone who was actually in the water and Hannah wondered if the pool was heated. Then she laughed at herself. Of course the pool was heated. This was an expensive hotel and they did things right in Vegas. She’d seen the ads on television. The people on the lounge chairs were simply working on their tans before their vacations were over and they had to go back to colder climes.
There was a knock on her door and Hannah stepped back inside and hurried to answer it. It was the porter with her suitcase.
Several minutes later and several dollars richer, the porter had left and Hannah’s suitcase was sitting on a suitcase rack by the bed. She was just unzipping it when the phone in her room rang and she reached for the extension on the bed table.
“Hello?”
“Hannah!” It was her mother’s voice. “I’m so glad I caught you before you left.”
“Left for where?”
“For wherever. I’m sure you girls want to explore. I just need a big favor from you.”
“What is it, Mother?”
“I’m simply a wreck, dear. I’m talking to you from the bathroom, where Doc can’t hear me. I need Andrea to come up here and help me while I get my hair and makeup done and dress for the wedding. And I need you and Michelle to babysit Doc. The groom isn’t supposed to see the bride until we arrive at the church, you know. It’s supposed to be bad luck.”
“Okay,” Hannah said, wondering why her mother was suddenly superstitious. “I’ll tell Andrea you need her, but what do you want Michelle and I to do with Doc?”
“Take him out somewhere. Or better yet, tell him you’re hungry and you want to go out for something to eat before the ceremony. He’ll go for that.”
“Why don’t I just tell him that you think it’s bad luck for him to see you before the wedding?”
“Don’t do that!” Delores sounded panic-stricken. “He’ll think I’m being silly and tease me about it.”
“All right, Mother.” Hannah caved in. After all, it was her mother’s wedding day. “I’ll knock on Andrea and Michelle’s door and get them in on it. Do you want us to come to your room and get Doc?”
“Good idea. We’re in the bridal suite. It’s on the top floor. Just get your sisters and come right up. I can’t even unpack my suitcase with Doc here. There are just so many superstitions involved in a wedding. For all I know, that could be bad luck, too.”
“You’re not going to have bad luck, Mother. You’re marrying Doc and that means you’ll have good luck for the rest of your life.”
“Don’t say that! You might jinx me!”
Hannah laughed. “All right, I won’t say it again. I’ll just get the girls and we’ll be right up.”
“I was getting a little hungry, too,” Doc said, taking the last bite of his burger. “And these are really good. What do they call these again?”
“Burger Dogs,” Michelle answered. “I talked to the guy in the kitchen and he said they were his idea. When his kids were small, they could never make up their minds whether they wanted him to grill hamburgers or hot dogs so he decided to combine the two.”
“I think I could make these,” Hannah said. And then she turned to Michelle. “And I think Lonnie could, too. We’ll have to work on it when we get home. They’d be a real hit at next year’s Fourth of July Picnic at Eden Lake.”
Michelle nodded. “You’re right and the sheriff’s department always mans the barbecues. What do you think it is, Hannah? I’m thinking it’s just a double hamburger patty sandwiched with chopped hot dogs in the middle.”
“But they’ve also got a little sweet pickle relish and . . . I think there’s mustard in there somewhere,” Doc added.
“Mustard mixed with ketchup,” Hannah said, recognizing the taste. “And the hamburger patties have finely chopped onions in them.”
“Double hamburger patties.” Doc sounded thoughtful. “How do you get them to stick together long enough to grill them?”