Wow! I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful place. The (hold on, I'm counting . . .) eighteen of us have been in San Juan, Puerto Rico for a few days now. It's December and we're finally on vacation. Now, I've been to Puerto Rico before, but being with your friends and family (well, husband) makes everything twice as good.
So far, we've been here for two days. Arriving Friday morning, it is now Saturday night. We're leaving on the cruise tomorrow around noon. The port is right outside the hotel.
"Isn't it cool to be able to sit on the window-sil and watch the water?" Joanne asked.
"Sure is," I agreed. It was only 10:30 and everyone was back in the hotel, yet certainly not in their respected rooms. The guys were in Nick and Rachel's room, playing Nintendo and doing various other things (cards, talk, etc) while the girls were in mine and Brian's room, playing cards and talking. Joey and Jessica were the only two who were actually in their room . . . sleeping (how boring!). "Who wants to go for a walk?"
"I'm too tired," Caitlin said, curling up on the queen-sized bed.
"I'd have to agree," Angela said, standing up and stretching.
"Well, don't expect me to carry you to your room when you fall asleep," I said to Caitlin.
"Oh, you won't have to," she said. "I can always sleep with Brian."
"Over my dead body," I laughed. Grabbing my thin-lined coat, I grabbed my key and opened the door to the hallway. "If they ask where I went, tell them to look out the window."
"Will do," Rachel said.
"Have fun!" Maribeth yelled as the door shut. I laughed and walked down the hall. As soon as I got downstairs and out onto the street, I felt the stress lifting off my shoulders. I'm not sure what stress it was, but every time I'm in a confined room, I feel as though there's something I have to be doing. (I hate that feeling!) I walked across the street to where I could sit and watch the ships come in. Sitting on the stone railing that separated the water from the sidewalk, I looked around. Things were peaceful . . . to an extent. There was the normal bustle of cars and pedestrians, but nothing compared to the noise and discomfort of Philly. . . of home. That noise and discomfort had been comfortable. I missed it.
"You okay?" I turned my head to see Nick and Kevin coming my way. I nodded and smiled.
"Just perfect," I said. "I'm happier than I thought I could be."
"What do you mean by that?" Kevin asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I dunno," I said. "I thought I had gotten to the quietness and community nature of Orlando, but now I realize that I've missed all the commotion and busyness of home. Something I though I'd forgotten."
"You don't still don't think of Orlando as your home, do you?" Kevin asked, comfortingly. I shook my head and looked out onto the water, where I saw a Princess Cruise Line ship coming into port across the strip.
"Why?" Nick asked. "You've been living there for about . . . three years now."
"I know," I sighed. "I just remember when me and my friends were back in high school. We made a pact to stay together and live in Philly. At least we remembered one of those things."
"That's why you wrote those lyrics, isn't it?" Kevin asked. I looked at him in surprise.
"How'd you know about that?"
"I told him." We turned to see Justin coming across the street. He walked up to us and handed me a piece of paper. I looked at it and saw that it was the sheet of paper I had given him the night before mine and Brian's wedding.
"Why?" I asked.
"I thought you'd like it if we put it to music," he explained. "So, I figured Brian's best friend, your cousin, and me would be the perfect people to do it."
"It took you this long to read the lyrics?" I joked. Justin just smiled and shrugged his shoulders, taking the paper and pocketing it.
"We were going to give it to you as a gift," Kevin explained, "but Nick thought it would be good to give it to you sooner so maybe you could put it on your next album." I smiled, tears forming in my eyes.
"Thank you," I whispered, hugging the three of them. After I regained my composure, I had to ask. "Why are you guys out here, anyway?"
"We got bored inside," Nick said, sitting down next to me. After a few more minutes of talking, the guys decided to go back into the hotel so they could get some sleep. I stayed out and looked onto the water, admiring the reflections the lights played off the water. After a long while, somebody decided to disturb my blissful peace.
"There you are!" I groaned and turned to see Howie running towards me.
"Yep, here I am," I responded, smiling slightly.
"Brian's been going nuts," he said. "He had no idea where you were."
"Why didn't he ask Kevin or Nick?" I asked.
"They had their doors locked," he said, "and you know both of them can sleep through anything and everything." I laughed.
"True."
"Why are you out here?" Howie asked, concerned. He sat on the railing beside me.
"I just needed some peace and quiet," I said. Just then, a ship decided to blow it's foghorn, making me lose my balance. Howie caught my arm before I could fall backwards into the water. "Thanks!"
"You okay?" he asked, still holding my hand until I was safely off the railing.
"Yeah," I said. I laughed, remembering something. "That same thing happens every time. The first time I went on vacation, it happened and Justin caught me, then when Brian and I came here for our honeymoon before we got on the ship, we were at this exact same place and a foghorn went off, scaring the sh*t out of me."
"Like that one did?" Howie asked, laughing.
"Basically," I said. "C'mon, let's go inside."
"Yeah, we'd better because if Brian keeps on going crazy about not being able to find you, he's going to wake up Kevin and Nick. Tell me, have you ever heard of the story David and Goliath?" I nodded, smiling. "Well, if they wake up, there will be two extremely grumpy Goliath's and I would not want to miss that show." I laughed as we waited for the walk sign to flash.