Hotel Paradise

Slim took me around the main part of the hotel first. We first started towards the doors opposite the reception area that I had no idea where they led, yet. The first door led to the kitchen area which was just like any huge hotel kitchen. The appliances so shiny silver I could see my reflection in them. Through the back of the kitchen led to the employees entrance to the dinning area. Back out in the reception area, the door closest to the kitchen door led to the bar, and we just took a peek. Since I was very underage, I really wasn't supposed to be in there anyway. Further down was doors to the men's and women's bathrooms, where I would be changing later.

We continued our tour around the premises, stopping occasionally for Slim to tell me something historical about a landmark we passed. We finally made it to the pool and it was even larger standing next to it, than it looked from the window inside. Though I was really enjoying the tour, I couldn't wait for it to be done so that I could go swimming. I loved swimming, though I wasn't a strong swimmer, and only if it was with people I knew. I had had a few mishaps in water before so I was leery about swimming around people I didn't know. Lucky for me, it was so late that no one else was out.

We finished the tour right where we had started, back at the reception desk.

"Grandma! Can I go swimming now?" I asked excitedly

"Sure, baby. Here's your stuff, go change in the bathroom"

I grabbed my bag, ran into the bathroom and changed as fast as I could. When I emerged, Slim and my Grandmother were still talking while sipping coffee.

"Baby, Slim's gonna stay outside with you while you swim, if that's O.K.? But I will still be able to see you from in here." she asked me

"Sure, Grandma, that's fine!" and I turned to Slim, "Can we go now?"

He could feel the excitement in my voice and laughed, "Sure, whatever you want Princess."

That was the first time I remembered someone calling me that, and since then, it kind of stuck with me from him.

I grabbed my towel and ran out the door. Since I wasn't a strong swimmer I didn't just dive into the deep end, but rather stepped in slowly from the steps. The cool sparkling water was a relief from the hot humid Alabama heat. I did laps, I splashed, I even tried splashing Slim a few times. Even though he looked mad when I did it, I could tell he was suppressing a laugh.

An hour later, I emerged wrinkled like an old woman and starting to get chilled. Slim grabbed my towel and handed it to me while we made our way back to the main part of the hotel. Once inside my Grandmother had me change back into dry clothes immediately, she didn't want me to get sick from the cold air inside. After I changed I noticed I was starving. Her and I had already eaten on the way there, but after swimming, I always get hungry. When I whispered to her that I was starving, she had me order something from the resturant there. Even at this late, you could still order small items, since the bar was still open. I grabbed the menu and ordered some fries and chicken strips.

While I waited for my food to arrive, my Grandma asked me if I wanted to learn how to do front-desk check in's. Of course I said yes, everything was so new and exciting. Even though I was young and inexperienced, I caught on quick and only had to ask a question occasionally. To my dismay, there weren't very many people needing a room that late at night. While I ate my late night dinner, she also taught me how to answer the front desk phone, answer their questions, transfer calls, and set wake-up calls. To me, the night couldn't have gotten any better.

By 1am, the place was dead. No calls coming in, no patrons asking for a room, and the bar was empty. I was growing bored quickly, and she noticed. When Slim entered shortly after, he walked over to the desk for some late night chat.

"So, how do you like it here, Princess?" He asked me, while leaning on the counter.

"I LOVE IT! I wish I could come back every night!" I exclaimed and he laughed.

"Well, baby, if you want to, you can come back every night I work" my Grandma piped in.

"Oh Grandma! Can I really? That would be so great!"

"We'll see how the rest of the night goes, and if you still love it come tomorrow, then yes. You can come any time you want"

I gave my Grandma a big hug while Slim held his hand up for a high-five.

A short while later, I was sitting on 1 of the couches in the waiting area while Slim tried to teach me how to play Poker. Though working the front desk came easy to me, figuring out how to play Poker was more difficult. I couldn't remember what was high, low, good or bad. By 3am, I had drifted off to sleep on the couch. I woke for only a minute when I felt a blanket being placed on me, then was fast asleep again.