"Oh, really?" Isabella joked. "That never happens!
"Funny!" Francisco acknowledged.
"What is it THIS time?"
"I told him we were going shopping," Francisco explained.
"Okay?"
"So, he's like, 'Why don't we get you a hotel room so you won't have to drive back and forth?'"
"That's strange!" she observed. "Which hotel?"
"Grande Parisienne."
"No way!" Isabella's deep, breathy voice betrayed her astonishment.
"I'm afraid so."
"Wow! That place is like..."
"Expensive?"
"I was going to say opulent, but that, too."
"I've never been there," Francisco confided.
"You've never been to the Grande Parisienne?"
"Well, I've been in the ballroom for weddings and stuff. I meant that I've never stayed there."
"Oh, it's amazing! The décor in the lobby is all hand-crafted gold leaf. And they have a bunch of rare art on display and this really ritzy Swiss watch store."
"Well, I guess you're the expert!" he teased.
"Well, I've never stayed there either. My Dad's company used to hold events there. When they did presentations, the hotel would give them a room where they could store their materials."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"When I was little, he used to take me with him. I remember jumping on the beds."
"Really?"
"Yeah! He wasn't too happy about that."
"I can imagine! Anyway, since I have the room, I was thinking that maybe we could have dinner downtown after we shop."
"Yeah! Wow! That sounds nice."
"You don't have... plans?"
"No, he's away - baseball camp, lacrosse camp, something like that."
"Okay, then!"
"Okay, then!"
"Dinner it is!"
"Yay, I'm excited!" she exclaimed. "La Grande Parisienne! C'est formidable!"
"Wow, that's pretty good!"
"Eh, well, I try," she said playfully.
"Well, I am quite impressed."
"Thank you, dah-ling!"
"Are you making fun of my mom again?"
Isabella let out a quick chuckle. "How could you tell?"
"I'll pick you up tomorrow, smarty!"
"Okay!"
"Bye!"
"Bye!"
-
Walter walked past Susan's desk on the third floor; unfortunately, she wasn't in. The chair sat flush against desk as the cleaning people had left it the night before.
Walter looked toward the lady in the next cubicle. "Is she in?"
"No, Friday," the colleague explained. "She's working from home."
"Oh, okay." Walter's voice sounded slightly deflated.
"You can reach her by email. She's working, just not here."
"That's fine," he said. "I just wanted to thank her for a restaurant recommendation."
"Oh, in Colorado! How was your trip?"
Walter was surprised that Susan's colleague knew about the business trip. He didn't even recall the woman's name.
"It was...busy," he recalled. "There's never enough time to do the fun things."
"Yeah, isn't that always the case?" the lady observed while beaming a broad smile. "If she calls, I'll let her know that you stopped by."
"That's okay," Walter countered nervously. "I'll... stop by next week."
"Okay!"
"Thanks!"
'The Horse Farm'
Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South
All Rights Reserved
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