Madly in Love: The Love Series, #10

1

Iwalk into my hotel room and Arte comes running. She jumps up and nearly knocks me over.

One second, little lady.

I set my purse down on the table and rub her for a few seconds before turning to Anna.

How was she today? I ask.

She was good… as always.

Aww… what a good girl.

That only excites Arte even more. She runs over to the bed and jumps onto it. She pushes her face into the covers and hides her head under the comforter. I roll my eyes and smile—she so freaking cute.

Do you need anything else from me? Anna asks.

No, I’m just gonna order room service.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

She stands up from the couch, puts her purse on her shoulder and walks toward the door.

Have a good night.

You too.

Anna walks out of the room and closes the door. I head over to the bed and sit down.

So, did you have a good day? I ask.

Arte rolls onto her side and looks up at me. I still feel guilty about leaving her here every day while I’m on set, but we’ve only got a week left of shooting and then I’ll be able to spend more time with her. Anna has been such a blessing—she gets to my hotel room every morning at eight and takes care of Arte all day.

I’m going to get something to eat and then we can go for a walk… how’s that sound?

Arte lets out a low growl. Anna takes her out a couple times each day, but we’ve gotten into a routine where I’ll take Arte for a short walk at the end of each day. It’s a good routine for both of us—I enjoy getting some exercise at the end of the day and it helps me clear my head… and it burns off Arte’s energy and then she’ll actually sleep at night.

I walk over to the desk, sit down and pick up the phone. It rings twice after I hit the button for room service.

Room Service.

Yeah… can I order some food?

Of course… what would you like?

I tilt my head back as I try to think about what sounds good. I’ve been having dinner at the hotel for weeks and I’ve tried pretty much everything on the menu. The food is fine… I’m just getting sick of it.

You know what… I think I changed my mind.

Oh… OK… have a good night.

I hang up the phone. I spin around in the chair and face Arte.

Let’s go for your walk… and I’ll try to find somewhere to eat dinner. How’s that sound.

She wags her tail.

I grab her leash and clip it onto her collar. She’s growing quickly and it might be time for a new collar in the next couple weeks. Arte sits and waits for me while I grab my purse and check to make sure my phone is in it.

Arte whines, so I turn to face her.

What? I ask.

She tilts her head to the side. I guess she’s ready to go.

OK… I’m coming.

I take her leash and walk toward the door. She pulls me into the hallway and I have to give her leash a gentle tug as I close the door.

I know you’re excited… we’re going.

We take the elevator to the ground floor and walk out of the hotel. Arte stops to smell a bush next to the walkway. I let her do it for a few seconds before urging her to keep walking. We walk down the sidewalk the same way we go every night for her walk. It’s nice that it’s not quite dark yet… even though the sun is going down. I’m still surprised by how warm and humid it is here. L.A. seems dry compared to where I grew up, but Miami is on a whole other level. I’ve enjoyed being here, just because it’s a new and different place… but I’m really looking forward to finishing my shoot here.

After walking for about ten minutes, Arte stops and starts to turn around—this is the spot where we usually head back to the hotel. She’s so freaking smart.

Not tonight, lady… we’re going to find some dinner for me.

She wags her tail and starts walking again. I’m not familiar with this part of the city, but I figure there should be a restaurant around here somewhere that has outdoor seating. My time is almost up in Miami and I’m wishing that I would’ve explored a little more.

We turn right at the next intersection and I can finally see the ocean that I’ve been able to smell since we left the hotel. There’s a restaurant on the next corner and I stop to read their menu. The food is Cuban, which I haven’t had to chance to try since I’ve been here. I’ve heard so much about it… so this seems like a good time to try it.

I walk up to the front door of the restaurant and wave to the hostess. She sees me and comes outside.

Hello, she says.

Hi… I was wondering if I could get something to eat?

Of course.

Is it OK to have my dog out here on the patio?

Yeah, totally. Take a seat anywhere you want.

Thanks.

I’ll get you a menu.

She goes back inside and I sit down at a table in the far corner of the patio. It’s a very mild night, but I get the impression that people from here think it’s cold—I’m the only one outside and I almost everyone walking around is wearing pants and a long shirt of some kind. Crazy.

The hostess comes back and sets the menu down on the table.

What’s his name? she asks, bending down to pet Arte.

Her name is Artemis.

Awww, sorry… I should have known you were a girl… you’re beautiful.

Arte tries to jump, but I pull on her leash. The hostess laughs and stands back up.

Your server will be right with you.

Thanks.

I roll my eyes at Arte. She looks up at me and then lies down under the table. We’ve been to enough restaurants that she knows the drill, but I’m still a little surprised she tried to jump on the hostess. It’s my fault, really—I haven’t been keeping up on her training lately… and it’s something I need to do.

I pick up the menu and start flipping through it. The names of all the dishes are in Spanish, but thankfully the descriptions are in English. I took two years of Spanish in high school… which clearly wasn’t enough because almost none of the words look even remotely familiar.

I’m still feeling overwhelmed when my server comes out to take my order—there’s just so many things that look good and I can’t decide.

Are you ready to order? he asks.

I look up and shake my head.

No… sorry.

I can give you a few more minutes.

Do you have a recommendation?

How hungry are you?

Not super hungry.

He nods for a few seconds and then points at something on the menu. Pescado a la Plancha… white fish finished with lemon and butter, with white rice and fried plantains.

This is one of my favorites, he says.

Yeah?

Yes. Do you like fish?

Sometimes… when I’m in the mood.

You should try it.

OK… I’ll take it.

And to drink? he asks.

Just water.

He tilts his head to the side and frowns.

You don’t want a Mojito or something?

No… I’m underage… but thanks.

Could’ve fooled me, he says, smiling.

He turns and walks back into the restaurant.

I take my phone out of my purse. The notification light is flashing. It’s a text from Spencer. It came in just as we were leaving the hotel and I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t see it before now.

Hey, just got taking a little break from the shoot, but we’re starting up again soon. Hope that everything is still going well in Miami and I hope to hear back from you when you get the chance. I love you and give Arte a kiss for me.

I smile as I finish reading his text. It’s been hard to talk to him since he’s been in Australia since he’s a full sixteen hours ahead of me, but we try to catch up as much as possible. I write a response and hit send.

Hiii. I miss you, but everything else is going good. I can’t believe that we’re almost done with our shoot. I’d like to talk to you at some point in the next few days to see if we can figure out a time and place to meet up. Arte is good. I’m out to dinner at a Cuban restaurant with her right now. Love you.

I wait for a few seconds to see if he’s going to respond, but he’s probably already back on set… and I won’t hear from him until he finishes, which will be in the early hours of the morning for me.

My server comes back with a glass of water and my plate of food. He sets them down in front of me and takes a step back.

Do you need anything else? he asks.

No… I’m good, thanks.

He smiles and steps away from the table. I look down at the plate of food in front of me. It’s exactly how I imagined it… a piece of white fish, some rice, and fried plantains. Nothing about it is terribly exciting, but I’m hungry and it looks good.

I lift my fork and easily cut through the fish. It almost melts in my mouth as I take a bite. Incredibly tender and cooked perfectly. I eat some rice and then the plantains. The rice is… well… it’s white rice. The plantains, though, are really good. I mean, they are fried after all… and pretty much everything tastes good when fried.

I’m full halfway through my plate of food when I give up and push it away from myself. I could keep eating, but I’m already full. I grab a plantain and pop it into my mouth. OK… now I’m really done eating.

The server comes back to the table, but frowns and looks at me.

Did you not like the food?

No… it was good… I just got full.

Would you like to take it with you?

I pause for a second before answering him.

No, thanks. It’ll just sit there and I probably won’t end up eating it anyway and then I’ll just throw it away.

He nods, but still seems unsatisfied by my decision.

Would you like anything else?

No, I’m fine, thanks.

I’ll get your check.

I reach under the table once he’s gone. Arte licks my fingers, hoping to find some delicious treat, but I have nothing to offer other than a good rub between the ears. She lets out a little whine and I look under the table.

I know, we’re going to head back right now.

The server comes back with the bill and sets it down on the table. He turns and walks away without saying anything. Is it possible that I upset him because I didn’t want to take my leftovers? It sounds bizarre, but anything is possible. I take out enough cash to cover the bill and a nice tip. I glance back toward the restaurant, but my server is inside and doesn’t seem that interested in collecting the bill right away. I close the check presenter and leave it on the table for him.

We walk back to the hotel at a leisurely pace. The air feels cool and there’s a nice breeze coming off the ocean. It’s the first time that I’ve actually felt a little chilled since arriving in Miami, so I’m trying to be grateful.

I kick off my shoes once we’re back in the room. Arte jumps on the bed once I take her leash off. She doesn’t waste any time and starts to dig up the sheets. I just shake my head as she manages to spin them into a ball in the middle. Arte flops down in the middle and starts to growl. She’s so cute… I can’t stand it.

My phone rings and I take it out of my pocket to see who is calling. I swipe my finger across the screen and lift it to my ear when I see it’s Cindy, one of the home healthcare workers who takes care of my mom.

Hey, I say.

Amy… how are you?

Good… and you?

They’ve started to call me every few days, just to check in a let me know how my mom is doing.

Pretty good… just wanted to call you with an update.

I sit down on the edge of my bed and rub Arte while I talk to Cindy.

How is she?

You know… it’s hard to really see an improvement on a day-to-day basis, but I still feel confident that she’s making good progress and getting better all the time.

Good.

And she had a pretty good day. She wanted to get out of the house, so we went for a walk around town and went to the grocery store and she seemed to be in a good mood the entire day.

Thanks for letting me know.

Anytime.

Talk to you soon? I ask.

Yep.

Take care.

I end the call and set my phone down on the bed. Cindy and Dale have been such a blessing. They take amazing care of her and I haven’t worried about my mom once since I’ve been in Miami, which is quite nice. The whole time I was in Romania I was concerned about how she was doing… and it turned out to be justified.

Going to visit my mom, once I’m done here in Miami, has crossed my mind on more than a few occasions… but I’m also really missing Spencer. I thought I’d be able to handle being away from him while I worked on The Narrows, but it has proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. Maybe I can swing by Greenville for a couple of days on my way to meet Spencer… it’s something to think about since my time in Miami is quickly coming to a close.

I cover my mouth as I yawn. I’ll text Spencer tomorrow to see what he thinks about meeting up… and to figure out if I have time to visit my mom… but right now I need to sleep.

I stand up from the bed and try to pull the covers back into place. Arte starts to burrow again. She’s so silly.

C’mon… get down so I can make the bed.

She stops and just stares at me.

Let’s go….

She finally jumps down and waits for me to finish making it.

OK, I say, once I’m done.

Arte jumps back on the bed and curls up by the end of it. I give her a kiss on the nose before turning and walking toward the bathroom. Tomorrow is going to be an early day on set and I need to get some sleep.

2

Ifinish my breakfast and set the plate back down on the room service tray. Growing up the way that I did, I would’ve never imagined that I could eat room service every day in my very own hotel room. Now, though, I’m really looking forward to it ending. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the food in the hotel, but I’ve had everything on the menu a couple of times and I feel like I need to eat something different. I could always eat on set before we start, but I like staying with Arte as long as possible in the mornings.

I get back in bed and grab my phone. Spencer never texted me back, which probably means he’s been on set or he got back to his hotel and just passed out. I write out a text and hit send.

Just checking in. I have to get in the shower in a few minutes, so I wanted to say good morning/night and I hope that you had a great day. Also, I was wondering if you had any changes to your schedule. It looks like I’m still going to be done in a week. I was missing you today… and was thinking I’d like to come visit you if possible. Talk to you soon. Love you.

I stand up from the bed and start walking toward the bathroom, but my phone rings. Hmm. I walk back to the bed and pick it up. My eyes light up when I see the call is from Spencer. I swipe my finger across the screen as quickly as I can manage.

Hey, I say.

How are you?

I’m good… I didn’t expect to hear from you… isn’t it pretty late?

It is… but I couldn’t sleep.

Aww… sorry, baby.

It’s fine, he says, plus it’s worth it if it means I get to hear your voice.

I smile and sit back down on the bed.

You’re so cute.

I know.

I shake my head and laugh.

So, how was your day? I ask.

It was… busy… you know.

Yeah.

But… whatever… it’s all good. I feel fortunate that I’ve been working with such great people. What about you?

Same. The last couple of days have been good. We’re almost done.

Good… I’m glad everything has gone smoothly.

Yeah, me too.

Neither of us says anything for a few seconds.

Sorry, Spencer says, I was drinking some water.

No worries.

So, I guess we should figure out a way to get together once you’re done.

That would be nice, I say.

OK… I need to think about it a little.

Of course. I… I also kind of feel like maybe I should visit my mom… even for just a couple of days.

Yeah… I get that.

You don’t mind?

"Of course