A few months had passed.
Belinda and Rachel were still seeing one and other whenever Rachel was in town, which was not as frequent as either would like, but, you make do, right? Belinda even traveled to Rachel's home town for a couple of visits, but they had had a long discussion about their relationship and both agreed, for at least the time being, it shouldn't get serious.
In the meantime, Belinda had become a bit more serious with Carl. They had been seeing each other almost every night, well, except when 'something came up'. Belinda didn't fully explain. Carl seemed to simply accept it. He was a very good natured guy and very easy going. Belinda liked that. He was no pushover nor was he a wimp, but he could accept things like something coming up. It was really one of the things that Belinda was beginning to love about him.
Eddie hadn't become a hopeless alcoholic, but he did drink more. His girlfriend seemed to notice and asked one night. Eddie had simply said, "Family matters that are too way out there for even me to comprehend.....yet. Please, let it go." She did, so far.
Work was still going well for Belinda and she had really become used to/accepting of being a 'housekeeper'. It was hard work, not overly rewarding but it was a steady paycheck with some occasional decent tips and certainly some interesting stories. She had begun to bond with the other girls even more than she had expected. She even began to pick up some Filipino and Spanish. Belinda was feeling quite the woman of the world.
One Saturday, she was making a little overtime and assigned to the 2nd floor. The girl at the other end was a high school kid named Sophia. Sophia seemed like a sweet kid, maybe a bit naΓ―ve, but not stupid. Belinda got a laugh when suddenly; out of room 219, Sophia came screaming. Belinda ran and grabbed her asking what was wrong.
"HIS DICK, HE'S SHOWING HIS DICK!" screamed Sophia.
Belinda ran into the room ready to curse out the latest weenie wagger when she was confronted by a Great Dane with a raging hard on. He approached Belinda who let out a yell and ran from the room pulling the door closed behind her. "What the HELL was that all about?" was all she could say.
She comforted Sophia and before either one knew it, they were sitting on the floor of the second floor hallway laughing hysterically. It turned out that the woman using the room had brought the dog to mate with another Great Dane in the area. The dog apparently was over eager, something that was NOT expected. The owner had gone down to the pool for a quick swim before the mating was to take place.
Sophia had asked, "How does he KNOW why he's there? What did that broad coach him? Did she, you know, uh," she made a pumping gesture with her hand and added, "get him 'in the mood'?"
The whole Housekeeping staff laughed at that and everyone had their own opinion, each one more outrageous that the last.
"Well, I talked to the front desk, and her; the woman's name, is Heidi. Maybe she and the dog had a date before hand?" speculated Ruthie.
"That would ruin the chances of a good mating, wouldn't it?" queried Belinda.
"Oh yeah," replied Ruthie.
"Of course that doesn't mean she didn't prime the pump, so to speak." Finished Belinda.
Everyone understood and laughed like hell at that, except Jodie, but she didn't seem to get most of the jokes. Good kid, but a tad slow.
Belinda left work a bit late, about 4:15 and picked up a sub sandwich. When she got home Carl had left a message asking her if she wanted to go out to eat. "Shit," she thought, "I just got this sub and now I'm psyched up for it." She called him back and explained and added, "Why don't I hold off eating, you pick one up too and come over to the house? I can nuke mine for a few seconds and bring it back to life."
When Carl arrived with his tuna sub with LOADS of onions, Belinda nuked away and both sat with their subs and a bottle of Burgundy talking away and laughing, comparing their days. Carl was a good guy and Belinda truly appreciated him. The 'love' thing was still blurry. She had Rachel to think about.
"So, this weekend, anything coming up?" asked Carl.
"No, don't think so. Why? Plans?" was Belinda's reply after washing down a large chunk of sub with some wine.
"I thought we could take a drive up the coast. I know a guy who can loan me a cabin on the shore in Maine if you might be interested," came the reply from Carl.
"That sounds like fun, and ro-MAN-tic. Count me in." said Belinda. She actually liked the idea. So far, they hadn't taken a trip together and she loved Maine. She put it in her phone and thought nothing else of it.
Friday afternoon when Belinda got home from work, she saw that she had a message on the house phone. A bit old fashioned, she still had a land line and refused to give it up. "It's my first line of defense. This way, I don't have to give out the cell number to everyone and his brother!" The message was from Rachel.
It began; "Hey babe, guess who? I have a proposal. Next month I'm going to Chicago for a seminar. I'm not sure you've ever been, but I want to take you. Just think, we could make out in the Sears Tower, or whatever they're calling it now. Let me know if you can make it."