Janessa and I jumped in her car and started heading East. She wanted to keep costs down for me, so we decided we'd drive the 9 hours from Port de Paix to Puerto Plata where she got us an amazing deal in a couple's resort right on the beach. It seemed like an odd holiday choice for two single ladies, who were looking to maybe find some fun but the neighbouring resorts had tonnes of venues and parties planned so sharing a two bedroom family cottage at a good rate was perfect, because if worst came to worse, we still had our own private bedrooms to hook up in.
I hadn't talked to Jan since last summer, but we were the type of friends who could pick up where we left off like no time had passed. The drive gave us ample time for her to hear all about Blaire and my broken heart. She said all the things that true friends do like, "You deserve better than her", "She is the one who has lost the most" and "Let her go, she's so not worth your energy". But deep down, I still felt like if we could both dig deep, reflect on what we had; we could be amazing together and overcome this hiccup. I didn't tell Jan though since I knew that I had to get used to the idea of letting go, as it seemed that Blaire was moving on and had little remorse leaving me behind. I mean, she hadn't even messaged or called to wish me Merry Christmas.
We had brought snacks for the drive but by the time we were passing Montecristi, we decided to stop for a snack and quick walk on the beach to stretch our tired bodies. We each grabbed a chicken filled catibia and a cold mabí to munch on while we walked. Jan reminded me that the mabí was supposedly an aphrodisiac so we'd be all ready to roll when we finally made it to our destination. We decided to spend 4 nights at the resort since we were saving so much money with the drive, and I had done many of my errands and packing before we left so that I would be ready for my flight a few days after we got back.
After more catching up, lots of singing along to my road trip playlist and at least one pitstop for coffee, we pulled into the resort. We grabbed our bags and strolled into the reception area, before speaking to the woman behind the desk, Jan leaned towards me and whispered, "Follow my lead..." Then proceeded to take my hand in hers and pull me gleefully behind her, wrapping her arm around my waist when we stopped to check in.
"Checking in I presume? All I need is the name the reservation was under and I can get you on your way!" sang the clerk in a happy, singsong tone.
"Janessa Mercado, and this is my girlfriend, Bella Sanchez; I have a very special getaway planned for her," she said with a wink, as if to imply that I was in for a big proposal, "The room is in my name, and I hope it is as dreamy as the reviews I had from my colleagues at the agency." She leaned over and planted a wet kiss on my cheek, pulling my waist to snug me right up against her body.
"Wow, I'm so glad you chose to book with us, I promise we will provide you with THE most memorable stay we can. I'll just need a few signatures and a credit card for the deposit but Bella, if you'd like to head into the bar in the next room and get off your feet, tell Juan Julio that Cassie at reception told him to make you the anniversary special on the house." She offered while typing details into the system to expedite the check in.
I strolled into the bar and was taken aback by the beauty of the resort, the bar had a wall of windows that overlooked the pool, and steps that continued to the ocean waves crashing on the shoreline. The beach was breathtaking and even the breeze that wafted through the open doors smelled like sweet hibiscus and rose. I ordered the drink from Juan Julio, who was very pleasant and sang to himself as he mixed the colourful combination of amber rum and other sweet looking things.
That evening after supper we took a walk up the beach to check out the single's clubs, which were blasting the some hip shaking tunes even though the following night, New Year's Eve promised to be the real event. Kviar Show Disco stood out as the most popular on the stretch of beach we saw, so we planned to get a good rest and hit that place the next night.
Blaire
The flight to Dominican had been more turbulent than I had expected. I still felt nauseous as we boarded the bus to the resort, so I took a gravol and fell asleep. Andrew and I had barely talked on the plane, he had plugged in some headphones and fell asleep 5 minutes into a movie, sleeping the rest of the flight. I was glad that I had opted for the aisle seat, as I spent about half the time in the washroom trying to stop myself from feeling so ill. I wasn't usually that bad, but I had not really flown in a while.
After checking in to the resort we walked around to see the amenities, a gorgeous pool right next to the beach, a steam sauna, nestled amidst some palm trees in a shaded area out of the way, also called my name. It was pretty warm, but I guessed it was just in my genetics to love saunas. We stopped at the hotel bar and ordered a rum punch so we could sit and take in the view of the full moon reflecting on the swelling ocean surface. This last week with Andrew and my family had made me wonder if I had in fact rushed a little too fast with him. I barely knew him and the more we spent time together, the more I realized he was a nice guy, consistent, reliable, but the initial spark I felt when we chatted and met in Banff, wasn't as electric and long lasting as I thought it might be.
After watching him with my family, I knew he would be a safe choice, he'd provide me with safety, kindness, love and sex, as many children as I wanted and he'd probably even build me whatever style dream house I desired, but the conversation still hadn't gotten as thought provoking and as deep as I had always had with Bella. She wasn't a safe choice, nothing would be easy if I actually tried to make a life with her, having kids would be expensive, time consuming and difficult, explaining to my friends and family that I was in love with a woman, might make them pull away a little bit, and even coming to a place like this would cause people to stare and judge, instead of ignore us, like what was currently happening to Andrew and I. I didn't think of myself as brave or as someone who liked attention, so this relationship was definitely going to help me live a life under society's radar. But could I ever be truly happy if I never tested out what Bella and I could be? Why was I even thinking this way, since she was clearly never going to talk to me again. We hadn't had more than three days of silence without so much as a text since we met, and now it had been just about three weeks of nothing. I stared out at the moon and it reminded me of the last time I was at the beach, during our Fall break when Bella had taken me to the resort and we brought a bottle of wine out and sat for hours sitting and watching the moon reflect and sparkle just like tonight. I missed her.
Bella
Jan and I hit the sauna to relax before heading back to shower and head to bed. We walked arm in arm past the reception area to keep the illusion of our romantic getaway going. When we arrived back in the room, there were rose petals strewn all of the floor, two towels in the shape of humping bunnies and an ice bucket with a bottle of Dom Perignon Brut Rosé on the bed. We both burst out laughing and dove on the bed to grab the bottle and crack it opened, we hadn't even noticed the chocolate covered strawberries on the bedside table. Jan's story telling had clearly worked some magic! We laid on the bed, drinking the champagne and making up all the silliest toasts before each sip, intermittently feeding each other strawberries and licking the chocolate off each other's fingers. This getaway was just what I needed before going back to school and having to face Blaire again. We laughed and laughed until our face muscles hurt. Then at around quarter to 1, I finally called it a night, I gave up on the shower and got ready for bed instead.
