(This story takes place in a fictional world. Any similarities to people or things in the world we actually live in is coincidental.)
*
Alison listened patiently as she was briefed by her mother that Thursday evening, nodding agreeably about the importance of checking the barn doors prior to lights out before shooing her parents into their SUV and on the way to Gulf Shores. Traffic was lighter than expected, and even with a leisurely stop for dinner, the couple found themselves pulling into the semi-circle entryway of the Gulf Gold Resort and Spa before midnight.
"Every bit as glitzy as KD said it was," Tim murmured as the valet pulled away with their truck. Gwen nodded and looked about the opulent lobby, hoping to catch a glimpse of her daughter. She knew KD's next shift would not be until the morning, but she still hoped with a mother's optimism that her daughter might appear.
"Nelson, checking in," Tim announced to the young clerk currently behind the massive marble-topped front desk.
"Oh yes, KD's parents. We've been expecting you. Your daughter has instructed us to treat you as just above VIP status," the cocoa-skinned woman said with a smile. "She also asked if you would meet her for breakfast at the hotel's café tomorrow morning, around 7, before her shift starts?" The woman signaled for a bellhop and handed Tim a packet of information. "John will show you to your room. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. As I said, KD has made it clear to all of us that your wish is our command!"
The bellhop, the Nelsons, and their bags rode the elevator to the sixth floor, where they were shown an elegant oversized room complete with sitting area. John was tipped and sent on his way, and the couple quickly unpacked before getting ready for bed. Tim was dismayed to find Gwen had brought along one of her old nightgowns and was even now retiring to the bathroom to put it on, but he said nothing, knowing that no good could come from it. His wife, however, returned to find him completely nude, apparently unconcerned they were in a strange hotel room.
Gwen found herself wishing she could lose the nightgown and be more like her husband, but tradition said that extra care must be taken in strange places. What if there was a fire? She smiled at the grim humor of being down in the parking lot, naked in front of all those strangers, but she dismissed it and fell asleep with the now-restrictive gown still covering her.
She showered and dressed the next morning before Tim had even awoken, quietly sliding open the slider to their privacy-screened balcony and stepping outside. A beautiful view of a strand of beach with the waters of the Gulf beyond, just now sparkling with the first light of sunrise off to her left, greeted her. Gwen knew that the room must have been very expensive, and reminded herself to admonish Tim for the extravagance.
She startled as a pair of hands wrapped around her waist while lips kissed her neck. "G'morning," Tim mumbled in her ear.
Gwen turned to face him and return the kiss, his flaccid length dragging across her hip as she turned. "Tim!" she shrieked as she pushed the naked man backwards through the open doorway. "What if someone sees you like that?"
"They'll look at the beautiful woman I'm with and be jealous because I was about to get lucky. Would they be right?"
Gwen closed the door and curtain behind her. "You're going to get us kicked out of here and KD fired," she grumbled. "No time for 'getting lucky' right now. Go take a shower and get changed so we can go down to breakfast and see our daughter, or have you forgotten why we're here?"
"Oh, I haven't forgotten," Tim replied airily, "but I think there's room for more than one reason to be here." Still, he complied with her wishes and the couple made their way down to a table outside of Lolabelle's to sit and have coffee while they awaited their daughter's arrival.
KD breezed onto the terrace on time, the trio exchanging greetings and hugs while a waitress hurried up to the table, ready to take their order.
"So, did you guys have anything you wanted to do while you were here?" their daughter asked as she took her first sip of coffee.
"Not really," Tim answered. "Sit by the pool, walk on the beach, typical old-fogey tourist stuff."
"We know you have to work," Gwen said hurriedly, "but we were hoping we could at least have dinner with you?"
"Absolutely! How about here tonight? The chef is really good, and I get my resort discount."
That's fine with us. How about tomorrow night? Do you have a favorite place you would want to go?"
"Well, there's The Trellis, a couple of miles from here, but they're really expensive. Appetizers start at eighteen bucks. I don't think I could afford it."
"Of course you can't afford it!" Tim snorted. "If you could, we'd make you pay your own way through college. We've got dinner tonight and tomorrow." KD gratefully accepted, and she chattered away, giving her parents a list of things they might want to see or try.
"Oh and by the way, the hotel has two pools—a family pool over on the far side of the property, and an adults-only one just down that walk over there. The family pool can be kinda loud, but the adult can be a little more, uhh, casual. I'm not sure you'll like it Mom, so the resort's section of beach is a good place to go if it the family pool gets a little hectic for you. Wherever you go, just show the attendant your room card and they'll get you anything you need." KD glanced at her watch. "Oops, gotta go. I'll meet you back down here at 6?"
Tim and Gwen watched their khaki-and-polo shirt clad daughter hurry off, then sat and finished breakfast as the first sun worshippers strolled by on the way to the pool or the beach beyond it. The couple took their own walk around the compound before heading back to the room to change and pick up the beach bag.
Tim was again disappointed to see Gwen had brought a one-piece as her suit for the weekend. Still, he couldn't complain. He had seen more of his wife in the past few weeks than he ever thought he would, and with any luck, might get to see it all of her, up close and personal, later.
"Family or beach?"He asked as the elevator doors opened at ground level.
"They all looked nice, but I'm not sure I'm up for all the splashing and yelling at the family pool," Gwen reasoned. "I wonder why KD tried to warn me away from the adults-only one? It seemed perfectly fine when we checked it out after breakfast." She thought for a moment. "Let's try the adults-only, and if we don't like it, we can head for the other one and go to the beach after lunch." Tim led the way, and soon they were standing next to an umbrella-covered table and chairs, attendants anxiously buzzing around them with towels and offers of refreshments.
Gwen scanned the expansive pool deck before removing her wrap. The few hotel guests that had arrived so far represented a wide range of shapes and sizes, most of the men clad in shorts while the women wore bikinis of varying colors and styles. Her gaze swept across a far corner, then snapped back. Two women lay semi-reclined, faces looking up into the morning sun. What she had taken to be bikinis were actually tanlines. Their tops had been discarded, and thin strips of fabric peeked out from the junction of their thighs, nothing but string sitting high on their hips to hold it in place. The Lady sat open-mouthed on her shoulder, aghast at their shamelessness. They must know everyone could see them, and yet they lay there without a care on the world. Gwen looked about as discretely as she could, half expecting to see all of the men staring at the display at the other end of the pool. To her surprise, it seemed as if nobody even noticed—even Tim was putting on a good show of appearing engrossed in his book. Now she understood why KD had tried to steer her away from here, and thought that perhaps the other pool was the safer place to be after all.
