Madferit: The Novel

Chapter 78

            I stared out the window drowning out the noise around me which was actually pretty minimal. It was almost dead silent...until someone spoke.

"Pet?"

"Hmm?" I replied turning to face him.

"This lady'd like to know what ya want to drink." He thumbed over at the flight attendant standing in the aisle way with a drink cart.

I smiled at her. "Orange juice please."

"You and these early mornin' flights." Noel sighed leaning his head back against his headrest and closing his eyes.

"What the heck are you talking about?" I asked. "You're the one who booked it!"

"Yeah 'cuz of you! Fuckin' Eastern Standard Time-"

"Oh my God!" I threw my head back against the headrest. "Can we please try to go five minutes without fighting for once?"

"Why d'ya think I booked this trip?"

"'Cuz you owed it to me!"

"Well yeah but..." He trailed off in thought. "We've not had any real time to ourselves in months and I just..." He gazed down at the floor.

I looked at him curiously. "What's the matter, Noel?" I asked rubbing his shoulder.

He looked back up at me. "We need to get away. Just the two of us. Work on our relationship and that."

I smiled. "Well it's a good thing we're going to New York then."

Noel booked us a room at the Plaza Hotel.

"Y'know that chap Andrew Carnegie?" He asked while we rode in the car to the Plaza.

"Yeah." I replied with a nod. "He was a Pittsburgh steel tycoon and originally from Scotland."

"He was, yeah." He nodded back in agreement. "And our suite's been named after him."

The Plaza was as big and golden as I imagined it. We didn't waste too much time in the lobby though and went straight up to the room.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher." A man greeted us at the door. "My name is Ben and I'll be your butler during your stay here at the Plaza."

He took us on a tour of the suite. It had one bedroom with a pull-out couch in the living room and the design of the whole place could work well as a flat. The tour was so quick there really wasn't time to stop and admire things before he shuffled us off to the next part.

"Cheers, man!" Noel told him as he tipped him.

"You're welcome!" He returned with a smile. "If you two need anything please don't hesitate to ask." He gave us his card then got on his way.

I sat down on the couch and read over the brochure Ben gave us listing all the butler services available. "Arrival Service-"

"Well we've already had that, haven't we?" Noel interrupted me.

I giggled. "During Your Stay." I continued reading out loud. "Bath Preparation. Your butler is available to draw a bath based on your personal preferences," I giggled a little louder in disbelief, "using our complimentary bath salts. Valet Laundry Service. Shoe Shine Service-"

"D'ya reckon they'd do me trainers?" He held his foot out giving me a good view of the Adidas stripes on the side of it.

I chuckled before turning back to the brochure. "Your Private Bar. Ice Service..." I trailed off reading the description to myself. "This is ridiculous!"