Mark & Claudia Ch. 2

They had been warned that Guatemala City was dangerous. Once they had cleared customs and immigrations at the airport, they went together to find a policeman who could speak some English. As they walked through the small terminal, they were surrounded by touts offering them taxi rides into town. After their experience in Mexico, they were not tempted to let themselves be led out to an unknown taxi. They managed to find a policeman who understood English. Mark explained that they were worried about safety. Once he understood their concern, the policeman was very helpful. He escorted them out to a taxi, and told the taxi driver to take them to their hotel.

Their hotel in Guatemala City was a big step down from the Four Seasons--it was their own money they were spending now. Their guidebook had recommended the "Hotel Spring" as clean, safe, and cheap. Claudia could tell they were moving down when she called to make the reservation from Mexico City -- not only did the clerk who answered the phone barely speak English, but he asked her if she wanted a room with or without a private bath. Claudia reserved a room with a bath -- it was still less than twenty dollars a night.

They checked in to the hotel and carried their packs up the stairs to the room. Claudia inspected the bathroom, and decided it was clean enough. Mark lay down on the bed. It was only a double, but the mattress was firm. By this time, it was nearly six thirty in the evening.

They had no firm itinerary for Guatemala. They knew they had twelve days in the country: that was how long they had before their flight to Ecuador and South America. Within those twelve days, they hoped to fly to the lowland jungle area of the Peten to see the famous Maya ruins of Tikal. They also wanted to visit the highlands north of Guatemala City. Claudia had always admired the colorful woven fabrics from Guatemala, and she wanted to visit the highland areas where they were made. Beyond these two destinations, they would go where fancy took them.

Claudia lay down on the bed beside Mark. There was just room for the two of them. They were both tired after a long day of traveling. As they let fatigue wash over them, they could feel a slight chill in the air -- like Mexico City, Guatemala City is high up, and it gets cold in the evening.

"How are you feeling?"

There was concern in Mark's voice. Claudia reached for Mark's hand, and they lay silently side-by-side, holding hands, for a moment before she answered.

"Still a little shaken, I guess. I'm really glad we decided to come straight on to Guatemala--it does feel like a new start. I really want this holiday to be fun."

"I do to."

Mark rolled over and hugged Claudia. They kissed.

"I love you, Claudia."

"I love you too, Mark."

"You hungry?"

Mark's tone was purposefully bright, changing the subject away from their experience in Mexico.

"Yes. I am."

"Then let's go eat!"

In a moment, they were out on the street in front of the hotel. Claudia took Mark's hand. The desk clerk had told them they would find restaurants around the corner. The streets were dark; as in many third-world countries, the street lighting was far from adequate. But Claudia and Mark felt secure walking together through the streets, hand in hand.

A few blocks from their hotel was a main street, with a riot of brightly-lit restaurant signs. Many were for international chains, or for chain knock-offs -- Burger Boy, McDonald's, Wimpy, Burger King. There were also some nondescript local restaurants, but they did not look very clean. After a short search, the young couple decided on Burger King. The menu was exactly the same as the menu back home in the States; they each had a hamburger, fries, and a soda. But they could tell they were not in the States -- a security guard stood vigilant inside the front door, cradling a shotgun.

The short walk back to the hotel was uneventful, but it was now getting quite cold. Back in their room again, they were truly exhausted. Even though it was only eight thirty, they decided to go to bed. They were too tired to make love; they hugged and kissed and were soon asleep.

*************

The next morning, Claudia woke up at her customary six a.m. The Hotel Spring had no gym. Claudia did her fifteen minutes of floor exercises beside the bed, as quietly as she could so as not to wake Mark. For the weight exercises, she put three books into her day pack, and used it as best she could as a weight.

The first item on their agenda was to register at the U.S. embassy. When Claudia had called the State Department for advice before they left, they had told her that it was important to register with the embassy, so that they could get help if something went wrong. Things were safer now than they had been a few years ago, when there had been anti-American hysteria because of rumors that Americans were kidnapping Guatemalan babies for their organs. But it was still better to be careful.

The staffer at the embassy was very helpful. After she had taken photocopies of their passports, she told them that they should have no problem either in the highlands or at Tikal. The worst that they were likely to encounter were diarrhea and pickpockets.

The staffer did tell them to be on the lookout for drug traffickers. A significant proportion of the marijuana and cocaine the reached the streets in the United States comes through Guatemala. Most originates in South America, but there is some drug production in Guatemala itself.

The staffer invited them to a reception that evening at the Ambassador's residence. She told them that not only would there be good food, but that they would be able to meet some prominent Guatemalans as well.

Claudia and Mark stopped for breakfast at a little café after they were done at the embassy. The embassy was in an upscale neighborhood, and it was not difficult for them to find a likely-looking place to eat breakfast. They ordered.

"What did you think about what the woman at the embassy told us?" Claudia asked.

"That's really good news about the situation here in Guatemala. It sounds like we won't have any problems."

"It made me feel a lot better. And what did you think about what she said about drug trafficking?"

"I'm sure we won't see anything," Mark answered. "We're hardly going off the beaten track. Besides, we're hardly the types to hang out with drug traffickers."

"That's true. Still, I think it's kind of exciting. Like being in a spy novel." Claudia had always been more adventurous than Mark.

Over breakfast, they talked about their plans for Guatemala. They decided to leave early the next day for the ruins at Tikal. They would spend a couple of days at Tikal, and then come back to see the highlands.

They spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon walking around Guatemala City. While they visited the old churches in the city center, [fill in with more details of Guatemala City from the guidebook], the sights of the city were only a background for their feelings for one another. They walked hand-in-hand.

As they stepped through the small wooden door into the [x] church, Mark turned to kiss Claudia. A small voice inside Claudia's head told her that their overt public displays of attention were disrespectful to the Guatemalans worshipping in the church. But she didn't care. It wouldn't matter where they were, Claudia thought. She loved Mark more than she had ever imagined she could love someone, and all she could think about was him.

Late that afternoon, they returned to their hotel room to change for the Embassy reception. The embassy staffer had assured them that the reception would be informal. Still, they thought it best to wear the dressiest clothes that they had with them. Mark put on a white shirt and a pair of pants whose only virtue was that they weren't jeans. Claudia put on a yellow cotton sun dress.

They were ready to go. Mark put his hand on Claudia's bare arm.

"You certainly are beautiful, Mrs. Pinter."

"Oh Mark."

Mark turned down to kiss Claudia. They kissed for a long time.

"Claudia, do you think it would be OK if we were a little late for the reception?"

Claudia didn't say anything, but kissed Mark even more passionately.

Mark gently disengaged his lips from Claudia's, and led her over to the bed. Staring into Claudia's eyes, Mark unbuttoned his shirt slowly. Claudia stood in front of him. Mark pulled off his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and pulled them off, all without taking his eyes away from Claudia's. He carefully laid his pants on the chair. Slowly, he unzipped her dress at the back, and then pulled it over her head. Claudia stood in front of him in her bra and panties. Mark eased Claudia back onto the bed. He undid her bra, and pulled down her panties.

Claudia could tell that Mark was very turned on -- he was a little rough in pulling off her panties. Claudia lay back and spread her legs. Mark admired her pussy for a moment before he thrust into her. He thrust hard. As he thrust, he whispered in Claudia's ear,

"You're a slut."

It always turned Claudia off when Mark said that to her. This time, she pretended she hadn't heard it. Claudia's silence only excited Mark more. He was no longer whispering.

"You're a slut. You're a slut. You're a…slut."

Mark always came quickly when he called her a slut. He lay on top of her, spent. He kissed her neck.

**************

The U.S. Ambassador's residence was in what was obviously an exclusive residential district. As the taxi carried Claudia and Mark through the streets, they were struck by the high concrete walls, many topped with barbed wire, and some even with guard towers, with the roofs of the mansions inside just visible over the tops of the walls. There was no sign of the indigenous street vendors who were ubiquitous in the neighborhood of their hotel.

The gate to the Ambassador's residence was open, and after showing their invitation to the guard, they drove up the driveway to the house.

Claudia and Mark had been afraid that the reception would be a stuffy affair. They were pleasantly surprised. The reception was being held outside in the garden, with paper lanterns lighting the gathering dusk. There were at least a hundred people who had arrived before them. The sounds of conversation and laughter echoed through the trees. Everyone was dressed casually; if anything Mark and Claudia were overdressed. The guests looked like the guests at any American party. There were one or two blacks, but almost everyone else was fair-skinned. And tall. These were not the same people Claudia and Mark had seen earlier in the streets of the city. They had the sense of having stepped out of one world and into another.

Claudia and Mark stood indecisively in the doorway to the garden for a moment, not sure which knot of conversation to join. They headed towards a small group standing under a large tree whose silhouette stood out against a sky shading from deep blue to black. As they came closer, they could see that there were four people in the group: a young man, two young women, and an older woman.

Mark spoke first.

"I'm Mark Pinter, and this is my wife, Claudia."

"I'm Edward Thompson."

The young man had a slight but unmistakeable British accent. He had strong, angular features. He shook Claudia's hand first, and then Mark's.

Edward turned to the older woman.

"This is my mother, Francisca de Soto."

She shook their hands.

"Please call me Francisca."

Edward continued the introductions.

"Allow me to introduce my two sisters, Maria and Rosa."

The two young women standing beside their mother looked about the same age. Rosa was just about exactly Claudia's height and build; Maria was shorter and somewhat plump. They shook hands with Mark and Claudia hands. Edward continued.

"Maria and Rosa are just back from the States. They're at Stanford."

Edward made the statement as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be just back from Stanford. Claudia and Mark looked at each other. Their college was virtually unknown outside of Wisconsin. Fortunately, Edward continued.

"Are you visiting Guatemala?"

"Yes. We just arrived yesterday," Claudia answered.

"I hope you have a wonderful time in my country. There is so much to see and do here. You're Americans?"

Mark tried to match Edward's confident tone. Edward looked only a few years older than Mark and Claudia, but he had the air of casual authority common to the Guatemalan ruling class.

"Yes. We're going to live in San Francisco when we get back."

"A beautiful city."

Edward's mother spoke up.

"Are you here for a vacation?"

When Claudia and Mark were at parties together, they usually took turns speaking in conversations. It was not something they had consciously decided to do; in fact they weren't aware that they did it. This time it was Claudia who answered.

"Yes. Actually, it's our honeymoon. We were just married."

"Congratulations! We must drink a toast to your happiness."

Edward motioned to a nearby waiter, who glided towards them across the lawn, apparently without effort. He held up his tray of half-full wine glasses. Edward handed his own glass to Rosa, and then took two glasses which he handed first to Claudia and then to Mark. He raised his glass.

"To your happiness."

They all drank together.

Rosa spoke first.

"Have you just come from the states?"

It was Claudia who spoke for the couple.

"Thank you. We've actually just come from Mexico--we started our holiday there."

"Wonderful. I hope you enjoyed Mexico?"

"Yes, we did."

Claudia stopped, not wanting to say anything more about their time in Mexico. Fortunately, Rosa changed the subject.

"What do you plan to see while you are in Guatemala?"

Mark answered Rosa's question.

"We want to go to the highlands, and to Tikal. We have reservations to fly to Flores tomorrow morning; we're hoping to spend tomorrow and the day after at Tikal."

Francisca broke in.

"Tikal is a magical place. The Mayas were great builders. Of course, you'd never guess, judging from the sorry state of the Indians today. If you are going to the Peten, you must come and stay at my house there. I have not been for a long time, but I have a house in the Maya Mountains south of Tikal. It is such a peaceful place. They aren't really mountains, just hills. But it is so beautiful. You must stay there. Edward, aren't you going up there tomorrow?"

Had Mark and Claudia been paying attention, they would have noticed that an odd expression crossed Edward's face as his mother invited them to come and stay at the family's house. No trace of the expression remained by the time Edward answered. He spoke as the perfect Latin host.

"Yes, I am going up -- but not until the day after tomorrow. And you must come and stay with me. I will send a car to Flores to pick you up."

Claudia and Mark were thrilled at the invitation. They quickly had the arrangements worked out with Edward. They would spend one day in Flores, exploring Tikal. Then Edward's driver would pick them up in Flores, and take them to the house in the hills. They would stay with Edward for three days, exploring the area around the farm, and then return to Tikal for another day exploring Tikal, before flying back to Guatemala to go on to the highlands.

Mark and Claudia talked about their plans excitedly in the taxi back to their hotel.

******************

After they had made love that night in their hotel, and after Mark's breathing slowed and deepened in sleep, Claudia lay awake thinking. She still had not said anything to Mark about her fantasies of violent sex with the Mexican. Now that she was alone in the dark, she could feel the guilt again. She loved Mark more than anything. How could she have locked herself in the bathroom in the hotel room in Mexico, with Mark just on the other side of the door, and then imagined the Mexican raping her? And how could she not tell Mark about it? She had always told Mark everything.

As Claudia castigated herself for being unfaithful to Mark, even in her imagination, she began to see the reddish glow from burning garbage again. Her breathing quickened. Without thinking, she reached between her legs with her finger. Only a few minutes ago, it had been Mark making her wet. As she rubbed herself, she was once again leaning forward against the hood of the car, her legs spread wide behind her.

"Yes. Oh yes."

The sound of her own voice in the dark silence of the hotel room snapped Claudia out of her fantasy. What was she doing? Now she was fantasizing about another man and masturbating while she was in bed with her husband. Anxiously, Claudia listened to Mark's breathing. It was still slow and regular -- he was still asleep.

This was the first time Claudia had fantasized about the Mexican since they left Mexico City. She hadn't thought about the Mexican for more than 24 hours. Lying in the dark, she promised herself that she would do her best never to think about the Mexican again. And even if she did think about the Mexican, she would never again allow herself to fantasize about him. And she definitely would never masturbate again thinking about him.

Claudia felt better having made this resolution. She had never cheated on Mark, unless her fantasies counted as infidelity. She loved him. She desperately wanted her marriage to work. She had meant her wedding vows with all her heart. Their sex life was good. She was not going to be self-indulgent and allow herself to engage in destructive fantasies. If she needed excitement, she should find it with Mark.

Claudia tried to imagine making love with Mark in place of her fantasies about the Mexican. It was hard -- she wasn't overcome with excitement when she thought of Mark. And the scene with the Mexican kept on intruding. She turned the problem over in her mind, trying stubbornly to concentrate on making love with Mark. Claudia lay in the dark for many minutes, forcing herself to think only of making love with Mark. With time, it began to work. The Mexican stopped intruding, and she found herself getting excited thinking only of Mark.

Carefully, Claudia lifted the blankets. There was just enough light for her to see the shape of Mark's body against the white sheets. Claudia stroked Mark's soft cock. Mark began to wake up. Still half asleep, he moaned. Mark's cock grew and stiffened.

"That feels great."

Mark's voice was full of sleep. Claudia took his now erect cock into his mouth. She was now very aroused. She bobbed her head up and down on his cock, taking its full length into her mouth. She knew Mark was fully awake when she began to feel him thrusting into her mouth. She pulled her mouth off his cock.

"I want you to do it like this."

Claudia turned away from Mark, on her hands and knees. She knew that this was his favorite position, but it did not usually turn her on. Right now it did.

Mark quickly obliged, positioning himself behind Claudia. He began to thrust into her. Claudia was absorbed completely by the sensation of Mark inside her. She came in waves. Mark thrust a few more times into Claudia, and then he came too. They collapsed slowly forward onto the bed, Mark's cock still inside Claudia.

Mark could feel his cock about to fall out of Claudia. He rolled off. They kissed.

"I love you, Mark."

"I love you too. That was incredible."

"If you're good, we can do it again some time."

Claudia got up to go to the bathroom. When she came back, they lay together, cuddling. Mark fell asleep first again. Claudia lay awake for a few minutes longer, silently repeating her promise that she would think only about Mark from now on.