Welcome to La Hotel Familia Ch. 07

"Babe you ok?" Mark asked as he got the flat tire and jack off the ground.

Teresa shook herself as she realized she had been day-dreaming the whole time he had been working. Smiling she said she was fine and was just remembering the first time he had kissed her. Mark just grinned and tossed the flat and tools into the back.

"I'd offer to give you a repeat but I'm not sure that white shirt would like all this grease and brake dust." He said grinning.

Teresa laughed, poked him in the chest and said "Later I want you to, but right now let's get back on the road".

Both getting in with Mark driving this time they noticed the sun was going down soon so started looking for a place to spend the night.

After driving another hour they spotted one, it looked to be a decent size hotel, out in the middle of nowhere. The sign said 'La Hotel Familia' as Mark pulled in, Teresa saying it out loud commenting it looked very clean and must be a Spanish place hence the name.

"As long as it's got hot water and ice with a clean bed I'll be happy" Mark said winking at her.

"Mmm, me too" She agreed.

Pulling into the parking space in front of the office they got out and went inside.

Both Teresa and Mark felt a wave of cool air hit them as they walked inside, Teresa felt refreshed suddenly, like all the hurts in the world were gone, she put it to being slightly dehydrated form the desert. Mark felt something similar as he passed through, he just figured it was the air conditioning, but it was more than that, he just didn't dwell on it as he was anxious to get a room and a shower.

Walking up to the front desk they saw a Spanish lady come from the door that said 'office' and she greeted them.

"Welcome to La Hotel Familia" The dark haired lady said in perfect English.

Teresa had been prepared to try to use her limited Spanish but was thankful the manager spoke English. The lady looked to be Spanish, from Central America perhaps, but was very beautiful and with her straight hair she looked as if she had stepped out of one of those old spaghetti westerns with a white blouse showing a large bust with a brown skirt.

"Hi we wanted one room for the night, nothing fancy, just a hot shower and a good bed." She said.

"Well, I'm afraid the standard rooms are under-going renovations at the moment, but we have some lovely cottages and bungalows out back that are going for the same price if you like." The Spanish lady said.

"By the way my name is Maria, and whatever you need, simply ask." Maria said smiling.

Teresa thought about it for a moment looking over at Mark, he just shrugged.

"Ok we'll take it." She said smiling back at Maria.

"Very good, I'll show you to it, simply pull around to the side of the building and follow me please." Maria said shooing them out the doorway.

Once outside Maria walked around the building as Teresa and Mark got back in their vehicle.

By the time he had started the jeep their hostess had pulled around with a golf cart and was waving them to follow.

"I wonder how big this place is." Mark said

"Well we're about to find out" Teresa said as they slowly followed Maria around the office building.

Driving behind the manager they passed the office and main building and were now going down a long row of small dwellings.

Teresa looked out the side and saw that most of them were occupied, cars and trucks were parked in the spaces and yet, she saw no one. Looking back she saw a swath of vegetation, large trees with hedges surrounding, almost as if it was an oasis.

Turning back she saw Maria turn into the driveway of one of the bungalows and Mark pulled in behind her.

Getting out they both followed her up the steps to the door. Just as she was about to open the door they heard the sound of a lawn mower power up and watched as a shirtless young man come puttering out beside the building.

Maria saw him and waved him over. The man pulled the mower over to the steps and got off.

"Davey, how goes the work today?" Maria asked politely.

"Oh pretty good Maria, just got done with this one, number 7 and 8 still need doing, but I'm going to take care of that tomorrow morning." Davey said.

"Well, that's good, I know I can always count on you" Maria said smiling.

"By the way, these are our newest tenants, Teresa and Mark, this is Davey, our grounds keeper and in general genius Mr. Fixit, if anything ever goes wrong, he knows what needs to be done." Maria said introducing the pair.

Teresa and Mark both shook his hand and greeted him.

"Well, I best be putting my stuff up, gonna be dark soon and I still need to get the pool cleaned a bit, it was nice to meet you Teresa and you Mark, I hope you enjoy your stay here." Davey said good-naturedly smiling.

Both smiled back likely the young man immediately with his quiet confidence and charm.

Getting back on his mower he drove down the lane.

"Well, shall we?" Maria indicated with a wave of her hand once the door was unlocked for them to go inside.

Once inside Mark and Teresa couldn't believe their eyes, the place was huge, this wasn't just a place to spend the night, this was a whole house.

Mark blinked at first, then walked back outside to look at the bungalows structure, then walked back inside, he felt as if his mind was playing tricks on him. The inside just didn't fit right with the outside, shaking his head he just suddenly felt a calm settle over him when he crossed through the door, it still felt weird, the dimensions of the structure, but he suddenly didn't mind, and put it to the heat and tiredness.

Teresa was of the same mind, the place looked so small outside and now it was very spacious, with a large living room, a full kitchen and a long hallway just from what she could see standing inside the small space near the front door.

"Do you like it?" Maria asked.

"Well, yes, it's absolutely amazing, but..." Teresa said trailing off.

"Yes?" Maria asked politely wearing a knowing smile.

"It just seems too good to be true" Mark laughed.

Maria giggled and led them deeper in, showing them 3 bedrooms and a large walk in shower and tub in the master bedroom, with 47" TV's in each bedroom and a 54" in the living room.

"Wow, this place must rent for a few hundred a night, this is more like a house from Better Homes and Gardens then a hotel" Teresa said awed at what she was seeing.

"Well we do try to make our property as much like home as possible, it's what makes us unique." Maria said winking.

"Well, if you are hungry just dial 935 on the phone and place your order, the girls usually have it ready in 30 -- 45 minutes, they are very good chefs. Julie and Shana are two of the best in the business." Maria said.

"I am rather hungry babe, lets order some and when we get out of the shower we can relax and have a good meal." Mark said.

"That sounds good to me." Teresa said grinning at her man.

Maria told them to make themselves at home and took their orders with a notepad quickly scribbling down what they wanted, nothing fancy, just burgers and fries, and smiling, said she would return soon with their order.

When she left Teresa suddenly realized, she hadn't paid for the room, given her credit card information, she hadn't even told the woman her name!

"Babe..." Teresa turned to Mark.

Apparently Mark had come to the same conclusion as he had a confused look on his face.

"I didn't tell her my name, or pay for anything..." Mark said frowning.

"Me either, what the hell is going on here?" Teresa said

Mark shook himself and decided a shower and the woman of his dreams was more important now than anything else.

"Well we'll figure it out later, right now I'm wanting to see that body of yours all wet and soaped up more than I care about finding out if I'm in the Twilight Zone or not." Mark said grinning as he took her hand.

Teresa smiled a small smile and followed him into the master bedroom.

***

After a rather long shower and some sensual washing by each other they both felt refreshed and wonderful. They had wanted to fool around a bit but decided their hostess would be back before they got done and didn't want to keep her waiting, so they had exchanged some kisses and washed each other and then got out and dried off.

After toweling off the water they both put on the robes hanging from the closet, thick and fluffy white ones that were pure comfort to the touch and felt as if they were made out of the finest fabric, the lightest touch of softness feeling like a caress of their skin. Making their way to the kitchen Teresa looked inside the refrigerator and to her surprise saw all kinds of beer and imported wines and liquors. Teresa and Mark were both were a bit bewildered when they saw the stock inside, they even noticed one bottle of very expensive wine that in a restaurant would easily go for five hundred a bottle, they both vowed not to touch it.

Taking a cheaper bottle, Teresa poured herself a glass while Mark went with a lite beer, they settled on the couch snuggling while waiting on Maria to arrive with the food.

Sipping her wine Teresa spoke.

"I don't know what this place is, whether it's the Twilight Zone or a just very expensive place, but for right now it feels like heaven on earth." She said contentedly snuggling closer.

"Yea it's weird, but damn if I don't feel great. Even the beer is the best I've ever had." Mark said laughing.

Just then the doorbell rang and Mark went to answer it.

Opening the door, Mark was expecting Maria with their food but got a shock instead.

Standing there was the biggest guy Mark had ever seen, towering above him looked to be a construction worker. A big guy, with huge muscles, shaggy blonde hair and slightly faded jeans and a white t-shirt.

Upon opening the door Mark at first was slightly shocked to see this huge guy standing there, then he shook himself and politely asked if he could help him.

Teresa had got up behind Mark and was just as shocked to see this giant standing outside the door when Mark opened it. She immediately didn't like him, she saw his ice-blue eyes and the way they flitted back and forth between her and Mark for a heartbeat before settling back on Mark. Teresa moved up and put her arm protectively around Mark's waist as if she meant to keep him from falling into an abyss, her arm was like a piece of iron, nothing was going to remove it.

The big man stood there a moment and suddenly spoke.

"Do you know why you are here?" He said in a deceptively soft voice.

Teresa and Mark both looking up at him slightly bewildered at his question looked at each other and Teresa replied.

"We just pulled over for the night, we're on our way to California for a vacation, but if you don't mind me asking, who are you exactly, do you work for Maria?" She asked.

At hearing her name the giants eyes slightly narrowed and then became normal again, the gaze no less intense.

"I do not work for her, rather I work against her and all she does..." He spoke in that soft voice once again.

Teresa tightened her arm around Mark when he said that.

Mark taking the hint suddenly didn't like this guy or what he was saying, he sounded like a crazy person, one of the nut-jobs you hear about that travel around preaching about the apocalypse or seas turning to blood or raining cats or something.

"Well, look, we don't know anything about-" Mark started to say but was cut off by the giant.

"Exactly, you don't know anything about this place or her " The last word her sneered slightly.

Mark was getting angry and Teresa a little afraid as she started thinking of the phone on the table beside the door and if she could get to it to dial for help.

Just as she felt Mark tense slightly as if readying himself to move quickly, Maria suddenly appeared on the walk beside the bungalow. In her left hand she had a plastic bag and in the other, an iron rod that was quite large, long and looked to be very heavy.

The giant turned in an instant and was now glowering at the newcomer with his back turned to Mark and Teresa now.

"What do you want bitch?" He sneered out.

"Oh I'm simply delivering food to my guests, and I would have to ask you what you are doing here bothering my tenants?" Maria said with a glint to her eye as she set down the bag on the concrete walkway and hefted the rod she had in her hands, patting it up and down into her now empty left hand.

"And what else are you delivering? You think I am blind woman?" The giant said in that deceptively soft voice.

Maria now lowered her voice and spoke softly.

"I think you are a fool to walk back into my domain ..." She said taking a step forward.

The giant shook with fury and flexed his hands, but other than that made no threatening move towards her.

"One day soon, the Reckoning will be here, and we will have our differences resolved, of that, you have my word and my will on it." He said in a soft whisper.

Then he turned and started walking down the drive to the street where he continued a ways, then turned a corner and was gone.

Maria set her rod down next to the drive, picked up the bag and proceeded up the steps to two very bewildered people staring at her.

"Oh don't worry about him, he's just an old fool that can't accept change, especially since he's my ex-husband and a lazy lout that can't accept responsibility for anything" Maria giggled as she herded Teresa and Mark back inside.

On hearing that they both immediately relaxed and felt a little embarrassed for Maria, both knew how crazy ex's could be. All thought of the giant disappeared when Maria set the bag down on the table and smells inside wafted about the room, making them both feel almost famished.

Setting plates for her guests Maria doled out the food and said there was plenty more in the bag if they wished for 2nds and prepared to leave.

Teresa before sitting down asked Maria to sit a moment with them if she wasn't too pressed for time. Mark was busy digging in as Maria smiled and sat with them to talk.

"Maria, I realized I didn't give you my or my boyfriend's name, we haven't even paid for our stay for tonight..." Teresa asked suddenly unsure of herself.

"Yes?" Maria asked smiling.

"Well, how do you know and why haven't you asked for payment?" Teresa said laughing and feeling kind of foolish as if these questions suddenly seemed irrelevant.

"Oh it's not important right now that you pay upfront, that's why this business is so successful, we treat our tenants as family, not as people paying for a service." Maria said placing her hand on Teresa's on the table.

When Teresa felt Maria's hand touch hers she felt a calm come over her, like nothing in the world mattered now except she enjoy her food and company. In the back of her mind she knew Maria had given her no answers, but she felt they weren't important at the moment, so she smiled back and started eating.

Mark on the other hand was still wondering about the giant that had come to the door, he just couldn't get over how big and mean looking the guy was.

"So who was that guy Maria? I know you said he was your ex but damn, that guy looked like he could tear through a brick wall with his bare hands." Mark said.

"Oh well, he is a builder really, construction, you know the kind of guy that can do everything, that's why he's so big and strong looking." Maria said.

"You can say that again, definitely the concrete looking type." Teresa said as she was dipping a fry into some sauce.

"So what's his name?" Mark asked.

"Mark, don't go asking that kind of thing of her, being an ex it might be bad memories to ask too many questions." Teresa chided him.

"No it's ok Teresa, I don't mind, he's changed his name several times for various reasons, I used to know him as Cronus, but of course he doesn't go by that now." Maria said politely

"Cronus? His parents must have been heavy into Greek Mythology or something." Mark said finishing his food and throwing the wrapping into the trash.

"Well, they were as far as I know, I never met them, we didn't stay together long, we we're just too different, had too many different ideas about things, and I can tell you the split wasn't amicable." Maria said frowning.

"From what we saw today I can guess" Teresa said throwing her trash away as well.

"But no more talk of the past, tell me more about yourselves, it's obvious you two are in love with each other, how did you meet?" Maria asked

Mark and Teresa both looked at each other and Mark started talking.

"Well, it's a little unusual actually..." He began.

"Very unusual really." Teresa said laughing looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh its ok if you don't wish to say, I don't mean to pry" Maria said soothingly.

"Oh no, it's ok, it's just that some people look badly on us for the age difference and the circumstances of when we first met." Teresa said

"Not me, I can assure you, I don't judge, especially when its two people that love each other, I think that triumphs over all, there can be no age barriers when it comes to love." Maria said.

Taking a deep breath Teresa looked at Mark and he nodded, she began to tell the story.

"Well, when I was in my late teens and starting college I needed a part time job, something to help me through school, as my parents paid for my education, room and board, food, everything, except spending money. Just stuff I wanted such as a new computer, CD's, the like.

"In my first year I decided to start baby-sitting again, as I had done it all through high school and it helped me pay for a car so I decided to keep doing it while in college. I wasn't the type to bring boyfriends over so I had a good reputation that made me well liked with parents. And then I started sitting for Mark when he was 4." She finished with a flush to her cheeks that was barely noticeable but to Mark he knew she was embarrassed. Mark continued from his point of view.

"And when she left after graduating college it was like my life was leaving me. I was only 7 or 8 at the time, and I knew I was a kid, but for some reason all through my teenage years and college I just couldn't get her out of my head. Every detail, her soft skin, the way she used to grin at my little games, the movies we watched cuddled together on the couch. None of it left me, and it over-shadowed every woman I dated, and decided they just didn't stack up to Teresa." He said wistfully staring at Teresa as she gazed back at him.

Teresa continued then.

"And then one night over a year ago we met at a rock concert, he was just standing there talking to his friend while I was pushing through the crowd to get to the concession stand. We saw each other and we knew, we were going to be together. I didn't know who he was exactly at the time, I just knew that I knew him, and that he knew me, and we went to a quiet room and talked and kissed and the rest is history." Teresa sighed as she finished.

Mark took her face in his hands and kissed her in front of Maria.

"You two are so lovely..." Maria whispered happily as the lovers kissed in front of her.

Pulling back from Mark, almost breathless Teresa turned back to Maria who was smiling at them both.

Teresa felt like she could tell Maria anything in that moment, and Maria asked her.

"What is missing from your life Teresa?" Maria asked knowingly.

Teresa looked down at the table a moment before replying.

"I want to have children someday." Teresa said looking up at a surprised Mark and a tentative Maria.

"Why haven't you yet?" Maria asked her.

At this Teresa bit her lip and at first refused to answer, the one answer she was afraid to speak even to Mark, whom she loved dearly.

"What's wrong babe?" Mark asked, not concerned in the slightest that they were talking intimately in front of a stranger.

"I don't know how to tell you Mark, I just don't know ..." Teresa said, with tears in her eyes.