Ten or fifteen minutes after the car arrived the interior lights went on and the passenger door opened. A woman exited and seemed to be straightened her clothes. Then the driver stepped out. I was surprised a moment later when a third person, a woman, exited the passenger side. They gathered at the rear of the car and spoke. I was focused now because I realized it was Andrew. I could even hear his voice though not make out the words. I sat stock-still. Gail had been the third passenger out. Had she been sitting in the middle? My heart was pumping. I hoped they wouldn’t look up. It was dark enough to hide me but I felt like I was sitting in sunlight.
They were talking more loudly now as they walked toward the entrance. They were now below the canopy and could not see me. I quickly rose, closed the balcony doors, stripped the robe and got into bed. A minute or two later I heard them in the hall talking then Gail was putting her key into the door. I feigned sleep. She quietly closed the door. There were no good nights exchanged between them. I was peeking. She looked over to me then went to the bathroom and closed the door. About five minutes later she came out. She had closed the bathroom lights before opening the door. I had my hand resting in front of my face so she could not see my eyes. She stood in the bathroom doorway for what seemed like a minute or two though it may have been seconds. She was wearing the other blue robe. She then walked to the bed and stood beside it. I closed my eyes. A few seconds later I heard movement and I squinted to peek. She was walking toward the door, which she quietly opened, exited, and closed.
Shock or surprise would be an understatement. I lay in bed my heart pounding. I kept trying to calm myself, my heart was racing. It took some effort but I managed to stabilize my thoughts. She was probably visiting with her friends, I told myself. But, hadn’t she been the one in the middle, making out? I walked to the balcony doors and looked out. Obviously still a beautiful view but I didn’t see it now. What had changed so much in the last half hour? I donned the robe again and opened the door to breath fresh air. My mind still racing I walked onto the balcony. The balcony to my right had light coming through the doors. Gail had said that Charlene was in the next room so I assumed it was their lights shining through.
Now I tried to listen but I couldn’t hear any sounds. I went to the far right of our balcony and leaned over the rail. Still no sound. I could partially see into the room but just against the wall. I looked at the balcony distance and wondered how crazy it would be to crawl over to the next balcony. I felt driven now so it did not take long for me to quietly move the chair close to the railing. I then stepped on the chair, my hands leaning on the wall, and literally stepped onto the next balcony. I lowered my bare feet quietly.
I edged cautiously towards the doors so as not to get caught in the light. The curtains were only covering the sides of the windows, as in our room, I could clearly see inside. Their bed was on the left side of the room and Charlene was sitting on the far side and at the bottom of the bed. She was wearing what looked like a large tee shirt and had a Champagne glass in her hand. She was looking across the room and talking. I lowered myself almost crawling and moved toward the center of the doors. A wooden armless chair with a solid wood back and a green cushion was placed in front of the doors and I was looking under the chair and through the legs. There was Gail in the famous blue robe facing me from across the room. I could see up to her chest. She held a glass of Champagne and her body was angled toward Charlene and she was speaking, though I could not make out the words.