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I kissed her, smiling to myself. "Don't worry about me. I went almost three months before. I can last another day or so. But no longer," I said with a mock-menacing expression on my face. I touched the tip of her nose and then I broke into a smile. "I expect some very dedicated slave-girl services as soon as we're in the clear."
"Your wish will be my command," she said, unable to keep a grin off her own face.
We snuggled together for a while longer and then went to bed, a bit disoriented because of the change in plans, but at least we had a good meal with the O'Rileys and our family. I got one good set in with the band, and would have another chance to finish a full evening the next weekend.
Life, despite the more recent series of ups and downs, was good.
* * *
The next morning, I woke up and had a quick shower while the suite was still dim and quiet, wanting to check in with John to see if they had found Monroe. After wrapping a towel around my waist, I went into the living room and sat in front of the television, my cell in hand. I checked the news and then my cell for messages, but saw none so I called John.
"Hello, Dr. Morgan," he said when he answered. "How was your night? I hope you both were able to sleep."
"We're fine," I replied. "Just checking in to see if there's any news on Monroe."
"Not yet," he said, "but I'll put a call in to my contact at the precinct and get an update. I'll call you back ASAP. Until then, don't go out of your room or the hotel."
"Got it. Let me know what you learn."
I hung up and switched channels, but there was nothing on the local news except talk about the traffic issues because of a steam pipe explosion earlier in the week.
I peeked into the bedroom, which was still dim due to blackout curtains over the window. Kate was asleep so I went to the other bedroom and saw that Sophie was still asleep as well. I smiled to myself, happy that my two girls were fine.
I really wanted to go for a run, but that was out of the question. Until Monroe was in custody, I wasn't taking any chances. I quickly and very quietly dressed, and then I went back into the living room and called down to room service, ordering breakfast for the three of us. For the next twenty minutes, I worked on my laptop going over some information on my credentials at NYP, wanting to talk to the supervisor there about waiting for a year before being considered for reinstatement.
I heard a light knock at the door and checked through the peephole. Sure enough, a young female room service staff was standing outside with a cart containing several silver dome-covered plates, glasses and cups and what I really wanted -- a carafe of coffee. Beside her stood one of the guards who was on duty, watching our hotel room all night.
It felt a bit excessive, but John and I agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry.
I opened the door and the maid wheeled in the cart and placed it in the living room. When she was finished, I thanked her and gave her a generous tip.
First things first -- coffee. Black. Two sugars.
I sat in front of the television, drinking my coffee and waiting for my two girls to wake up and keep me company. In about ten minutes, I heard the shower running and knew that Kate was up and getting started. I put my cup down and went into the second bedroom to find Sophie asleep on her back, her arms thrown up beside her head, her pacifier still between her teeth. She was asleep and I wasn't going to wake her up. Maybe Kate and I could enjoy our breakfast together before she got up and could talk about the whole business.
Sure enough, in about ten minutes, Kate arrived, freshly showered and dressed. She came right over to where I was sitting on one of the sofas and bent down for a kiss.
"Good morning," she said. "I see there's breakfast."
"There is," I said and got up. Together, we went to explore the food. There was an opulent spread -- a hot serving dish with eggs and bacon, plus fried potatoes and toast. There was also a cold serving dish with fruit and yogurt, Danishes and muffins. Plus a carafe of coffee, one of fresh-squeezed orange juice and one of hot water for tea.
"Yum," Kate said and took a plate. "I could get used to this."
Together, we dug in and sat at the sofa, eating our breakfast in front of the television.
"Anything new on Monroe?"
"Nothing yet," I said. "I talked with John but they're still looking for him. He didn't show up at home so maybe he's hiding out at a friend's place or other family."
"I hope they find him soon," she said and forked some eggs onto a triangle of toast. "But not too soon, so we have an excuse to stay here and get room service morning, noon and night." She gave me a smile and I laughed.
"You know, we could afford to hire a housekeeper and cook, if you really wanted it."
She shook her head. "No," she said and drank down some juice. "We only ever had one cook for parties and occasionally a housekeeper would come in for deep cleaning at my home when I was growing up. It's a bit ostentatious for me to have a housekeeper and cook, but it's fun to indulge now and then." She smiled at me, her eyes crinkling up at the corner.
"If you ever change your mind, let me know and I'll sign the papers."
"Seriously? You'd agree to having a housekeeper and cook?"
