Path of the Vampire forum

--This roleplay is backdated to February 15th, 2016--

“I don’t know why we just can’t fly straight to Mexico.” Whinny said as she burrowed around in her carryon bag for a copy of Time Magazine. Adelita knew she was disappointed, but the woman also thought Whinny should be grateful she even asked the woman to accompany her and pay for her flight and hotel room. Even if it was shared-it was still accommodations Wynifred did not have to pay for.

“I already told you. It is about an eleven hour flight. Which means we will be arriving or leaving sometime during daylight hours. It is not my fault these flights take as long as they do. Now shut up and read about how Barbie is changing the face of...body appearance and perceptions. Or whatever.” Adelita waved a hand in Whinny’s direction, the gold bracelets on her wrist clinking together.

Adelita grabbed her own carryon bag and pulled out her copy of TVy Novelas, followed by her tiny travel pillow, zipped her bag up and shoved it over her head in the compartment above both their heads. “Our first stop is Denver. It sounds so...bland. I should have picked Houston, but the time was too close for comfort.” Adelita knew a lot about Texas, almost as much as Mexico. It was where a lot of her father’s dealers went into from Mexico. Whinny just made a ‘mhm’ sound as she flipped through her magazine, half listening to what Adelita was saying. ”Colorado. I bet boring people live there.” Another ‘mhm’ was heard and Adelita decided to give up on trying to initiate another conversation.

Not that Adelita was upset about it. Not having to entertain Whinny meant that she could read all the latest on all the Televonvelas she watched and those hadn’t gotten around to finishing yet. Or even starting. Wynifred hated her dramas, so Adelita wouldn’t be able to discuss any possibly plots and expectations on the next episodes to come in the next couple of weeks.

Adelita was only an hour and a half into the flight to Denver, Colorado and she was already bored. The in house movie was boring. Something about a guy being almost killed by a bear and then left in the cold, trying to survive. If it was her sort of movie, Lita would have been more engaged, she was sure, but she would never be in the wilderness and she sure as hell wouldn’t let some people rob her and get away with it. No way. A nice, big stiletto would stab them in their head and it wouldn’t be the one resting on their shoulders.

Adelita looked over at her traveling companion, who was fast asleep with the latest TIME magazine resting in her lap. Adelita looked around, noticing about a quarter of the travellers sleeping, half of them watching the movie and the rest, were trying to find something to do to pass the time and the length of the flight. Without a moment’s hesitation, Adelita took the magazine off Whinny’s lap and began skimming through the pages. Something has got to be worth looking at, right?

Inside the magazine was the story of Barbie. Who she was, how she was created and how far she has come in almost sixty years. And Lita stopped to think if she ever had a Barbie. Just one. Not a lot. The woman frowned. She couldn’t remember owning a Barbie, or at least playing with a Barbie. Adelita did remember that she had them. Babies. But she wasn’t allowed to touch them. They remained in their boxes and were from all over the world. They were festival barbies and she had one from Ireland, Spain, Germany, and a few others that escaped her recollection.

No stories ever came with those Barbies. Nothing out of this was the last place your padre traveled to. The only stories ever told in her home were the stories of her familia’s success. Origins of their beginning.

Lita’s focus was no longer on what was written on the semi-glossy finish pages of the magazine. Her focus was now on those stories she had been told time and time again. The story of the Delgado Familia. It all started with her abuelo. Montez Delgado.

Montez did not start out big. He was not rich, he was not famous. At fourteen he was struggling to keep his familia together. Not his own, but he was trying to keep his madre’s mistakes from getting larger than they already were at the time. His madre had been abandoned by their padre three years ago. He had fallen out of love with her, and in love with some other woman. One night he was there and the next? Most his clothes were gone-only those he could pack in a single bag, his side of the bed was empty and all he had left Ivette with enough cash to get her and their children food for an entire week.

Montez was the oldest of three, but the youngest of the three was just a little over a year. An unexpected ‘oops,’ to the couple. Montez, Carilla and Jose. Ivette and Franco wed when the two discovered she was pregnant with Montez. It was a quick ceremony and people were led to believe that the boy came earlier than expected. He was born prematuro-they would say. Everyone believed it after hearing it so many times and then five years later, Carilla was born. Ivette had miscarried a few months after Carilla was born, and then again three years later. By the time Jose had been conceived, it was believed that Ivette was past her prime and would never see another child anyways given the two prior miscarriages and her mid thirty age mark.

By the end of the week, the money had ran out. Carilla needed some medicine for an unforeseen illness. His madre, who had always been a stay at home mother, now needed to purchase an outfit to try and get a job. So, not being able to withstand little Jose’s cries of hunger anymore, Montez sold himself. His values and priorities had changed within that week. He had to be the man. He had to find a solution. He had to succeed at any price. Montez knew a man who wasn’t good news. His padre had told him to stay away from the guy known as ‘Wheels.’

‘Wheels’ got a lot of kids to push drugs in the neighborhood and the school yard. And whatever he profited, he shared a small percent of with his sellers. It was a good deal for him because ‘wheels’ was able to keep more money than if he had guys his are selling stuff on his behalf. Kids were gullible. Kids were stupid. Kids didn’t know anything about a true cut of profit for a product like this. They were happy getting whatever kind of money anyone got them. That week Montez became a pusher.

And he was good at it. Some called him a natural born salesman. He was easy on the eyes, so young women his age and a little older were talked into buying a product they never would have bought before. And the other kids knew what he was doing and either wanted to become a pusher, or wanted to buy what he had to get a piece of pussy they would say. Montez had a lot of that around him and they figured that was the quickest way to get what he had. Buy it or sell it.

At eighteen he had a small street rep for himself. So good, he got a promotion. Montez got to see how some stuff worked behind the scenes. He had earned that right by making a lot of money and always giving what he had earned to the guy above him. Besides, that guy found himself with a 9mm to the back of his head with the trigger pulled for cutting the **** down so much that the guy above him was getting **** for it, and so was the guy above him. Things had to be cleaned up again and tidied. There was only one way for doing that.

No one would believe Adelita if she told them that her grandfather rose from the bottom to the top in less than a decade. Not many people remember Montez being that kid that pushed drugs in the gueto, where roads didn’t exist. Nothing but sandy gravel for blocks. No one would believe the crazy story that he used to help cook the crap that was being sold in the backyard in some middle class neighborhood in Mexico, either. Times were different in the sixties and seventies. People weren’t able to be so nosy. Not with all these devices. A high fence kept nosey bastardos out of your business.

The setup was loco. Something no one would dare dream of doing now. Large rubber buckets for mixing the product with all the required ingredients and chemicals. Microwaves lined closest to the wall of the kitchen, plugged in by power surges. Scales to weigh the bricks made. Powder made by Wireform metal mesh, lined with a finer mesh above it. His job was to make sure every block made weighed the same as the one before it. And if it didn’t...there would be major hell to pay. Just ask the guy before him. He’s been buried for a few decades now in the same exact spot all low level scum were buried at. He would be very easy to find.

“Attention fliers. We are currently experiencing some turbulence. The captain has lit up the seat belt sign and so we ask everyone to please buckle up until the captain deems it safe and turns that light off. Thank you and continue enjoying your in house movie, The Revenant.” Her brown eyes search for the female flight attendant that has made that announcement, but the woman is hiding behind a wall, where the tiny kitchen is at.

“Whinny.” Lita hissed to her thrall before elbowing the sleeping woman.“”I said Puta! Lita slipped her hands around Whinny, grabbed the buckle straps on each side of her and then started buckling Wynifred up, while the thrall was waking up. “What are you doing?” Whinny hissed back at her, before Lita pointed her finger up above their heads at the buckle seat belt light that was on. “Could have just woken me up before trying to molest me.” Lita knew she was grouchy from being woken up-Whinny loved her sleep. If she wasn’t in class, or out partying, then Whinny was sleeping the night and day away. “Cute. As pretty as you are...you’re a little too fragile for my tastes.” Adelita stuck her tongue out at her thrall before going back to reading the rest of the Barbie article in the magazine.

”Attention fliers. On behalf of the crew, we would like to welcome you to Denver, Colorado. The temperature is currently thirty-four degrees. The time is currently six-twenty four a.m. Sunrise is just before seven a.m. and the high today is expected to be sixty-two degrees. On behalf of Canadian Airlines, we hope you enjoy your stay and remember Canadian Airlines for your return flight back home.” The same female voice boomed over the overhead speakers with a little more perkiness than before and finally, Lita was able to see who the woman was. She was thin, and pretty-but they usually were.

Lita waited until a couple people started evacuating the plane before she stood, popped open the overhead compartment, grabbed both their carry ones and made eye contact with Whinny. ”Time is of the essence. I’ve booked us a hotel three miles away. I’m going to go get a cab. You grab our bags. If you are not out by the time I get a cab-then you will have to get your own. The sun isn’t good for this flesh.” Lita blew the woman a kiss before heading out the door of the plane and doing just as she told her thrall she would do.

A cab was easy to get. There seemed to be a lot of them on standby, waiting for potential customers. Whinny put the carry ons in the trunk of the yellow taxi, looked around for Whinny, grabbed her phone and slid into the back seat of the newer taxi cab. See you at the hotel. Lita shot a text message to Whinny after giving the guy the name of the hotel, and then buckling her seat belt as he pulled off to the hotel.

When she got to the Hampton Inn, Lita rolled her eyes. She had seen a lot worse places, but she had seen a lot better too. She reminded herself to never, ever let a travel agent do her itinerary again. There were flags of all assortments outside-The American one and some Lita didn’t recognize. Not that it mattered, because she was only spending the day sleeping here. Lita paid the taxi driver, collected the bags and headed inside as the skyline started to lighten. The woman yawned, checked the time on her watch and then booked it inside to check in.

”Reservation for Melete Vasquez. My friend should be arriving shortly. Keep the spare key for her at the desk. Her name is Wynifred King. She’s pretty-almost as pretty as me. But not a latina.” Adelita was rambling more than she probably should have, but the woman needed to get up to her room before two things happened. The sun appeared and she fell unconscious right here and right now at the desk. After a couple minutes of looking for the reservation, the clerk found it and slid Lita one of the two keys. He gave a brief introduction of where to find the free breakfast, the pass code to the free wi-fi and to personally ring him if the two women needed more towels or anything else.

Adelita might have given him a second glance if time wasn’t of the essence, but she didn’t have that time and so she headed to the direction of the elevator as if her life depended on it, and pressed the button to two. With each step the woman took, it seemed as if they were getting heavier and she was about to crash on the floor from flight exhaustion or something. She knew it wasn’t that though. That it was the way of her vampire life.

Finally, the woman found the room that matched the number on the key card, slid it in and more or less zombie walked to the first of the two queen sized beds. The room was a color that reminded her of Mexico-the burnt orange color, but the wood headboards ruined the appeal to the woman.There was a small refrigerator underneath a desk near the door, a thirty-two inch screen television on a dresser and other odds and ends she would have to check out later. Much later, after the woman slept for the next twelve hours or so.

Both bags were dropped near the door, her coat was tossed onto those bags and the woman practically dropped into the bed, landing hard into the pillow case and instantly seeing darkness as the vampire curse overtook her body.

“Lita! I said Liiiiiiiiiita.” The sound of Whinny’s voice was the first thing that greeted the woman to the night. The Mexican woman groaned, grabbed the other pillow and trapped her head inside the two pillows, trying to ignore the woman. “Move your ***.” With that Lita was actually slapped on the *** by her thrall. “Our flight leaves in less than three hours.” Whinny reminded the woman, before disappearing into the bathroom to start her routine of getting ready. Which would give Adelita about forty-to fifty minutes of both silence and alone time. Just enough to draft up some emails to a couple people to let them know she was about halfway through her flight.

To: Elighan
From: Adelita
Message: Denver

Elighan, I made it to Denver in one piece. We’re leaving for Mexico in a few hours.
Just checking in to say hi and that I am behaving like you said I should.

Lita

P.S. Can you look for an antique and some oils for me?


The message would be sent to Godric and Sirena, leaving out the P.S. part to the pair, before Adelita closed the laptop. She normally would have sent an email to Blake-but since Lita never heard anything from him prior to her leaving-the woman didn’t bother. It was a waste of time informing him of anything. She began to wonder if he even read his emails-or more specifically the emails she sent him. It was just best to not waste either of their time. Adelita nodded her head, the decision made up in her mind and signed out of her email account. As the woman stared at the closed laptop cover, remembering what had been told to her not that long ago. Was she mad about it? Not at all, but the Mexican woman realized just how little worth or value she was to the male.

Once Whinny vacated the bathroom in her pants and bra, Lita scooted off the bed, moved to her luggage and grabbed out some more comfortable traveling clothes. Lita had pulled out a tourmaline colored velour bottoms by Juicy, a white tank top and the same exact colored top that zipped, as the pair of bottoms Lita was going to be wearing. A pair of gold toned flip flops were pulled from the same bag, before Adelita vanished into the small room Whinny had come from a couple seconds ago.

Adelita would reemerge from the bathroom in her much lighter, comfier clothing. Her meeting with the Designer known as Lola Pavia, wasn’t until tomorrow night, so what she wore now would affect nothing. Lita would be comfortable and be lazy when they landed in the International airport known as Puerto Vallarta and could stay that way.

”Look on your phone at all outgoing SouthWest airlines. See if they’re all on time. No point in wasting our time going there if something is delayed.” Adelita asked Whinny, who took out her phone and started researching Adelita’s inquiry. “Everything on time.” Whinny confirmed while Lita zipped her bag closed and then placed it on the bed. “We have some time to kill. Want to go now and get some dinner or get dinner on the way there?”

Adelita moved around the room to check for any items that belonged to the pair of them as Whinny made up her mind. “We can get something there. Are you buying me dinner?” She squeezed in the proposition, like it was second nature. ”I think you need to get a job when we get back home.” Adelita said with a small sigh before letting both shoulders raise and then drop. ”Because I don’t want to be late, I’m not going to stand around and argue with you. Fine. This one time.” Adelita moved to where her bag was at on the bed, collected it in her right hand and then grabbed the key card that was hers from off the bedside table. ”Do not forget your key.” Adelita wasn’t going to be charged the one hundred and fifty dollar fee for not returning the key card. Or returning Whinny’s key card.”Come on, Puta. Let’s ditch this cowboy, rodeo city.” Lita had had enough of Denver the second they had landed and with each minute that passed and they were still here-the larger her disdain grew.

”I pulled up the Dine at Denver application.” Adelita told Whinny as they looked down the corridor they were in, and the second one they hadn’t entered yet. ”What are you feeling like eating?” The pair only had half an hour tops before they had to make it down to their terminal and Whinny was procrastinating. She was acting like she had never been out to eat, or eaten at places like Burger King, Jamba Juice, some bagel place and other places that served some of the same things they had in Canada-but were named something different. There was Mexican, American, Italian and even Japanese, but Whinny couldn’t figure out what she was ‘feeling,’ like eating.

”Don’t even bother thinking Mexican. You’ll get real Mexican when we get to Puerto Vallarta.” Lita started pushing the woman towards Burger King, because now they had to move their asses. And Burger King seemed like the fastest option. They could even take it to go as they more or less ran to the terminal.

Lita slid up to the counter and placed both hand on the counter as she waited to be acknowledged.”We’re both going to have the chicken sandwich thing. The meal.” Adelita specified, as Whinny started to say that wasn't what she what she wanted at all. A hand was shoved in Whinny’s face before Adelita looked at her. ”Like you know what you want.” She snapped at the other woman before putting down a twenty dollar American bill. Whatever change she got back was put in the velour tracksuit pockets in her fuzzy coat, and the bag was collected and Lita started walking to the terminal. “That’s not what I wanted.” ”Then order something for an insanely ridiculous amount of money on the plane. I don’t care.” Adelita opened the bag after adjusting the weight of her carry on, on her shoulder and grabbed a couple of fries from the bag. Whinny had finally collected the two drinks off the counter that the Mexican woman had ordered and was sulking behind Lita as she walked. Lita knew Whinny wouldn’t do that-she barely wanted to pay for her own cheap dinner. Did Adelita care that she was sulking? Absolutely not. It wasn’t Adelita’s fault Whinny was so indecisive.

”Why are you so slow? You’re legs are double my size at least.” Adelita huffed at her thrall as they approached the gate and people were already starting to board the bright blue and orange hued plane. “We’re not going to be late. We can go in at any time as long as they called our section already.” Whinny stuck her tongue out at the back of Lita’s head, knowing the woman couldn’t see it anyways. ”Then we can eat and wait.” Adelita didn’t know if the male on the overhead P.A. system had called their section already, so it was better to wait, than to make an idiot out of the pair of them.

With the brown bags pitched in the garbage and the fries and sandwiches polished off, the duo were ready to join the rest of the people on board. The two weren’t the last, but they certainly were given some not so nice looks from other individuals on the plane as they entered and went to the first few seats near the front of economy class.

Again, Lita put both their bags in the overhead compartment, and took out the flight magazines from in front of their chair, just at where their knees came to rest. Well, at least Whinny’s. Lita’s feet barely touched the middle wall of the plane when she took her seat.

The same announcement came on as the last, prior to the flight. A reminder that the seats act like a flotation device-the side walls come out and a plastic slide unrolls and where all oxygen masks were at. Once the reminder to fasten seat belts came on, and everyone was checked to see if they had followed the directions, the flight to Puerto Vallarta was airborne.

Had the pair been arriving in Puerto Vallarta during daylight hours, they would have been greeted with an entirely different scene. From the windows of the plane you would be able to see the ocean that was a brilliant blue green color, sandy beaches, with a variety of building sizes and shapes. One could feel the warm welcome Puerto Vallarta had to offer from miles above in the sky.

However, since they had to travel in the dark, no ocean could be seen, no ports lined with yachts a plenty, and had Lita not been a native of Mexico and have never traveled in Mexico, she would believe there was little to be seen from the way they came into Puerto Vallarta. An occasional wisp of Cirrus clouds could be seen from the flashing lights on the wings of the plane, and when looking straight down, all someone could see were lights scattered around from buildings down below. The only thing that was clearly defined from the airplane windows was the airport itself.

An announcement emitted from above their heads, welcoming them to Mexico. Attendants would be around to pass out something to fill in something for customs. The temperature at twelve sixteen A.M. was sixty-four degrees and when the sun would rise it would be just a degree higher than it was now. Thank you for flying with SouthWest Airlines and for everyone to enjoy the duration of their stay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

”Do you have a pen in your grandma bag?” Adelita inquired as her eyes landed on Whinny who was looking at the customs paperwork. “What is this for, Lita?” Adelita stood, then grabbed the bag of Whinny’s from the top compartment and dug out a single blue inked pen. She sat back down after securing the bag back in its safe place of holding, and looked at her thrall. ”They want to know what you are bringing into the country. Where you are staying-in case you are a naughty person and need to be spanked and what you’re doing here.” Adelita shrugged her shoulders. ”Just fill it out before we land so we can get out of the airport as soon as possible.” The real reason was because she wasn’t positive how good the passport for Melete was, and so making things go faster, without being dodgy or shady might make things go smoother if there might be a potential problem with the passport.

The two filled out their paperwork in silence, Lita having to look at the information on her passport to make sure Adelita got every detail of it right. There could be no mistakes. It would either have her arrested or sent right back to the states and then back to Canada.

After the plane landing, since time was of no issue, Lita decided to stay with Wynifred this go around and collects her own bags, once they went through customs. Lita had her carry on draped over her right shoulder, while her left arm controlled the rolling suitcase as they exited the airport, hailed a cab and headed for the hotel called ‘Royal Club Grand Nuevo Vallarta Resort.” It wasn’t the most expensive hotel in Puerto Vallarta, but it wasn’t the cheapest either. And the best part, at least in Whinny’s mind was that it was near the ocean, so Whinny knew what she was doing during the daytime hours. Working on a tan, so she wasn’t so pale and pasty when Wynifred came back to Harper Rock.

Lita hadn’t ever stayed at this hotel, or if she had, she didn’t remember it. Or maybe it had been remodeled. Not that she stayed in a lot of hotels in Mexico, in a lot of the major cities in parts of Mexico, her padre had rented or bought properties to avoid the public eye too much as he traveled and did his dirty dealings all throughout Mexico.

Both women were met with a splendor not seen in Harper Rock and it made the woman smile and recall all the wonderful things she missed about Mexico. There was a large rectangular shaped waterfall, that sprinkled over the edge of another waterfall that was slightly bigger and slightly longer. Behind that was a stone white brick building, with rust orange beams that were more or less the same color as the Denver hotel room. Behind that was the check in counter that anyone could see who was coming and who was going from the streets as this part of the building had no doors. It was a semi-open structure design.

Whinny whistled and then bounced in the cab when she saw past the large six floor resort to see umbrellas aligning the beach and the lima bean shaped pool next to the side of the resort. Palm trees could be found on all sides of the hotel and the magnificence of the experience for Wynifred was shattered when the taxi driver spoke Spanish and told Adelita what the total was for the drive to the resort.

Adelita paid the man in the bright fuchsia colored cotton button down, with a decent sized tip, opened the door and stepped out onto the cement before the waterfall area. Wynifred followed suit, moved to the trunk of the cab and grabbed all four bags and put them next to the cab. With the driver paid, the cab waited until he heard the trunk close and then pulled off slowly.

”See you tomorrow night, Puta.” Lita said as she blew a kiss to Whinny, after Adelita had insulted the woman on her stupid idea of wearing LoLa’s latest designer dress, who was down the hall from Adelita now. Whinny stuck her tongue out, this time so Lita could see it before she pressed her own hand to her lips, kissed it and then smacked her butt before rolling her bag down the tiled floor of the hotel where she would find her room.

Spending one night in a hotel with Wynifred was possible, but not spending five in the same space. Not when the woman made it perfectly clear that she was not going to do much adapting to Lita’s lifestyle and patterns. She was on vacation and should be able to enjoy herself. And Adelita conceded, because they would probably never come back here again. At least not in Wynifred’s lifetime. It was too risky for Adelita. Even now, Lita was looking around the hotel as she walked to her own room.

Adelita stood in the door of her room when she unlocked and opened the door. The main lights were already on in the room, which had her wondering what was going on. Who had been in her room? Lita was feeling flighty already and ready to call someone to come to her, or come pick her up at the airport in Canada in two nights time.

Shaky hands slid her phone out of her velour pocket and dialed Whnny’s number. “Whaaat?” Wynifred asked, the television being flipped through the multitude of channels as she was talking to Adelita. ”Listen here, you little puta.” Adelita snapped, still standing in the doorway, voice just a decibel above a whisper. ”Was your light on?” When you came in?” Adelita asked as she stepped out of the door and into the hallway. “Yes. If you go to your bed, you would see the little welcome paper and the name of the woman at the desk and that your bed was turned down by some woman named Constance and she left the light on for you as a gesture of being nice since we got in so late. Jesus, Lita would you-” Suddenly, Adelita felt nauseous. Like she was going to vomit. ”Shut up, you slut.” Adelita threw the phone on the bed as she shot off to the bathroom where Lita did just that. Vomit. And it wasn’t nice at all. Chicken the second time around sort of just floated there in the toilet bowl and burned your esophagus coming back up before landing in it.

”Mierda!” Adelita moaned as the woman draped both arms over the seat of the oval toilet bowl, nearly face planting into the water and her dinner’s remains as she waited to see if that was the last of the vomit fest, before a very shaky, Adelita rose from the ground of the cement tiled floor, moved to the sink and splashed water over her face. The woman opened the bottle of complimentary mouthwash, poured the sky blue liquid in the cap and poured it in her mouth. After swishing it around in her mouth for a minute-maybe longer, Adelita moved from the bathroom to search where things were in her room.

The room was primarily a crisp white linen color. The walls, the duvet, the tiled floor and the piece of furniture at the end of the bed was even white. The rest of the furniture was a dark mahogany, and the room had splashes of maroon. The curtains where the color of wine, along with the small decorative pillows on the bed in front of the ones you used to actually sleep on, and flowers in a vase, native to Mexico were also the shades of wine and accented with light pink.

The Mexican woman moved to the wardrobe, stored her velour zip up fleece in it once it was hung on a very sturdy, very expensive hanger. Her suitcase was nestled inside on the floor of the mahogany colored wardrobe, before the woman moved away to grab the note on the bed to read it. Everything Whinny had said matched up and so the note was crumpled and tossed in a waste basket near the dresser not far from the wardrobe.

Adelita pulled her laptop out of her carry on bag, plugged it into the socket nearest to the wall and opened her emails. The woman didn’t expect much in the form of replies-she was keeping all her outgoing emails short and to the point. Again, this email would go to the same parties as before, some things slightly altered or tailored to not include some personal things for a specific person. This time, the woman started with Godric.


To: Godric
From: Adelita
Message: Mexico

I made it to Mexico. We both did. Wynifred and I. Why did we decide to leave again? We should have stayed-I forget how lovely it is. All the time. I’ll check in with you in a few nights.

Anyways, I hope you are behaving!

Lita


To: Elighan
From: Adelita
Message: Mexico

I made it to my final location in Puerto Vallarta. In case you don’t know where that is, it’s near the coast of the middle of the country. Look on a map if you want to know more than that. Did you find the items I asked for you?

You better make good use of that tie I gave you. I expect to hear everything when I get back!

Lita


To: Sirena
From: Adelita
Message: Mexico

Beunas Noches! How are you liking the solo, single life again? I’m in Mexico and still very much alive. Maybe one day Blake will let you come with me here. I think it would be a lot of fun! Speaking of Blake-can you do some research for me? He would know the answer. Ask him why vampires vomit when they can eat food.

See you in a handful of nights!

XX

Lita

With all her emails sent and checked, Adelita turned off the computer, and flicked on the television instead. She scrolled through the show listings and found just what the woman was looking for. Today’s telenovela. With that turned on, Lita moved to the wardrobe, pulled out her pink and white cotton camisole and curled up into the expensive and light feeling bedding and watched telenovela’s until the early light of dawn approached and claimed the woman into sleep.

Come do something with my hair. I can’t get it right. Adelita sent the message to her thrall as she sat on the bed in a towel wrapped around her, just under the petite woman’s armpits. The dress wouldn’t emerge from the hotel closet until Adelita had finished her makeup and her hair. The less she wore it, it was highly unlikely the thing would get dirty before she got to her dinner date with Ms. Pavia.

But I just came in from the pool. And was planning on going back once I tinkled. Was the reply Adelita got when she looked down at the phone that had just gone off on the bedside table. Adelita rolled her eyes, clenched the duvet of her king sized bed tightly and took a deep breath in before she replied back to her thrall. Look here, you puta, be in my room in five minutes or I will make you my dinner tonight. And I’m starving! Adelita hit send as the woman narrowed her eyes and glared at the television. No longer finding her telenovela’s interesting. The woman felt as if she had butterflies in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t need this designer, still, she was nervous. The LoLa brand was known in the U.S, and all of South America. Adding it to sell in Canada could be a game changer to both women.

“You’re a *****.” The thrall’s voice rang out as she entered, slightly damp and water dripping from her hair, down the length of her back. ”And you’re a lobster.” Adelita’s eyes focused on the pink skin of Wynifred as she stormed into the room and started to take a seat on the bed Adelita was on. ”Get a towel!” Fingers with purple tips pointed to the bathroom, bouncing with urgency, where the woman on the bed watched Whinny disappear into. “Is your room bigger?” Wynifred asked as she came back out, staring at Adelita. ”Probably. I don’t know. I haven’t seen yours. Just shut up and help me. I can’t go with my hair looking like this.” Not that Adelita knew what her hair actually looked like, but she suspected it could look a lot better than it was.

“Are you wearing the dress you brought with you? That sleeveless, dark purple gown?” It would go with your nails. Whinny was fishing and hoping Adelita had changed her mind to what Whinny wanted Adelita to wear. Adelita rolled her eyes and then shook her head. ”No. I am wearing the other dress. The floral one. Now shut up and do something with this.” Adelita waved her hand around the side of her face, indicating what ‘this’ was. “Fine. I’ll braid it and put it in a sloppy bun. And then I’m going back outside. The pool is so warm. You should come out later. If you get back before ten.” Whinny coaxed the woman, while Adelita thought about the points she was going to try and sell to Lola. ”What?” Adelita noticed the lack of discussion from Wynifred, so she knew she had missed something. ”Oh. Maybe.” Was all the Mexican woman said as Whinny started braiding her hair and fixing it for Adelita. “You’re not even listening. You never listen to me.”

”I listen to you. Adelita scowled before turning to face Wynifred. ”I just don’t like what you have to say sometimes. I think it’s well placed, but sometimes the things you say hurt my feelings.” Adelita rolled a shoulder and then stalked off the bed. ”Forget it. I can finish my own hair. Go to the stupid pool.” “What did I say?” Wynifred asked Adelita after she got off the bed and moved closer to the woman. ”Just forget it.” Adelita snapped while she opened the wardrobe to pull out the dress She was going to be wearing for the night. “Fine, but we’re talking about this later.” Wynifred not only sounded confused, but she looked confused as well. Still, the woman left from out of the room, bare feet shuffling against the tiled floors and Lita waited until she heard the sound of the door closing to start getting dressed.

Since Whinny had done the basic premise of the hairstyle, it wasn’t hard for Adelita to find some bobby pins that were the same color as her hair, roll her hair up and stuck those pins into the hair she just twisted, and connected it to the base of her hair. With her hair done, Adelita moved to her suitcase and grabbed her travel kit which held her makeup. She primarily only needed her trademark red lipstick, but tonight she was going to accent her brown hues with some light blue eye shadow and leave the red at home. Instead, she applied a glossy lip gloss to her lips, puckered them not once, but twice, then moved back to the dress.

The woman unzipped the back of it and slowly climbed into the dress, making sure to watch the delicate fabric on both the inside and outside as she stepped into it. Once it was secured, the woman twisted the dress to the side, so she could zip it up, and then shuffled it around so once again, the zipper was lying against the flesh of her back, since she had made sure to get cups stitched into the top. Besides, if Lita could find a way to find as little as clothing as possible-she would go with it. Her feet slid into three inch heels that were the lightest shade of pink, a clutch had been procured from her suitcase, where the woman tossed her hotel key in it, the lip gloss, some Mexican currency and a nail file. If not for her nails, then for stabbing someone in the eye, should they get too handsy with Adelita at any point during the night.

Adelita arrived twelve minutes prior to the meeting time. The cab that dropped her off, left after being paid and Lita stood outside Cafedesartistes, and enveloped herself in all the beauty of such a place. Lola was right. The place spoke for itself. To the right of the white building with large glass walls was a terrace where square tables, topped with white tablecloths could be seen under some trees native to Mexico. From those trees were stringed lights hanging, two or three lights per string. The tables were placed in various order, with no reason or rhyme and occasionally, it appeared some tables were sitting on a more elevated level than most the wood tables below it.

The atmosphere inside was no less extravagant than what was going on outside. When you first walked in, you were greeted with tables all throughout the width of the inside of the restaurant, matching the same as outside. All dark wood colored, with white linens. The bad was off to the left hand side, where bottles of at least five, but mostly six, same time of wine and alcohol were lined neatly near the wall counter, that had a small running of glass behind the bottles, making it easy for guests to observe the surroundings behind them if they looked through the mirror. Slightly problematic-Lita would have to try and request a table near the veranda, more than the bar.

Above the bottles of alcohol was a singular picture the length double the size of Adelita, if the woman had to guess. The theme was Aztec in nature, with bright colors, animals, people and intricate designs that had no pattern to them. ”Can I help you, Miss?” The Maitre D inquired when his eyes fell on Adelita. The Mexican woman nodded her head, and parted her lips to reply after she retained eye contact on the male in the black dress pants and teal colored button down shirt. ”Sí. Tengo una reservación. Para Melete Vásquez.” Adelita laughed, realizing she spoke a language he might not understand-but she doubted it. ”I have a reservation for Miss Vásquez.” The male just nodded, eyes already glued to the reservation list before he replied to Adelita. ”Su huésped ya está aquí.” He pointed to the woman who was already sitting, drinking a glass of wine as she waited for her dinner date to arrive.

The Maitre D collected two black framed menus, and held out an arm, offering Adelita to follow him as he moved into the depths of the restaurant. While they walked, Adelita couldn’t help but tip her chin upwards as she observed the craftsmanship of the inside of the restaurant. Large, clear bulbs dropped from the arched wood ceiling, two rows of fans high above the hanging bulbs circulating to keep the atmosphere in the restaurant cool as people dined. The air in Mexico was typically humid, especially when you were in a place that was so close to the ocean. Much like Puerto Vallarta was. Empty tables were lined with clear wine glasses, olive colored water glasses besides the wine glasses where linens folded on top of plates were waiting to be dined on.

As they drew closer to the table, Adelita’s focused returned to the woman who was waiting for Adelita to join her. She smiled and even let out a breath of relief when Lita noticed that the designer was not wearing any of her designs, but was wearing a colorful De La Renta design. Adelita knew his work from anywhere-as she had a lot of clothing from his line.

The Maitre D set the menus down in the middle of the table, then proceeded to pull out Adelita’s chair for her. When the woman moved around the male, she gave him a small, subtle smile, collected the fabric of her dress and then sat in the chair with a soft, ”Gracias.” To the male who just nodded at the acceptance of Adelita’s thanks. As soon as Adelita was seated, the Maitre D went back to his part in the restaurant and soon, a woman was bringing the two of them some water, filling their olive colored glasses from a glass pitcher, then setting it next to the menu’s that were dropped on the table a couple seconds ago. The waitress introduced herself as Julia and was going to give them both a couple of minutes to look over the menu. The woman sitting at the table, Lola, looked at Adelita, observing the way the woman carried herself and the colorful dress she was wearing.

”Hola. Buenas tardes.” Adelita extended a hand to the woman that was slightly tanner than Adelita, had curlier hair and a lighter shade of pupils than Lita had. Both women were attractive in different ways, Adelita’s general posture carried slightly better than Lola’s was. ”Habla inglés?” Adelita inquired, as both women shook the others hand.

Lola smiled and then nodded her head. “Sí. Hablo English, y francés.” The woman laughed, wondering if Adelita spoke those languages as well, seeing as she was living in Canada. Adelita smiled, grabbed her water glass and then took a sip from it, once her hand was retracted from Lola’s shake. ”Yo no hablo francés.” Adelita admitted sheepishly, before continuing her thoughts in English. ”I am not a native to Canada. I moved up there about a year ago.” Adelita informed Lola after putting the chilled water glass down on the table from where she got it at.

There was a long, drawn out silence between both woman as Lola and Adelita raised their menus, perusing the dinner menu. “Why did you move there? I hear it’s cold most the time. Do you miss here?” Lola asked as she dropped the menu ever so slightly so that Adelita could see the woman's eyes and nose. Adelita set her own menu aside, already knowing what she wanted before nodding her head softly. ”Si. Extrano a México. But-I felt like I needed a change of scenery. After mi padre died last year-I was the only one left. Mi madre left a long time ago and they had no other children.” Adelita informed Lola with a gentle rising of her shoulders. ”What about you? Do you have siblings? And your mother and father?” Adelita asked the woman, reclaiming the menu, if only to keep her hands busy from twisting and turning the dress she wore any more than she already had from nervousness.

“Yes. I have two brothers. I’m between them. One a year older and the other two years younger.” Lola started, gently closing her menu and setting it to the side. “Both my parents are alive, my mother was what inspired me to design. She was a seamstress.” Lola admitted, quite proudly. Lita could see it in her face. “I’m sorry to hear about your father’s passing.” It was like a small sting to the woman, because of the way her father died, and it might be seen in Lita’s features as the woman frowned for a second. ”Mucho gracias.” Adelita said softly before setting the menu down for a second time as soon as the waitress reappeared with a elongated, thin black covered order book and a black tipped pen.

”Desea pedir?” The woman asked both women as she glanced at Lola and then Adelita. Adelita made a gesture indicating Lola should order first and the woman did. “Si. Me gustaría vacio argentino al mezquite.” Lola’s Spanish was impeccable, more so than Adelita’s having not used it for well over a year now. The waitress thanked Lola, collected her menu, shuffled it under the order book and then glanced over to Adelita. ”Voy a tener pollo relleno de quinoa y frutos secos.” Adelita said with a firm nod of her head, handing her menu off as well.

Once the waitress was gone, Lola turned into full business mode. “Tell me about your business. La Transformaccion was it?” The woman pulled the white linen napkin off her plate and set it in her lap, where she would press it down smoothly until both hands came to rest in her lap. ”That’s right.” Adelita nodded her head, doing the same with her napkin, but her hands returned on the edge of the table on her side, palms pressed against the surface and the edge. ”It’s new. Brand new. I just opened it last week.” Adelita confessed sheepishly before smiling at Lola. ”I have a love for two things. Food and clothing.” Adelita had a love for something else, but knew it wasn’t going to be a topic of discussion with Lola in the middle of a business meeting. The woman was pretty enough, but Adelita was taking this endeavor seriously and screwing and business did not work well together at all. So, Adelita would not even suggest sex in an capacity to the woman.

“Do you think your love for food and clothing means you are a smart business person?”[/color] Adelita had been expecting some difficult questions. Questions like these, even and she had rehearsed her answers the entire night prior to the meeting. Slowly, the woman nodded her head. ”Yes.” Adelita started, then moved on to the meat of her explanation. ”Having a love for something implies you have an attachment for whatever it is you love.” Adelita watched their waitress return with a basket filled with fresh, warm tortilla chips and a trio of salsas surrounding that basket. ”When you love something, it consumes you. You want more of the same thing. You research it, study it, spend time with it.” Adelita said softly while the waitress placed the basket in the middle of the table, where their menus had once laid. ”I’ve done all those things. I’ve spent time learning your designs. Your signature trademarks. The materials you use, so I am more able to inform the customers of what it is they are buying.” Adelita grabbed a warm chip, scooped it in some of the pico de gallo and brought it to her lips. The chip was placed inside her mouth and the woman chewed it, buying more time for her to collect her thoughts once again.

Once the chip was chewed to pieces and swallowed down, Adelita began to expand on her research.”Did you know that just a little over a decade ago, the Latino community was only at a one percent of representing the entire canadian population? Since then, it has risen three more percent and will keep expanding.” Adelita knew that four percent wasn’t a big number, but in just over ten years, it was. Compared to the hundreds of years before that. ”There are more women than men that are Hispanic, meaning the majority of that specific population would be geared to your clothing line.” Adelita smiled at the woman and took another chip, dipped it in the same bowl again and waited to hear any interjections.

“I have heard the same more or less. There are only about two percent more Latinas than Latinos.” Adelita nodded her head, agreeing with Lola’s own research. ”True, but how many other Mexican designers are selling their products in Canada? I know of two, personally. One does men and women, the other focuses on younger women as a clothing line, whereas, any woman who needs a nice dress for an event-would be buying your clothing line.” Adelita said silkily as her eyes moved to the veranda outside, catching the ‘floating’ lights hanging from the trees. There weren’t very many empty tables in the place’s entirety. From what Adelita had read, before choosing this location-This was one of the best places to eat and even won an award last year.

Suddenly, Adelita thought about Elighan. He would have taken her here. This was a place he would have when he was human and they were screwing. Her glance returned to Lola who seemed to be thinking on Adelita’s words. To sweeten things up, Lita added one more final thought and offer. ”What if we do a trial run? You put whatever you would like in my store for three months. Whatever does not sell, I will ship back on my expense to you. No need to give me a set amount in merchandise. Think of it as a provisional business arrangement. If you are not happy with the sales, then you are free to back out after those three months.” Adelita leaned back in the chair slightly as their dinner finally arrived, plates hot and the food steaming. Lita did miss this. It would be so easy to just stay….

“Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.” The darker skin toned woman across from Adelita said as she collected her linen napkin from her lap, balled it up and put it next to her empty dessert plate, right below her wine glass that had been filled with a red. “It was very nice to meet you too, Melete.” And in that final statement, Adelita felt her heart drop. Lola was not going to take the offer. Either of the offers extended to her. Lita kept reminding herself silently, that she didn’t need Lola Pavia’s brand in her shop, but she wanted it.
”You’re welcome.” Adelita smiled, even though she felt defeated in her attempts tonight. The woman dug in her clutch, pulled out her credit card and placed it in the card holder spot in the bill fold. ”It was also very nice to meet you, Lola.” That wasn’t a lie. Adelita had enjoyed herself with the woman, learned some of her background on how she had gotten started, more about her father and some of the place.

When the waitress came back to collect the bill and the form of payment, Lola leaned into the table. “I’ll tell you what. Come see me tomorrow. I like your spunk, excitement. I think you’ve got some potential. And three months won’t cost me anything.” Lola gave the woman a small smile before taking out a pen from her own clutch and a business card. She jotted down a couple numbers, put the pen back in the clutch and then snapped it closed. “Call me at this number tomorrow night. I have a couple meetings that might hold me up most of it. We’ll sign a contract.” Adelita collected the business card with a smile, just large enough to look interested and not crazy, and then nodded her head. ”I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.” Adelita promised the woman as Lola stood and put a couple of twenty dollar coins on the table. “For the tip.” It was a generous tip, being as the total bill was just shy of one hundred dollars, but Adelita wasn’t going to complain. Lola was a generous tipper and had a lot of money.

Lola came around the square linen table and bent down to give Lita a kiss on both cheeks. “Tomorrow, darling.” In that moment, she sounded and acted more French than Mexican, and Lita watched the woman weave and worm her way around tables and wait staff as she sat there. Her eyes would move to the card in her hand, flipped it around and then immediately put the number in her phone.

Adelita didn’t move from the table for about another half an hour to forty-five minutes as she relived the dinner minute by dinner, a flutter of emotions coursing through the woman as she once again felt the rejection from Lola’s words, but was surprised when the rejection turned into an acceptance. Lita turned the phone over that she placed on the table front side down, scrolled for Whinny’s number and sent the woman a text message. Dinner went great in case you were wondering. Be out of the pool before it closes to hear what happened, puta. Lita hit send, collected her credit card from the black cased bill fold, slipped it into her clutch and left the cafedesartistes, with a large weight lifted off her shoulders and a slight bounce in her steps as the woman met the taxi that had been called for her twenty minutes ago by the Maitre D.

Whinny was waiting by her door when Adelita returned to her hotel room. “Tell me everything.” Whinny said as Lita opened the door to her room to allow both women entrance inside. ”I will. Unzip me first?” Lita asked as she threw her clutch down on the bed and peeled her feet out of her shoes. Once Lita heard the zipper descending and the dress started sliding down, she grabbed the sweetheart top and kept it tight against her breasts. ”She was pretty nice.” Adelita confessed to Wynifred as she moved to the dresser drawers in the room, across from the bed, pressed tightly to the wall. ”We talked a lot. About business. About familias. About the contract. It’s a trial contract of only three months, but it is better than nothing.”

Once Lita got out an almost all black camisole with pink laced trim at the bust area, she pulled the dress she was wearing off over her head and flung it to the bed. ”Do you think I need to learn French?” The woman put the camisole off, and looked in Whinny’s direction as she asked that. “I think if you’re going to stay in Canada for a long time, you should.” Wynifred nodded her head. “It would probably be smart for business, though most people speak both English and French.” Wynifred concluded with a quick rise and fall of her shoulders.

”I’ll think about it. It’s not like I’ll ever be going to France or anything.” Adelita said as she moved into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash the makeup off her face and brush her hair before braiding it for the night. “And why not?” Wynifred asked as she parked herself on the end of the bed, peering ever so slightly into the bathroom. ”It’s too risky. I barely wanted to come here for two reasons, but I wanted to retain this business adventure if it was at all possible.” Adelita talked between brushing her teeth. ”And who would I take? You?” Adelita rounded the corner of the bathroom and stuck her tongue out at her thrall. ”Go find love on your own time and your own dime.” Lita grabbed the thin box of kleenex off the counter and threw it at her thrall.

“You could take Elighan.” Wynifred suggested, right before Adelita rolled her eyes. ”No. You take him. But, he already has a girlfriend, so you would have to take her too.” Lita told the woman as she unraveled some floss from the compartment it was in. “I thought you guys were cute.” Whinny shrugged her shoulders before tossing the tissue back at Lita, the box hitting the wall, bouncing off it and landing on the tiled floor outside the bathroom. ”We were not cute.” Adelita snapped before starting to floss her teeth.

“Fine. What about what’s his name?” Whinny asked, then made a ‘hmm,’ sound. “I don’t know who you’re currently screwing, but I know you are. You smell of nasty, dirty sex when you come home sometimes.” Lita finished flossing the bottom row of her teeth before looking at her thrall. ”You’re just jealous you’re not getting, hot, dirty, nasty sex.” The Mexican woman accused her thrall before unraveling more floss after throwing the last string of it away. ”And his name is Blake. You saw him one time. That guy at the door in that museum type building? Ring any bells?” Lita coaxed the woman who had told her that some really good looking guy was inside Lumen and in return, Lita had to go see who he was. She wasn’t surprised to see it was Blake-he was very good looking, but Lita was surprised to see him there so early in the night.

”And no. We’re not like that.” Adelita shook her head. ”Love is for idiots.” Adelita snapped the container of floss closed, tucked it away in her accessory bag and then threw the second piece of floss away in the tiny trash bin under the sink. “You’re just bitter. You have one bad experience and you throw in the cards already. You’re going to be miserable and lonely forever?” Whinny shook her head, Adelita catching it in her peripheral as she turned the light off from the bathroom.

Adelita held up two fingers, her middle and her pointed and then indicated what they were being held up for. ”Two. Godric was my first bad experience.” They had a torrid, sloppy romance that was not good for either person, yet they were like oil and water. Constantly bleeding into the other, but then covering the other at the same time. Suffocating the other, almost. ”And then there was Ambrose.” Adelita had considered that ended as soon as it started, which was on her account more than his. An eternity of little to no communication was not her ideal situation. What was the point of even binding the pair of them together? Adelita would never understand his reasoning. “Was that the old guy?” Whinny asked, no tone indicating her thoughts on it. Just a question of information gathering for her own sources.

Adelita pulled the duvet back from off her bed as she nodded her head. ”The older guy. Yes. He was still cute.” Adelita commented idly as she crawled under the covers and sunk down into the bed. “I think you need to just forget all the men in your life. Old and current. They’re all more trouble than they’re worth. Get a vibrator.” Wynifred stood up after saying that, narrowly missing the wine colored decorative pillow Adelita tossed in her direction. ”Maybe. I’ll think about it.” Adelita said before tossing another pillow at Whinny, hitting her in the back of her leg. ”Now get out. I have my Novella’s to watch.”

Wynifred made it to the door, then turned abruptly. “Oh! I was down at the beach today before hitting the pool and I met some really cute guys.” Adelita turned her attention to Wynifred and gave the woman a skeptical look. ”And you finally had sex?” Adelita laughed a little before circling her hands, indicating Wynifred should go on with her story. “No, I’m not you, you slut.” Wynifred huffed before crossing her arms at her chest. “Anyways, they said me and my ‘friend’ should come out tomorrow night. To some place called Mendutos-Mananas. I forget but it’s a club near the beach on the Boulevard. It starts with an M. Shouldn’t be too hard to use some sleuthing skills to find out what it is.” She opened the door and looked at Adelita who was working on braiding her hair now.

”Mandala.” Adelita corrected her, having seen the club on her way back to the hotel. "And I’ll think about it. Stay on my good side and keep the slut comments to yourself.” Adelita finished the braid and put a rubber band at the bottom of it, making sure it would stay secure throughout the day as she slept. ”And only if you stop interrupting my novella’s. Now shooo.” Adelita waved the woman off with both hands before turning on the television and sinking deeper into the bed, enjoying her programmes until Adelita felt the need to close her eyes and sleep.