A Cosmic Kind of Love(109)
But Chris had booked this part of the trip and surprised me with our accommodation.
A luxury spa resort.
“To decompress before real life starts again,” Chris had said.
He also seemed to be enjoying the relaxing day after a few days of activity.
We’d used a guide the first day here to take us to the jungle to the diving caverns. Thankfully, our helpful guide warned us to wear plenty of bug spray because . . . jungle. The caverns were a little too busy for my liking, and there were bats.
Bats.
Nope.
Just nope.
But Chris had the time of his life, and I couldn’t help but be a little proud of myself for participating in the diving, even if I was constantly aware of the bats.
The second day, we visited the ruins at Tulum. But today we’d lazed around the pool, drinking cocktails, reading and napping on our cabana bed. There were multiple restaurants on the resort that catered to different cuisines. We were returning from dinner at the seafood restaurant.
Tomorrow we had appointments for a couple’s massage.
Now that to me was heaven.
When we returned home, I’d miss the smell of sunscreen and mojitos.
I squeezed Chris’s hand. “I can’t believe we only have a few days left before reality sets in.”
Chris looked down at me and released my hand, but only to slide his arm around my waist to draw me closer. “We’ll have more trips like this in the future.”
I wasn’t sure about that. It would be difficult to top Mexico. We’d spent time in Mexico City, the highlight of which for both of us was a guided tour of the National Museum of History. It was outstanding. We toured Chapultepec Castle, and we did a food tour through a culinary neighborhood called Polanco—also a highlight. We’d ended the food tour with churros con chocolate, and I already suspected I’d be dreaming about those churros for years to come. Then we got a bus to Puebla so we could experience the safari. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable and showed us how to feed and pet a rhino. And we cuddled kangaroos.
Cuddled kangaroos!
An experience that just couldn’t be beaten.
From Puebla we got a flight to Oaxaca and spent a few days visiting the ruins of the ancient Zapotec capital. I got chills walking around those ruins, imagining ancient life here. Chris had been similarly blown away. Things with his father had returned to their usual strained fashion now that he knew Chris would never give him the opportunity to control his life. He didn’t approve of me, but I had hope father and son could build bridges. So I’d keep trying for Chris’s sake. While he still didn’t have answers from his father about possible Mexican relatives, Chris admitted just being in Mexico was a good start. He said he felt connected to the country and couldn’t explain why it felt so familiar to him. It was like he’d been there before. Perhaps it was psychosomatic or perhaps there really was this genetic bond between people and places. Whatever it was, I was just so thankful to experience his first time in Mexico by his side. We even brushed up on our Spanish together. I wouldn’t lie. Chris speaking Spanish got me a little hot and bothered.
Okay, a lot hot and bothered.
From Oaxaca we flew to Tabasco, where we experienced more world heritage sites and waterfalls and awesomeness.
By the time we got to Cancún, I was exhausted.
But even though I was extremely glad these last few days would be nothing but lying around by the pool, I couldn’t imagine us ever pulling off a trip like this again.
Chris seemed to sense my dubiousness. “We will,” he insisted. “We might not be able to backpack for three months at a time, but we’ll still travel and see the world the way we want to. We’ve just proven we can.”
I snuggled into his side, nodding. “I’m just feeling a little melancholy because it’s almost over.”
He kissed the top of my head. “Let’s enjoy this now. We’ll worry about that when it comes.”
By “it” he meant NASA. When we got back to New York, Chris would have to pack again. He’d taken the job with NASA, and he was finally expected in Houston next week. I would not be going with him. At first.
After spending weeks researching, I’d approached Lia with a proposal for me to open a division of the company in Houston. To my shock, she was already working on plans to open an office in Los Angeles and had been looking for a third city. Houston hadn’t crossed her mind, but my research opened her up to the possibilities there. And while she’d miss having me in New York, she believed in me and had faith I could run a team.
We’d found an office a week before I’d left for my three-week vacation with Chris. I had a bunch of personal days saved up, and Lia had agreed to let me take the vacation once I assured her Dominic could handle my workload. He was only too happy to, considering once I left to run the Houston office, he’d have my job. But it was worth it. I’d miss New York, of course, my parents, Althea and Michelle . . . but I’d be taking a giant step up the ladder of my career, and Chris and I would be moving in together. A scary step—career-and relationship-wise—but also extremely exciting.
It would be a few months yet until Lia Zhang Events was ready for Houston, and until then Chris and I would do the long-distance thing. I tried not to hate the idea but failed.
We’d been inseparable for months. For instance, I’d been right by his side when he got the call from his agent that a big New York publisher made an offer on his book.