Our view from the hotel
Rowing in Manhattan
While we were here, what was happening at the hotel?
We
could’ve celebrated our 25th anniversary at a country inn. We
could’ve camped along a riverbank…could’ve stayed home and relaxed on the beach
a few blocks away.
Could’ve,
should’ve.
New
York City sounded romantic. We met there, dated there, lived there for three
months (until I got pregnant and couldn’t stand the smell of roasted pork
spiraling its way from the German restaurant directly into my nostrils…and I
convinced my husband the pollution could be poisoning our tiny baby.)
It
was romantic. At first.
The
hotel sat on the upper west side, near Central Park and the Museum of Modern
Art. It wasn’t the Plaza, but it was nice and clean and just where we wanted to
be for our anniversary. Classical music played in the background as we got our
room card. From our window on the fifteenth floor, we could see the tops of
buildings.
We
swam in the hotel pool on the roof, strolled through Central Park, and rowed a
rowboat on a crowded lake. We bumped oars with many strangers who had the same
idea. City turtles swam by the rocky edge.
Later,
dinner and a movie. Meandering the city streets lit up at night brought back
memories of dating and planning our wedding. Romantic, until…
I
sat at the desk in our room, enjoying a novel and a late night bowl of cereal
as my husband scrolled the TV channels. Something darted past my ankles.
Something with a tail. I leaped off the chair, screamed, and spilt my cereal
milk.
My
husband jumped at my reaction. “What’s wrong?”
“Something
grey with a tail just whizzed by my feet!”
“A
mouse?”
“What
else? A stray cat roaming the fifteenth floor?”
We
laughed as we gathered any food left out—a half of a breakfast muffin in a
plastic bag, a couple of granola bars and paper coffee cups. It wasn’t like we
had a full garbage can to attract any critters. Then I remembered the bagel
half I had left in my backpack, tossed on the bed. I pulled out the bagel in a
Ziploc bag. Seemed fine until I noticed a large chunk bit out of the middle.
I
held the bag out to Gene. “Did you take a bite from that bagel I brought?
Please tell me you did.”
“No,
didn’t touch your bagel.”
I
dropped it and screamed again. “It must’ve got into my backpack while we were
gone!”
Dangling
the backpack by its corner, I dumped all contents into a garbage bag and
shivered down to my toes. That’s when I noticed the hole on the side.
“Look,
that mouse chewed through my backpack to get the bagel.” A hole with a one and
a half inch diameter.
“That’s
a large hole for a little mouse. I’m thinking it could’ve been a rat.”
“It
had to climb on the bed where I left my backpack.”
The
romance is over when a rat enters your room. We thought about packing up and
checking out a day early, but it was after midnight. By the time we caught a
subway and train, we’d get home at three in the morning. The whole rat scare
had drained any energy to pack, so we stayed.
Of
course we barely slept that night. As if we had a monster under the bed.
Thankfully, it either stayed hidden or left to snack at someone else’s room.
My
husband and I both went to college for four years in Manhattan; we’ve watched
rats in subway tunnels, seen mice scurry through our dorms, watched a rat leap
into a park garbage can like a squirrel. Guess it’s been a while. Since then
we’ve been Long Islandized…or something like that. We don’t have the pleasure
of watching rats where we live. Raccoons and other wildlife tend to stay
outside.
We
checked out the next morning and whispered to the clerk about our unwelcomed
guest. He was very apologetic and refunded half of the bill. I could buy a new
backpack.
Our
anniversary wasn’t exactly what we expected, but we were thankful for a blessed
marriage. One fat rat couldn’t ruin our celebration. We had a new memory to add
to our collection of twenty-five years.
We
could’ve celebrated at a country inn…but that would’ve been boring in
comparison. Although next year, we may opt for boring and head north.
*******
Enter
His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and
praise His name. Psalm 100:4
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