As Alex had predicted, the sun was about to make its first appearance of the year 2000 over the city of New York when she, Ray, and Sonny finally arrived back at the suite.
"I don’t want Samantha to miss this," Alex told the guys when they exited the elevator. "I told her she was sure to see dawn with you in charge of the party." She placed a lanky arm over Sonny and gave him a squeeze. "I really love you guys."
"We love you, too," Sonny replied.
They walked into the living room, expecting to see the two sisters still deep in conversation, but instead found Samantha sound asleep on one end of the couch and Sally on the other.
"Guess they finally talked themselves out," Ray said.
"Guess so," Alex agreed.
"Okay," Sonny said and clapped his hands. "No sleeping yet!” He continued to clap as he made his way to the couch. "What do you two think you’re doing? Don’t you know that Old Sol is just about to chase away the shadows?"
Samantha rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Huh?"
"Time to rise and shine," Sonny said.
"Oh, is that ever the wrong phrase to use with her." Alex chuckled.
"Rise and shine?" Samantha moaned. "I’ll rise but . . ."
"No, no. I know the rest of that one, and I’ll have none of it," Sonny insisted. "I heard Alex promised you dawn on the first day of the new century."
"Dawn? Is it dawn already?"
"Almost. If you don’t get that sleep out of your eyes, you might just miss it." He pointed to the window with one hand while helping her off the couch with the other. "Go quickly. Ray will make you a cup of tea; won’t you, honey?"
"Sure," Ray agreed. "Anyone else want something to drink?"
"Me," Sally mumbled as she slowly made her way into a sitting position. "Coffee sounds great. You people sure know how to keep a girl from her beauty rest."
"Now is not the time for that," Sonny said. "The sun is about to make his entrance. I know you want to be able to tell your grandkids that you saw the dawn of the century from a skyscraper in New York City."
"Grandkids? Aren’t you jumping ahead a bit? I think maybe telling my kids first, when and if I have any, would be more like it." Sally laughed and shook her head. "But I must admit your enthusiasm is difficult to ignore, and I don’t know anyone who could sleep with you in the room."
The five friends gathered around the windows and watched as the first rays of the morning sun began to shine.
Alex stood behind Samantha and placed her arms around her waist. She kissed the crown of golden locks. "And so begins the new century, my Destiny. I love you, Samantha Reilly."
Samantha tilted her head back. "I love you, too, Alexis Dorian."
"Oh, please," Sonny groaned. "Can’t you two wait until you’re alone?"
Ray slapped his partner gently on the arm. "Let them be. They shared their entire evening with you; the least you can do is let them have this moment."
Sally joined in. "Yeah. I agree. Maybe we should let them have a little time alone before the magic totally wears off."
Samantha turned to them. "I don’t intend for the magic to wear off any time soon."
Alex grinned broadly. "You’ll get no argument from me, but it might be a good idea for all of us to get just a little sleep before Kelley wakes up."
"She’s only going to call you," Ray chuckled.
"My point exactly. And then I’m going to call you." She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Don’t you want at least a few hours sleep before a day full of TV and talk?"
"It does sound logical to get a little rest." Ray walked to the kitchen and turned off the coffee. "You know, the coffee will keep for a few hours, and so will the tea. Sorry, girls."
"No apology needed," Sally said.
Minutes later, Samantha and Alex stood in the quiet living room alone.
"Gee. Funny how they fill the room, isn’t it?" Samantha said.
"Hell, Sonny can fill it all by himself," Alex answered. "You ready to go back to sleep?"
"I don’t think I’ll have any problem."
The lovers stood by the windows for a final look at the morning skyline. "Even the city seems quiet when you’re this high above her," Alex mumbled and then closed the blackout curtains.
It didn’t take them long to get into bed with Samantha snuggled comfortably under Alex’s arm. "You know, Samantha, this is our last day in New York this time around. If you want to do something special today, I know Kelley will understand."
"That’s okay. I’ll just hang out with Sally, Sonny, and Mom. I think Kelley and Ray are looking forward to spending some time with you. I’m sure the four of us can find something to keep us occupied while you watch football."
"You know I didn’t plan on ending our vacation like this."
"Alex, it’s been great. Don’t stress. Now get some sleep before it’s too late."
"Okay." She kissed Samantha on the top of the head and hugged her close. "Sleep tight, sweetheart."
"You, too. And happy new year."
"Ditto."
********************
The ring of the phone startled Alex out of a deep sleep. She quickly reached for the receiver before it could sound again. "Hello," she whispered.
"Hello yourself. I’ve read the paper, watched the news, and felt pity for the confetti crews down in the streets. The Pasadena parade will be starting shortly, and I’m starving. Please tell me you’re ready to get up?" Kelley pleaded.
"Give me a half hour to contact Ray and take a shower. We didn’t get to bed until after dawn.”
"Figures." Kelley chuckled. "I knew Sonny wouldn’t let you miss that, especially when he can sleep the rest of the morning. But you’ve always been good to go on just a few hours, and I’ve given you that."
"Yeah," Alex agreed.
"Okay then, want to meet in the lobby for breakfast or do room service and watch the parade?"
"The lobby. I don’t want to wake Samantha."
"Do you really think there’s a chance of that?"
Alex could hear the humor in her mother’s voice.
"Not really, but we’ll have a better choice of menu items downstairs. I’m sure we can get someone to put the parade on in the lounge."
"Probably. I’ll see you in half an hour. How about meeting in the restaurant instead? That way at least I can have coffee while I’m waiting."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
Alex went to the kitchen and called Ray. She poured a cup of the tea, heated it in the microwave, and then headed back to the bathroom for a quick shower.
Punctual as usual, Ray met her outside the suite, and they rode down in the elevator together. It was almost 11:15 when they strolled through the restaurant doors and immediately spotted Kelley sitting by a window.
"It’s amusing to see how many people can go to bed at dawn or not at all and still function in the morning," Kelley said.
"I don’t know how well some of them are functioning." Ray laughed.
"You might be right." Kelley smiled. "So, whaddaya want to eat?"
"Dunno. What’s good?" Ray asked.
"Everything," Alex answered. "They have a great breakfast bar." She pointed in the direction of the buffet.
"That sounds good to me." Ray said.
"Me, too," Kelley said.
"Me, three." Alex chuckled. "Let’s eat."
It was past noon when the three friends decided to watch the parade up in Alex’s suite.
"If we missed anything good, they’ll repeat it," Ray said as they entered the rooms. "Are you sure we won’t wake Sammie up?"
"I doubt it, but if we do, then she’s ready to be awake." She turned to Kelley. "Tell me, when did you get so interested in college ball?"
"Since Stanford is playing."
"Go Cardinals," Ray cheered.
"Well, I guess that’s a good enough reason, but if I remember correctly, the game won’t be starting until around 5:00. That’s going to run into dinner, and Mom’s going to throw a fit."
"It’s once a year, Alex, she’ll get over it."
"Ya think? We’re not home, you know."
"She’ll have Sonny, Samantha, and Sally to keep her occupied," Ray said. "I doubt they’ll even miss us."
"And don’t be surprised if she takes them shopping and stays gone during the dinner hour just to spite us," Alex warned.
"We can always order up if that turns out to be the case. Listen, I do two days of football a year, New Year’s Day and the Super Bowl. Your mom knows that, and she’s okay with it. So you can get off my case, Alexis. Unless . . . ah . . . I think you’re the one who’s worried. Yeah, you’re worried that half-pint’s going to be upset about not spending her last day in New York City with you!"
"Am not!" Alex objected.
"Yeah, I think someone finally has Alex by the short ones." Kelley chuckled.
"Think again."
"Aren’t you two are picking a fine way to start the new year? Come on; stop it, the parade’s on." Ray motioned at the TV.
The three like-minded companions settled in to an early afternoon of talking and watching TV. Hours later, they were playing cards and watching a sports channel when Ray spotted Samantha walking toward them. "Well, look who finally woke up," he said.
"Why did you let me sleep so long?" Samantha asked Alex as she leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"There didn’t seem to be any reason not to," Alex answered. "Sally, Mom, and Sonny are all still in their rooms. Only the three of us are up and about. But now that you’re awake, I guess that makes it safe to wake the others."
"Besides, they’ve all had a full eight hours," Kelley added. "It’s time they get up. Why don’t you call your mother, Alex?"
"Why don’t you call my mother, Kelley?"
"Why don’t I call your mother?" Samantha interjected. "Am I the only one who’s not frightened of the wrath of that small woman?" She giggled, and so did Ray. "What are you laughing at?"
"Me?" Ray looked startled.
"Yeah. You. Did you call Sonny to wake him up?"
"No."
"Then you have no reason to laugh."
"Hey," Alex said, "since when is being considerate equivalent to being a coward?"
"You tell me," Samantha answered.
"Yeah, you tell her, Alex." Kelley egged on the discussion.
Alex threw her hands in the air. "Okay, just wait and see. The next time your little friends keep you up ’til dawn, I’ll take no pity on you. I’ll make sure you get up when I do. Does that make you happy?"
"Now, Alex . . ." Samantha’s protest was cut off when the door to the suite was thrown open and Sonny marched in, followed by Sally and Aurora.
"I see we’re all gathered around the jock box," Sonny exclaimed.
"Yep, being the three inconsiderate jocks that we are, we’ve just been sitting here enjoying ourselves for the past three hours or so and relishing in the fact that we didn’t have to explain an on-the-field play to anyone," Alex said.
Sonny looked taken back. "For heaven’s sake, where did that bit of sarcasm come from?"
"It doesn’t matter," Kelley said. "Everyone’s awake and rested, right?"
"Right," Aurora said as she kissed Kelley on the cheek. "Good afternoon, sweetie. Thanks for letting me sleep."
"Now, that’s the kind of response I would have liked to receive," Alex said.
"Well, then," Aurora turned to her daughter, "thank you, too, Alexis."
"Not from you, Mom." Alex groaned and shook her head.
"You know, I have no idea what started this conversation, but I for one am totally bored with it. I’m starving. Is anyone else hungry?" Sonny received an immediate affirmative from his partners in late sleeping.
"Have the three of you eaten?" He pointed to Kelley, Ray, and Alex.
"Yes, but it was a while ago," Kelley said. "I could eat something."
"Do you have time before your game starts?" Aurora asked.
"If we stay in the hotel we do," Ray answered.
"Yuck. I don’t want hotel food. Tell you what. I’ll take Sonny and the girls out for luinner." Aurora turned to Sonny. "We’re too late for brunch or lunch and too early for dinner so we’ll go to luinner."
"Sounds kind of exotic," Sally said.
"It does, doesn’t it?" Aurora raised her eyebrow and smiled, very pleased with her new word. "Anyhow," she turned back to Kelley, Alex, and Ray, "the three of you can order up or go on down and watch the game with the rest of the fans in the sports bar."
"But, Mom," Alex started to object.
"But what, Alexis? You want to watch football, right? We don’t. You can change your mind and come with us if you like, but why should we be stuck in the hotel our last night here?"
Reluctantly, Alex backed down. "I suppose you’re right. It wouldn’t be fair of me to keep Sally and Samantha from a night on the town just because of a tradition Kelley and I have."
"What about me?" Sonny whined. "Don’t I count? Don’t I deserve a night on the town?"
"Huh?" Alex looked confused.
"Sonny, stop being such a queen," Ray scolded. "She didn’t exclude you on purpose."
"Exclude? Oh, right." Alex shook her finger at Sonny. "Excuse me. It wouldn’t be fair of me to keep Sally, Samantha, and Sonny from a night on the town. Is that better?"
Sonny smiled broadly. "Much."
"We don’t have to go out," Samantha said.
"No, we don’t," Sally agreed. "Just being here is special."
"Nonsense," Aurora said. "These three have their little game to watch, and we have just enough time to get something to eat and do a little shopping. I won’t have you spending your last night in the city stuck in a stuffy hotel room."
"Stuffy?" Samantha laughed.
"No. Mom’s right, honey. You go. Have a good dinner and spend some money."
"You sure?" Samantha queried.
"Of course she is," Sonny answered for her.
"But Aurora," it was Kelley’s turn to question this spur-of-the-moment outing, "you didn’t even ask the girls if they would rather go to dinner or watch the game." She turned to Sonny. "And, no, I didn’t exclude you. I know you’d enjoy nothing more than an evening out with my wife. But as for the girls . . ."
"Don’t be silly. They don’t want to sit here and watch a bunch of grown men grovel in the dirt over a pigskin ball. They would much rather have a great dinner and go shopping," Aurora countered.
"I have to agree with Mom," Samantha said.
"Ditto," Sally chimed in.
"Looks like you know them better than I do," Kelley told Aurora.
"Then I guess it’s all settled." Alex walked over to Samantha and gave her a hug and kiss. "This way everyone gets to do what they want." She turned to her mother. "Just don’t keep them out all night, okay?"
"Me?"
"Aurora," Kelley said.
"I won’t keep them out too late," Aurora answered. "Promise."
********************
It was almost ten when Aurora returned with her little troupe. If it hadn’t been for the dirty plates and empty bottles, she would have sworn that Kelley, Alex, and Ray hadn’t moved from where she left them hours ago. "So, how did the game go? Did your team win?" She asked.
The expression on Kelley’s face was a total give away.
"Oops, guess not." Aurora bent down and gave her lover a kiss on the cheek. "Did you at least enjoy yourself?"
"Yes, it was interesting," Kelley said. "Stanford had a 9-3 lead at halftime, so we were feeling pretty cocky."
"Until those damn Badgers came out of the locker room full of piss and vinegar. They must have had some motivational speech." Ray joined in the conversation. "In less than 13 minutes they were leading 10-9."
"That at least sounds like a close game," Sally said. "There’s no shame in losing by one point."
"They didn’t lose by one point," Alex stated. "They ended up losing 17-9."
"It’s still not actually a bad loss," Kelley said. "And it was a good game. It was nice just to have California represented in the playoff."
"And there’s always next year," Samantha added.
"Always the optimist." Alex chuckled. "But enough about football. Tell us how your evening went."
********************
By the time midnight had come and gone, so had Kelley and Aurora, but the others were finding it difficult to bring their conversations to an end.
Ray finally pulled Sonny away and reminded him that they would have the entire flight home to visit.
Alex suggested that Sally spend the night and offered to give the sisters the bed so they could talk themselves to sleep.
Samantha argued that they should be the ones to sleep on the couch. "Why should you sleep out here when we’ll probably be talking for another hour?"
There was a short debate, but with two against one, Alex soon found herself headed for the bedroom, leaving the sisters curled up in chairs near the windows, so they could occasionally glance out at the never-sleeping city.
"Don’t stay up all morning," Alex lightheartedly ordered and disappeared into the bedroom.
********************
Alex stretched her arm across the bed, reaching for Samantha. With a start she came fully awake and then remembered she had slept alone on the first night of the new year. Not exactly how I planned on beginning a new century. She shook off the momentary feeling of disappointment and told herself she had the rest of her life to make up for a single lost night.
She chuckled quietly when she found the sisters slumped comfortably in the overstuffed chairs she had left them sitting in when she went to bed. I guess I should have opened the couch before I left them. But they look so cute all curled up. She smiled and tiptoed to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. So much for the news on TV. Guess I’ll e-mail the office and see how things are going and give them a heads up that we’ll be back tomorrow or the next day so they can all be on their best behavior. With computer and cup in hand, she headed back to the bedroom.
The phone rang, and when she answered, Kelley announced that it was time to wake everyone up. She wanted to have breakfast before heading for the airport. "Are you packed?"
"Not yet," Alex admitted, "but it won’t take me long. I’ll take a shower and then pack while the girls are getting ready."
"The girls?"
"Yeah, Sally stayed with Samantha last night."
"Where did you sleep?"
"Actually, I got the bed. They were supposed to sleep on the hide-a-bed, but I found them still in chairs when I got up."
"That sounds comfortable."
"They’re small, and the chairs are big. They really do look comfortable." Alex chuckled.
"So, do you want to call the guys or want me to?"
"Why don’t you, Kelley. Like I said, I’ll shower and then send Sally on her way while Samantha gets ready and I pack. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so."
"Okay," Kelley confirmed, "I’ll give you an hour and a half. Then your mom and I will be at your door."
"See you then." Alex hung up the phone, closed the computer, finished off her tea, and headed for the shower.
********************
"Rise and shine, sleepyheads," Alex announced as she entered the living room.
"Rise and shine?" Sally stretched and rubbed her eyes. She squinted at the sunlight pouring through the windows. "Guess we didn’t make it to the couch-bed, huh?" She smiled at Alex.
"Doesn’t look that way," Alex answered. "And it looks like your sister needs a special wakeup call all her own."
"Yeah, she’s like that, you know."
Alex nodded. "Yeah, I know." She placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder and gently shook her. "Must be a terribly comfortable sleeping chair you’re in, girl."
Samantha groaned and shifted in the chair.
"Samantha, time to get up."
"Do I have to?" the sleeper whined.
"Actually, yes. Kelley called a while ago, and she and Mom will be here in about an hour, so you need to get dressed, and Sally needs to go back to her own room to pack and get dressed."
Samantha was now sitting straight up in the chair with her eyes still closed. "Why can’t morning be as long as evening? Then people wouldn’t always be trying to get me up."
"Be a sport, Samantha," Sally told her. "If we had gone to sleep at a decent hour, you’d have no trouble waking up."
"I wouldn’t be so sure about that," Alex said. "I think our Samantha is allergic to the morning sun."
They both laughed as Samantha scowled at them and rubbed her eyes. "Oh, but the two of you are just too funny."
"We think so," Sally replied. "So, Alex, how much time did you say I had?"
"One hour."
"Then I guess I had best be going."
"Just be as quick as you can, don’t worry if you run a little late. We’ll wait. After all, unlike your sister, you have to do your own packing."
********************
Like clockwork, Kelley and Aurora arrived at the suite an hour and a half after the wakeup call to Alex. They were trailed by Ray and a still somewhat sleepy Sonny. Alex yelled to them that the door was open and then greeted them from the bedroom archway. "Samantha’s just about ready. We’re all packed."
"Good," Kelley said. "Not surprisingly, your mother doesn’t want to eat in the hotel on her last day here. Does anyone object to brunch at Sardi’s?"
"I don’t think Samantha or Sally really have a preference, so I’ll put my vote in for them," Aurora said. "Besides, I want Samantha to try the lump crabcakes; they’re to die for." She received a questioning look from Kelley. "Don’t worry, you can have breakfast."
Alex shook her head and grinned. "Even if she did object, Mom, I’m sure you’d talk her out of it."
"Now, Alex, that’s not nice," her mother said.
"Maybe not, but it’s true. Have a seat; I’ll get Samantha and our bags. I didn’t call the desk yet. I’m not sure where you want me to have them delivered."
"I figured we leave them downstairs in the holding room until we call for the airport limousine. Takeoff is scheduled for 3:30. I don’t want to be juggling time."
There was a knock at the door. Ray opened it and Sally was standing there, luggage beside her. "Are you sure you’re Samantha’s sister?"
"Why, isn’t she ready yet?" Sally asked.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I am." Samantha came to her own defense as she walked into the living room and heard the tail end of the question.
"Good," Kelley said. "Then everyone is ready and we can go eat."
"You’ll get no argument from me," Samantha said. "Where are we going?"
"Sardi’s," Aurora chimed in gleefully. She put an arm around Samantha. "You’ll just love it there."
"I’m sure I will," Samantha agreed. "Do you think we’ll see any celebrities?"
"At least their pictures," Kelley answered, rolling her eyes. "Let’s go."
Their leader had spoken, and everyone filed out of the suite and headed to the elevator.
********************
The meal was exciting; they actually did get to see a few celebrities, and Samantha, Sally, and Sonny got to google over actors in the flesh and the signature pictures that lined the walls of the famous deli. True to Aurora’s word, the food was delicious and no one, not even Sonny, left hungry.
On the way to the airport, Kelley informed the rest of the group that they would be dropping Alex and Samantha off first and then heading north to deliver Sally home. "We’ll make our last stop San Francisco," she told everyone, "because Aurora has a bookstore signing on Friday. We’re going to use the extra days to relax.”
Samantha giggled and whispered to Alex, "See what I mean about having to rest up after a vacation?"
********************
As it turned out, traffic was light and they arrived at the airport with an hour to spare.
"Why is it when we’re all together there never seems to be enough time?" Samantha queried. "I know we have the flight back to the West Coast, but it always seems as though time flies, and no pun is intended, every time we’re together."
"It’s because you can’t get enough of my charm, sweetness," Sonny answered.
"Or mine," Sally seconded.
Alex shook her head and smiled.
"It won’t be too long before we all see each other again," Aurora reminded everyone. "We have a very special day coming up in the near future."
Alex glared at her.
"Right," Sonny said. "Someone’s having a big birthday."
Alex glared at Sonny.
"Oh, don’t be a poor sport, Alexis. You know you’re just as excited about it as we are," Aurora said.
"Whatever you say, Mom," Alex said.
"Play nice," Kelley told them. She then dismissed herself and went to sit in the cockpit.
Alex and Ray played some cards and then took a nap. As for the rest of the group, all it took was that small mention of a party and the scene was set for homebound conversation. They spent the entire flight making plans for the party of the century.