first_in_time | Copy Cat

The taxi pulled up outside a rather tall and grand looking hotel. Barbara stepped out to stare upwards. There were tall buildings in London but there was something about being in a different city which made the buildings unique and fascinating. Despite how tired she felt after such a long flight, she could almost go for a walk to see some more but there would be time for that later.

A finely dressed man dashed toward the from where he had been standing next tot he doors. "Shall I take your luggage?" he asked Ian and Barbara once the cabbie, or taxi driver, had hauled it out of the boot.

"Yes, thank you," Barbara replied. She reached out. For Ian's hand and offered him a smile before they walked into the hotel lobby together.

Once they had signed in at what appeared to be a marble desk, taken the lift up to near the very top, and stepped into their room, Barbara turned to thank the man for bringing their luggage. She gave him a small tip, since she didn't have a lot of money on her, and shut the door behind him.

"Would you look at this!" she said to Ian, gesturing to the entire room. "You must be valuable to have the board so generously pay for you to stay here!"

Barbara trotted over to the window to look out, passing a bottle of champagne and a note which wished them both a happy first anniversary.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

splendid_roman

Ian looked round the room, amazed. "Maybe we just got lucky. Or a free upgrade for our anniversary." He went over to the window and put an arm around Barbara as he looked. "And look at the view." Being high up they could see for miles. Well, mostly what they could see were other tall buildings, but still. It was a different view.

"And there was the flight." He was still excited about that. "They brought us food!"

From:

first_in_time

"And it wasn't too bad," she said and cuddled up to him. "I'd expected airline food to be awful, given that there didn't appear to be a kitchen on board. We'll have to try something else on our flight home in a few days' time."

From:

splendid_roman

"It was nice, I liked the food." That didn't really say much, given that Ian would eat anything." He looked at his watch, which he'd re-set to local time and decided it was close enough to dinner time. "Shall we try the food here or go into town and see what restaurants we can find?"

From:

first_in_time

"Let's try the food here," she replied and stepped away. "That way we probably won't get lost and it's a very short walk from the dining table to the bedroom."

She kissed his cheek then went to find a menu.

From:

splendid_roman

"I like your thinking." He grinned at her. While she searched for a menu he thought it might be a good idea to unpack a bit. Which he did by opening their suitcases and piling everything on the bed.

From:

first_in_time

"What do you feel like?" she called from the next room of their suite. "There are lots of things on offer. You could even have spaghetti if you so wished. I think I'm going to order a chicken something. We could share. I can get a bottle of wine to go with it."

From:

splendid_roman

"I'll share if you want. You choose," he called back. He was quite happy with the idea of being surprised with his dinner and Barbara knew what he liked.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara was happy with that and rung reception to order. It was quick and painless, just as it should be. Once she had hung up, she went to find Ian.

"We should have about twenty minutes to wait. I think I might have a bath and freshen up a little," Barbara leaned forward to kiss his lips softly, briefly. "I'll leave the door open so I can hear when dinner knocks. Unless you want to come and keep me company."

From:

splendid_roman

It was a tempting offer, but. "If I joined you we'd take longer than twenty minutes," he said regretfully and brushed down her arm. "You go and have a bath and I'll finish the unpacking."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara grinned. "are you just going to unpack or will you be piling the clothes on the bed?"

From:

splendid_roman

"I'm putting everything on the bed so I can see it. Then I'll put it away somewhere." It was a perfectly logical system, to him.

From:

first_in_time

"Alright," Barbara replied and left him to it.

She ran a warm bath and poured complimentary bubble mixture intot he water so that foam enveloped her legs and arms. Barbara sank into the water and closed her eyes, letting her mind drift between thoughts which were only interrupted by a knock at the door.

A bellhop pushed in a trolley into their suite. Two plates, covered to keep warm, a bottle of red wine since the champagne had gone unnoticed by Barbara, a jug of water, a bowl of ice cream (within a bowl of ice), and a small vase of flowers.

Barbara took her time getting out of the bath, not wanting to approach someone unknown in only a towel. Once the water had disappeared down the plug hole and she was dry, Barbara stepped out to find a dressing own to wear and promptly exchanged the towel for it. The sunshine which had come in from the windows had warmed it somewhat, and Barbara felt like she was snuggling up in blankets.

"I thought that if I ordered two things, there'd be more to share."

From:

splendid_roman

While Barbara was in the bath Ian finished unpacking everything onto the bed, and then put it all away. Whether Barbara would find anything was another question, but not one he worried about because it was all in a logical place, as far as he was concerned.

He had found an silver tube that he didn't remember seeing before. By the time he uncovered it he couldn't be sure whose luggage it had come from. He just assumed it was something of Barbara's he hadn't seen before and put it in a drawer.

He'd let the bellhop in when he knocked and by the time Barbara returned from her bath, Ian had poured two glasses of wine. He was sipping one and fidgeting impatiently, wanting to see what Barbara had ordered, but not wanting to lift the covers and let dinner get cold.

"Good idea." He smiled at Barbara and handed her her glass. "Good bath?" Now that she was out he lifted the covers and found a plate of chicken and one of spaghetti. "Chicken and spaghetti go better together than you'd expect," he commented happily. It was a combination he'd tried in the past, of course.

From:

first_in_time

"I remember," she replied and smiled as she touched their glasses. "To our first year together. I think I love you more now than I ever have but I might say that every year."

From:

splendid_roman

"I'd be quite happy if you said that every year," he said, smiling. "My love for you grows every year. And every day too," he added, after a moment's thought. "But it's a small amount that I don't even notice until I come to think of it, a year later."

From:

first_in_time

"Thank you, I think," Barbara chuckled and kissed Ian's neck, just below his jaw. "Come on, we should eat before it gets cold."

She sipped from her wine and picked up one of the plates to carry it over to the table. It would be better than eating on their beds or the floor.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian brought the other plate over and once he'd put it down he went back for the trolley and passed Barbara some cutlery. He started eating from his plate first. "I don't know how we're going to top this for our second anniversary."

From:

first_in_time

"Let's make it through our second year before we worry too much about topping ourselves. Although we are here for work. Well, you are. Which means that we're not holidaying entirely for ourselves. Here, try this:" Barbara held out a forkful of chicken for Ian to taste.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian ate it from the fork. "That is good. But I think it would go better with some spaghetti." He cut some spaghetti up and put it, and some sauce on a piece of chicken. "Try that." He left it on the plate for Barbara to eat herself.

From:

first_in_time

As far Ian's creations went, that wasn't so bad. Barbara made a happy noise. "That's rather good," she said and smiled at him. "Sometimes you're quite good with food."