America 1982-Chapter 516 - 100: Odelia’s Life Plan
Accompanied by the dedicated butler and Page, Odelia entered the King Ocean View Suite of the Bessie Hotel.
The Bessie Hotel, opened in 1942, has consistently dominated the Top Miami Luxury Hotels list since its inception, receiving annual accolades from "Bride" magazine as one of the best wedding venues in the United States and boasting Miami’s most picturesque private beach.
Odelia didn’t take a close look at the room with its genuine leather-bound books filling the shelves; instead, she dismissed the butler with a disinterested yet gentle manner before turning to Page with a speechless smile, "So, Tommy didn’t have time to pick me up, but in the midst of his busy schedule, he thoughtfully booked for me the most difficult room to reserve in Miami, which also has the most beautiful ocean view?"
"That’s what he said, Miss Farrell," Page replied expressionlessly.
Odelia let out a breath of frustration: "Alright, he’s always that busy, I’m used to it. It’s fine, a very beautiful room."
Having said that, she gave Page, the old bodyguard whose trust she valued, a radiant smile: "Thank you, Page, I’d like to rest for a while."
Page, however, stood still as if he hadn’t understood Odelia’s implicit words of dismissal, his unlit wooden pipe clenched in his mouth. Odelia looked at him, puzzled. She couldn’t understand why Page, who was always so alert and sharp by Tommy’s side, failed to understand her today. She asked, "Is there something else I need to know?"
"...Miss Farrell, before you rest, you might want to take a look at the view from the balcony. Tommy, or rather, many people, have been busy with it for quite a while," Page hinted with a smile in his eyes, glancing toward the balcony.
With a suspicious look at the balcony and then at Page, Odelia stepped across the living room to the balcony. Resting her hands on the railing, she looked down, and upon seeing what was below, let out an exclamation of surprise.
Below the balcony, where the Bessie Hotel’s private beach should have been, was now covered in a sea of purple flowers. Tommy, the big boy who had said he was too busy to come to the airport to meet her, stood amid the flowers, dressed in casual clothing with his hands in his pockets, gazing proudly up at her on the balcony.
No woman can resist romance, no woman can withstand flowers, and no woman can ignore a surprise.
"I think you can now understand just how hectic my work in Miami has been, Odelia?" Tommy looked down at the purple sea of flowers that had outshone the real ocean, "I wanted to cover it with Rhode Island’s state flower, violets, but there weren’t enough in Miami, so we ended up adding in Tennessee’s purple irises and Texas’ purple cornflowers to make up the numbers."
After snapping back to reality, Odelia’s face broke into a happy smile, getting ready to run down from the balcony on the third floor to meet Tommy. However, Tommy immediately signaled for her to stop with a Stop gesture. Odelia stood confused on the balcony, not understanding why Tommy wouldn’t allow her to come down to him. She then saw Tommy navigate through the flower bed and skillfully climb up a ladder that had been prepared in advance, landing on her balcony like a poor young man in those fairy tales, eager for a secret meeting with the princess.
The subsequent events unfolded much like those fairy tales; the princess was seduced by the damned poor boy with flowers blinding her eyes. Without much conversation, Odelia was scooped up by Tommy and carried off toward the large bed in the bedroom.
Page, with his pipe in his mouth, stepped out of the guest room, closed the door behind him, and expertly pulled out a taser, downing Martin’s half-brother coming toward him to settle the floral expenses he had advanced. He then grabbed the intruder by the collar, dragging the mood-breaker toward the elevator area, leaving the romance to the man and woman in the guest room reunited after so long.
It was much later that Odelia lay lazily on the bed, propping her chin up with her hands, studying the young boyfriend who she hadn’t seen for a while: "They say you took a holiday for yourself, my father still doesn’t believe it to this day. He insists it’s a rumor; you wouldn’t let yourself be idle."
Odelia hadn’t been touched by time or perhaps, it was the expensive haute couture that had preserved her from time’s encroachments; she was as radiant and beautiful as when Tommy first met her.
On the contrary, Tommy himself looked more mature, which was something he found troubling. American men’s hair grows at an alarming rate. In his past life, not shaving or cutting his hair for a month at 27 only made him appear slightly haggard—this time, a week without shaving or grooming his hair would make him look like a slovenly drifter in his thirties or forties. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was mistaken for Odelia’s father upon stepping out, no wonder hair removal products sell so well in the United States.
"It’s not just me," Tommy said languidly, his hand brushing Odelia’s golden hair with a smile.
"I know, there’s Jason, Martin..." Odelia recounted the news she heard from Page, who had picked her up from the airport.
Tommy shook his head slightly: "No, it’s you too. Otherwise, why do you think you’re suddenly in Miami attending the Bill Couple’s gathering as a director of the New Century Foundation?"
