The door slams shut behind us with a ferocious force. We momentarily lock eyes, before Kade launches himself at the doorknob. He struggles with it, looks behind him and exclaims, "It's locked, it won't budge!" I push him aside, grab the knob: twist it, pull it - locked.
"The card," I say. Kade looks at me, uncertainty on his face. "Put the key card in the slot," I explain, glancing nervously back into the suite. He retrieves it from his pocket, and with a shaking hard inserts it into place.
'CLICK' - the door pops open. We look into the hallway, back into the suite, then each other - and we burst into peels of relieved laughter.
Kade examines the door, "It's a self-locking security door," he says, opening it wide and propping his backpack against it, to keep it open until we feel secure enough to close it.
......
I walk into the suite and am immediately awe-struck, "Wow - Kade come take a look at this." White is the predominant colour of the décor and furnishings, giving a pure, clean gleam to the room. "Kade, come here," When I look back, he's not there, "Kade, where are you?"
When he doesn't answer I go to the open door and peer down the sumptuously decorated hallway - "Kade!" Stepping out into the hallway, I look left and right - no sign of him.
Back in the suite I'm alerted by a sound. At first, I think it's coming from outside - but no - it's coming from within the suite.
It takes a while for me to compute what this noise is. When I eventually recognise it, I realise I've been deprived of every day sounds for so long that I'll have to re-learn them. It's with a smile that I walk to the source of this sound - a running tap.
Kade emerges from the bathroom, topless and beaming, "The tubs the size of a small pool, and right now it's filling nicely with lots of love potions, courtesy of the Park Plaza Hotel." He winks, then asks, "What did you want me to take a look at?"
"Over here, you haven't been into the main suite yet," I say, pulling him forward, excitedly.
He puts his arm around my waist and drinks in the magnificence of our view. The window takes up the width of the room and stretches from floor to ceiling, giving us a full, panoramic view of Big Ben and The Houses of Parliament. "We can watch the sun rise over London from our bed," says Kade, turning to look at the king Size bed, adorned with sparkling white satin sheets.
Then bizarrely, without warning, Kade drops on all fours and begins to crawl toward the bed like a dog that's suddenly alert to a menacing danger.
"What are you doing?" I ask. His voice is low, guarded, "Checking - we all know what lurks beneath beds." He continues to crawl forward, his body tense and primed, "We're not out of the woods yet, Tan," he says, lifting up the satin sheet. He acts even more dog like as his arms bend and his head disappears under the bed - all I can see is his butt sticking in the air.
Without warning his legs fly outwards until he's lying prostate on the floor and he's dragged forcefully under the bed.
"NO!" I grab his legs and yank them back, but they don't budge.
I knew this was all too good to be true.
Eventually, I make progress and his legs inch back with me, so that he is able to push himself from under the bed. He stands up, looking shaken. "What's under there?" I ask. He stares blankly ahead, "Imagine your worst nightmare..."
..."Is it imps, Lucindy's arm, or something worse?" I cut in, desperately.
He shakes his head, "No." He says. "What is it?" I ask, pleadingly. He lowers his head and when he looks back, he's smiling, "It's not your worst nightmare - there's nothing under the bed!" He says, punching the air.
A mix of: anger, relief and affection flood over me, "Kade - why are you being so freaking weird?" I ask, trying to stifle a laugh.
He points to himself and feigns shock, "I am so not weird. I am so normal. NO, scrap that, normal is for nerds." He looks in the full-length mirror, "I am the Kade!" He exclaims, marching away from me. "Hey, where you going now?" I ask, happy to see his goofy side back. He turns and puffs up his chest, "I have one more place to check for lurkers, before we get the all clear and I take you into my love lagoon." He says, throwing his arm toward the bathroom.
I burst out laughing, "Love Lagoon! You mean the bath tub?" He wags his finger at me, "You find your romantic side Tan, pronto. Because trust me, that bath tub becomes the lagoon of love when we're in there, of that I have no doubt." He walks toward the closet, "We just need to discount anything nasty lurking in these bad boys before we immerse ourselves in that bubbling pool of passion."
I step back, "No goofing around Kade, I don't want anymore pretend shocks," I say, sitting on the bed. He picks up a lamp; its heavy metal stem makes an effective weapon. "This is just a precaution," he says, walking stealth like toward the door.
He pulls it, "It's locked," he says, bemused.
"Slide it, don't pull it," I surmise. He holds the lamp in his right hand, the closet handle with his left, "You ready to watch the Kade, become the hero?" He asks. "Yes," I say, quietly amused at his hamming this whole thing up.
The door ricochets open, slamming the other side, then bouncing closed again, before coming to rest half open, impairing my view. Kade rushes forward and I hear him rummaging - "What the...who...how...when...?" He puts the lamp down and looks over at me, smiling, "Come check out these garms."
......
It's incredible. The wardrobe is divided into his and hers and is filled with designer clothes: Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, Urban Outfitters, are amongst the labels I spot." Kade pulls out a Gap T-Shirt, "It has the label still on, brand new." He pulls it on, "And it's my size.
I go through the rails like an excited girl in her favourite store. Looking down I see branded boxes; and I grab a Nike one, pull out the sneakers and put them on, "Box fresh - and my size, awesome," I smile.
Kade takes out a smart Prada jacket and puts it on. It fits him perfectly, accentuating his broad shoulders and athletic physique. I look at him, admiringly, "You look so handsome, so hot," I say, feeling suddenly kind of shy.
He looks at me, "So do you, you're sizzling up." He takes my hand and leads me toward the bathroom, "We need to jump in the love lagoon, before we both spontaneously combust with our combined hotness," he says, pulling me into the fragrant smelling bathroom and slamming the door.
.......
Afterwards, it feels so good to dress in brand new clothes. I choose skinny, Gap jeans with a sky blue, American Apparel t-shirt. Kade wears Diesel jeans, with a tight fitting, white t-shirt. With his slicked back hair he looks timelessly, classically handsome. We both complete our looks with Nike sneakers.
An incoming message pings on Kade's cell, "It's Kelly: 'Mom wants to know if you guys are cool with the clothes? She had a personal shopper get them for you. All's good here, if a little bleak. Mom's brain is already on the way to London. Tanya's folks and Tony send their love. Lucindy is crazy, still threatening to stitch you both up. We can't wait to join you guys and get this last obstacle to our freedom sorted. Looking forward to heavenly happiness. C u Monday. Much love, Kell & Troy XXX'
"I had an idea mom had something to do with all this awesomeness," says Kade, while texting a reply. He puts the cell in his pocket, sweeps his hands through his hair and pulls me toward the full-length mirror, "Look at us, we look like a regular couple, a proper pair of pretty London hipsters." He looks suddenly wistful and asks, "Where do you want to get married?"
His question surprises me, because I'd actually been thinking about this on the flight, "On a mountain, in my homeland, the Faroe Islands," I say. He kisses my head, "Then that's where it will be; assuming they have mountains on the Faroe Islands," he adds.
"That's a point, but a small hill will do," I laugh. Kade takes my hand, "I'll find you a mountain, I promise," he asserts. Guiding me toward the door he turns, kisses my forehead, and says, "Right now, let's go see some of London."
I pull him back, "We can't be completely complacent Kade. Lucindy's arm was on that plane, it can still find us," I say, bringing us back down to earth.
He smiles, "Sure, I'm with you. But don't let it spoil our right now," he says, affectionately.
......
When we leave and the door shuts, I notice the number - Suite: 7. At the elevator Kade presses the call button and I see - Floor: 7. The elevator door pings open and the sign that greets us is - Zone: 7.
Kade, holding my hand tight and feeling my sudden change of mood, stops before we exit Zone: 7, "Spill it, Tan. What's worrying you?" I look around at the sumptuous surroundings and see all kinds of people: young, old, children; people of different colours and creeds, all milling about. There is one trait that unites them - a carefree, sunny happiness.
We walk through the foyer and stop at the exit where we are met by a familiar face. It's the plastic looking flight attendant. In contrast to the people in Zone: 7; he looks tired, his eyes blood-shot. He addresses us in his broken English, "You are so lucky to be in Zone: 7. People like me, belong in Zone: 6," his voice full of misery. He scurries away, dragging his wheelie suitcase behind him.
Kade tugs my hand, "Come on Tan. We're not going outside until you tell me what's on your mind," he reiterates.
I think back to all the bombardment and bombings that obliterated the Zones that we left behind. And the numeral seven taunts me.
Tears sting my eyes as I look at Kade's beautiful face; care and compassion oozing from his every pore, "What is it?" He asks, again.
"We're in Zone 7," I say.
Kade nods, "Yes, we are," he smiles, serenely. Then he adds, "The receptionist explained, it's to help us find our way around." He looks at the flight attendant as he disappears around a corner, "And I guess Zone: 6 is where the cheaper rooms are located," he explains.
"Are they?" I ask.
"Yes, I guess so."
I can't stop the tears, they flow, but between sobs I manage to explain, "Kade, 7 is heaven. I don't think we survived the bombings. Have we died and gone to heaven?"