I carried my laptop over to the concierge at the main desk on the marina side. I pointed at the picture. “I want to eat at this table. What do I have to do?”
“May I see?” the concierge asked. Her name tag readMarta, and she wore her hair in a long French braid down her back. I handed her my laptop. “Ahh. That is the restaurant at the Aruba Ocean Villas.”
“Can you make me a reservation?”
“Yes, sir. But not for that table you have pointed to.” She gave me back my computer.
“Why not?” I wondered aloud. “Money’s not an object, if that’s what you’re thinking.” I chuckled at how pompous the sentence made me sound, especially since I knew it was the furthest thing from the truth.
“You need to be a guest of the Aruba Ocean Villas. Private overwater dining is available for hotel guests only.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, can you call them for me please? And let me talk to them?”
She looked at me warily. “Of course, sir.” She picked up the receiver and dialed the number.
“Thank you, Marta.” Then, for no good reason, I lowered my voice as if I was telling this woman I met five seconds ago a deep, dark secret. “It’s for a girl.”
This made her smile. “Hello,” she said. “I have a guest here who would like to make a dinner reservation. Yes. Mm hmm.He’d like to speak with you, actually. Yes, of course. Please hold.” She handed me the receiver.
“Hello?” I began.
“Hi, sir. How can I help you?”
“Do you have any availability for the private overwater cabana for dinner on New Year’s Day?”
“I’m sorry, sir. The cabana is available for hotel guests only.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. I’ll gladly book a room if I know that table is available.” Marta looked at me and raised her eyebrows, impressed by my declaration.
“Okay, sir. Let me check,” the male voice said.
My heart thudded in my chest. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as the realization of what I was doing smacked me in the face.
“Thank you so much for holding. I have a party booked in the cabana at 8:00 p.m. The best I can do would be to give you a 5:30 p.m. reservation. I’ll be honest, though, it’s an excellent time because you’ll be there for the sunset.”
“I’ll take it,” I announced.
“Okay. I’ll put it on hold for now. First, I’m going to need to transfer you over to the reservations desk so that you can book a stay with us.”
“Go ahead.”
“They can transfer you back over to me when you’re done, and then we’ll finalize your details.”
“Sounds good.”
“Please hold,” the man said.
A moment later, a different male voice appeared. “Aruba Ocean Villas front desk, how may I assist you?”
“I’d like to book a reservation, please,” I replied.
“What dates are you looking for?”
“January 1st, please? Checking out the following day?”
“Unfortunately, sir, we have a two-night minimum. But if you’d like to stay until the third, I have one villa available. It accommodates two people. King-sized bed. Steps from the ocean. Complimentary breakfast is included.”
“How much is it?” I asked, although the answer didn’t really matter.
