Manganese Magic

Excerpt from

Manganese Magic

 

Chapter One

“Where to?” the cab driver asked from the curb of Hong Kong International Airport

“Disneyland,” Victoria Ventures said, barely just above a whisper. Embarrassment flooded her for coming all the way to Hong Kong and going straight to Disneyland. She stared at her reflection in the rearview mirror. Her face, tan from spending most of her time outside on archaeological digs, now appeared flushed with shame. Her ice-blue eyes stood out, sharply contrasted by her waist length ebony hair. She resembled a tan Meagan Fox, or so she’d been told.

“Here is the address of the hotel.” Tommy Garrison showed the driver the screen from his iPhone. After the driver typed the address into his navigation system, Tommy leaned back in his seat and grabbed Victoria’s hand.

“Are you going to tell me which hotel we’re staying at?” Victoria asked with piqued curiosity. Hong Kong Disneyland represented the fourth Disneyland around the world that they’d visited. After their first date at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, the archaeological couple made it their mission to visit all six Disney locations around the world. Given what they’d found beneath the Orlando, Paris, and Shanghai parks, they were anxious to see what great archaeological finds rested under the magic in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Anaheim.

“Why can’t you just be surprised?” Tommy shook his head in frustration.

“Fine.” Sighing, she crossed her arms and pouted her lips. Miffed that he wouldn’t tell her, she stared at his beautiful sea-green eyes. His tan face, capped with straight, sandy-blond hair, reminded her of a young Ewan McGregor. Her frustration abated. How could she be mad at someone so handsome?

After several crazy lane changes, the cab arrived on Disney property. A familiar red roof and white building filled the horizon. Red copulas protruded from the roof of this hotel inspired by the Victorian Era.

Excitedly, she pointed and said, “It looks exactly like the Grand Floridian in Walt Disney World. Is that where we’re staying?” Her tone reflected her excitement.

He shook his head. “Sorry, my love. That’s the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. I thought about booking it, but they have another hotel that’s unique to the Hong Kong Disneyland.”

Snapping her fingers, she reasoned, “Although that hotel reminds me of our first date, you have a good point, let’s stay someplace new and unique.”

He squeezed her hand.

After passing the beautiful Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, bright colors filled the horizon.

“What the…?” Victoria sat up in her seat to get a better view of this hotel. It reminded her of old Hollywood during the Golden Age of film.

“Disney’s Hollywood Hotel.” Tommy grinned.

“Wow! Normally I’d be mad at staying at a Hollywood themed hotel while we’re in China, but this place is so cool. I feel like we’re back in America.” She beamed.

The cab driver dropped them and their luggage off in front of the hotel. After a quick check-in, the bellhop, dressed like the ones from the Golden Age of Hollywood, escorted them to their suite.

Victoria briskly walked to the balcony. Slightly disappointed she couldn’t see the theme park, she marveled at the Pacific Ocean. “You got an ocean view room?”

Tommy walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and nuzzled his cheek against hers. “It’s beautiful. I thought this was a nicer option. I could just stare at the sea all day. Reminds me of home at Castle Garrison.”

Pointing excitedly, she said, “We can see the pool from here, too. Huh, is that a-”

“-Piano. The pool is shaped like a piano. It even has all eighty-eight black and white keys by the steps.” Tommy smirked.

“We’ll have to check it out later. I hope it’s heated.” A chill prickled her with goosebumps, and she leaned into him.

He turned her to face him, stared lovingly into her eyes, and said with his bedroom voice, “In keeping with tradition.” He closed his eyes and softly kissed her lips.

 

Chapter Two

 

“Ah, that nap was just what I needed.” Tommy winked at Victoria, referring to their afternoon delight after their shower and nap.

The jet lag from their flight from Shanghai was nowhere near as bad as the jet lag from Los Angeles to Shanghai. Crossing the Pacific Ocean, even via a Boeing 747-400, took forever.

“Thanks for taking me to the pool. When I was growing up, staying at a hotel with a pool was a special treat.” Victoria referred to her humble beginnings.

After dropping off the hotel-provided towels and her cinch sack at two lounge chairs overlooking the ocean, Victoria meandered to the piano-shaped pool. Entering by the steps with the piano keys, she carefully counted all eighty-eight keys.

Obviously knowing exactly what she was doing, Tommy asked, “Did they get all eighty-eight?”

After counting, using her right index finger to keep her place, she laughed.

“What’s so funny?” He studied her with a perplexed expression.

“I was just thinking…these piano-key steps would drive Monk crazy because they’re not an even one hundred.” She referred to one of their favorite television shows they’d recently binge watched. Monk, featured an OCD detective who helped solve homicide cases for the SFPD.

“Oh yeah, you’re right.” Tommy ogled her from head-to-toe and grinned like a kid at….

“What? Why are you staring at me like I’m a juicy steak?” She placed her left hand on her hip and wagged her right index finger like a teacher scolding a student. “Don’t tell me you’re hungry?”

“It’s just that, I think this is the first time I ever saw you in a bikini.” He smiled.

“What? No? Really? But you’ve seen me, …. never mind.” She waved her hand at him nonchalantly.

Stepping down into the pool, she used the chrome hand rail to guide her. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, but she quickly acclimated to the refreshing chill of the pool water. After a modified breast stroke, one without submerging her head, across the length of the piano-shaped pool, she touched the pool’s cement edge.

“How’s the water? Is it cold?” Tommy shouted from the other end of the pool.

“It’s refreshing.” She treaded water in the deep end.

“Refreshing? Or invigorating?” Tommy walked towards the deep end.

Shrugging, she said, “Just stick your big toe in.”

“A real man can’t just stick his toe in. It’s all or nothing.” He swung his arms in big circles, obviously preparing to jump right into the deep end.

After turning to ascertain no other tourists were around, she said, “If you can handle the Fountain of Youth, you can handle this.” She winked.

“But that was cold,” he whined.

“Big baby.” Splashing him, she swam back towards the shallow end.

“Big baby, my ass.” He backed up to the shrubs along the perimeter of the pool deck, then ran towards the pool. Jumping in the air, he pulled his knees to his chest and cannonballed into the deep end.

Tommy’s enormous splash reached Victoria. Holding her hands over her hair in a bun, she tried to keep her recently washed hair dry. 

After emerging from his cannonball, Tommy scolded. “It’s not cold at all. It’s heated, like a big bathtub.

“Gotcha.” Winking, she splashed him, then turned back towards the garden near the pool.

Adjacent to the Hollywood Hotel, a large glass enclosure protruded from the hedges of the garden. Pointing, she asked, “Ooh, what’s that?”

Shaking his head in mock frustration, he asked, “Another shiny object, my dear?”

“It looks like some sort of glass atrium.”

“Wanna get out and walk over there?”

“Not yet, the water is so nice and warm. I’m not ready to get cold getting out of the pool.”

“Who’s the big baby, now?” he teased. “Want me to get out, check my phone, and see what that is?”

“Sure.” With a high-pitched tone, she grinned and kept her shoulders beneath the water’s surface.

Tommy, quickly got out, walked to his phone on the tiny table between their lounge chairs, then hurried back to the water. Placing his iPhone on the edge of the pool, he slid back into the warm water and shivered, “Brrr. Now I understand why you didn’t want to get out. It’s the wind from the Pacific that gets you.”

“Thank you.” She rewarded him with a playful smooch on his cheek. Then she slid behind him and hugged her body against his back. “Maybe this will warm you up.”

“Ah, yeah. That feels awesome.” Tommy tapped away on his phone. “Oh yeah. I remember reading about this when I booked the hotel. I was planning to take you there after our nap and swim.”

“What is it?” She slid around his warm body and faced him. Giving him her best sad-eyed-puppy look, she begged, “Tell me.”

“Can’t you just be surprised.” For the umpteenth time this strip, he shook his head and pretended to be frustrated with her always wanting to know everything.

Rolling her eyes, she said with a perturbed tone, “Let me guess.”

“Let’s just say, I could go for a drink.” He grinned.

“What, you’re not starving already, are you?” Victoria teased.

“You know me too well. When I said, ‘I could go for a drink,’ I meant-”

“-You could go for a drink with your food.” After interrupting him. Victoria playfully smacked his chest.

 

Chapter Three

 

“If it’s not a pool bar, then why is it near the pool?” Victoria huffed as they exited the room. Tommy insisted that they change into better attire because their bathing suits and flip flops wouldn’t cut the mustard at this place.

Offering his arm, he escorted her through the lobby. “Just because you saw it from the pool, doesn’t make it a pool bar.” Tommy stood handsomely in his cobalt-blue dress shirt with no tie. Shiny, charcoal-grey dress pants clung to his lower body, quite nicely, and accentuated his slender, toned physique. Black dress shoes and matching belt screamed ‘metrosexual,’ even though he’d never admit it. 

Gaping at the abundant opulence of the lobby in the Hollywood Hotel, Victoria was relieved that Tommy insisted they change back in the room. Although she was more comfortable wearing a flannel shirt over a tank top with skinny jeans and Timberlands, she knew Tommy loved her in this Gator-blue sundress with strappy high-heels.

“Welcome to the Studio Lounge.” Tommy gestured for her to enter the already open glass door. The late afternoon sun shone through the glass atrium. The colorful, swirly patterns on the carpet accentuated the art-deco décor of the Studio Lounge. A large bar dominated the back of the room, while high-back chairs and comfy sofas provided cozy seating areas throughout the lounge.

“Please, sit wherever you wish.” A Disney Cast Member waived towards the various empty seats.

“Thank you.” Victoria presumed so many seats were vacant since the parks were still open. That, and it wasn’t five o’clock yet. But she wasn’t judging, they were on vacation, after all.

“Have a magical day.” The Cast Member smiled, then greeted the next guest.

“Where would you like to sit?” Tommy studied their choices of empty tables.

“Hmmm. Probably the hardest decision I’ll make all day.” Victoria scanned the Studio Lounge and felt like she’d been transported back to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

“Maybe for you, but what I’m going to eat will be the toughest decision I’ll make today.” Tommy leaned back and rubbed his slender abs.

How he kept his eight-pack abs amazed her, especially considering the amount of red meat he consumed. “Although the sofas looks comfy, they all face the bar. I’d rather view the beautiful garden and the ocean.”

“Excellent choice. Not that I wouldn’t love getting cozy with you on a couch, I’d be too tempted to get carried away with you.” He kissed her temple.

“We wouldn’t want to risk getting kicked out of Disneyland Hong Kong, especially since we haven’t even enjoyed the park yet,” she rationalized. “How’s this?” she gestured towards a high-top table overlooking the gardens.

“Perfect. Besides, it’ll be much easier to cut into my big juicy steak if I’m sitting at a real table. Plus, I don’t trust myself with red wine on those white sofas. What were they thinking?” Tommy’s tone matched his bewildered expression.

“How do you know they have steak?” Surveying the food on the tables of the few patrons, she found no evidence of steak, especially at four in the afternoon.

“I did my homework.” He beamed, then pulled out a high-back chair for her.

“Thank ya, kind sir,” she said with an over exaggerated Southern drawl.

“Good afternoon, may I offer you a tasty beverage?” The Disney Cast Member placed a white cocktail napkin in front of each of them.

Studying the bar menu already on the table, he asked Victoria, “How about a bottle of wine?”

“Sounds perfect.” Smiling, she appreciated not having to think too much on her vacation.

“What would you recommend to go with the steak? We like heavy reds.” Tommy asked the Cast Member.

“Ah, I know just the one. Would you like a glass or a bottle?”

“We’ll each start with a glass, then if we like it, we’ll order a bottle.” Tommy closed the bar menu, then studied the food menu.

Victoria admired the beautiful and meticulously maintained gardens just outside of the glass atrium which housed the Studio Lounge. Typical Disney, every detail was immaculate.

“You know, they modeled the Studio Lounge after the original one in Hollywood. Apparently, that was the place to be seen. Huge movie deals were made there. And aspiring actors hoped to get discovered there,” Tommy regurgitated his recollection of the website.

Both of their iPhones pinged with a notification from their Fox News app. They both stared at each other to gauge the other’s reaction. Shrugging their shoulders, they each nonverbally agreed to stay off the grid and enjoy their once-in-a-lifetime vacation.

The waiter arrived with two glasses of red wine. “I know you’ll enjoy this red. It’s my favorite. At the end of the night, the manager lets the staff take home the open bottles of wine. I’ll let you enjoy your wine before I take your order.” He bowed, then backed away gracefully.

“To the most magical place on earth.” Victoria raised her wine glass and toasted Tommy’s.

“To the most beautiful woman in the world, my beautiful fiancée.” Tommy winked.

They sipped their wine, both humming because of its deliciousness.

While Victoria’s head was tilted back to drink her wine from the ridiculously large glass, the television at the bar reflected in the atrium’s glass. The screen shot caught her attention, and she turned around.

Tommy obviously noticed the same breaking news story because he turned around, too.

The flat-screen television above the bar showed a map of North Korea and a mug shot of Kim Jong Un. The news band at the bottom of the screen read—More plutonium stolen from North Korea.

 

Chapter Four

 

“Chef Mickey’s? I get to see Mickey Mouse?” Victoria performed her signature happy dance in the lobby of Chef Mickey’s. Mickey Mouse and sous chef, Donald Duck, meandered throughout the restaurant on the top floor of their hotel.

“I knew you’d like it. This another reason why I picked this place.” Tommy winked.

Chef Mickey’s boasted high ceilings and an open kitchen layout. The restaurant was tastefully decorated in art deco like the studio commissaries of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The walls were decorated with whimsical murals and sketches depicting dozens of Disney’s favorite characters. Hidden Mickey decorations were subtly located throughout the restaurant. 

They followed the hostess past the buffet of International cuisine to a table by the window which overlooked beautiful gardens and the Ocean.

Leaning close to the window, she peered down and spotted the familiar glass atrium. Pointing, she said, “Look, Tommy it’s the top of the Studio Lounge.”

Peering out the window, he said, “Oh yeah, neat. And I see the piano pool, too.” He pointed to the right.

After ordering two pots of tea, they quickly filled their plates from the gigantic buffet.

Sitting, she poured tea into both of their tea cups. In silence, Tommy passed her the honey and she passed him the sugar like they’d been married for years. “I’m glad you picked this place. We can fuel up quickly before the park opens, then walk right in through the hotel’s dedicated park entrance.”

“And I choose this place because if I wasn’t in the mood for more Chinese food, I’d at least have the option of bacon and eggs.” Tommy dipped his bacon in strawberry jelly.

“And we can have a light lunch in the park to maximize our time on the rides.

Tommy shot her a dirty look before saying, “Light lunch?” 

“Sorry, I meant, quick lunch at some counter service place.” Victoria bit into her croissant and hummed. Closing her eyes with food induced bliss, she said, “Mmmm. Carbs and butter.”

Tommy tapped his phone and gulped the rest of his tea.

“Hey, no electronics.” Victoria chided, miffed that he’d ruin their meal by playing on his phone.

“Chill, woman, I’m checking our Fastpasses for the day.” Shaking head, he contined tapping on the Disneyland Hong Kong app. Multitasking, he popped a heaping of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“Oh, well then that’s okay. Just no email or work stuff. What fast passes did you get for today?” She poured more tea for each of them.

Holding up his index finger, he finished his mouthful of food before saying, “Since we’re here for a whole week, I procured fast passes for all the popular rides. We’ll get to go on everything eventually.”

“Which ones are today?” she bit into some sort of wonton dish, then mentally patted herself on the back for trying local cuisine.

“Uh, hold on, I just took a screen shot of today’s list so I won’t have to open the app to double check the times.” Tapping away, he said, “Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. Sounds just like Big Thunder Mountain in Florida. Then Space Mountain and Jungle Cruise.”

“It’ll be fun to compare and contrast Hong Kong Disneyland with the other three Disney parks. What else do they have here? Anything unique?”

“Yes, there are some unique rides—rafts to Tarzan’s Treehouse and Orbitron. They have somethings like what we saw in Disneyland Paris’s Toy Story land, like RC Racer and the parachute drop. And of course, there are the classis-tea cups, race cars, and It’s a Small World.”

“What, no haunted house?” She drained the last of their tea.

“Not exactly. They have a house, but it’s not scary. It’s called Mystic Manor. Something about the Chinese culture kept them from having a house with spirits. Ahooooo.” Tommy made a creepy noise.

Laughing, she said, “We need to work on your scary sound effects.”

“What? No Grammy?” Tommy laughed.

Admiring their view of the park, Victoria pointed and asked, “Is that the Mystic Manor? It doesn’t look scary at all. It’s bright and colorful.”

“It’s based on the famous Bradbury Mansion in Hollywood, California.” Tommy gestured their waiter for their bill using the international hand gesture of signing something in the air.

“Bradbury Mansion? Never heard of it.”

“That’s because we’re young.” Tommy took the bill and studied it.

“What else is there?” Victoria smeared cream cheese on her bagel, then topped it with smoked salmon, red onions, and capers.

“There is actually a lot of attractions coming. Iron Man experience is coming New Year’s Day. Some sort of 3D motion simulator with Tony Stark battling aliens that are attacking Hong Kong.”

“That sounds cool.” Then she realized that they’d be in Tokyo for New Year’s. Snapping her fingers, she said with a frustrated tone, “Darn, we’ll just miss it. That must be what we saw them building in Tomorrowland. Too bad it was barricaded. What else are we missing.”

“In 2020, they’ll open a Frozen themed area that’ll resemble Arendel. There’s something with Moana coming in the Fantasy Gardens. And then they’re expanding the Marvel by Iron Man because the Marvel Comic movies are so popular. But that’s not unitl 2023,” Tommy explained.

“Well, sounds like we’ll have to come back then.” Winking, she sat back in her chair, stuffed. Staring out the window overlooking the park, she proclaimed, “Well, I’m ready to hit the park. It’s beckoning me.”

Tommy paid the bill with his Disney Chase Visa to earn valuable Disney dollars. “At lease we earn double dollars on Disney property.”

“Shouldn’t we be using the Disney dollars we earned from Shanghai Disneyland?” she asked with a slight condescending tone.

Laughing, he explained, “We blew through all of our Disney dollars on this hotel for a week.” He signed the credit card receipt. “You know, if I wasn’t paying in Chinese currency, I’d think I was back in the USA, and not Asia.”

“Speaking of China, I wonder if we’ll find anything beneath Hong Kong Disneyland.”