Chapter 8
The Star hotel in Bogotá was not the most luxurious in town, but it was good enough.
Richard Lawton, or Dick as his friends called him, crossed the lobby towards the bar. He found a table by the window and sat down. There was a cocktail list and he picked it up and looked at the drinks on offer. When a pretty waitress in a black skirt and a white blouse approached him, he asked for a Mojito and lit a cigarette. On the other side of the window, people walked past not even glancing at the tall and broad-shouldered American with the round eyeglasses. The traffic was heavy and the constant sound of car horns could drive a man insane. The drink arrived and Dick drank almost half of it before he put it down. He smacked his lips and decided it was one of the best Mojitos he had tried in the last year. He always had a drink when he stayed in a new hotel. It was a kind of test of how good the place was. Stupid some might call it, a drink doesn’t say much about the rest of the hotel, but Dick liked his system. A movement to his left made him turn around and he saw another American walk in. He was shorter and heavier than Dick and when he saw him, he waved and came over.
“Hi, I’m John. Are you here for the meeting?”
Dick shook the man’s hand. “Yeah, I’m Dick and it’s my first time in Bogotá. What about you?”
John signaled for the waitress to bring him the same drink and sat down. “I have done them all, Bogotá, Cali, and Cartagena. Once I even went to a small town in the middle of fucking nowhere. Mosquitoes were everywhere and we couldn’t drink the water. The women were OK, I guess, but since the translator became ill we had to fend for ourselves, a complete cluster fuck. What about you?”
“I did two trips to Russia last year, one to Kiev and another to Moscow. Kiev was good, but Moscow was horrible, all hookers and call girls. Not an honest woman among them.”
“I heard Russia was difficult. I have a friend who went there and he took off on his own after a day. When he got back, he said the tour operator was in on the deal with the hookers and the only way to meet real women, was to go by yourself.”
John’s drink arrived and the two men sat in silence for a while. Then John said, “Wow, look at that one, what a body.”
Dick couldn’t miss the young woman he was talking about. She was tall, with a body full of curves without being overweight. Her skin was dark brown, almost black and her hair was set high on her head in a Rasta look.”
“So you like them dark?” asked Dick.
“Yes, the darker the better. I loved Cartagena. The women there tend to be a lot darker than here or in Cali. The problem is, after two trips there wasn’t much to choose from.”
“For me, the skin color doesn’t matter, I just want to meet someone who is honest, hard-working, and likes me for who I am.”
John chuckles. “Are you sure you are looking in the right place? The women you will meet, here are gorgeous, but many of them only have Dollar signs in their eyes. I know of several cases where men have brought a woman back to the states and after just a few months, she took off with a younger and richer guy.”
“I’m not that old, I’ll be forty-five this December. I’m not rich but not poor either.”
John finished his drink and looked at his watch. “Time to freshen up, the meeting begins in half an hour.”
Dick watched the man leave and ordered another Mojito. He was in no rush, if he met someone, great, if not, at least he got to see Bogotá.
When he had finished his second Mojito he got up and walked out into the lobby. Several American men were hanging around and a stream of young women came through the door.
“Attention, all single Americans, please follow me.”
Dick followed the woman who had spoken and he and the others were led to a door down a corridor which the woman opened. Stepping aside, she said, “please go up on the stage and sit down.”
Dick was first and took the seat furthest away. It was made of hard plastic and not very comfortable. While he waited for the other men to come in he looked out over the audience and what he saw surprised him. At least two hundred women were sitting and staring up at them. Their ages ranged from the early twenties to the late forties. He looked down the line of plastic chairs and counted fifteen Americans now sitting down. The odds of meeting someone were pretty good.
“Thank you all for coming. I will say a few words in Spanish to the ladies and then I will explain what you are to do.”
The woman who had spoken had a name tag on her breast pocket, which read Tania She stood in front of the crowd and spoke for maybe five minutes. Dick was fluent in Spanish among other languages and had no problem following what she was saying.
“Thank you all for coming here today. We hope at the end of the day some of you have met that special someone and it will lead to something beautiful. Each man behind me will stand up and speak about himself and what he is looking for and I will translate. There will be a short Q&A before we take a break. Are there any questions?”
The room was silent. Tania turned to the men who were all fidgeting and said, “OK gentlemen, you are up. Remember, present yourselves as clearly as possible, but keep it short. We will start with, you Sir, with the glasses.”
Dick stood up and cleared his throat. He figured it was best to keep his knowledge of Spanish a secret for now. “My name is Richard Lawton, I am divorced with no children. I live outside Dallas in a house where I keep a few horses and a dog. I have my own construction business, and in my free time I enjoy, walking, fishing, reading, and music.”
“Thank you, Richard,” said Tania and indicated to the man next to Dick it was his time to speak.
After half an hour there was a break and the Americans were shepherded into a large room with drinks and snacks on tables along the walls. Dick was pouring a cup of coffee from a dispenser when John walked up to him. “What do you think?”
“I think it went OK. I was a bit nervous, but who wouldn’t be. What about you?”
John bit into a sandwich and after chewing said, “great, I saw a couple of girls I want to meet.”
“Attention gentlemen. I need you back in five minutes for the Q&A. Please remember to keep your answers short and to the point. If you don’t understand the question I will repeat it for you.”
Back on the stage, Dick sat down, and in front of him a woman in what he guessed was her early thirties smiled up at him. He smiled back and then she spread her legs enough so he could see under her short skirt. She wasn’t wearing any panties and he could see the slit. He knew he was blushing, but tried to give her another smile and then he looked away.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.