Page 90 of Tasty Cherry

Only when I sit down do I realize it is part of the experience, gently rocking with the movements of the lamp, and the glint of moonlight on the water beyond the ship.

“This is an immersive experience,” I say.

“State of the art.”

But, my ever practical mind is already whirring. “Does it break a lot? Who does the programming?”

He chuckles and draws me close. “We hire an outside company to maintain the tech in this room. We haven’t had too many problems.”

I look around, our bag of sandwiches on my lap. “It’s amazing.”

“You brought lunch?” He picks up the bag and opens the top.

“I did. Ham and cheese.” But I’m still in awe of the room, the shifting of the bed. “Can I try the other settings?”

He pulls out a sandwich. “Absolutely.”

While he eats, I fiddle with the knob.

The pirate ship dissolves into a green twilight. Trees surround us, thick with leaves and vines. The wind rushes through the room, and my hair blows gently away from my face. In the distance, I hear the quiet chatter of monkeys and the call of an elephant.

“A jungle?”

“Mmm hmm.” Sebastian has a mouth full of bread.

I sit beside him and take the other sandwich. “I love this one. What does the bed do?”

He gestures to the wall behind us. It’s the deck of a tree house, like in Tarzan. The bed rests partially inside the bamboo walls, and partially outside, beneath the canopy of trees on the ceiling. Occasionally, the leaves will part in the breeze to reveal a piece of sky, the bed will creak, and shift ever so slightly.

“It’s like we’re in another world,” I say and take a bite.

We sit in the scene while we finish our lunch, then I hop up to move to the next option on the dial.

We’re surrounded by sand, the ocean stretching into the black night. Waves crash in a lulling rhythm, and the tangy smell of the sea fills the room, brighter and cleaner than the version on the pirate ship.

“Turn the inner ring that controls time of day,” Sebastian says.

I shift my fingers and twist, and the colors of dawn spread across the walls.

He drops his empty sandwich wrapper in the bag. “You can sync it with the actual time of day, but most people choose their favorite.”

When the pinks and oranges radiating from the ball of yellow on the water begin brightening into dawn, I stop twisting. Seagulls call, and the waves lap on the edge of the sand.

Behind the bed is a hut, open on one side so the occupants of the bed can see the ocean. I sit next to Sebastian to admire the view. Birds wing out over the water. In the distance, a dolphin leaps into the air and splashes back down.

“There will be a whale, too.” Sebastian slips an arm around my waist and draws me close.

“This is lovely. Why does Havannah want to keep it secret?”

“She likes the idea of a secret club of people who have slept here.”

“I guess it must be very expensive.”

“Actually, Havannah doesn’t charge for this room.”

“Really? She could charge hundreds a night. A thousand!”

“She doesn’t want an experience like this to only be for those with money.”

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