How could I refuse?
My sister had two expensive tickets for a private bus tour through Southern California. It was the romantic kind of tour where couples would be taken from destination to destination on a large bus. And suddenly I was being pressured to go with her.
Let me explain: Our family has always been adventurous. Meaning, we traveled a lot, especially when Christine and I were young. Christine's then-boyfriend was well aware of that fact, and he surprised her with tickets for a 3-day tour.
However, plans changed when Christine discovered that her boyfriend had been cheating on her. He begged for forgiveness, saying the secret relationship didn't mean anything, but Christine wasn't the forgiving type (especially when it came to cheating). He even gave Christine both tickets as a goodwill gesture.
Christine refused to take him back, but she didn't want to waste the tickets either. Plus she was genuinely excited for the trip, which included fun outdoor activities and beautiful scenery. She couldn't take any of her female friends because the tour was for couples only. And she couldn't take any of her male friends since it would send mixed dating signals.
Our parents overheard Christine asking me to go, and they encouraged me to accept, even though I persistently refused. Our parents felt it would be good sibling bonding time since Christine and I rarely hung out.
So, I was offered the other ticket, and I couldn't refuse.
***
To get to the location, we took a short train ride, followed by a short cab ride. The meeting location was a small ranch with a lounging area for guests and a moderately sized parking lot. The ranch itself wasn't part of the retreat. It was merely a gathering place to start the bus tour. It was hot and painfully early in the morning.
When we got out of the cab, I carried my stuff, and my sister pulled her luggage and carried some small bags.
We went inside the small ranch building and saw an elderly lady behind the receptionist desk.
"Good morning," the lady said with a super friendly smile.
We both said hello to the lady and made small talk for a while. She was extremely polite and I could sense that the trip was going to be a lot of fun.
"You're here for the tour retreat, I'm assuming," the lady said.
Christine grabbed the tickets from her purse. "Yep, I've got the tickets right here. We're very excited about it."
"Are those things coming too?" the lady asked, looking at our pile of stuff.
"Of course, why?"
The lady had a confused look. "Well, I'm not sure why you'd be needing all that. Do you know what kind of tour this is?"
"A couples retreat, right?" my sister replied.
"Yes, but, what's inside the luggage?"
My sister looked equally as confused. "My clothes obviously."
"Oh dear," the lady gasped with an awkward expression on her face. "This isn't exactly the kind of retreat where clothes would be needed."
My sister squinted her eyes. "Excuse me?"
"This is a nudist retreat, dear."
Christine looked at the tickets, then she looked at the old lady, then she looked at the tickets again, before turning her attention back to the old lady.
"That's not mentioned anywhere on the tickets, or the brochures we looked at. Are we in the right location?"
"We don't advertise the nudity for legal reasons," the lady replied. "The laws can be very bizarre for this sort of thing. Only fellow nudists would know about a tour like this."
"But, but, we've come all this way. The tickets are already paid for. Is there any way my bro...I mean...my boyfriend and I, can keep our clothes on?"
The lady gave a deeply sympathetic expression. "I'm so sorry dear. But this is purely a nudist retreat. And we don't make exceptions, otherwise it would ruin the atmosphere."
"Oh gosh," Christine sighed.
The old lady reached across the desk and put her hands on Christine's hands.
"It's okay, dear. I'm sure you must be shocked. Believe me, you're not the first couple who's made this mistake."
"What happened with the other couple?"
"They talked about it. Eventually, they decided to give things a try. Before long, they were hooked on the lifestyle."
"That won't be happening with us," Christine said, shaking her head.
"I know it can be tough at first. But why not think it over? The tour bus won't leave for another two hours. That'll be plenty of time for you and your boyfriend to discuss things."
The lady genuinely wanted us to experience the nudist trip. And by the look on my sister's face, I could tell she was kind of interested.
***
Christina and I left the small office area and went outside.
"What are we supposed to do now?" I said when we reached the parking lot. "How come you didn't know?"
We carried out stuff with us, and it was getting heavier by the minute. No one was around, so we were able to freely complain.
"Hey, you read the same tickets and brochure. None of this was listed. So don't act like this is all my fault."
"But still, this was your trip."
"My ex-boyfriend's trip," she clarified. "
He
was the one that bought these tickets, not me."
I calmed down for a second. Christine was right. There was no way she could have known, especially since the nudist thing wasn't listed on the ticket or brochure.
"You're right," I acknowledged. "I mean, it's not like you've done this sort of thing before."
Just then, Christine gave a shy little smile and a half shrug. It sort of implied that she had some level of experience with this stuff.
"You've done this before?" I asked.
"Sort of," she reluctantly admitted. "A few months ago."
"And you never mentioned this earlier?"
"Like I said, the nudity thing wasn't listed on the tickets or brochure."
I gave a soft sigh. "So now what?"
Christine thought for a moment. The look on her face wasn't very serious. She wasn't upset about the dilemma that we were in, at least not as much as I was. She seemed a lot more carefree about it.
"Well, we're already here," she said. "We made the trip this far. The tickets are already paid for. And we're not expected back home for a few more days."
There was an expression on her face which showed that she was up for anything. As always, when Christine made up her mind, there was no changing it. She was always a very stubborn person. She was someone who always got her way.
"So you actually want to go through with this?"
"Yeah, why not?" she shrugged.
"It's a nudist trip. Remember? They won't make an exception for us."