Her mouth abruptly closed.
I went to the door and opened it a crack, as Maria came to an anxious fret beside me, "What about security cameras? They'll track us back to our room! They'll know it was us!"
"Curious thing about security cameras and me. They don't work when I'm around."
I pulled the door open and escorted Maria out into the scene of pandemonium taking place within the hotel. People rushed all around highly agitated, the last thing on their minds being the woman who had dashed into the men's restroom.
By the time I reached the street I was laughing hard. I caught Maria looking at me enigmatically and I sobered up in a Peloponnesian moment.
"What?" I asked defensively.
"I've never heard you laugh. You have a very nice laugh. I like it."
I was quite positive that I'd never had my laugh complemented before and I really didn't know what to say in reply. Vaguely I pointed off to the right, "Pizza's this way."
She reached out to me to grasp my hand briefly, "Thank you for getting me out of there, with a little pride left intact."
I nodded and then we headed up the street towards the glowing sign of a pizza parlor.