Hotel
By: Flost48
I - THE LOBBY
She was very nervous. The afternoon light made the hotel lobby seemed
large and bright. Though she knew it was impossible, she was sure everyone could
hear her heart beating loudly against her chest. She looked about trying to
decide which route to take to the 5th floor. The elevator doors were closed the
light above them indicating that they were both in use. She looked for stairs
and saw only the broad marble staircase leading to the open second floor.
Above her, matrons chatted quietly as they walked from shop to shop on
the mezzanine. Nearby, laughter and murmuring spilled out of the open bar at the
west end of the lobby. A cluster of bellboys at the side of the front desk moved
apart and regrouped, giving her a good view of the clerk, who was looking her
way expectantly. The air around her seemed to become heavy and her head felt
light. Trying to regain her composure and give a show of confidence, she
vaguely smiled in their direction. Inwardly she felt as if every eye in the
lobby was on her, and worse, knew what she was here to do.
The ding announcing the elevator's arrival turned her head and she
carefully perused the men exiting into the echoing lobby. Several well-dressed
men scattered into the hall as her eyes scanned their faces, looking for
something familiar. No, he did not seem to be there and she almost sighed with
relief. Quickly she made her way to the ladies room and slipped inside.
She stood in front of the mirror and checked her makeup and hair.
Critically eyeing herself she tried to objectively assess the woman in the
mirror. She was attractive, tall and slender, with shoulder length blond hair
and green eyes. Her dress was conservative in a casual way, a loose floating
shift that draped nicely over her breasts and gave tantalizing hints of the
figure underneath. She reached up and fingered the buttons running down the
bodice and felt a thrill of excitement traverse her body. Touching her hair she
smiled at herself shyly.
She opened her pocketbook and looked into its recesses. Her fingers
trembling, she pulled a computer-printed photograph of an attractive man
partially into view. She stood gazing at it, imprinting his features in her
brain for the millionth time it seemed. This woman was here for a reason. No one
looking at her could fathom her true reason for being in this hotel, her true
reason for being on earth as far as she was concerned. With one last glance in
the mirror she opened the door and stepped back into the lobby. The elevators
were standing open and ready.
The elevator ride was nerve wracking and much too short. She would have
preferred to be alone but an elderly couple shared the car with her until the
third floor. As they exited the car a middle-aged woman entered, sighed with
exasperation and began to talk about how she had wanted to go straight to the
lobby. She smiled in sympathy as the woman tsked and fumed about the supposed
inadequacy of the hotel elevator system. The fifth floor came quickly and she
got off, leaving the unhappy woman behind.
She looked left and right, scanning the walls for the usual plaques
stating the direction and sequence of the room numbers. Room 577 was to the
left. She looked down the hallway and was horrified to see a man coming her way.
She turned and began to walk rapidly in the opposite direction, turning the
first corner she came to and finding herself in a short dead-end hallway with a
window overlooking the park across the street. Behind her she heard the familiar
ding of the elevator and the quiet shoosh-shunk of the elevator doors as they
opened and closed. She pressed her fingertips to her forehead and took a deep
breath. Cautiously she moved back to the corner and looked down the hall. It was
empty. She stepped out.
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