Friday Snippet 36

Apparition of the Face of Aphrodite
by Salvador Dali
print for sale at art.com


Home is Where the Horror Is

by Joy Renee

continued from last week.

With water streaming into her eyes, Crystal groped at the towel rack. Futilely as it was empty. Rubbing water from her eyes with the palms of her hands she stumbled back towards the bed. She wondered how close it was to check-out. She could tell by the slant of light it was not yet noon but not by how much. As if by her very thoughts there came a knock on the door and a voice calling out, "Housekeeping."

Crystal headed for the door, not realizing until she had her hand on the knob that she was wearing only her undies beneath the now soaked T-shirt. A glance back at the bed and the jumble of covers, sheets, clothes and towels on and around it and the chairs revealed it would take way too long to locate her shorts or sundress. She shrugged and opened the door a crack.

The woman outside was holding out a stack of towels and wash cloths and fresh bath mat. "Do you need maid service today? Or would just like to trade me?"

"Trade you?" Crystal was stymied by the question as by a cryptogram.

"These for the used towels. Or I can come in and do the room up."

"Umm. What time is it?"

"Ten-twenty."

Crystal gathered from the offer of fresh towels and a room do that the room was paid for for at least another night. That didn't necessarily mean she would be spending another night here but at least she wouldn't have to leave immediately. She glanced back at the room and grimaced at the mess, embarrassed for a stranger to see it, even a maid. But, if there was a chance of another night here, it might as well be in a clean room. She swung the door on open. "I guess, you might as well do up the room. I'm not sure what he wanted. He didn't tell me before he left." she was flustered at not being able to use a name for the guy who'd paid for the room last night. Not only that she could not remember his face either.

As the maid maneuvered her cart over the threshold, Crystal started to gather up personal belongings from among the jumble of bedding, tossing the wet towels to the middle of the floor as she found them. A T-shirt with a Semper-Fi symbol on it revealed to her that her 'friend' must be another Marine. Not so surprising in this town, Oceanside, California just a few miles from Camp Pendleton. This town with its slew of beachfront motels was hit by a tsunami of Marines on passes every weekend.

It wasn't until she had pulled the top sheet off the bed that she found her shorts. With the bed sorted out and her shorts on, she began to gather up fast-food wrappers and beer cans. "I'm sorry about the mess."

"Oh, Honey, this is nothing. It's a rare day when I don't find at least one pillow that's been used as a barf bucket or a toilet plugged by a cucumber."

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Obviously this is continued again. Hopefully not for another quarter century. As promised last night, this was hot off the keyboard. I cringe.