Coffee Break
The sun had marched shadows across the opulent hotel room as I told my story. I could feel a grumble growing through my body. I might be able to eat a lot less now than I had back then, but I was still famished. Amazing how exhausting simply talking could be.
“Was it different for you?” I asked Alicia.
“Was what different?” She had been staring at the far wall.
“This whole… ‘Discovering yourself’ business,” I said with a gesture around me.
“Does my story remind you at all of yours?”
“Not even a little,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Oh.” I sat back.
We both sat there quietly for a minute. My stomach made itself known with an audible rumble.
Alicia stared pointedly at me.
“Guess I could go for some food,” I said.
“Want anything from the mini-bar?” Alicia asked me as she crossed the room.
“I think we should go out and get something,” I answered with a wry smile.
While I had no doubt she could afford it, the amount of mini-bar food I would need to satiate me could bankrupt a small family.
She sighed in response and went into the other room to retrieve her coat and purse. I made to follow her as she headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” she asked as she paused at the entrance.
“With you?”
“Dressed like that?” She gave me a skeptical look.
“I guess not?” I moved back to the couch in defeat.
The door closed after her with a solid thud.
I glanced around the room for some sort of entertainment. The remote on the coffee table enticed my hand, but it paused over the newspaper laid out. The headline had caught my eye. A senator from Alabama had been found dead in his home two days ago. I leaned back with a sigh. Things were already in motion.
I couldn’t sit still thinking about the part I had played in all of this, so I paced around the room, rubbing my stubble. I pondered going for a walk but ultimately decided against going out. Alicia might think I’d made a run for it. Though, the thought of her trying to track me back down was entertaining. But I knew I wasn’t at the top of my game. Alicia waking me up this morning had been an indication of that. I decided getting some rest would be the most productive use of my time.
Unfortunately, it was only a few minutes before the sound of a keycard in the door dragged me from the edge of sleep. It was the cleaning lady. I’m not sure what she thought of me, considering I probably looked like a homeless person sleeping on the couch. If she’d met the hotel’s actual resident, Alicia, first, I had no doubt she would have called security. Lucky for me she hadn’t. I waved away her services and left a “Don’t Disturb” sign on the door, then returned to the couch and fell back asleep.
By the time Alicia returned, it was already early evening.
“Took your time,” I mumbled grumpily.
Naps had never treated me well. They left me groggier than I had been before. Still, I figured this would be better for me down the road. Once I’d fully woken up, I’d feel better. At least, that’s what I told myself. Usually it just meant I’d have trouble going to bed at a reasonable time.
“Don’t worry about it,” she replied nonchalantly and stashed an armful of stuffed bags in her room.
“Here.” She tossed me a sub wrapped in tight foil.
She also set out some drinks and chips in front of us.
“Help yourself.” She gestured at the spread. “Just, please don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“Mmf, ok!” I agreed enthusiastically around a huge bite of sandwich.
She shook her head in response but smiled anyway.
“So, tell me how this whole process goes for a disenfranchised, middle-class white boy. So I can continue to feel sorry for you having superpowers dropped in your lap,” Alicia said sarcastically.
“Fine,” I replied, “but then you must promise to tell me how rough you’ve had it stowing away on your business-class flights and scraping by in these four-star hotels. All on some secret mission.”
She gave me a bemused look but nodded in agreement.
“All right, where was I?”