“He might be kibble for some of these girls that are less experienced, but for me, he’s barely a blip on my radar. I can take care of myself. No offense, but I don’t need somebody to act like my father. I am very tired and it was a long journey to get here on these dangerous roads. The weather makes it unfit for man or beast out there. I think that I’m just going to bundle up with as many blankets as I can find and sleep through the storm.” I was hinting that it was time for him to leave and he smiled like it was his pleasure to serve me in this manner.
“The restaurant will be open at exactly 7:00 AM tomorrow morning for your convenience. There is a menu on the table over there. I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what we offer. If there’s anything that you need, then all you have to do is ask and I will do my best to find it.” I was tempted to say that I needed something warm in my bed to keep me company, but he might have taken that in a different way than I intended.
“I have everything that I need. I’m sure that you’ll be seeing me in the morning. I don’t know if I would consider myself an early riser.” He passed me the schedule of my lesson and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was an 11:00 AM. That gave me plenty of time to sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast and then let the young man take a shot at getting my panties off.
I found it flattering the way that the manager would caress me with his eyes. I was not an angel and I did like to play with a man’s heart strings. Bending certain ways and showing off a bit of skin had become something of a mainstay for me when I was selling cars. It also came in handy when I turned to an illicit hobby that really had a lot of guys hating me for the words and the photos that they would find on my blog.
“I would invite you over to have dinner at my place. My wife makes an amazing casserole, but I doubt that she will be very happy to have any company at this time of night. I’ve done the next best thing and I brought you some leftovers. It’s a poached salmon dinner that was left over at the end of the night in the restaurant. I did heat it up, but you do have your own microwave and stove to use as you see fit.” I was wondering about the package that he had left on my table when he came in with a handful of wood.
I stood by the window watching the snow slap against the pane of glass. The wind was scratching branches making me feel like there was an intruder trying to get in. Lillian had really affected me on a level that I didn’t think was possible.
“I had a feeling that the restaurant was closed. I am famished. It was very kind of you to think of me in this way.” I rewarded him with a soft and delicate kiss on his cheek. He blushed and I could tell that the attention that I was giving him was more than his wife had done in quite some time. Couples get complacent, forget to say certain words and even relegate sex to special occasions and birthdays.
“I’m just doing my job. I like to make sure that all of my guests are comfortable. I pride myself on going the extra mile to make sure that everybody has what they need. I would offer some extracurricular contraband, but I don’t think that you indulge.” He was referring to Mary Jane and I had tried it, but I saw nothing good coming from it. It had a tendency to make me feel mellow. Time would slip by without being noticed. I didn’t like the way that it made me feel, but I had to give him credit for making the effort to make my stay here more pleasant.
“I don’t do any of that and I barely drink unless it’s during social occasions.” I escorted him to the door, opening it and then closing it behind him as he disappeared in the storm.
I could smell the aroma of the maple coated salmon that was poached to perfection. I lifted the tray to see the steam escape. The mashed potatoes had a hint of garlic that wet my appetite.
There didn’t seem to be any need to heat things up in the microwave. I sat down, grabbing a red linen napkin and placing it in my lap before grabbing the gleaming silver of the fork in my hand.
I heard the whistle of the wind, but I was safe and secure and happy to be off the road. I ate in silence, thinking about Marshall and wanting him to be here to experience this with me. The salmon flaked off my fork. There was a medley of fresh vegetables that were most likely in season this time of year. I devoured the entire plate, thinking that it was the perfect way to end a very confusing day.
The future was unclear and murky like I was looking into the dirty water under the bottom of a bathtub. I had no idea what would be waiting for me when I went back to civilization. I’d seven days to think about that and to not think about that. It was hard not to think about the words that Lillian and Marshall had said to me.