"It's late, we're tired, and things are just bizarre, to put it mildly," said Sandra. "Why don't we just find a motel, relax, get some sleep, and see how things look in the morning? "
Jack yawned, making a high-pitched sound that surprised even her. "Yeah, I hate to admit it, but that sounds pretty good to me."
"Okay, a motel it is," said Gary. A few quick presses of the touch-screen interface on the Studebaker's GPS system, and they discovered that there was a Comfort Inn exactly 1.6 miles down the road. Within two minutes, they pulled up under the canopy of the barebones, two-story motel.
"I don't see a 'no vacancy' sign," said Gary. "I'll go in and see if they have any rooms. You two better stay in the car, especially Sandra, looking like that."
"Hey!" said Sandra. "I can't help it."
"Sorry," said Gary, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind him.
The lobby was empty of people, but there was a TV on in one corner, facing a couch and chair that had seen better days. On the screen, a stylized peacock spread out its multicolored feathers. "The following program is brought to you in high definition on NBC," said the voice of an announcer.
Gary noticed the bell on the front desk and tapped it. Almost immediately, the office door opened and a forty-something woman stuck her head out, then emerged entirely. "Good evening," she said.
"From Hollywood, embarrassed home of Paris Hilton," said the voice of another announcer, "it's 'The Tonight Show with David Letterman'! Tonight, join Dave and his guests --"
"Sorry about that," said the woman, holding up a remote control that she used to turn off the TV. "Do you have a reservation?"
"Uh, no, I don't," said Gary. "Do you have anything available?"
The woman put down both the remote and the object that had been in her other hand and started tapping on the computer. Gary saw that the other object was a thick romance novel, its cover showing, as they all did, a shirtless, well-muscled man with long, flowing hair embracing a woman from behind.
"All we've got left is a suite," said the woman. "Do you need it just for tonight? It'll be $129 plus tax -- $143.19 total."
That was a little more than Gary had been hoping to spend, but a suite sounded like a good idea, so he said, "Uh, sure, yeah, just one night."
"Okay," said the woman. "I'll just need to see your ID, along with a credit card, or the full payment in cash."
Gary took his wallet out of his back pocket. He had nowhere near $129 plus tax in cash, so he took out his BankOne Visa along with his Pennsylvania driver's license, and handed them over to the clerk.