(Changes and Adult Content will happen later in the story!)
It sure got dark quickly. Trying to make good time as I travel up from San Francisco, California on my way to Portland, Oregon. Thought I’d make a short visit home since I had a few days off from classes at the university. But things happen, traffic gets in the way, and here I am on that stretch of road in the middle of nowhere in northern California.
And I forgot to charge my phone. So I’m out on the road without any GPS or anything, and it’s getting a little foggy and a lot late. Usually I like staying up late, but I guess since I’m making the trip on my own, time has slowed down and I’m wishing I could just lay my head down on a nice, soft pillow and drift off to sleep…
Whoa, that was close. I felt the steering wheel slipping out of my hands just as I snapped back into reality. Good thing no one else was out driving on this crazy, curvy road. In fact, I don’t even think anyone even lived out here.
So the next place that I saw was going to be where I planned to stop. And right as I was making this decision, a small neon sign caught my eye: “vacancy”. Yes, I had found a place to stay. And at this point, I didn’t care if I had to share a room with a bunch of cockroaches, I was tired enough to make do.
The sign above the “vacancy” sign simply said “Roadside Motel”. I have to admit, it had a little of that creepy quality of the old motels you see in horror films. Maybe that was just because it happened to be Friday, October 31. The door to the office lobby was a slightly rusted screen door, with a solid wood door behind it. I opened both and stepped into the dimly lit lobby.
A strange old man was waiting for me at the desk. He had a smile that was welcoming and alarming at the same time. As if he might have been expecting me.
“Oh, good evening sir. I am so glad you are here.”
“Uh… thanks. I’m…”
“Yes, of course, you are looking for a place to stay tonight. And we happen to have one more room, so this works out perfectly.”
“Funny how that works. So what is the rate for the room?”
“Oh, sir, don’t you worry about that at all. We can settle things in the morning. Right now, all of our guests are about to sit down to dinner, and you must join us.”
“Ok… come to think of it I am pretty hungry. What’s for dinner?”
“Oh, I’m sure we can get you anything you like. Please, come in.”
I was shown to the door of the dining room. As I turned away from the desk, I caught the innkeeper turning off the lighted “vacancy” sign. No one else would be checking in tonight.