Last evening a lady came into the hotel. She was all bundled up; wearing an old coat and scarf. Her tam covered what I knew to be long hair, completely. She had come to me from a motel across the way where the young man working the desk wouldn't receive her because, he said he had no accomodations to suit her needs. When he phoned me, he informed me that she was an old lady needing a room at a reasonable rate and wanted to pay cash. "Sure, send her over", I said. He never told me she was local, or that she was actually only 54 years of age.

There is a policy in our area understood by all the local hotel/motel desk clerks; that, a person residing within close proximity of the hotel in which they wish to stay, must pay for their room with their personal credit card . This rule is in place because it is the way hotel/motel owners and managers have decided to try and control situations, in which younger folks use hotel rooms for periods of time, to make cheap crank; using the small coffee pots located in each room, and score their sales anonymously.

The lady walked up to my desk, and with a very "down home" accent, and aristocratic tone, asked, "do you have a room for sale for $55.99 that I can pay for with cash?" I could tell she was holding it together with everything in her being. She did seem like an old soul to me. I guess I can understand why the young man from the motel across the way really could have mistaken her to be elderly.

It was obvious to me, the woman was middle-aged before I looked at her license. I am certain that would be because I am middle-aged. Gah.

She seemed very agitated, and she was taken aback by the other desk clerk who would not allow her to pay for a room in cash. The lady, I will call her, "S", said she needed a place to stay to get her thoughts together. It had been a bad day. When I looked at her driver's license, I realized why the young man turned her out into the cold from the motel across the way. She lived within 10 minutes of both; my hotel, and his motel. I looked at "S" and just knew I was making the right decision when I said, "well of course I have a room for sale; for exactly $55.99; and you can pay cash." She seemed relieved.

"S" seemed to have some education; perhaps not beyond highschool. I wasn't really sure. She counted her cash slowly and methodically, making sure to give me an exact amount down to the penny. I asked her if this was the only money she had in her possession; because I would have thrown in a few dollars of my own in order that she might keep some cash on her person in case she needed it later. "S" claimed to have more money than what she had paid for the room, in her possession.

I spoke her first name aloud. I told "S" hers was a lovely name. She motioned for me to hush by placing her forefinger to her lips, and pointed to an elderly couple who were warming themselves by the fire in our lobby. I had spoken with the couple earlier in the day, as they had checked in to the hotel much earlier. A lovely couple. They were sharing a moment together in our lobby before leaving the hotel for dinner. 

At one point, while standing at the desk looking over the registration form, "S" said, "let's say theoretically, someone may want to stay longer than one night at your hotel. How long would someone be able to stay before their permanent residence, like the one there on my license, would no longer be considered their place of residence?" I began to wonder where she had heard the word "theoretically". I made some explanation to her. I told her she could speak with our general manager the next morning about the possibility of a longer stay at a more affordable rate. She was content with this, thanked me, and asked me again to show her to her room.

"S" didn't have much knowledge of hotels. I mean, she wasn't aware of the complimentary deluxe continental breakfast deal, or the fact that no matter what time a person checks in to a hotel, the check-out time is still the same. I agreed with her that if she checked in at 6:36pm., she ought to be able to stay until 6:36pm. the next day; a full 24 hours in order to get her money's worth! Hell, I think that would be fair, don't you? I explained to her that the reason our check-out time is noon the following day is so the cleaning crew will have time to get all the rooms cleaned and ready for the next visitors who will be joining us the next evening. "S"seemed content with that explanation.

I was concerned she may be hungry. I phoned her room to see if she was settling in ok, and I offered her some fruit from our kitchen. She wanted to know how much extra money she would have to pay for the fruit. "The fruit comes with", I explained. She was happy with an apple. I took the apple down to her room. I was not very busy at the time "S" checked in, so I had a few minutes to spare. While I stood at her door with her apple, she asked, and was also very happy to learn she would be able to have a cup of coffee the next morning at no extra charge. I had already told her out by the desk about our breakfast. She smiled. "I like a cup of coffee in the mornings, said "S".

"You know, I am not here for a vacation", said "S". I am here because I have found myself in an emergency situation." I felt at this point, I needed to inform "S" of a couple of shelters located up town. She said she had already thought of such places, but she declined any offer to help her with those. "I haven't lived with a man in years and years", "S" said. "There are people who can abuse us other than a boyfriend or spouse." I went on to tell her there was another kind of shelter if she needed a place to stay long-term. She said she understood, thanked me for my kindness, and said she would wait to see what the morning would have in store for her. With this, we said our goodnights.

I worked over last night and didn't leave until after 11:30pm. The phone rang just as I was starting to leave. Sure enough, it was "S", calling from her room down the hall. She wanted to inform me that either I would need to provide her with an extra blanket or turn the heat up in her room. I explained to her that the heater was located in the boxed compartment under her window. "Well, said "S" in her aristocratic tone, the front desk clerk should inform people upon check-in that they can control the temperature of their room, and the location of the thermostats". I really didn't know what to say. I told her I was sorry I didn't remember to tell her. She was content with my reply.

"S" phoned once more before I proceeded to leave the building. She wanted to know if the light she saw on the wall up next to the ceiling in her room was a camera. By this time, the desk clerk who relieves me of my day's duty was there to answer her call. I heard him explaining to her as I was walking out of the building, that what she was seeing was the light on her smoke alarm, and that all the rooms have the same alarms in them; and, that they are for the customers' protection to alert them in case of a fire in the building.

Today was my regular day off work. I've been wondering where "S" may be sleeping tonight; and, if she enjoyed her coffee this morning.