Dragons - Chapter 53 (DRAFT)

The glowing red numbers on the bedside alarm clock told me I got back to my hotel room at 11:17 PM that night. It had been a long and difficult day, but I was too tired to beat myself up over all the stupid things I had done. Tomorrow was just a few hours away -- I would need to set that damn alarm clock for 4:30 AM so I could tackle the second full day of the conference. If I remembered, I told myself, I would at least try to do fewer stupid things.

I quickly got ready for bed, taking time only to fold and hang my slacks carefully so they could be worn again tomorrow without ironing. The rest of my bedtime routine was done as quickly as possible, knowing without caring, for example, that as long as the majority of my teeth got brushed it would be good enough.

When I sat down on the edge of the bed I picked my cell phone off the end table in order to turn it off and connect it into the charging cord that I had already taken the time to plug in at the outlet behind the bed. The same stray thought that always entered my mind did. Why on earth was the only spare outlet in these hotel rooms hidden behind the bed? Forget about the needs of us weary business travelers, doesn’t the housekeeper need to plug in her goddam vacuum cleaner?

I looked at the small screen on the outside of my phone. 11:29 PM. One bar left in the battery indicator and it was flashing.

I flipped it open and began typing a text to Jenny. It was too late and I was too tired to call, but I should at least let her know that I had called and made a positive connection with Quest Partners. As my thumbs were working the tiny keys, the phone buzzed in my hands.

U STILL UP?

It was an incoming text from Bethany Bishop.

I looked at those letters for what felt like a long time, imagining Bethany sitting, probably not terribly far from where I sat, like me, on the edge of her hotel room bed in her night clothes.

Eventually, my heart racing, I shut down the phone without responding.

+ + +

“Dragons” is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. For more information, go here.

This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

Image Source
http://lres.com/heres-why-amcs-need-to-pay-close-attention-to-looming-regulatory-changes/businessman-in-the-middle-of-a-labyrinth/