Hotel Guests (ansem125 + janglin_soul)

[janglin_soul]

((Kind of a lame intro, I know. Sorry! My writing SO gets better than this.))


Rosemarie Bryant was tired of it all. She was tired of being the owner of her small, bakery business, she was tired of having to deal with every single employee, and she was tired of life in general. Though normally the big boss lady, Rosemarie had decided it was time to take a vacation. Her normally high-stress, fast-paced life needed to go on without her for a little bit. Leaving her right hand woman in charge, Rosemarie was now travelling to a secluded bed and breakfast in California.

Her trip, which was supposed to be relaxing, carefree, and fun, was not going as planned. Her taxi to take her to the airport was late, she missed her flight and had to book another, and when she finally got onto the plane, Rosemarie was stuck next to a crying baby and an overweight man listening to ridiculously loud metal music on his headphones. Doubts started to swell in her mind, perhaps she should have just stayed home. Could the business even go on without her? Rosemarie began to eye the plane’s internet and considered emailing her bakery.

As tempting as it was to email her business, Rosemarie resisted and attempted to sleep on the plane ride. When she finally landed in California, her bad luck continued. Her taxi to the small bed and breakfast was on time but the man driving seemed confused as to where their destination was and Rosemarie had to look up directions on her smart phone.

When she finally saw the bed and breakfast in the distance, however, Rosemarie was relieved. The building was pretty, and the brown and white architecture reminded her of the houses from German fairy tales. Happy to have finally arrived at her destination, Rosemarie tipped the taxi driver and entered the lobby. The woman at the front desk gave her a weak smile, “Rosemarie, is it? Your room will not be ready for another two hours, we are so sorry! You will get complimentary wine on us as an apology!”

Sighing and tired of the situation, Rosemarie sat down on the lobby couch and groaned. Her relaxing vacation was not going as planned.

 

[janglin_soul]

((I'm going to sleep now. ))

Rosemarie was not used to people simply talking to her. In bustling, East Coast life, the thought of simply saying hello to a stranger was an alien concept. People were too busy in her home town. Or, rather, she was too busy to even considering approaching a new person. There was too much going on in her life and the last thing she needed was yet another person to worry about. Therefore, when the stranger had greeted Rosemarie, her instinctual response was to ignore him or obsessively focus on her smart phone. Anything to avoid adding another thing to do on her already massive to-do list; even if that additional thing was simply conversing with a stranger.

Rosemarie attempted to look, in her everyday life, as unapproachable as possible. To be successful in business, Rosemarie felt that a woman needed to appear strong. She kept her dark hair in a tight bun and almost always wore heels with her outfits. Her brown eyes were behind a pair of glasses with thick frames; a look that Rosemarie thought conveyed that she was here to do business. This style of dressing was Rosemarie’s biggest attempt at attempted to be the type of person that isn’t bothered with.

Yet, Rosemarie was forced to remind herself that this was vacation. And that this vacation was supposed to be a stress-reliever. According to her therapist (who recommended taking a break from work), this time spent away from home was supposed to let her focus on herself. Rosemarie was supposed to be building relations with people that were rooted outside of work, and she was supposed to allow herself to spend time disconnected from all the responsibilities and tasks she had under her. The smart phone in her hand was testament to how badly she was failing the tasks given to her.

With this in mind, Rosemarie was yet again forced to break out of her comfort zone. She gave the man sitting next to her a small smile, attempting to be polite, and responded, “Well, I’m from the other side of the country. So, that’s probably a big factor in why you haven’t seen me before,” even as she said the words, Rosemarie could feel her language being cold. She was disconnecting, she was using her East Coast way of talking but not relating to people. Determined to fight this habit she continued, “Are you from around here? Do you manage the property or work in this building?”

Even as she was responding, Rosemarie was ashamed. Yet again she was going back to her typical, work-based conversation. Shaking her head, she attempted to give a real smile as she waited for a response.