Greetings all; in my stories my characters exist in my head, but there might be real life inspirations for some of them. Who knows?
~~
Acme Widget Company had arranged a training class that was to be held at their branch office in Atlanta. The instructor and nine of the attendees were coming into town from several other states, and three workers from the local office would also attend. As luck would have it a rare heavy snowfall was expected on Wednesday during the week of the class. Since the hotel the widget makers from out of town would be staying at was only a couple hundred yards from the branch office, the company decided to go ahead with the training.
The three widget makers from the local office who were in the class and one of the office administrators were given the option to get a room in the hotel for the week, or drive to the office Monday and Tuesday and stay in the hotel Wednesday through Friday. The widget makers named Bill and Ted, and the admin named Pam chose to stay at the hotel all week, but the other widget maker named Obie, didn't want to be away from the comforts of his home and his big screen TV any more than he had to, so he decided to take option number two.
The weather was fine on Monday, but the forecast for Tuesday changed overnight and now the snow was going to arrive twenty four hours earlier than originally predicted. Obie grabbed a bottle of gin and some tonic water out of his liquor cabinet, then gathered everything he'd need for a few days stay in a hotel and put all of it in a duffel bag.
~~
When he made it to the office he went directly to see Pam about reserving a room for him.
"Honey I don't know how to tell you this, but I can't find you a room for tonight," she said before he asked. "I stopped by the front desk at our hotel before I left this morning to see if you could check-in early and they were already booked up. I called the other two hotels that are close enough for you to walk to and from the office without freezing, but they were already full too."
At that point the snow still wasn't sticking to the pavement, so he made his typical smart-ass comment saying, "You know how the weather guessers on tv around here are, they lose their minds over a few snowflakes."
"That's true," she replied and laughed. "But it's better to have and not need than to need and not have I always say."
"I guess so," he conceded. "But I'm sure Bill and Ted will let me crash on the convertible sofa in their room for one night if necessary."
"You could do that, or you can sleep in my room," suggested Pam, causing Obie to raise an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked after seeing his reaction.
"Because you're married for starters. that's why Pamela.
"Obie we're not going to screw for heaven's sake. We're going to sleep... And my husband isn't the jealous type."
"Yeah, well I'd rather not take any chances if you don't mind,"
"It's up to you. If you'd rather sleep in the same room as Bill and Ted so ya'll can snore and fart together go ahead."
"You're funny," replied a laughing Obie. "Alright, I'd better get to the classroom.
~~
Pam brought the caterer into the classroom to serve them lunch approximately at noon. While Obie was waiting his turn to get his food she went and stood beside him. "Well Obie, I guess the weather guessers were right huh. The snow is beginning to pile-up out there; it's looking more and more like you'll have to stay in the hotel tonight after all."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Have fun with Bill and Ted," she said and giggled.
"Ahhh, it'll be fine," he replied, then he served himself some food.
Class started up again and as he sat there listening to the instructor drone on about the company's latest contribution to the widget market it was three pm before he knew it. The instructor gave them a bathroom break and the classroom emptied.
When he came back into the room Pam was putting out more snacks and drinks on the refreshments table. When she looked up and saw him she smiled and said, "Obie there you are. Can you believe how hard it's snowing? They say there's going to be seven inches of it on the ground by five pm, with more expected, and its going to be freezing cold outside after sundown. Traffic is already crazy, and all over town people are trying to find somewhere to stay the night."
"Well damn. Looks like I'm screwed." he said with a purposely exaggerated sigh meant to illicit sympathy.
"I told you that you can sleep in my room," stated Pam warmly as she finished tidying up the table.
"You're serious about that huh."
"Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"
"Because there are all kinds of issues that it could cause if people in the office found out. I'm 28 years older than you. I'm black and you're white, and you have a husband."
"So what? You're my friend. My husband won't care, and it's nobody else's business."
As she stood there with her hand on her hip after dismissing his concerns he quickly reconsidered her offer. They'd known each other at work for more than ten years and had become friendly and comfortable with one another. He'd never had any sexual impulses where she was concerned, and even when he imagined her naked it was due to curiosity rather than lust.
And most importantly, he was sure that he was mature and disciplined enough to share a room with her without allowing their gender to come into the picture. All things considered, he couldn't see any reason why he shouldn't sleep in the same room with her if she really was willing to do it.
He still had an uneasy feeling about her husband finding out about it though, and that was going to have to be addressed.
"Alright, if you're not concerned about people gossiping, then neither am I, but I don't get why you're so sure your husband won't mind," he responded, now wondering if maybe they were swingers.
"Because he thinks you're old and harmless," she replied.
