As Jason checked into the hotel, he was in a crappy mood. The TSA Pre-check line at the airport was jammed, his flight was late in leaving and arriving, the rental car company screwed up his reservation, and the hotel didn't have his reward number in the system. He was a patient man and tried very hard not to take out his frustration on the clerk behind the desk, but his irritation came through.
After she entered the correct number in his record, she saw his status in the Loyalty Program.
"I'm really sorry about the reward number, Mr. Williams, but it's all corrected now. Here is a coupon for a couple of drinks in the bar to make up for the error," the clerk said. "And I upgraded you to a deluxe room for no charge."
Jason realized he must have expressed more anger than he intended, and he smiled back at the attractive, young woman.
"That's really not necessary. And I'm sorry if I took it out on you. I know it wasn't your fault."
"No, no, no," she replied. "I'm happy to do it. You're a valued guest at our hotel, and it's the least we can do."
"Thank you very much," he replied, already in a
slightly
better mood. He didn't really think there'd be a need to use the coupons, as he expected plenty of free alcohol this weekend. His college roommate's daughter was getting married, with an out-of-towner's dinner tonight and the wedding tomorrow night. But he was happy to get the room upgrade.
Then the clerk asked, "How many keys will you need?" as she prepared to activate the keycards.
Whenever he checked into a hotel alone, he was always tempted to say, "Please give me three. If I want to hand out more at the bar, I can stop back at the desk." But instead, he simply replied, "One is fine."
Key in hand and luggage in tow, Jason headed for the elevators. He was now on the "Executive Floor", so he had to use his keycard in the elevator before he could press the button for his floor. When he stepped off the elevator, there were a few Wall Street Journals and USA Todays sitting on a table, with a large dispenser of ice water with lemons floating. He chuckled thinking about his need to use his keycard to get to this floor. Good thing they're protecting the ice water, he thought.
Leaving the elevator lobby, he checked the sign on the wall to see which way to turn. He turned left, walked down a long hall, and then turned right. After a shorter walk down the hall, he found his room. He was glad he was far from the elevator.
He held up his keycard and heard the familiar "whir" and saw the green light come on. He flipped the handle down and walked in. The room was definitely larger than he expected, with a large wall of windows. It was still a single room, but the king-size bed was around the corner, with the seating area directly in front of the door. The upgraded room included a very nice walk-in shower.
Jason pulled his Clorox wipes out of his backpack and started his cleaning ritual. He wiped down the two television remote controls, the telephone (even though he never used the hotel phone), light switches on the wall and on the lamps, the bathroom door handles and faucets, and the main door handles and locks. Then he took out another wipe to wipe down the surface of the desk and nightstands. Finally, he wiped down the inside of one dresser drawer where he planned to put a few things.
Now he was able to unpack his clothes, checking that his sport jacket, pants, tuxedo, and shirts survived without wrinkles. They all looked okay, so he hung them in the closet. He removed the cleaning bags he always put over the hangers when he packed. He pulled out his computer to make sure he could connect to the Wi-Fi, although sometimes he got just as fast a connection at a hotel by using his iPhone as a hotspot.
He had a few hours before the out-of-towner's dinner, so he decided to go for a run. It was warm day, and he worked up a good sweat, but it cleared his mind. He had forgotten about the crappy day of travel, and was entering "party mode". He showered, got dressed, and headed downstairs to find the room where dinner was being held.
As soon as he walked in, he saw Mark, his old roommate, and Susie, Mark's wife, in the corner of the room talking with some folks. Mark looked up and saw him, and waved him over. As soon as he got there, Mark totally ignored the people he was talking with and pulled Jason into a big hug.
"Hey, Jason, thanks so much for coming! It's good to see you! How is everything?"
"Doing well, Mark. Thanks for inviting me. I'm thrilled to be here," Jason replied. When he took a step back from Mark, he looked to his right, where Susan was smiling and moving toward him. She threw her arms around him, too, and gave him a big hug. Then she gave him a short kiss on the lips.
"Hi, Jason! I'm so glad you're here!"
"Thanks, Susan. You know I'm only here to see you and Elizabeth. I don't even like Mark."
Susan laughed. "I know, I know. We all barely tolerate him."
"I didn't see the bride yet. Where is she?"
Susan replied, "Running a little late, as usual. She should be here any minute."
After chatting for a few more minutes, he left so Mark and Susan could greet the other guests. He walked over to the bar and got a drink. He heard some loud laughter at the door, and he saw Elizabeth walk in with a bunch of other young women. When she saw Jason, she made a beeline for him and, like both of her parents, gave him a tight hug.
"Hi, Jason! I'm so glad you're here! Thank you for coming."
"Hi, Elizabeth. You think I'd miss my favorite girl getting married? Wild horses couldn't keep me away. You look beautiful, sweetheart."
"Thanks, Jason. Did you see Mom and Dad yet?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, I did. I left them so they could talk with some of the other guests. Where's Andrew? He didn't get cold feet and back out, did he?"
Elizabeth hit him in the shoulder. "No, he didn't back out," she said with a laugh. "He'll be here soon."
"Okay, sweetheart. Go visit with your other guests. I'm very happy for you! Love you, honey."
"Love you too, Jason!", she said, as she gave him one more hug.
Jason walked around the room and met a few other guests. He checked out the buffet that was being set up, making sure there was something he'd be able to eat. There were trays of water with chafing candles underneath to keep them warm. The food hadn't been put out yet, but there were enough trays sitting at the ready that Jason figured he'd find something he liked.
