No Vacancy

No Vacancy, part 2

Some memories are better left buried. Especially those that bring back trauma. Claire had done her best for years to keep her past unthought of. The same thing could be said of Marvin. His criminal past was untoward, and he didn't speak of it anymore. Fresh starts began at the rickety motel. And besides, they made a good pair at work.

Marvin took over when Claire couldn't seem to snap out of her shock. He sent her on a break so he could check in the young family. It was late now and they wanted to get the tiny girl to bed. 

"We're not fancy, I'm warning ya..but the rooms are clean. That I can guarantee." Marvin proudly says, swiping their credit card. 

"That's fine! All we needed was a place for the night. We have to be in town tomorrow anyway." The dad said. 

"Town? Here?" Marvin casually asked. 

"Yes, here. We're going to meet someone." 

Marvin pondered who these well off people could possibly be meeting in their tiny town as he gave them the room key. He knew every single resident and no one had rich relatives. 

Maybe they're investors and want to buy the gas station...

The town was a stop over place, one of curiosity for those in RVs who thunder through, younger folks who are on their way to get hitched by eloping and those looking for work. Opportunity didn't reside here. Though it miraculously had for he and Claire. It was a dry and dusty non utopian place. Yep, Marvin decided they must be here for investment purposes. 

He did however wonder why Claire reacted in the manner she had. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. Marvin never had kids of his own but he figured she was the closet thing he'd have to it, she was like a daughter to him. He wanted to get to the bottom of it. For her sake. 

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"I'm ok..." 

Claire gingerly took a fresh cup of coffee from Marvin and settled onto the high stool behind the front reception counter. She was surprised Marvin had broken down and brewed a fresh pot for her. He usually was adamant about not enticing guests to congregate in the lobby where they worked. 

"Bullshit. Tell me why you turned white when you saw the wife and that cute kid?" He demanded, eyeballing her as he blew steam from his cup. 

"I don't want to talk about it Marvin." She quietly replied. 

Silence settled into the stale space and even the Christmas tree neglected to lighten the mood. 

Marvin cleared his throat, "Did you know that December 25 isn't the actual date when Jesus was born?" 

Claire turned to look at her older coworker. This again?

"The Catholic Church declared that was the day....to piggyback off of a pagan winter festival. No doubt for their own greed. But nobody knows the actual date, or year even." 

She hadn't known that. It actually piqued her interest slightly. 

"Really?" She asked. 

Marvin grinned. He'd hooked her. 

"Fact. And the good book doesn't specify how many magi or wise men visited Jesus at his birth. It could've been more than the standard storyline of three. I'd bet on it actually. But hell....I find it more interesting how the angels were used. You know I believe in them..." 

Claire snorted. Oh yes, she knew. He was convinced angels were all around them, at all times. You'd normally find this belief in little old religious ladies that collect too many angel figurines and nick knacks, not a hardened and hulking former convict. But Marvin was one of a kind.