A Need To Rest

One

The scent of healthy grape vines drifted through the window facing the northern California sun. My fingers tapped out an inaudible rythm against my thighs as I listened to the man sitting before me.

"You're in luck, little lady," his smiling eyes were kind and the salt and pepper streaks in his hair gave him a warm, grandfatherly look. It was obvious he had been rather handsome in his youth, but accepted age with grace. "We're in need of some janitorial help. It's a small complex, but I assure you it can get messy." He chuckled. "It's not very glamorous, but if you want the job you can have it."

My eyes grew, "Thank you, Mr. Conser!"

"All I need from you now is a phone number and a day you can start. Normally we'd include a back ground check, but for this position it isn't required until a complaint is filed.

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts. Good. No ID. I didn't have one of those at the moment. "I can start anytime you need me too, sir."

"Great!" He clapped his hands together as he stood up behind the desk. "How about you come by an hour before closing and we'll get you acquainted with what will need to be done. So about four o'clock?"

"Four would be great. And are you certain the timing won't be an issue? Like I said, I'm only in town for a couple of weeks and then I've got to hit the road."

"Ms. Summers, I'd be happy for the help if it was for only a day. I'm not one to pass up an opportunity for help. You stay as long as you need to." He smiled again and opened the office door for me. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Penny."

"I look forward to working for you, Mr. Conser." And with that I carefully headed down the stairs from his office and into the larger foyer where the bathrooms, receptionist desk, and information panels were. I nodded a polite goodbye to Julie, who had been very kind when I first walked in before my meeting, and pushed the glass door with the frosted Greyson's Vineyard logo on the front.

My blue bicycle was waiting for me near the entrance of the road as a crossed the parking lot in the afternoon heat. I unlocked the wheels and slung my right leg over the seat before leisurely pedaling back into town.

The quaint town of Riverton had a lazy vibe to it as I steered down the main streets toward the hotel I had checked into four days ago, passing all the little shops I had already applied for -- diners, convenience stores, a bait shop, a candy store, the cinema, even a soda parler that looked like it should've been black and white -- but none of them had been looking to hire. I hadn't really considered looking into the vineyard until the middle-aged couple who own the sweet shop suggested I check it out. Sure enough, Mr. Conser needed help.

I slid my keycard into the handle slot and rolled my bike into the room as I kicked the door shut. I flung my purse over my head and onto the only bed in the space. I glanced at the phone peeking out of the front pocket on my backpack and debated on whether or not to turn it on. After all, it had been a full two days since I last checked it. I started at the offensive little rectangle for a solid three minutes before I gave up on weighing the pros and cons of turning it on. Instead, I grabbed the pancakes I had stashed in the fridge that morning and microwaved them for a nutritiously balanced dinner for one 19-year-old.

I found the clock on the nightstand. 5:27. I've got nothing better to do - might as well sort my stuff.

Within fifteen minutes I had the contents of my bag in four neat piles on the bed: clean clothes, dirty clothes, things to throw away, things not to throw away. I tackled the trash pile first. Then I washed the dirty clothes in the sink and strategically hung them around the room with the hotel's hangers for maximum drying efficiency.

I looked at the clock again - 7:54. I shouldn't ready for bed already. The next thing I knew, the rest of the piles were shoved to the edge of the bed and I flopped onto the matress and closed my eyes.

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! This is my first real attempt at starting a story, so I hope you liked it! Please comment critiques, suggestions, correction, or just in general what you think of it. =) Thanks for reading it and I hope to have more up soon - it might take a while to get to the good stuff, though. Thanks again!

xo - AustenPS