Jane is in her room at the motel. She has the motel phone up next to her ear. “Yes… I’ll wait. Can you tell him it’s Jane?”
Jane is surveying the room. She pulls back the top bed cover. One sheet at a time, Jane inspects for hygiene.
Strolling with the phone, she enters the bathroom. It is spotlessly clean. She runs her finger along the countertop and sniffs it. Rubbing her fingers together, inhaling, she wonders aloud, “Tea tree?”
Cupping the phone between her ear and shoulder, she picks up a plastic water glass and runs some water into it. Then, holds it up, to see if it is clean water. It is. She smells it. Dumping out some of the water in the sink, she throws the remainder along with the plastic glass into the garbage pail.
She looks at the sign on the bathroom countertop:
We value our reputation as Virgil’s finest boutique inn. We use only natural cleaning products. If you are missing any toiletries, please let us know. We are at your service.
“Pfft!” Jane laughs sarcastically at the sign and tosses it into the wastepaper basket. It is lined with a doily which has become wet from Jane’s water cup. She looks down into the wastebasket, considers her actions and retrieves the sign, replacing it on the countertop.
The sign is waterlogged and stained; so it collapses. Preoccupied, the phone slips from her ear and ricochets back into the bedroom.
Running to the handset, she presses the phone into her ear with her hand and starts to talk quickly.
“What?! Hey!! … Hi Ben!! Yes, it’s Jane.”
Jane thinks best when she is moving. She strolls back to the bathroom, dropping the toilet cover, which closes with a loud bang. She sits down.
“No, nothing. Just the… toilet seat…. Listen. I think I am onto something here. Yes. …really. I do. I think I need a few more days…. Just to chat with a few of the locals… Well… I think there is more than we had talked about…. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions here. What happened to all those kids?… It’s worth more than the 1500 words. Hmmmm? I think there might be a book in… How about…? Ben, I need a budget to stay here a bit longer. Like one week…It’s $68 per night. Plus there is food…. So, one week? $1000?”
Jane winches a bit. Knowing Ben is not likely to agree.
“Ok… well… You think about it. Maybe we can chat tomorrow?”
Jane holds the receiver for a bit. Waiting for a response. There is only silence. “Ben?…Ben?”
She hangs up the phone. It is clear that Ben has hung before the end of the conversation.
She opens up her carry all bag and pulls out a mickey of vodka. She walks into the bathroom, fishes out the plastic cup and starts to pour.