Day inn

2 beds. dark red sheets. thick curtains. Walls, damp, yellow. a large table stood in the corner of the room. by the window. which i was afraid to open. doing so meant turning this sort of dial shaped thing while also pushing the glass outward — a process many guests must’ve had trouble with. Management left a laminated set of more detailed instructions. on that round table. tucked under a bronze reading lamp with scratch marks on its somewhat heavy base. 

An episode of “How it is made” was playing on the flat screen TV. about sliced bread. I’d just changed the channel from a news cast. about a terrorist attack in my home city. a pipe bomb exploded inside a public garbage can. i wasn’t paying attention to whether anyone got killed. either way, A message was sent. “Dough pieces must not touch one another, so they’re spaced apart by a small mechanical arm.” Aall the doors on this floor of the Day inn had a “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging from them. Hotels. the only place where do not disturb means anything.

END