A Tale of Two Cities

Welcome to Motel Hell!

Disclaimer: I own no one!

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Trish grumbled softly, staring at the bleak office of the Motel 6. This motel, the first one they had seen, looked so crappy. She wasn't a picky person, but still.

"Come on, we got the last room," Randy declared, climbing back in the driver's seat. Trish rolled her eyes. She was exhausted. All she wanted was to take a hot shower and go to bed.

"Thank God for small miracles," Trish said, rubbing slow circles around her belly. She smiled as the baby kicked. "I hope we're having a girl," Randy glanced over to her.

"What happens if he's a boy?" Randy asked, emphasizing the word he. Trish rolled her eyes and gently swatted him in the back of the head. "He's going to be majorly disturbed,"

"I don't really care if it's a boy or a girl. I just want a girl," she said. Randy rolled his eyes. That was such an oxymoron! Did Trish even realize what she had just said?

The back of the motel seemed worse than the front. Shady looking people hung around, smoking cigarettes. A woman dressed all in black sipped something wrapped in a brown paper bag. Trish couldn't believe her luck.

"Remind me again why we decided to stay here," she muttered, getting out of the car. Randy sighed, wishing his wife was easier to handle. He gave her some leniency. After all, she was almost seven months pregnant.

"You held a nail file to my jugular and threatened to kill me if I didn't stop at the FIRST motel we saw," Randy reminded her, pulling a small duffel bag out of the trunk. "Besides, it's not so bad,"

Trish was ready to kill her husband for uttering that. Once they got inside the room, she could see it was bad. It was dark. It was dank and it had an unidentifiable foul odor.

"You were saying?" she muttered, laughing as the baby kicked. The gentle rolling movement amazed her. She couldn't believe she was pregnant. Even seven months later, it still seemed surreal.

"Okay, maybe this place is pretty bad," he admitted, setting the duffel bag down. He looked around, wishing the room were better. He hated seeing Trish uncomfortable. She was just so pregnant. She needed to be comfortable.

She gently seized his hand and placed it in the center of her rounded belly. His eyes widened as the, their, baby jabbed him in the palm. He couldn't believe they were going to be parents. It seemed so strange.

"I'll run across the street to Burger King. You need to eat," he said. Rifling through the duffel bag, she nodded. "I've got the key,"

As the door shut behind Randy, she removed her shirt. Gazing intently in the mirror, she ran her hand over her belly. Angry red stretch marks crisscrossed over her taut skin. A tear sprung to her eyes, as her belly jolted. The baby was eager to say hello and make its mother acknowledge its presence.

Oh, Little One. Mommy didn't forget you, Trish thought. She maneuvered herself into the small bathroom. She was slightly amused to realize she barely fit. She needed to shower. She felt filthy.

The warm water sprayed over her aching body. The warm water soothed tense muscles. As she calmed down, she began to realize she wasn't as angry with Randy as she had originally thought. In fact, she hadn't been angry with him at all! If anything, she had been more annoyed than anything.

As the door opened and Randy called her name, she came out of the shower. If anything, she would at least have to make it up to him.

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What do you think? I hope you enjoy it. Enjoy, as I wither away in the country! Queen Creek's not so bad, except for we're missing a mall and a library. Enjoy!

-Jen