set up that says me of the Y back home where Lekha had her birthday party last month I still haven't totally forgiven her for having a pool party when she knew how I felt about water I ended up helping her mom for the cake while everyone was splashing around and having fun I follow Mom around the high counter taking in the computer behind it There's a desk against the back wall and next to it a closed door with a sign Office And next to that there's a bathroom thank God Back home my best friends Dahlia and Lekha and I have a public bathroom rating system Most of the bathrooms in the city are a one or two out of ten usually tiny and dirty and smelly with toilet paper on the floor and paper towel dispensers that are empty or jammed Then there are the ones in fancy restaurants the ones we go to for special occasions which get an eight or a nine because they're big with art on the walls and automatic faucets and blasting hand dryers that actually dry your hands instead of just moving the water around This bathroom I give it a four because it's clean but it's still tiny and the toilet seat is chipped And the soap dispenser is filled with bright pink liquid that looks like diarrhea medicine
When I come out Sammy's climbing onto one of the two old couches that face each other in the middle of the room a scratched up coffee table between them Mi wam he calls to me The couches are greenish brown with frayed edges and there's a rip down the back of one of them I try not to think about the dirt and sit down and Sammy snuggles against me until he spies the display stand near the front door It's filled with colorful pamphlets the only thing in the room that's not dull and dreary Sammy toddles right over and starts pulling them out one by one and dropping them on the floor I pick them up and try to put them back into their slots but he is way faster than I am so I give up and look at them instead Crystal Caverns says one with photos of a huge cave filled with shiny rock icicles that hang from the ceiling It's magical I find a booklet called Places to Stay in the Finger Lakes Region I look inside but the Jewel Motor Inn isn't listed At the very top of the display too high for Sammy to reach there's an ad for Mabel's Diner which is right next door to the Jewel The ad says that kids ten
and under eat breakfast free and that there are unlimited coffee refills Since I just turned eleven and hate even the smell of coffee I'm not impressed Sammy grabs another pamphlet and hands it to me There's a map of upstate New York on one side and a map of Greenvale on the other He heads for a door on the far side of the room across from the desk which says Pool That explains the chlorine smell I can see the water through the grimy glass Just the sight of it makes my heart beat faster I scoop Sammy up He squirms and says Dow dow but I hold onto him tight How are we going to know what to do if the last owners aren't here to show us I ask Not a good time for questions Miriam says Mom rubbing the scar on her palm something she does when she's stressed She searches for something behind the counter as the bell jingles and Dad comes in Before they decided to move here my parents had a big fight right in front of me Mom said that a week wasn't nearly enough that running a motel wasn't something you picked up overnight She said it was a whole new skill set and that some people went to college for four years to learn how to do it
It's not the Ritz Carlton Dad said to her then It's just answering the phone and cleaning up after people How hard could that be That made Mom stomp off talking to herself about marketing and supply inventory and cash flow and about how no one could even clean up after themselves in our apartment in New York City She didn't talk to Dad the whole rest of that day But then he did his magic with her and they made up and here we are Mom gives Dad the of death The magic has clearly worn off She comes out from behind the counter holding up a small plastic card Let's get your suitcase and go see your room she says to me Room 109. Room 109 The room I'll share with Sammy Because as of today I Miriam Brockman formerly of New York City live in a motel in Greenvale New York Population 514 eyes
