Chapter Nine

Maddison managed to talk her way out of getting a ticket which inherently made her feel guilty because she generally kept things on the straight and narrow. A total of four stops had been made during the course of her road trip and currently, she was hurtling away from her fourth and final stop several kilometres out of the city of San Valentino. Apart from refuelling and using the facilities, she also stopped for meals. On more than one occasion, she fought off the urge to buy coffee or energy drinks to keep her going and instead relied on good old willpower to get her through. The sun was beginning to set, prompting her to lower the visor so she could maintain her visibility. She turned off the radio, letting the grunt of the V8 engine take its place. Motor vehicles were a secret passion of hers and a guilty pleasure in some respects. As a young girl she would hang out with her father in the garage whenever he was working on his motorcycle. When she was old enough to get a driver’s license, he taught her how to ride and when he was satisfied with her abilities, he allowed her to take his motorcycle for a spin a few times.

She had been a tomboy for most of her life but Maddison slowly began to shed that mentality six years ago. On the surface it appeared as though she got it out of her system, which was not the case. Once in a while, she would visit the local racetrack on a race day and take it all in: the roar of turbo and supercharged engines when the cars raced around the track, the squealing of tyres as rubber met asphalt and the familiar smell of burning rubber. She hoped that one day female drivers would step up and be celebrated in a manner similar to their male contemporaries.

Maddison glanced at the screen of the GPS which indicated that her destination was twelve kilometres away which translated into a thirty-two minute drive. The digital time display indicated that it was thirty-five minutes past six in the evening and it only meant one thing: rush hour. To console herself, she thought of what awaited her at her destination: a hot shower, delicious food and what she imagined was a very comfortable bed.

Fifty-one minutes later, her destination came into view and despite the fact that she had been here a few times in the past, it was as beautiful as the first time she saw it. The Rita Zora was an expansive building that had fifty floors above ground, a further two below and a total of 1,850 rooms with 60 suites. The hotel overlooked the paean ocean, giving its guests on the higher floors a lovely view of the sunset. Three restaurants were available: the two on the 45^th and 46^th floors only served dinner from 6pm to 10pm whereas the last one, located on the 8^th floor, served breakfast, lunch and dinner with its operating hours between 6am and 10pm. Added to this were a whole host of amenities such as a fitness centre, health and beauty services, concierge lounge, daily housekeeping and room service among others. This made it a Mecca for most people who visited the city.

After parking her car and handing her keys to the valet, Maddison walked under the awning and entered the spacious lobby. She went up to the receptionist, paid for her room and received her key.  The concierge would bring her luggage up shortly. An elevator ride and a one minute walk later, she was at her room where she collapsed onto her bed.

I wish I could lie here forever but alas.

Five minutes later, her luggage arrived at her room and she tipped the bellhop. She undressed, wore her bathrobe and headed to the shower. She had decided to order room service for her dinner. As the hot water from the showerhead struck her tired body, she felt every ache slowly leave her body. Thirty minutes later, Maddison emerged from the shower wrapped in a towel. She sat on the edge of the bed, crossed her legs and picked up the phone.

I hope they have something Kosher.