All Chapters of The Lovelane Motel: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

*** Mark ***"I could've picked up groceries yesterday evening, mah." Mark Daniels glanced at his mother on the passenger side of the car."Shoulda, woulda, coulda!" His mother muttered. She wound down the windshield. As if that would help her get a clearer picture of the crowd leaving and entering the supermarket. "Is it always this crowded?"Mark rubbed his forehead in frustration. If he ignored that question, she would call him disrespectful and they'd start quarreling. "Yes, because it's Saturday. Also, you already know this. Should we go to the mall instead?"Even as he asked this, he knew the suggestion was dumb. The mall was often much worse than Ever-Good supermarket on this day and time of the week. But he hated driving in traffic or shopping in crowded places. No doubt, there would be kids in there screaming for no reason while their parents did nothing about it.His mother's reply was as expected. "We're already here. Also, you hate it there on Saturday."Mark eased the car

Philip Gonza drove his black Mazda into his street mart private parking lot, waving to the security staff members as he passed. He parked at his usual reserved spot beside the Khaya tree, near the supermarket entrance. Turning off the engine caused the car radio to go off too, bringing the usual calm and quiet that he loved so much at this time of day.Phil checked the time again. It was already 7.25. The sun was coming up full now. The Ever-Good supermarket did not open to customers until 8.15 AM and his self-assigned resumption time was 7.50. Although he liked to arrive at least twenty minutes earlier. It gave him time to chill in his car and fiddle with his phone or just let his mind roam.This was his routine every morning since his father handed him this shop. He loved sitting under this slightly large tree with his car door open in the mornings before resuming his duties. The only sound at this time was of birds singing atop the tree. Cars honked out in the street, but the sound

Days later.Walking was good for the soul and body, Solana told herself, ignoring the shared cab honking to get her attention. The man's car was not yet full and he needed just one more passenger to complete the seats in order to earn his full money for the trip. Her job required sitting most of the time, so walking was good exercise. Never mind that her house was some twenty-five minutes walk from the supermarket where she worked. And she didn't have any extra calories to burn. This workout was not needed at all unless she was trying to lose her non-existent weight.Who was she kidding? She didn't want to walk home. The only thing she liked about her job was its proximity to the house. She always arrived home five to ten minutes after her shift, depending on the traffic situation. That was something very few people enjoyed in this busy city. But walking instead of taking a cab meant not getting back as quickly as she liked to. The only problem was she hated spending money nowadays.

*** Mark *** Mark sat where his mom used to sit and work in the brightly lit, sparsely decorated, spacious office. As he stared at the open Excel sheet on his mother's laptop, he mouthed, "Unbelievable." The initial renovations had actually had an effect. And quickly, too. He'd noticed the increase in foot traffic, but he didn't know things had picked up at this pace. Things have gotten much better than he expected in such a short time. So the free condoms worked, huh? How about that? He couldn't help but smile. But he quickly reminded himself that he had only scratched the surface of the beginning. It was a great start. He must maintain this momentum for the next five months, give or take. That meant continuous improvement. Or kaizen, as the Japanese called it. At least the very least, he must constantly do something new to spur the steady increase of guests. At some point in the last few weeks, he realized he couldn't do this alone. Joe and Ugo were a great help with security,

*** Mark *** "So-Yeah...Alright." Mark remained seated on the bed, nodding his head to nothing, no one, and for no reason as the door clicked shut after the girl went out. He realized what he was doing and decided his brain was still on pause because the only words he could get out after what just happened were those three meaningless mumble - so yeah alright! He had been blank from the moment she had walked out of the bathroom with her eyes glinting flirtatiously. Getting off the bed, he quickly made his way into the bathroom. When he came out minutes later, he was determined to get his head back on track. "Maybe- MAYBE! That should not have happened!" He said while looking around the bedroom for his briefs. Sex was not part of the plan. Quite unexpected. If he were honest with himself, the whole brain pause had begun the moment she stood up from among her friends and walked unto the dance floor. The only thought in his head as he watched her, as she looked at him invitingly,