It was a typical day at the Magnolia Inn, though the weather was a bit warmer than usual. The sun shined down on the pavement, creating heat waves that makes the air thick, but a light breeze here and there made it tolerable. John, the head maintenance man, was hard at work painting the door of room 312, his brush gliding smoothly over the surface with practiced precision.
As John was focused on his job, he heard that distinctive voice of the hotel manager, Ms. Kobswell, calling out to Tommy, the other maintenance guy. "Tommy, could you spare a minute? I need to discuss something with you," Ms. Kobswell said, her tone professional yet friendly. Tommy, who had been fixing a leaky faucet in one of the guest bathrooms, nodded and made his way over to the courtyard picnic table where Ms. Kobswell was waiting.
The two sat down at the picnic table, its weak iron frame started squeaking and slightly bending cause of the weight. Ms. Kobswell leaned in, her fingers intertwined with each other making a mask over her nose and mouth hands, as she began to speak Tommy began to start looking awkwardly, his eyes focused on her face as she explained the matter at hand. The conversation lasted for a few minutes, with Ms. Kobswell doing most of the talking and would ask Tommy a question and he would nod as if he understood.
From where John was positioned he couldn’t hear their discussion, but he could sense the seriousness of the topic based on their body language. He wondered what made her call a quick one on one meeting, especially considering the fact that everything in the maintenance department at the Magnolia Inn had been running smoothly as of late. As he speculated about other possible reasons, John continued his work, the conventional smooth strokes of his paintbrush creating a soothing rhythm while checking out the scene.
After the brief meeting ended, with a look of determination Tommy stood up and turned and walked casually towards the maintenance shop. Ms. Kobswell watched him walked away, with her hands still over her nose and mouth, before she stood up and heading back towards the hotel lobby.
John, his curiosity was on high, finished painting the door and gathered his supplies. As he made his way to the maintenance shop to store his tools, he couldn't help but wondering why Tommy and the manager had that brief meeting.
John gathered his trash and other the rest of his things to take to the dumpster. On his way to the dumpster he sees Tommy standing by his car. “Yo, Tommy what’s up. John says. Tommy looks at John and unleashes. “Do you know what that lady said to me? Tommy says out of anger.
To be continued……….