“Oh not again!” Stephen groaned as his car’s engine started to sputter and misfire while he and his family were still some distance from home. He vainly tried to keep it running but just as he pulled over to the side of the road...it died completely.
“I told you to take it to the mechanic last week” his pregnant wife Amanda sighed from the passenger seat as she rested her elbow on the door and put her head in her hand.
“Yeah thanks honey, that’s really helpful” he replied acerbically.
“Mommy, I need to pee!” the couple’s 6-year old daughter Kristen suddenly whined from the back seat, as her 10-year old brother Joseph sat quite content reading his comic book. Both Stephen and Amanda turned and looked at their daughter, who was fidgeting a great deal in her seat.
Stephen just let out a long frustrated sigh as he gripped the steering wheel.
At 41 years old, Stephen Pryce would tell anyone that he had seen the best years of his life, despite the ‘bullshit’ saying that “life begins at 40”. Yet for his children’s sake, his outlook on life remained optimistic, and he was always cracking jokes. He was 5’11” tall and had short black hair, shaved at the back and sides, and he kept himself clean shaven, his build was average for a man his age but he was a little hairier than a lot of men, with a thick mat of hair covering his chest and extending down to his navel. His voice was relatively deep, and he was dressed in a gray polo neck sweatshirt, a pair of denim jeans and a pair of brown hiking boots.
His wife Amanda Pryce, was 38 years old and stood 5‘4“ tall, she was a little over seven months pregnant. Her dirty blond hair was shoulder-length, and a couple of hair grips kept it out of her face. She was very pretty and she knew it, but she was a modest woman, she had breasts that were normally a C-Cup, but pregnancy had enlarged them by a full cup size or more. She had a very curvy figure, but two previous childbirths had taken its toll a little, her shapely legs however had not suffered, and according to Stephen…they were his wife’s best feature. Today she was wearing her favorite black lace underwear, a loose-fitting white blouse, a long black skirt with an elasticized waistband, and a pair of black leather flats on her aching feet. Jewelry consisted of a simple gold chain with a Christian cross attached, and her wedding/engagement rings on her fingers., which were manicured. As well as being modest, Amanda was very easy going, and it took a lot to get her angry.
Their 10-year old son Joseph, or Joe as everyone called him, was 5’1” in height and was quiet for his age, nearly always engrossed in reading his superhero comics. He had short brown hair and took after his dad in good looks. He was dressed in the type of clothing he always wore, namely t-shirts of varying color, except pink and red, corduroy pants and sneakers.
In contrast to her older brother, 6-year old Kristen was very active, sometimes a little too much, she had long blonde hair that was nearly always in a ponytail, she stood only 4’ tall and she had a very petite build. She was very cute and loved playing dress-up in her mom’s clothes whenever she was allowed, though her own clothes were just as feminine as her mother’s. Today she was wearing a short-sleeved white top, a red thigh-length skirt with little white hearts on it and a pair of black patent flats with ankle straps and ribbons on the fronts.
Stephen then stepped out of the car and took a quick look around. “Why don’t you take her behind those bushes?” he suggested to his wife, who just looked at him with a frown on her pretty face.
“I’m not doing that!” Amanda responded.
“Well, its either that or she pees herself!” Stephen pointed out, as he pointed to his daughter, who was growing more and more desperate.
Amanda herself stepped out of the car and surveyed the area, as another vehicle drove past without stopping to help the family. “Thanks for the help dickwad!” she shouted after the car.
As Stephen chuckled away to himself, his wife then pointed to the large building situated about half a mile down the road. “Why don’t we go there?” she asked, as she looked skywards at the darkening sky.
“And leave the car?” Stephen muttered in disapproval.
Amanda just shrugged and gave him a stare. “I don’t think anyone would want to steal this piece of crap honey!” she said, as she hit the roof of the car with her left hand.
“MOMMY!!” Kristen cried out again, as she struggled to ‘keep it in’.
“Look, you can stay with your precious car if you like but I’m taking the kids to that building,” Amanda decided, as she opened the back door, checked for traffic, and then told her daughter to jump out, “come on Joe, tear your eyes away from your comic” she then told her son, who let out a sigh and reluctantly did as he was told.
“Fine!” Stephen finally relented, as he reached back in the car for a few things before locking it up.
The family then took a steady walk down towards the building down the road. Upon reaching it, the couple surveyed its façade, ‘The Moriarty Arms’ was emblazoned above the rather large entrance in gold lettering. The building was immaculately kept and quite a few cars were parked in the car lot around the back. “Well, a hotel, this is lucky!” Amanda smiled, as she kept tight hold of her daughter with one hand and caressed her swollen stomach with the other. Amanda was just glad she wasn’t any further along than seven months, since she knew that they could have broken down out in the middle of nowhere, which would have been 'unfortunate'.
“Well, come on then, lets ask if they have a room available before Kristen pees her pants!” Stephen said, as he led his family inside the building. As Amanda stepped inside, a few drops of rain began to fall, a prelude to the kind of torrential downpour that occasionally drenched the area.
“We timed that well” Amanda mumbled, as she and Stephen turned to look at the rain outside.
“Good evening, I assume you’ll be wanting a room?” the female clerk behind the front desk suddenly addressed the family.
“Er…depends on the price really” Stephen replied, only to be nudged by his wife.
“For god’s sake, its only for a night or two” Amanda growled at him, as she stepped forward. “Um…yes please, there are just the four of us” she then told the receptionist.
“We only charge $130 per night, and we’ve got two available family suites on the top floor, if you’ll sign the register I’ll have someone show you to your room” the pleasant receptionist informed Amanda with a smile.
“Thank you!” Amanda said, before turning to her husband, “See how easy that was” she mumbled to Stephen, sticking her tongue out at him. She then looked down at Kristen when she suddenly pulled on her arm. “Oh…and where’s the bathroom please?” she quickly asked the receptionist,
“This way!” the clerk responded, as she rushed from behind the desk and took both Amanda and Kirsten to the toilets.
That left Stephen stood there with his young son, who lazily sat himself down near the doorway and buried his face in his comic book again, a sight that Stephen had grown accustomed to. Letting out another sigh, Stephen signed the family into the hotel, then turned around when he heard the ‘ping’ of the elevator.
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