Dreams

Sam kicked the door to his hotel room open. He slammed the door shut behind him, locked it, and threw himself on the bed. The familiar smell of generic hotel rooms greeted him. Did they all use the same laundry detergent or something? It had been an unfairly long day, and the only thing that had kept him going was the thought of him being off soon. Twelve hours of pointless, boring meetings takes quite a lot of energy from you. He sighed, scratched his itchy neck and crawled over to the mini bar. He opened it, grabbed a bottle of liquor, didn’t pay much attention to which kind, and took a big swig of it. He felt an almost instant effect, and felt his body ease up. Standing by the window, watching the bland, grey buildings outside and the countless headlights of cars holding slaves returning from their dead-end jobs, he fiddled with the business card in his pocket. He had been giving it some thought ever since that guy at the bar last night said that the women of that…”bureau” were the best in town. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his wife, but ever since they got married and had children, the fun stuff had been replaced with diapers, long working-hours, responsibility and spending the nights exhausted in front of the TV watching interesting people lead interesting lives. He just wanted to feel alive.

“Uhm…is this…” Sam said, reading aloud from the business card, “Busty and Exotic Ladies?” Sam said.
“It sure is.” A woman replied, with a voice that was supposed to sound seductive, but failed utterly and sounded more like an automaton, spitting out a pre-recorded message.
“Uhh…I’m staying at the Ritz Hotel…could you…uhm…send someone over?”
“Of course…stud!” She probably said that to every pathetic loser. “What model would you like?”
“Uhh…what model?” Silence.
“Ahh…so you would like to try our Special Surprise?”
“I’m not sure I like surprises.” Sam said. “They’re not always pleasant.”
“I assure you, sir, that all our employees are of the highest…quality.” Sam tried to withhold a laugh, but a tiny giggle managed to escape.
“Uhh…well then, I’ll take the Surprise.”
“Good choice.” The woman said and hung up. What the hell was he doing?

Exactly twenty-five minutes later someone knocked on the door. Sam took a deep breath, drank some more booze and walked over to the door. He opened it, and outside his Surprise awaited him. At the exact moment as the door was opened, she removed her coat and revealed a scantily clad body, but the sudden, and surprisingly fast, removal of clothes wasn’t the biggest surprise.
“Julie? Julie Tillman?” Sam said. The woman looked at him closely, trying to place him somewhere in her memory.
“Sam Hendricks? Dunbarton High?”
“I can’t believe this!” Sam said, smiling. “What’s it been? 15 years?”
“That’s about right.” Julie said, nodding. Suddenly it struck Sam that she was still partially undressed.
“Uhm…maybe you should…” Sam said, pointing to her coat.
“Oh, of course!” She said, pulling on her coat again. For a brief while they looked at each other, until Sam finally invited her inside. She sat down on the bed, while Sam remained standing.
“…This is really weird.” She said, smiling that smile Sam remembered from school and her eyes making the same movements. Her black hair had grown longer, and the first signs of wrinkles were beginning to show on her face, even though she had tried to conceal it with makeup. But she was as beautiful as always.
“Yeah,” Sam said, grinning. “It really is.” He walked over to the mini bar. “Do you want a drink?”
“Sure, that sounds nice.” She said. Sam looked through the bottles and fished out a bottle of champagne. He poured two tall glasses and handed her one of them.
“Ah, champagne…I guess that’s what’s needed for situations like this.” Sam smiled and nodded, not knowing how to continue the conversation. “I don’t think we’ve seen each other since that party at Bill, everyone went off to college after that.” Julie said.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Sam said, and began chuckling. “I remember Bill clearly. Crazy son-of-a-bitch. Do you still talk with some of the old gang?”
“Nah,” she said, “tried to keep in touch, but a few years after we graduated it all just fell apart. People made new friends and forgot about the old ones. I think Carrie’s living in Seattle…she’s a doctor I believe.” She searched her memory for lost information on old acquaintances. “Donald moved to Argentina…and..uhh…I know this is gonna be a bit rough, but…Bill killed himself a couple of years ago.”
“Bill? Wow, I never thought he, of all people, was gonna go through with something like that. Why?”
“Girlfriend died, I don’t know how, but for some reason he felt guilty and couldn’t take it anymore.” Sam almost couldn’t believe the last few minutes’ events. A long-lost friend had arrived at his doorstep and now told him that his best high-school friend had died. He didn’t know whether he should feel regret or relief over having called the “bureau”.
“So what’s going on in your life at the moment?” She asked.
“Nothing much. I got a degree in economics, work in a large multi-national corporation and got a wife and two kids in Virginia.” Suddenly realizing that it was probably bad idea adding the family thing, seeing as the woman sitting on the bed was a call-girl, he tried some feeble attempts at saying that he was only joking.
“It’s alright; I get plenty of guys like you. I understand.”
“You do?”
“Sure, it’s not like you’re being entirely unfaithful. You don’t want love or deep feelings from me. You just want a few minutes of pleasure.”
“And you are completely okay with being a…commodity?”
“Of course not, I wouldn’t have chosen it if I had a better choice, but it’s better than working in the streets. At least the men treat me fairly well.”
“How did you end up in this? I mean, you were like the smartest girl in my class, I was absolutely positive you would end up winning a Nobel Prize or something one day.”
“I got a drug addiction and ended up having a huge debt. Couldn’t pay it back. One of my dealers got me into the escort business, and I’ve been trying to pay it back ever since, but there’s always some new expense adding up to my debt. If I ever do manage to pay it back, it’s way too late for me to get an education. The worst part is the uncertainty. I’m getting older by the minute. How long ‘til they discard me like a rotten apple?” Sam smiled sympathetically and stroked her cheek gently with his hand.
“Don’t say that.” He was almost taken aghast by his own spontaneity, but she seemed happy. “You know what, how much for talking to you all night about our former lives?” She leaned back and winked.
“You could never afford me for that long. Two hours perhaps?”
“Deal.” Sam said, grinning.

The two hours passed way too fast, but they enjoyed themselves. They talked about all the fun they’d had together back when they were young, all the music they’d listened to, the booze they’d drunk and the dreams they’d had. Dreams of fame, fortune and love. What had they gotten instead? Obscurity, middle-class homes and unhappiness. Sam looked at the clock. The two hours had almost passed. He looked Julie, sitting at the foot of the bed with an empty glass of champagne, in her eyes.
“You know,” he began, “I dreamt of becoming a film director back in the day. Why didn’t I?” Julie raised her glass to see if there were more drops of champagne left in her glass, but put it away when the endeavor seemed futile.
“I don’t know. Maybe the other way was just easier?”
“Possibly.” Sam said, leaning back in the bed. Julie crawled up beside him, and joined him in staring at the ceiling. Sam turned toward her. “When we’re dead and gone, no one will remember us. Sure, our children might tell their grandchildren about us, but why should they care? They’re more interested in their fancy new gadgets than hearing about their great-grandparents deeds. If we want to be remembered, we must do something worthwhile, something grand.” Julie sighed and looked at him.
“Like what?”
“Like writing a book, becoming an astronaut or running for President.” Something vibrated in the room. Julie sat up and fished a cell phone from her coat. “Are you…”
“Yeah, just got a text. I have to leave right away.” Julie said and got on her feet. She poured some champagne into her glass and walked over to Sam, who had also gotten off the bed.
“To obscurity.” She said, raising her glass.
“To obscurity.” Julie leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
“It’s been a great evening. The best in many years. Thank you, for being a terrific surprise.” Julie said and turned towards the door. Sam wanted to say, that he wanted to spend the rest of his mediocre life in this very hotel room with her, but he couldn’t. Something was preventing him from uttering those words. Instead he saw only a last glimpse of her long, black hair before the door closed behind her. He wanted to follow her, say how he’d always adored her, but should he? And how could he be sure she harbored the same feelings for him? He lay down on the bed, amidst the empty bottles and turned off the light. He didn’t bother much for the mess around him, or the fact that he was still fully dressed, he just wanted to forget, and to dream.