A Dreadful Job

A DREADFUL JOB

Alma pushed her cart unwillingly. There was one more room to do, and she will be done for

the day. She was tired and wanted to go home, her back ached and her feet were swollen.

But, the most dreadful thing was cleaning this last room. It wasn’t just any room, it was his

room. She left it last on purpose hoping that the guest wouldn’t be there when she came to clean

it. There was something intimidating about him that made her feel uneasy when he was around.

She remembered meeting him the first time. He came to ask for more towels and started talking to

her. He seemed nice and polite and even complimented her English. He was tall and handsome,

his teeth sparkling white. But, his eyes! There was something about his eyes and the way he

looked at her that made her tremble.

It was not right. She should not have to be in fear of coming to work or doing her job.

She remembered how hard it was to get this job, and how happy she was when she finally got

hired. She was able to support herself now. But, her happiness did not last for a long time.

Why does life have to be so hard? Why can’t she be happy? She remembered her dad, her five

brothers, the day when they were killed. It was the day when she died, the happy, careless Alma

that she used to be. The day when some dozens of mindless and raged animals attacked her village

and started burning the houses and killing everything that move. Somehow she managed to

escape pulling her mother along. She wanted to get away as far as possible and never come back.

Her mother never recovered from losing her sons and her husband, and one day when Alma was

out trying to get some food for them, she took her own life. Alma was determined to leave the

country and get to the United States hoping that there she could start a new life. Leaving Bosnia

was difficult, but she did not feel sad. There was nothing to leave. She had lost everything there

was to lose. Everything and everyone.


At the door she hesitated. What if he is inside, what is she going to do? He could be a serial

killer, or some psycho. She remembered a scary movie she watched one time. The guy at the

motel was killing people. But, it was just a movie. Or, maybe it happened once and they made that

movie based on a true story. How would she know? She has not been long in this country and

does not know much about people here. If only she could think like an American. Maybe she was

overreacting, maybe he was a nice guy. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Yesterday he asked

her if she was from Germany. He said he liked girls from Germany and that he spent some time

there when he was in the Army. It was obvious he was interested in her. But, whatever it was that

he was interested in, she did not like the way he expressed it. She thought of telling her manager

and the supervisor about this guy, but quickly abandoned the idea. Maybe they won’t believe her.

They might think that she is just a trouble and fire her. Who knows what could happen.

After standing there for a while, she knocked.

“Housekeeping!”

Nothing... No answer. She repeated again, and again. Nobody answered. Cautiously she pushed

the key inside the lock and turned it. The door opened. She looked inside. The room was empty.

What a neatness! Everything was in place. She entered the room and continued to the bathroom.

There, she replaced the towels and left two extra ones. Quickly she wiped off the tub, mopped

the floor, then went back to the room to change the bedding. She worked hurriedly to finish

before the guest come back. She was almost done when a shadow appeared at the door. She

froze in her place not daring to look back. Her body was trembling as she desperately tried

to think of anything that would save her.

“Are you almost done?”a female voice asked her.

“Oh, yeah. I am.” she stuttered relaxing. It was only Yolanda, the other housekeeper. “You

scared me.”

“I’m sorry, girl. I thought you might need some help.”

“Thank you. I am okay.”

“Did you think it was him?” asked Yolanda.

“Yeah, I did.” Alma nodded.

“I don’t like that guy,” Yolanda continued. “I wish he would leave.”

“Me, too,” Alma felt relieved.

“Has he been bothering you?” asked Yolanda.

“He comes to talk to me every day. Sometimes I feel as if he is hunting me,” Alma said.

“Tell him you are busy and don’t have time to chit chat with him.”

“Yeah, right.” Alma smiled.

“Well, since you don’t need help, I should be going home now. See you tomorrow, then”

“Bye,” Alma said.

“Take care girl,” Yolanda laughed.

Soon after that, Alma was done and ready to leave. Her cousin was already waiting for her. At

the front desk she signed out, said bye to everyone and went home.


Next morning, she came on time as usual. Judy, her supervisor, was already at the front desk.

She smiled as she greeted her.

“I have a good news for you, Alma,” she said.

“What news?” Alma asked puzzled.

“Your guy is leaving today. He won’t bother you again,”

“What?!” Alma covered her mouth. The room started spinning around her.

“It’s okay, honey. Yolanda told us everything. You don’t have to worry.”

Alma felt as if she was going to faint. What was she going to do? Now he was going to be

angry with her and would want revenge. He might find out where she lived and... She did not

want to think about it. This whole thing seemed like a bad dream and she wanted to wake up and

forget about everything. She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not even notice when he

stormed in. He looked furious. As he quickly scanned the room and noticed her, he moved

forward and stood in front of her. Raising his fists, his eyes flickering, he started yelling.

“How could you do this to me? You are a liar! I can’t believe you’d lie like that!”

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She could not remember the

words even if her life depended on it. For a moment she forgot all of her English that she learned.

“I have only been nice to you!” He continued. “ I’m a good guy. I go to church and believe in

God. What have I ever done to you?!”

She heard Judy telling him that if he did not leave immediately she would call the police. All of a

sudden, the room was full of people. Yolanda, her manager, the owner of the motel, everyone was

there. She did not hear or understand what they were saying. She just wanted to leave. She

wanted to go home. Somehow she had to find another job and leave this place. This was just too

embarrassing for her to stay here. She found the nearest chair and sat down.

Later, after everyone calmed down, and the man left, Judy came to her. She took her to her

office and the two of them had a long talk.

“It happens to me all the time, honey,”Judy said. “You never know what kind of people will

come here. It is just you should always tell us if something or somebody is bothering you. Don’t

be afraid. We are here to help you.”

“Thank you,” Alma said. “Can I go home today?”

“Only if you promise me that you will come back tomorrow,” Judy smiled.

“I...I don’t know,” Alma stuttered.

“I knew it. You aren’t coming back.”

“I can’t leave until I find another job.”

“Ok. Why don’t you take a day off tomorrow and go and apply somewhere? You can come

back the next day.”

“Thanks. I will do that.”

Alma left the motel with a mixed feelings. Somewhere deep inside of her she felt guilty. She

did not want things to get so serious. It was so embarrassing. Maybe he was a nice guy, and

maybe she was being paranoid. But, she was glad it was over. Tomorrow she was going to look

for a new job and hopefully find something better. Incident like this would probably happen

again at this place. Her supervisor’s support meant so much to her, and for the first time in so

long she felt that she was not alone. She was actually smiling.