Dream XCVI

I was going on a trip to a South Carolina swimming pool to exercise. There was a hotel nearby where I was going to meet my mother. I stopped at the hotel to check in. I noticed my mother was waiting by the pool, reading.

They were very busy at the front desk, so I reasoned that I should make sure that all my swimming things were in order. I went to the room I had last time, and as luck would have it, it was open and vacant.

I spread my stuff around to make sure I had everything. I noticed that a large red candle that I had left burning on my last visit was just now going out; it had left an enormous mess of red wax on the floor. I felt responsible, so I decided to try and clean it up. Since the wax was still somewhat soft, I tried to loosen it with a butter knife. I noted that the linoleum that the wax was resting on had been cut out of the floor prior to replacing. There were tiles near the wall that were going to go in its stead. Uh oh, I thought, I wonder if they'll charge me for that.

I decided if they were, I should check in to this room to see if I could do some of the repairs myself. I went to the kitchen area, again to make sure my swimming stuff was ready, and I noticed a small pile of papers on the kitchen counter. And I saw them move, ever so slightly. There's something under those papers, I thought, and I bent so I could see at a better angle.

I saw four small fuzzy feet. A rat, I thought. How am I going to get rid of it? I reached down to remove some of the papers, but there was a lightning-fast movement and a horrific scream, and I found a small black and white kitten clutching my hand.

It turned out the kitten was very good-natured, friendly and energetic. I let him cling to my hand as I went about the business of checking in.

I left the room to go to the front desk, by way of the pool to let my mother know I'd arrived, and as the door slammed behind me and locked, I realized I didn't have a room key, my wallet or any ID. Oh well, they'll remember me from last time, I thought.

I went to the front desk and was checking in. All the while, the old man at the check in desk was looking wryly at the kitten. I explained that the kitten wasn't mine, that I knew the hotel didn't accept pets, and that I would be willing to pay more if I could just take care of it during my stay. I then asked him the location of the nearest animal shelter, and he didn't know.

All the while I noticed more and more people with dogs walking around the lobby. The kitten greeted all the dogs with a friendly little trill. I even noticed some cats being carried around, and the kitten greeted them as well, although the sound he made was more like the teeth of a comb being slowly dragged across a metal wire.

After checking in, I went into the room hoping to put the kitten on the bed or couch until I came back, but he insisted on staying on my shoulder. So I figured he would stay there until I got into the water, then maybe he could rest on my mother's lap. And when I closed the door behind me, I realized I had again left everything I needed behind me -- including my room keys.

This would mean another trip to the front desk, I knew.