Well.... here's the most recent story I've written. I apologize to all of you who actually get through it, ahead of time. I'm not sure I've ever had a case of writer's block like I've had the latter half of this semester. Basically what happened with this story is that I started writing and forced myself to keep going until I felt like maybe I'd found a point. Obviously, this is a first draft, so what's ahead of me now is to take this block of earth and separate out any precious stones I might find.... I might have to alter my perception of 'precious' though, for this one.... lol

Emancipation

She heard the wood splinter as she lowered her weight onto the wrong side of the balcony. Below her was thirty feet of nothing before a bed of rock and scree covered a steep decline. She adjusted her position, feeling the dry boards scratch the soft skin of her palms. At nearly 8,000 feet above sea level the view was spectacular. The mesa spread halfway to the horizon, interrupted only by canyons that cut through at unpredictable intervals until the jagged edge. Past that distant point lay the desert, part of the Navajo res, and the morning sun.

With a few sidesteps she was positioned in front of the next room. She let one foot sink into the empty sky below the wooden supports of the balcony and considered the consequences of placing the second regulation black sneaker next to its mate.

“Alex?”

The muffled voice startled her so that she jerked and pulled her body closer to the balcony. With a groan the old timber of the railing detached itself from a leaning post and she was forced to throw one leg and then the other over the side or risk a forced fall.

“Alex!”

She spared an amused glance at the leaning railing before turning to the sliding glass doors. Through them she could see the two snarling Dobermans in the frame of the front door. Alex knew Jake was somewhere just beyond them, probably wondering whether this would qualify him for workman’s comp if things went badly. She pounded on the glass and the two dogs lost interest in Jake to come galloping her way. Jake’s hand reached into the room just long enough to snatch the knob and pull the door firmly shut. The dogs were forced to stop just short of Alex by the glass. They barked and howled as she turned her back on them and gingerly climbed over the railing once more.

“ Dear Jesus, Alex, what took you so long?” Jake was waiting in the room next door when she climbed onto the safe side of the railing, one balcony over.

She slid the glass door behind her as she entered the room and picked her way around luggage. From the pocket of her khakis, she retrieved the room key and ushered Jake ahead of her so that she could relock the hotel room.

“Sorry. The railing kinda fell apart.” She rearranged her uniform, tucking the polo more firmly into her belt.

“Jesus! These buildings suck. You gonna tell Amelia?”

“Umm…” Alex checked the door, and then squinted across the parking lot. In the distance she could see Jim’s four-wheeler headed her way. She waved at him until he noticed and waved back. Jake followed as she jogged to meet the balding repairman.

“Whatcha need Al?”

“As soon as you can, room 314’s balcony is coming apart.”

“Sweetheart, this whole property’s comin’ apart.”

“Don’t need to tell us Jim,” Jake said, “But this one doesn’t even look like it might maybe stop you from falling through.”

He scratched his chin. “Well I’ll go look at it soon as I get back from the laundry. Rosie radioed me in ‘cause the drier’s ain’t workin’.”

“Any of them?” Alex raised a brow.

“Two.”

Jake cursed.

“Aright. Well thanks.” Alex turned to head back to the Lodge and then spun around again. “Hey, do you know where Terren is?”

“Haven’t seen him since around 7 this morning. Why?”

“He said he’d get around to installing a proper ceiling at my place. I was hoping he could do that today.”

“We all have dreams, sweetheart.” He said and then gunned off in the direction of the laundry, chuckling as he went.

“Well, shit.” She muttered to no one in particular.

“Aren’t your parents coming today?” Jake held open the oversized door to the lodge while Alex passed through.

“There they are, Amelia.” Kaylee pointed an accusing finger. Amelia looked up from a computer behind the front desk.

Jake stepped away from Alex as Amelia rounded the desk, into the empty lobby.

“Where were you two?” She asked.

Jake was silent so Alex answered. “There was a dog problem. Door probably wasn’t closed properly when the guest left and it blew open. The maids couldn’t get near the place to clean the next rooms because they were afraid they’d get bitten.”

“Well how the hell did you get it shut?”

“She climbed over the adjoining balcony and pounded on the glass.” Jake volunteered.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed. “Which rooms were these?”

“The cliffside ones in the 300 building.” Jake continued.

Alex stared hard at Jake. He didn’t seem to notice.
“If Alex would’ve died, would you have made me Supervisor in her place?”

Amelia stared at moment at Jake, then gently steered Alex away from desk, lowering her voice.

“Look, Alex. You’re a smart girl. And I know you don’t think anything’s going to happen to you at your age.” Alex opened her mouth, but Amelia shook her head and kept speaking. “But, look. You aren’t indestructible and we need you. You should have let me known what was going on. We could have dealt with it differently.”

“How?”

“Well for one, we would have called –“

“We did.”

“What?”

“We called the numbers we had on file. They didn’t answer. We left messages. Waited as long as we could. Then the cleaning ladies called to say that they thought the dogs were getting more aggressive. Possibly about to leave the room altogether. So I made a decision.”

Amelia repeated the words slowly, knowing she’d created a monster. “You made a decision.”

Alex nodded. “What would you have done differently?”

For a moment Amelia was quiet. “You left Kaylee by herself. You know you can’t do that. Aren’t your parents coming today?”

Alex thought about how her foot had looked hanging over the edge of the balcony.

“Next time I’ll take Kaylee with me and leave Jake.” Alex stepped gently away from Amelia. “I’ve got key packets to make. Oh, and Jim told us earlier that two driers in the laundry are broken. He’s at them now, but you know how it goes.”

Amelia sighed and raised her voice to a normal volume once more. “Let me know if you need any more free breakfast vouchers for the malcontents.”

Alex nodded and Amelia headed for her office.

“Hey, Alex. What’s it like?” Kaylee leaned against her computer

Standing at the computer on the other side of Alex, Laura rolled her eyes and checked the clock. 2 PM.

There was a moment of silence and then Alex reluctantly said, “What’s what like, Kaylee?”

The phone rang and Laura answered. “No, I’m sorry. We don’t have television up here. No. I’m very sorry, no, most cell phones don’t work either. Sir – Sir. I wish there was something I could do to assist you, but I have no control over local cell reception. Have a good day sir.” The phone hit its cradle with a crack.

“What’s it like to be graduated from college with your whole life ahead of you?”

Alex sighed, and knew better than to respond. The phone rang again. Reluctantly Kaylee picked it up. “No ma’am. We don’t have rats. You may be hearing a squirrel.” A pause. “Unfortunately we’re not allowed to do that. We only have no-kill traps. No ma-am, I don’t like it any more than you do. Unfortunately that’s national park policy, not my personal preference. Sorry I can’t help you ma’am.” She set the phone down and pushed it closer to Alex. A moment later Kaylee continued her familiar speech.

“It’s just that, it’s so hard being married you know? Especially when you’re Navajo and you made the mistake of marrying such a good-for-nothing Ute.”

Alex inhaled a deep, calming breath.

“I mean, my mother warned me. “Don’t marry that Ute!” She said. “They’re strange people. All inbred over there.” But did I listen?”

“No, Kaylee. No, you didn’t.” Laura muttered.

“No I didn’t.” Kaylee pounded a fist on the table, eyes shining. She was opening her mouth to continue the tirade when the over-sized front door creaked open. A woman stepped from behind the door with a child clinging to each hand. Pleasant smiles already plastered on the three women’s faces, Alex asked, “May we help you with something ma’am?”

The woman looked hopefully towards the dark and vacant dining room across the empty floor. “Um. Lunch maybe?”

“We don’t serve lunch. If you come back at 5, they’ll start seating for dinner, though.”

Hauling her children behind her, the mother turned around, muttering, “I told your father this place was a dump.”

The door thumped shut and Kaylee spoke again.

“You should listen to your mother. Mothers always know best.”

At 4 in the afternoon, the phone rang and Alex picked up. “Canyon View Lodge, this is Alex speaking, how may I help you?”

“Hey, sis. We just landed.”

“Allen?”

“Yeah. Mom and Dad are renting a car as we speak. It’s supposed to be like three hours until we get over there. Might be longer though. Dad’s insisting on a Hummer. We might have to stop for gas like, a million times.” Alex waited for a break in the stream of thoughts. “Man, is this the same airport you flew into? It’s like… a hangar. They made the lucky bastards flying outta here throw all their luggage through a scanner and go through security. Then they just walked out onto the tarmac and hauled their asses into a plane! Believe me, though, if our parents don’t get their asses moving quick I’m bypassing this high-tech system, walking around the damn building and hopping onto a plane. I can already tell this place is shit. I love it. Hey, are you still there?”

“Yeah. I have to go.” She hung up the phone before he could say anything more.

“What was that about?” Amelia stood at the computer Kaylee had vacated when her shift ended.

Alex shrugged. “Wrong number.”

Amelia shrugged. “Alright.” She reached for the phone. “Could you radio in Jim? The pipes have burst again in the 700 building. Meanwhile some idiot working at the over-the-phone reservation center has been telling guests that we have a pool. A pool. Can you imagine? We’d have that stupid bear in the Jacuzzi and the wild horses using it as a watering hole. And the snakes…” She shuddered and began dialing.

Alex reached for the radio. “Lodge to Jim. Lodge to Jim.”

“Jim, here.”

“The 700 building’s pipes have burst again.”

There was a silence which Alex knew was being filled, somewhere, by violent cursing. “We’re going to have to close that building for the rest of the season. There’re only so many miracles that duct tape can perform.” She could hear his groan through the speaker. “Jim, out.”

“Did you hear that Amelia?” Alex turned to find the woman nodding.

“It’s not good news. When are your parents going to be here?”

Alex shrugged.

“Look, why don’t you take off, already? The next shuttle down to employee housing will be up in a minute. You can hitch a ride off the mesa and go make sure all your stuff is ready.”

Alex started to nod, but then stopped and met Amelia’s eyes. “No. I’ll stay here.”

Amelia raised her eyes but handed her a list of guests and room numbers to double check.

The phone rang again at exactly 6:01, for Alex.

“Canyon View Lodge, this is Alex. Wha-”

“You don’t have to go through that crap with me. It’s your father.”

“Hey.”

“Look, I wasn’t sure if your brother had called or not earlier. We’re almost there. I hope you’re ready to go because I heard that place you’re working at is a real shit hole.”

Alex kicked a crooked cabinet door shut. “I like it.”

“Look, I said you should do this, didn’t I? Find yourself? Sure, I said. But I did not pay for four years of very expensive business school for you to answer phones. You took your LSAT’s. If you’re not going to get a real job, don’t you owe it to yourself to pick one of those schools you got accepted to? Your mother and I know you’ll do well. You’ve always been a good student. Just go for a year and see. Or two years. Two, at least.”

Alex’s lips automatically formed themselves as they always did, into the shape of agreement. But this time, what came out was surprising and unexpected. “Turn around Dad. Go home.”

“What?”

A guest waved her pudgy arm at Alex. “Miss…”

“I’m staying. I love this shit hole. It’s my shit hole.” She hung up and grinned at the frowning woman.

“Miss. I need about four complaint forms.”

Alex smiled. “Just give me a second, Ma’am. I’ll give you five.”