Short Story: Keeping Up Appearances At 'the…

Short Story: Keeping Up Appearances At 'the Ritz'

He took the flight of stairs up to the front door, within his pace. Barely a hesitation was taken, and anyone observing would think it a journey taken every day of his life. It was in fact, his first time stepping on the doormat of 'The Ritz' hotel. In fact it was entirely his first time in LA, and yet he just took it all in his stride. Manipulating bystanders into thinking that he belonged, that he was a product of this bright and magical city. This was his special gift, if everyone had a gift; His was the ability to adjust quickly to any changes and to exude confidence the whole way.

He marched through the doors and up to the registration desk. He continued to drum his fingertips upon the counter impatiently as the petite blonde in charge of the desk finished her flirting with the athletic, tanned man standing before her. She then proceeded to tell him not to worry; She knew which room he was staying in, before turning and serving him. He had stayed in many hotels over the years, and had seen many acts of flirtation. It did not bother him these acts, it was just the fact that often enough they were taken upon within the times which a service was meant to be offered. So, he got his key from the lady, took up his luggage and proceeded to his room, not giving the conversation another thought.

Throughout the night he unpacked, went out for dinner, and caught a play. It was around 11pm before he returned to his room. As he latched his door behind him, he peered out and caught sight of the blonde from the front desk. She was standing in the doorway of the next room, when an arm extended out, grabbed her and pulled her inside. It must be the man from earlier, she must be visiting him, he thought as he closed the door.

That night the man didn't get a wink of sleep. The stranger from earlier and the blonde lady were going at it all night, in fact they never seemed to stop. The man banged on the wall a few times and screamed for them to keep quiet, but the lady’s screams drowned his voice out entirely. If that man could get that kind of reaction from the lady, then he must be doing something really special. The man swore to himself that the next morning he would ask the man next-door for some tips. By early morning the room was entirely quiet and the man was finally able to get a short, but peaceful sleep.

The man woke in the morning, re-packed and took his luggage downstairs. He was about to leave, but he saw a man sitting in a corner of the lobby and recognised him as the stranger from the night before. Remembering his promise to himself, he walked over to him and the stranger looked up. He looked a mess, christ he really must've tired himself out the night before. The man introduced himself and the stranger nodded in return, but did not offer any introductions himself. So, the man proceeded in saying how he just happened to see the blonde lady from the front desk go into his room and he heard them having sex all night. Well....... he was just wondering if he could offer him some tips.

The stranger looked up at him, completely bewildered and then lowered his head to his knees and started sobbing like a baby. The man was thoroughly confused, he looked up at the front desk, hoping to be able to confront the blonde lady about the night before and the man’s reaction to his questioning, but she wasn't there; Instead they had a young brunette managing it. The man walked up and handed over his key. He asked about the blonde lady, but no-one would give him any information, so he left with unanswered questions.

The next day, the man was shocked to find the cover story of the 'American News' occurred at 'The Ritz' hotel. The image shown was that of the stranger from the next room. The man scanned down the story and was stunned beyond words. It seems that the blonde lady had visited the strangers' room at around 11pm, but was confronted with a gorilla at the door. The gorilla pulled her inside and spent the rest of the night mauling the lady to death. The man had returned from his meeting with the other zoo trainers at around 3am to find the gorilla asleep and pieces of flesh and hair strewn around the room. He informed the hotel manager and committee immediately. The gorilla is due to be put down on the 15th of this month, but until then it will be kept within the zoo grounds in a special enclosure, away from the public and other animals.