It was a sunny Saturday afternoon when Doris Martin, a tall, slender, fair-skinned woman of 22 years old, received a text message notification on her phone. She had just finished baking a surprise birthday cake for her boyfriend, Kelvin Coker, as she intended to lose her virginity that night.
Doris rushed to pick up the phone from the chair and read the text message on the screen.
[Doris, come to Robin's Five Star Hotel. Room 305 and meet me there. I plan to celebrate my birthday with you.]
[Really? I will be there.] Doris replied. She didn't ask questions or call the number. She just packed up the small cake she had baked while learning at a culinary school.
Doris stepped out of the kitchen and found her mother, Mrs. Esther, in the living room.
Esther was a janitor at Robin's company and had been using her income to take care of Doris since her husband abandoned her and remarried a wealthy woman from the upper class.
Esther Melvin came from a poor background and felt terrible that she couldn't support Doris's dream to further her education, even though Doris had graduated with distinction.
"Mom," Doris rushed to meet her mother. She was excited, wearing a blue dress that she had worn while baking the cake for her 24-year-old boyfriend, Kelvin Coker.
"Mom, I want to rush and bathe. Kelvin invited me to Robin's Five Star Hotel. He plans to marry me and propose," Doris said, her cheeks flushed as she looked at her mother's face.
Esther wore a brown top and black skirt with the Robin's inscription on the back. She frowned when she heard the mention of the hotel.
"Doris, you cannot go there. I told you that you must not lose your virginity until you're married," Esther said, trying to stop her daughter.
"No, Mom!" Doris pulled her hands away from her mother's hold.
"All my friends have lost their virginity to their boyfriends. Kelvin loves me very much. If I do not sleep with him, he might cheat on me, and I do not want that," Doris said firmly, and her mother scowled.
"Doris, this was the same trick your father used on me 19 years ago. I was young and foolish, and after he married me, he left me for Nora, who was richer and from a high social family. Please, do not go," Esther begged, trying to stop her daughter.
But Doris had already made up her mind.
"No, Mom. I do not want to hear about Dad. He was dishonest, but Kelvin is different. I have to go." Doris rushed to the bathroom of the self-contained rented apartment that she shared with her mother.
Once Doris finished bathing, she stepped out, smiling as she put on a red short dress and black shoes. She wanted to look beautiful for Kelvin.
Doris's phone chimed once more. The notification sound captured her attention, and she rushed to pick up the phone.
Doris read the text message. [Where are you, Doris? It's getting late.]
[I will be there. Please give me about an hour.] Doris texted back, knowing that Robin's Hotel was far from the local neighborhood where she lived with her mother.
It was past 5 p.m., and Kelvin texted, [I am waiting, my love.]
Doris smiled and rushed out of her room. She had styled her long blonde hair to fall down her back. She checked her dress, which she had bought with her savings.
Doris felt bad about disobeying her mother, but she believed she would not end up like her mother had.
Before Doris left the room, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She was adorable, and she quickly called Ella's contact.
"Hello, Ella. Guess what?"
"What is it?" Ella asked lazily. She was with Kelvin in another hotel room, waiting for Doris to arrive.
"Kelvin invited me to meet him at Robin's Hotel. I am nervous. You know it's my first time," she said anxiously.
"Aw, I am so happy for you, Doris. You shouldn't keep Kelvin waiting. I am sure he will appreciate it," Ella replied, her tone gentle and urging Doris to go.
"Alright, I will call you later," Doris replied, before disconnecting the call. She stepped out of the room and met her mother in the parlor.
Esther was still pacing around.
"Mom, why haven't you gone to work? You will be late and might lose your job," Doris said as she rushed to pick up the cake she had baked for Kelvin.
"Doris, I am not trying to stop you from going. But please, promise me that you will use protection and that you will not lose yourself," Esther pleaded, and Doris's cheeks flushed.
"Mom, how can you say that? I don't even know if Kelvin will touch me. But I will be careful. Don't worry," Doris assured her mother with a smile, and her heart calmed down.
Esther nodded and escorted Doris out of the apartment where they lived.
"Come on, let's go. You know I work for Robin's Group, but I am a janitor at the company. I wish I were a staff member at the hotel to keep an eye on you," Esther said, her tone laced with anxiety as she worried about what might happen to her daughter.
'What if Kelvin had ulterior motives?' Esther pondered because she didn't like him. He was a rich kid.
"Don't worry, Mom. I will be fine. Take care of yourself, and I will call you," Doris said, and Esther nodded.
"Got it."
They stepped out of the yard and made their way to the road. Once they got on a public bus, Esther and Doris sat together. There were other passengers on the bus. The air was thick with dusty wind and the scent of different perfumes.
Upon arrival at their destination, Esther got off at Robin's company, while Doris sat anxiously with her cake and got off at the impressive hotel entrance.
Taking a deep breath, Doris steadied herself, holding the cake in a white plastic bag, and walked up to the hotel gate to enter.
