On Saturday afternoon, Doris Martin, a tall, slender, fair-skinned, 22-year-old woman, received a text message notification on her phone. She had finished baking a surprise birthday cake for her boyfriend, Kelvin Coker, as she intended to lose her virginity to him that evening.
Doris rushed to pick up the phone from the plastic chair in the kitchen and read the text message on the screen.
Kelvin: [Doris, come to Robin's Five-Star Hotel, Room 305, and meet me there. I plan to celebrate my birthday with you.]
Doris: [Really? I will be there.]
She didn't ask questions or call her boyfriend. She just packed the small cake into a white plastic bag, as she had learned to bake in a culinary school.
Doris stepped out of the kitchen and met her mother, Esther Melvin, in the living room.
Esther worked as a janitor at Robin's Group, a magnificent six-story building, and she had been using the money she earned to take care of Doris, since her husband dumped her 17 years ago and remarried a rich woman from a higher-class family.
Esther came from a poverty-stricken home, and it pained her that she couldn't support Doris's dream to further her education at the prestigious university, since Doris had graduated with distinction from high school.
Excitement fluttered in Doris's chest as she rushed to meet her mother. She wore a short blue dress that she had used to bake the cake for her 24-year-old boyfriend, as she wanted to bathe.
"Mom, I want to rush and have my bath. Kelvin invited me to the Robin's Five-Star Hotel. He planned to marry me and propose to me," Doris said, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she looked at her mother's face.
Esther frowned upon hearing about the luxury hotel. She resembled Doris. She wore a brown top and black skirt with the Robin's Group name inscribed on the back.
"Doris, you cannot go there. I told you that you mustn't lose your virginity until you're married," Esther said, as she tried to stop her daughter.
"No, Mom!" Doris snatched 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 stupid trick that 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-society family. Please, you shouldn't go," Esther begged, trying to stop her daughter. But Doris had already made up her mind.
"Mom, I do not want to hear about Dad. He was dishonest with you, 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 she was done bathing, Doris stepped out, smiling as she donned a short red dress and black shoes. She wanted to look sweet for Kelvin.
Doris's phone chimed once more. The notification sound tugged at her attention and she rushed over to pick up the phone. She read the text message.
Kevin: [Where are you, Doris? It's getting late.]
Doris: [I will be there. Please, give me about an hour.]
She that Robin's Hotel was far from the local neighborhood she lived in with her mother.
The clock read past 5 p.m. Kelvin: [I am waiting, my love.]
Doris smiled and rushed out of her room. She had styled her long blonde hair to fall behind her back. She checked her dress, as she had bought it with her savings.
Guilt gnawed at Doris for disobeying her mother. But she believed she wouldn't end up like her mother had.
Before Doris exited the room, she looked at her reflection in the mirror, and it beamed back at her. She was adorable and she quickly called Ella.
"Hello, Ella. Guess what?"
"What's 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 that it's my first time," she said anxiously.
"Aw. I am so happy for you. You shouldn't keep Kelvin waiting. I am sure that he will appreciate it," Ella replied, her tone gentle and urging.
"Alright. I will call you later," Doris said 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 you might lose your job," Doris said as she rushed over 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 you will not lose yourself like that?" Esther pleaded, and Doris's cheeks flushed.
"Mom, how can you say that? Well, I don't even know if Kelvin will touch me. But I am going to be careful. Don't worry," Doris assured her mother with a smile, before her heart calmed.
Esther nodded and escorted Doris out of the apartment they lived in.
"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 on the staff 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? Besides, Esther 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 into a public transit, Esther and Doris sat together. There were other passengers in the bus. The air was thick with dusty wind that swirled restlessly, tangled with the scent of different perfumes.
Upon arriving at their destination, Esther got off at Robin's Group building, while Doris sat anxiously with her cake and dropped off at the impressive hotel entrance.
Taking a deep breath, Doris steadied herself, holding the cake in a white plastic bag, and walked into the hotel gate.
