The Pampered Inn

Chapter 1
Prologue

On a warm summer evening out at a roadway in the Connecticut boondocks, Carrie and her family were riding back home after a long visit from her parents’ house. The scenery was relaxing as they were one of the few cars on the road. Her husband, Darryl, was on the front passenger seat, while her two-year-old son, Brian, was napping peacefully in his booster seat. The car ride seemed like it was going well until Carrie noticed a slowdown happening when they got on the NY 343 highway. As she turned on the car radio, she heard some not so positive news from WICC as it reported the current traffic situation.

“We’ve just received word that a major incident involving multiple vehicles have crashed at a busy intersection near the Connecticut-New York state line. Drivers are advised to go through alternate routes as the roads near the accident have been closed to avoid unnecessary interaction.” The radio reporter announced as Carrie was worried about what was happening nearby. “This can’t be any good.” She was disappointed as the car radio went on to talk about the accident at hand. “Well, hopefully it won’t be that bad.” Darryl said as he looked at his wife.

After a few minutes of being stuck in traffic, they went towards a checkpoint that had a couple of police cruisers nearby. Immediately, a highway patrol officer approached her by the driver’s seat. “Did I do something wrong, officer?” Carrie asked the cop. “No, ma’am. Just go to the right exit nearby.” The officer told her. “But I need to get back home in New York.” Carrie complained a bit. “I’m sorry to say this, ma’am. But the road nearby has been closed as we need to get everyone involved in this accident to safety.” He told her.

“Do you know when it might be open again?” She asked him again. “It might take a while as there are a dozen vehicles that need to be cleared off for everyone’s safety. So, I suggest you go down the road and find a town nearby that might have an inn or motel.” The officer informed her as Carrie was rather disappointed. “Alright then. Thank you for telling me.” The cop bid her farewell as she enabled her right taillight and went to where the other cars were exiting the highway.

As she drove towards a suburban roadway, the car radio played an ad for a rather welcoming place. “Are you on a long journey and thinking there’s no place like the comfort of your home? Do you want to be at a place where you can wind down and relax? Then come on down to the Pampered Inn. An exquisite hotel that makes you feel like royalty. The Pampered Inn offers many rooms fit for families, lovely couples, and even the businessmen and women who are traveling abroad. It also has a lovely swimming pool, a spa, and a spacious playroom for your children to have fun at. For gourmet lovers, we also have a delightful restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the whole family.” Carrie was intrigued with the commercial as it listed some of the things it had there.

“So, what are you waiting for? Come on down to the Pampered Inn. Located on 312 Turner Drive at Teddybury, Connecticut. Call 1-800-Pamper for more information.” As the radio commercial ended, Carrie then turned on the GPS function of her 2001 Acura MDX and put in the address from the ad. She was astounded with how the GPS responded to her input, as it immediately gave her directions from where she was right now.

It didn’t take them that long to get to the exquisite inn, as Teddybury was in a moderately sized town. As they entered the town border, the family was greeted by several houses and businesses that looked like they were built around the early 20^th century. After a few minutes of driving around, Carrie and Darryl noticed a tall building that looked like a castle. Looking at the stand, they saw that it was the hotel that the radio played a little commercial for. They were delighted to have a place to stay for the night as they went to the hotel’s parking lot.

“Good evening, sweetie.” Brian opened his eyes and saw his mother coo at him as he happily flapped his arms from the sight of her. Even though he napped for a couple hours, he was delighted to see his loving mother as she had a bubbly atmosphere around him. Although he is autistic, it seems rather normal for him to see his mother in such a wonderful mood despite them not being in their home as usual after seeing his grandparents. After a few seconds of being playful with him, Carrie smelled something particularly stinky in the air.

“I think somebody needs his stinky little diapee changed.” Upon unbuckling his booster seat, she took him to the trunk of the car where she unzipped her diaper bag and took out a baby changing mat. “Up you go.” She laid him down onto the changing mat, where it elicited a squish from Brian’s full diaper. After pulling down his pants and opened the front of his diaper with a squishy plop, Carrie undid the tapes of his diaper and lifts up her son’s legs and grabs some wipes, as she was thoroughly cleaning up his bottom until it’s completely spotless. She also sprinkled some baby powder onto her son’s bottom before she slided the clean diaper under his legs, folding it between his legs and snugly securing it around to make it comfortable for him.

“There, all clean for my little buddyboo.” Brian giggled as she pulled up his pants and puts the changing mat back in her diaper bag. She then picked Brian up and put the used diaper in a little bag before closing up the trunk and locked the car as Darryl carried the luggage. The family walked towards the entrance of the hotel, as they were greeted with an extravagant lobby room that was beautifully colored with tropical beach colors. It had a sky-blue ceiling that was painted with clouds on top. Along with an aquarium stocked with fish on some of the corners of their walls.

The main floor also had a lounge room nearby, where it was stocked with a row of TVs for each corner. Some were tuned to sports channels, while others were tuned to movie channels like HBO, Showtime, and Starz. The family was in awe as they looked at the magnificent design of the hotel. Although Brian seems to be more impressed with the fans that were spinning around with the illusions of birds flying around them.

“Hello, welcome to the Pampered Inn. How may we help you this evening?” A receptionist greeted them. She looked rather peculiar as she had a white puffy tuft for a tail, pink and cream colored skin, and a pair of antenna on her head. She also had pointy ears that looked more like wings.

“Yes, I’d like to book a double room for my family, along with a cot for my toddler to sleep in.” Carrie responded as the receptionist looked at Brian adoringly. “Aww, your baby looks so cute. What’s his name?” She asked Carrie as Brian looked at her curiously. Something about her face made it look exceptionally pretty on him. He would sometimes be shy around new people if he’s going through new changes, but she looked rather welcoming to him. “His name is Brian and he’s only two years old.”

“Well, aren’t you one of the cutest babies I’ve ever seen.” She said in a cheery voice as Brian giggled. “Who’s a cute little boy? You are.” She cooed at him for a little bit as he continued to laugh and later flapped his hands in excitement. “Aww… He seems to like you.” Carrie was flattered.

“Well usually, we do mention that we have a discount for families. But I’m guessing you happen to be around the Tri-State area where that highway was?” The receptionist asked Carrie. “Of course. In fact, we were just getting back from my parents’ house in New Milford until the accident blocked the road.” She answered.

“I’m very sorry about that. Here at the Pampered Inn, we make sure that our guests be happy for the night. For that, I will give your family a complimentary room until the highway opens back up again.” The receptionist said in a relaxed and confident voice. “Thank you so much. I know that I could just pay for the room either way, but I appreciate for what you’re doing.” Carrie was delighted.

While the receptionist and Carrie kept talking, another family entered the hotel. A teenaged girl was furiously stomping her feet, as she looked like she didn’t want to be here. “Alana, I know that you’re upset, but I told you that we don’t have anywhere else to go.” Her mother said in a supportive tone, as she was holding some of her luggage. “But me and my girlfriends were going to a party tonight. How can I be okay with this when Peter would be there?” Alana complained.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But we can’t pass through the highway for the night. Plus, it’ll be nice to stay at a hotel like this.” Her mother considered as Alana continued to have her tantrum. “But it’s not fair. I’ve been waiting for this party since the school year ended and now, you’re not going to find a way to get home?” She argued.

“Alana, even if we did find a way, it would probably take us the whole night. Besides, me and your father needs some rest.” She pouted as her mother was near the point on having to step her foot down. “Ugh…. This wouldn’t have happened if we just went somewhere else for vacation.” She continued to sulk. “Now, Alana. We didn’t see grandma and grandpa after a while. I’m sure they were joyful to see you and your brother coming over.” Her mother rebutted.

“Sally, is that you?” Carrie recognized her. “Oh my god, Carrie! It’s been so long.” She immediately became excited as they both hugged each other for a few seconds. “Hey Sally. Long time no see.” Darryl greeted her. “Oh, hey Darryl.” She said enthusiastically. “It’s been a while.” Sally replied as she saw their son. “Aww, this must be Brian.” She said adoringly.

“He looks so big from when we last saw him.” Sally added. “Yeah, he’s getting there.” Carrie responded as Alana already grew bored with the conversation. “Ugh, when can we get a room?” She rudely asked her mother. “Be patient, sweetie. It’ll only be for a couple minutes.” Sally told her.

“I’m sorry. You’d have to excuse Alana. She’s getting antsy because she thought we would get home by tonight.” She added towards her conversation with her old friend. “What a coincidence. We were going straight back home from my parents’ place too and then we heard about this hotel from the radio.” Carrie responded as Alana couldn’t take it and started to approach her mother.

“Hey mom, if we’re going to be stuck here. Can I at least have a few dollars to get something?” She asked her. “What happened towards the allowance that me and your dad gave you?” Her mother replied. “What? I can’t go have fun in your stupid hotel vacation?” Sally soon realized that she’s making her daughter more upset, as she felt guilty upon her daughter’s insulting question. She later pulled out something that was inside from her purse and gave her $100.

“Well, at least I could go somewhere.” She then took the $100 dollar bill from her mother and went somewhere. “Please don’t buy any alcohol.” Sally said as her daughter shrugged and went to the nearby lounge. “We deeply apologize. This is just very uncertain for us. Usually, she can be a bit bratty, but she’s mostly calm.” Sally’s husband, Derek, said in advance.

“It’s okay. Brian can also be like that, albeit it’s when he wants something like more than enough candy.” Carrie explained. “Oh, it’s nothing like that. Especially with Daniel, like if he was wanting to play more when we’re having to change his diaper.” Sally mentioned. “Yeah, like when we caught her trying to steal some of my booze for a sleepover.” Derek added. “That sounds very concerning.” Carrie was shocked.

“Yeah, I feel like some of her friends have been a bad influence on her. We’ve tried talking to her about it, but she thinks that they’re doing nothing wrong.” Sally started to feel worried about her daughter. “I’m afraid she’ll be involved in some accident or something worse.” She started to sob as her husband comforted her. “Hey, it’s going to be alright.” Carrie tried to calm her down.

“Tell you what. How about we have dinner in a couple hours, and we can talk about this later. Does that sound okay with you both?” She asked the couple. “Well, I guess that sounds like a good idea.” Sally agreed as she gets her luggage and goes to the receptionist to book a room. Luckily for them, they also got a complimentary room as a compensation for being blocked out from the highway.

Soon after, Carrie and her family went upstairs to the 9^th floor where they opened the 27th floor there. As she opened it, it looked beautiful aesthetically with the colors looking like it had an aquarium setting. It had an odd looking double bed with crib-like bars, but it didn’t look high enough to be such an inconvenience. It did also have a toddler bed nearby, having a cute looking mobile on the top. From the size of it, it looked like a luxurious suite made for families.

“Well, this is a very nice room.” Carrie said happily as she put the luggage near the bathroom door. She then turned on the TV, where it showed a chubby looking dog character with a beret on its head. “Hello, and welcome to The Pampered Inn. We thank you for staying with us for this time. We’re noted for being one of the best hotels in the country, as we treat everyone like royalty. No worrying about work as you get to do anything you want. Free of charge.” Carrie later helped Darryl unpack before she changed the channel to something else.