The Beginning of Something (part 2)

chapter two of a novella-in-progress

This is part two of a novella-in-progress. Go here to start at the beginning.

I was visiting the city for work. I would be speaking the following day, Tuesday, at a literary conference hosted by the university. I disliked air travel, so saying yes to such engagements was always a calculation: was it worth this many hours on a plane? The flight had required a cross-country voyage including a layover, but the conference paid a few thousand dollars plus expenses. I had also agreed to give a reading at a local bookstore on Friday, which would prolong my trip by three days.

I considered it a working vacation, an opportunity to make progress on my book without distraction. I enjoy writing in hotels—the crisp white sheets and lightweight duvets, the Nespresso machine stocked with coffee pods, the sound of strangers rolling luggage down the hallway at odd hours.