Doris Martin, a tall, slender, fair-skinned lady of 22 years, 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 break 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 did not ask questions or call the number. She just packed up the small cake she had baked while learning baking in 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 the money to take care of Doris since her husband dumped her and remarried a rich woman from a high social standing.
Esther Melvin was from a poor home and she felt bad that she could not support Doris's dream to further her education, since Doris had graduated with distinction.
"Mom," Doris rushed to meet her mother. She was excited and was wearing a blue dress that she had worn to bake the cake for her 24-year-old boyfriend, Kelvin Coker.
"Mom, I want to rush and take my bath. Kelvin invited me to Robin's Five Star Hotel. He plans to marry me and propose to me," 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 are 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 social family. Please, you should not 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 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 red short dress and black shoes. She wanted to look sweet for Kelvin.
Doris's phone chimed once more. The notification sound captured her attention and she rushed over 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 PM on the clock 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 behind her back. She checked her dress, which she had bought with her savings.
Doris felt bad that she was disobeying her mother, but she believed that she would not end up like her mother had.
Before Doris exited the room, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. She was adorable and she quickly phoned 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 that it is my first time," Doris said anxiously.
"Aw, I am so happy for you, Doris. You should not keep Kelvin waiting. I am sure that he will appreciate it," Ella replied, her tone gentle and urging Doris to go.
"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 that she had baked for Kelvin.
"Doris, I am not trying to stop you from going. But please, promise me that you will use condoms and you will not lose yourself like that?" Esther pleaded, and Doris's cheeks flushed.
"Mom, how can you say that? Well, I do not even know if Kelvin will touch me. But I am going to be careful. Do not worry," Doris assured her mother with a smile before her heart calmed down.
"Alright." Esther nodded and escorted Doris out of the apartment they lived in.
"Come on, let's go. You know I work for the Robin's Group, but I am a janitor at the company. I wish I were 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 did not 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 transit, Esther and Doris sat together. There were other passengers in the bus. The air was thick with dusty wind and the scent of different perfumes.
Upon arriving at their destination, Esther dropped 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.