[Critique Group 1] cleora's august submission

[sitting.duck at springmail.com]

attached part 4 revised
cleora

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1361 words 
Dilemma
by sly duck

Cleatta arrived at the hotel early so she would have time to explore and become familiar with the territory. Fortunately, she had been able to get a room at the same hotel where the convention was being held.

Maybe I'll lose the card here, she thought wistfully. The old man she got the card from might even be here. No, no, she reconsidered, he wouldn't be. He could see by now. Her friend Rachael came along in case of emergency since Cleatta wasn't up to speed using the white cane. She had the connecting room. This would encourage Cleatta to try to do things on her own instead of calling out for someone to do everything for her.

Taking the card out of her wallet, she ran her fingers over the outline of the dolphin. The animal part was warm and had a leathery feel to it. It was Like the creature was alive. She laid the card on the dresser hopeful that the maid or someone would take it.

After unpacking she went next door to get Rachael and they went down to register for the convention.

Back in the room, they looked over the agenda, marked the sessions that interested them, then went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Cleatta didn't take the card since she knew she could just charge their meals to the room. She was disappointed afterward when she got back to the room and the card was still there. Well, there was still tomorrow. 

They rose early and went down for breakfast before going to the convention. Between meetings, they walked around the floor examining the tech gadgets vendors were there to demonstrate. 

Seeing the two girls leave, Yolonda decided to go ahead and put fresh towels in their rooms. She entered Cleatta's room first. She made the bed, and gathered the used linens from the bathroom. On her way out the dolphin card on the dresser caught her eye. Her friend Audrey used to have a card like that. She picked it up to see if it was from the same bank. Nothing on the front. Nothing on the back either. On closer examination, she noticed there was a four digit number that might be the PIN, but there was no expiration date or security code. Plus, the front of the card felt warm. She looked closely at the card number. It seemed familiar. It had been a long time, but she had a good memory for numbers and she was sure the digits were close to the same as her friends card that had been stolen by a robber several years ago. Her friend was blind and Yolanda had helped her work with the credit card company and police to get it reported as stolen and replaced. 

She pulled out her phone and tapped her friends name. 

“Hello,” said Audrey.

“Do you still have the number of that card? The one that was stolen?”

“Maybe. That was a long time ago. The card company replaced it, but the number is probably in some old notes. Why?” 

Yolanda explained what she had found. “I think one of the conference attendees may have your old card.”

“Hmm,” said Audrey, “What is the number? I'll do a search and see what comes up.”

Yolanda read off the number, and Audrey typed it into her computer. Sure enough, there was a match.

Next, Yolanda called the front desk, “Jason, can you tell me what card this room is using?” 

“I just have the last four digits,” he said. He read them off. They were the same. This attendee was using Audrey's old card. But how could that be? The police and the bank said there was no record of the card ever being used after it was taken. The perp had never been caught.

Yolanda called Audrey back, “This is really strange. I called the front desk. The last four digits match this card. But, how can that be. The police said the card was never used, and I can't find the issuing bank on it anywhere.”

Cleatta and Rachael returned to her room late. It had been a long day. The first thing Cleatta checked was if the card was missing.
Her hopes evaporated. The card was still on the dresser. She had heard that some cleaning crews made copies of cards to max them out. Had the maid taken it and made a copy? Wouldn't it have stayed with them? The old man had known when she took it. She picked it up and put it back in her wallet. They decided to eat at a little restaurant across from the hotel. They would start home tomorrow after attending the dog session. She might as well go ahead and use the card tonight. She would leave it in the room again tomorrow just in case.

While They sat at the bar waiting for a table. A woman with a service dog came up and sat on the stool on Cleatta’s left. 

“Are you here for the convention?” the stranger asked.

“Yes,” said Cleatta. “We're going to attend the dog session tomorrow, then go home.”

The bar tender brought their drinks, and Cleatta offered him her card.

“I don't think I've ever seen a card with a dolphin, on it,” said the bartender. “That's special.”

“Yes,” said Cleatta dryly. “You have no idea.”

“You have a card with a dolphin on it?” asked the woman.

“Yes,” said Cleatta.

“I used to have a card with a dolphin on it years ago," said the woman. "It was stolen. “

Cleatta felt a chill. “Stolen?” she asked weakly.

“Yes, a burglar broke into my house at night. I didn't have any money, Only the card. He demanded I give it to him and tell him the PIN. He knew I was blind, and couldn’t identify him, so he just took the card and left. I was angry. I told him I hoped he learned what it was like to have a disability and have people take advantage of him. He laughed at me. My name is Audrey Isaacson, by the way. My friends call me AI. Are you staying in the hotel?” 

“Yes,” said Cleatta. 

“Room 227 by any chance?”

“Yes,” 

“I'm not sure, but I think you have my card that was stolen,” said Audrey. Then, she preceded to tell Cleatta what she and Yolanda had discussed.

Cleatta didn't know what to do. She sat quietly for a while and then broke down. Between choking sobs, she told her story about taking the card from the old man. How she gradually lost her sight, and now, she appeared to be ageing prematurely.

“If you want, you can give it back to me. Since it was my card to start with, I think you will no longer be infected,” offered Audrey.

“What about the side effects,” Cleatta wanted to know.

“I don't know,” said Audrey. “I was angry when I cursed the card. I wanted the thief to know what it was like to be blind and have people take advantage. It seems that when the person is ready to give up the card, the curse transfers to the new thief. Since it was my card to begin with, and I'm already blind, I have no idea what will happen. You could continue to use the card until someone steals it. You know what happens in that case.”

Cleatta considered her situation. She would still be blind. Now, her only source of living expenses was the card. Her disability wasn't enough to live on, her family couldn't take her in, and she had no skills that she could use to get a job while she waited to see if her vision would get better. Would the money she had accumulated and invested still be there, or would it disappear?

“You can think about it,” said Audrey. “I'll be making the guide dog presentation tomorrow. If you decide to give it back, bring it and the cane to the presentation. The choice is yours.” Then, Audrey left before Cleatta could ask any more questions.