“Mommy… Mommy… You have to get up, Mommy! The alarm’s going off!” Lily’s high pitched, sugar sweet voice broke through Bailey’s newest nightmare. She'd been trapped in her grandmother’s home, alone and afraid. The doors and windows had been sealed up with thick wooden beams, and as she struggled to escape, the oxygen was slowly disappearing. As she began to fall to her knees coughing and choking the last few breaths of life, she could see the faintest light behind the boards open up before her. But it was too late.
And of course, it was Lily who had saved her from facing the end of that dream. She was her savior—just as she had been over the last month since her grandmother had passed. Without fail, Lily had brought to her a sense of stability, peace, and drive. She was her sunshine, the only bright spot in Bailey’s darkening life.
After the funeral, Bailey did all that she could to sell everything she owned bit by bit. The television and computer went first. It was enough to pay for food and the bill she owed Liza. Then came the furniture. She watched helplessly as Lily sobbed when a young couple came to pick up her white princess style bed. Finally, as the bills piled up, she did away with her clothing, her shoes, and her wedding ring.
By the end of their two week moving period, it was just enough to get them a small studio apartment on the outskirts of the city. Lily had made the most of the rundown space. She ran dancing around the yellow, damp carpet and painted pictures to display in their shared sleeping area. She was excited every night that the two got to dine on cheap noodles and powdered juice. It was if nothing could dampen her high spirits.
But the money from Bailey’s fire sale had started to run up as the electric bill came in and the landlord started to demand the second month’s rent. Lily’s innocent attempt at cheering up her mom became less and less effective as reality set in. And slowly, the nightmares began to appear.
Today, it was Lily who woke her. Her bright blue eyes shone down on her mother as her tiny hands shook at her shoulders. Bailey shook her head as she rolled over on the carpet to reach for her vibrating cellphone. She turned back around to see Lily already dressed, though in a mixed matched outfit of green pants and a red tanktop. Bailey smiled as she pulled her daughter in for their good morning hug.
“Where’re we going today, mom?” Lily asked the same questions every morning. “What are we gonna be?”
“What day is today?” Bailey had to think. Without the routine of her old life, she'd found it hard to keep up with the passing days. She turned back to her phone’s calendar. As she scrolled to today’s note, she frowned. “Today, we’re hotel maids.”
“No! Mommy! I don’t wanna go back to the hotel!” Lily stormed off towards the bathroom with her arms crossed in front of her.
Bailey sprang up to meet her at the door before she could close herself in. She kneeled as she brushed some of the light brown hair out of Lily’s pink face. She forced a smile as she said, “I know, Lil. I know. I don’t want to go to work at the hotel either, but I've got to.”
“Do I have to go with you? I can stay here!” She looked around frantically as she struggled to convince her mom, “I promise I won’t play with the stove. I won’t answer the door for anyone. I’ll just read my books and be quiet!”
“You know I can't do that, Lilly. You have to come with.”
“I don’t understand. Why can’t I go stay with Miss Liza and Jane and Todd like I used to?” Bailey sighed. She had tried to explain the concept of money without scaring her. But at five years old, she was too young to know just how broke her mom was. Going back to her old life with the professional babysitter and the playroom of toys was just not a possibility.
Instead of trying, Bailey changed the subject, “How about I make us some eggs and toast?” The little girl’s face changed suddenly as she ran to the little kitchenette to grab her pink plastic plate and matching fork. She sat herself down at the small folding table and metal chairs. It was a far cry from the gigantic maple table that used to be in their grandmother’s table. But it had to do. After all, her grandmother had always said that every meal, no matter the occasion, should be spent with family around the table.
Bailey set down a book in front of Lily to keep her occupied as she quickly rummaged through her laundry basket. Inside were four different work uniforms each laid out for the day of the week. Today’s hotel maid uniform was a powder blue dress with white trim. It was a flimsy, paper thin material that made her skin itch, but it was certainly not the worst part of the job at working at the Beacher Inn.
When she was dressed, she returned to the kitchen to make the two’s breakfast. She opened the egg carton. Only one egg remained. There was only two pieces of bread left as well. It was another day of her going hungry so that Lily could have a full belly. She wouldn’t get paid until after that shift for the last two weeks’ worth of work, so she'll just have to wait until dinner and a trip to the grocery store to eat herself.
Lily ate the scrambled egg quickly and then savored the toast with the small hint of butter. Bailey watched her from the other end of the table as she sipped on some instant coffee—the only indulgence she allowed herself to have. She would rather stay in her morning haze, but she knew that if she was going to make it through the day ahead of her, she was going to have to get her caffeine fix.
As Lily licked her fingers cleaned, Bailey cleared her plate and grabbed the two’s shoes from the hallway closet. The shoes just barely fit on Lily’s growing feet. Her socks were no help with their gaping holes in the heels. Bailey tied pink laces loosely and asked quietly, “Can you walk without them hurting?”
“It’s okay, mommy. I’ll just take them off in the car.” The simple reassurance choked up Bailey. Nothing made her feel like less of a parent than not being able to provide her daughter with something so small as a pair of fitting shoes.
The two loaded up the car for the day with Lily’s backpack and box of activities and Bailey used the mirrors of her car to apply her makeup and pin up her golden brown hair into a tight bun at the top of her head. The drive there was agonizing for the mom who watched her daughter excitedly point out the mass of happy children filing into a brand new preschool. Bailey, on the other hand, tried all that she could to keep her eyes off of the boys and girls home.
Beacher Inn stood out amongst the other massive buildings in Chicago’s downtown. A silver metal skyscraper with over forty floors of rooms, restaurants, and bars, the most dominating feature of the hotel was the black brick and the tinted windows. It was a place of anonymity for the city’s richest and most powerful visitors.
Bailey suspected that many people would die to work there, even as a hotel maid. On her first day after being hired, she realized that behind the black facade and the elite guests was something more sinister and cruel. She learned to keep to herself, to never speak of what she saw, and to keep her daughter hidden at all costs.
“Lil, today I want you to hang out in the laundry room, okay?” Bailey had to find a new place for her to go each day. If she was caught by her boss Jerome, she risked being fired.
“I hate the laundry room, mommy! It’s hot and smells funny.” Lily’s sunny personality had faded as it always did when they were close to parting. “Can’t I just stay with you and hide out on the cart? I’ll be quiet and just read my books. I won’t go into the rooms.”
“No, you know the rules. You have to stay out of sight. If someone finds you, what do you say?”
Lily lowered her eyes as she looked down at the car’s floor. “I say that I got lost playing hide and go seek. And then I run to the parking lot.”
“Good. Now I’ll come find you every hour. I promise. I’ll have Millie come check on you too and bring you some snacks from the breakfast bar. I’ll see if she can grab you an orange.” The bribe wasn’t working on Lily as she quietly got out of the car and walked into the staff entrance way ten steps ahead of Bailey. They walked in silence to the laundry room and to a small corner area out of direct view of any passerby. Once Lily was settled in, Bailey leaned down and kissed her daughter gently on her head and ran off to the staff meeting room.
Jerome had already begun his morning meeting. “Room 301 is occupied by Dustin Arrows. Do not address the women… or men… that may come in and out of his—” He stopped when he spotted Bailey sneaking in behind the rest of the staff. “You’re two minutes late, Miss Reed. That will come out of your pay. Stick around after I'm finished to discuss this.”
Bailey shook her head in acknowledgement and took her place next to Millie, one of the other ten maids. As Jerome continued, she leaned in and whispered to the stout woman in the matching uniform, “Lily’s in the laundry room today. Any way you can snag her an orange or cinnamon roll from the bar spread?”
“I’ll try dear,” the older woman sighed, looking at Bailey with forgiving, sympathetic eyes. She saw her own struggling daughter in Bailey’s plight. “I’m up in the suites today, but I sure I’ll find some leftovers somewhere.”
“Am I interrupting your conversation, ladies!” Jerome shouted directly into Bailey’s ear and made her fall backwards. She cowered and apologized not daring to look at Millie in order to not get her further in trouble or to cast suspicions on her only friend.
After the meeting, Bailey lingered behind, waiting for Jerome to begin his lecture. He stared directly at her as the last few staff members filed past. But it was Bailey who broke the silence. “I'm so sorry Jerome. I was caught in traffic, and—”
He caught her off-guard as he motioned gently for her to sit next to him on the staff lounge’s one leather sofa. He remained on the furniture’s arm as she sat on the cushion farthest from him. “I don’t like people being late, Miss Reed,” he said in a low voice. “And I certainly don't like when they feel that they’re above me enough to talk over me.”
“I understand, sir. It won't happen again.” She twisted her fingers around in her hand as she did not dare to look up at him towering over her.
“I know that it won't. I've got a feeling that we'll come to an understanding between the two of us.” Jerome reached his small, yellowing hands across the couch to gently touch Bailey’s collarbone where her skin was exposed. His touch sent shivers down her spine, yet she could not look up at the man with the greasy mustache or the slick black hair. Instead, she attempted to turn from him.
“I can work an extra shift to make up for it, sir.”
“That’s not what I meant, Bailey,” he chuckled. His hand moved lower towards the center of his chest as he fixed the neckline of her uniform. “I think that if you were to give me an hour in my office later today, I can be much, much more specific.”
Bailey sprung to her feet as his hand grazed the top of her bra’s fabric. “You’ll have to excuse me. I need to get to work.” She lowered her head and stormed off toward the closed door. As she reached for the doorknob, the man jumped in front of her, blocking her from the exit.
“I know that you are rejecting my offer, and I know that, for whatever reason, you think you’re better than me. But you’re nothing. You’re scum. You’re not worthy of anything but this cheap maid uniform.”
His hand reached down and lifted the hem of the back of her uniform’s skirt, grabbing the fabric roughly in his hand. His other hand found her bare hips and the line of her panties. His grasp pulled her further into his body. The stale smell of old cologne filled her nose as she struggled to turn away. She coughed disgustedly and used all her strength to force him back.
A thud rose up as he stumbled backward, fell against the wall and then caught a trash can with his leg. He fell to the floor in a mess of body parts. Everything in Bailey’s body told her to run, but the thought of losing this job and the small bit of income made her stop in her place.
“I’m so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to push you. Please, let me help you up.” She stood above him, offering her hand gently to him as a peace offering.
Jerome lifted his thick body off of the ground on his own and slapped Bailey’s hand away. He brushed off his suit and slicked back his hair, turned to her and said, “You fuck up again, and I will have no choice but to fire you, after I personally reprimand you in my office. Now get out of here.”
Bailey darted from the room and headed up towards the supply closet where her cleaning cart waited. As the closet door quietly closed, the weight of Bailey’s life caught up to her, causing her to slowly sink to the ground against the brick wall. And in the empty, cold space of the small, damp closet, Bailey allowed herself to do the one thing she'd promised she would never do: she cried.