Madison in Madison
August 5: Madison, Wisconsin
"Hello, welcome to [Hotel]. How may I help you?" he recites for the thousandth time today. "Welcome [Name]. Could you please hand me your credit card and your ID?" He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"What brings you to Madison?"
"Here for my daughter."
"What brings you to Madison?"
"Here for work"
"What brings you to Madison?"
"Here for an event."
"What brings you to Madison?" His glasses slowly slide back down his nose.
"Here to see my folks"
"What brings you to Madison?"
"Here for a conference."
He pushes them back up again. Different versions of the same response, over and over. Does anyone have a unique experience? Not that he's any better. Hello, welcome to [Hotel]. Could you please hand me your card and your ID? How may I help you? Welcome [Name]. Over and over and over. Just run the <welcome script> function and like a machine, he'll recite. </welcome> Same as all of his guests.
There's only ever about ten total responses they repeat as to why they're in his city. Really, only about four common ones. He's started numbering them.
Bald guy, buttoned suit. Reason-for-visiting-Madison, #1 (conference). He pushes his glasses back up.
College student with Mom. Reason-for-visiting-Madison, #3 (college).
Trust fund hippie with small dog. Reason #5 (family). He keeps counting as new guests arrive.
#1, #3, #5, #2, #2, #3, #4
- "One-three, five-three, two-two three-four," he utters under his breath. It has a rhythm to it. 13-53-2234. 13-53-2234. 13-53-2234. His shoulders sway slightly to the 13-53-2234 beat in his head. If he was a 13-53-2234 musician, he'd try to make some 13-53-2234 song out of it. But instead, he paints miniatures. He wonders if he can paint a 13-53-2234 miniature of this day, of this month, this year. It's only his 13-53-2234 ninth week at this job, but already it feels like a decade. Has his 13-53-2234 whole life been like this? A series of scripts, served back and forth, back and 13-53-2234 forth, like an endless game of verbal pickleball? What was the meaning 13-53-2234 of it? Had he, or anyone around him, ever had an original thought?
13-53-223– "Hi!"
A woman bounces into his vision like a golden retriever.
"Hello, welcome to [Hotel]. What brings you to Madison?"
"Well, my name is Madison," she says with a big, goofy grin. "So, I figured I should come see Madison. It's kinda silly, but, why not?"
She laughs in spite of herself. He smiles till his eyes crinkle.
"No, it's awesome!" He says. She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. He tells her the history of the hotel. She nods and smiles. He tells her about the miniatures he paints. Her glasses slowly slide down again. He tells her about the local spots to explore and how to get there. She thanks him.
He gives her her key, and she gets on the elevator and disappears.
Curly haired woman, turquoise necklace. Reason #... he pauses. ...37.