As they neared the front entrance, Catherine made sure to straighten herself up to walk in on her own. She didn’t want the hotel staff and guests to consider her tasteless.

“Good to have you back this evening,” the uniformed valet greeted Catherine from the hotel drive-through.

“Thank you,” Catherine told him.

Ivan only nodded to him. They then nodded to the uniformed bellman as they entered the grand lobby.

For Ivan, a modest penny-pincher from South Central L.A., the Manchester Grand Hyatt was immaculate. Top-of-the-line hotels allowed the imagination to run wild, with marble floors, rich carpet, giant chandeliers, crown molding, artwork, candles, exotic wood, interior plants, soft music, and tall ceilings. It was all there. The difference between a five-star hotel and an off-the-road inn was like the difference between heaven and hell.

“They actually put you in here just for an interview?” Ivan asked as they wandered through the lobby. “Which building are you in?”

“The Seaport.” She grabbed him by the hand to lead him in the right direction. She said, “It has the better view. And it’s the newer building.”

As they strolled toward the Seaport building elevators, Ivan looked more like an amazed gawker than a guest.

Catherine read his wide, colorful eyes taking it all in. She yanked his arm for a dose of reality. “Come on, you know they’re getting corporate rates. They’re not paying what we would have to pay for this. They never do. So I told myself, ‘Take advantage of it from the company now. Because I may not get another chance to.’”

Ivan nodded and agreed with her. “You’re right. This is another tax write-off.”

When they stepped into the elevator, another display of first-grade hotel quality, Ivan was inspired enough to go for broke.

He said, “Hell, why not just stay up in here for a night or two like it’s a vacation? You only live once, right? I got a thousand dollars in the bank for a vacation, don’t you?”

Catherine looked at her old college man as if she no longer recognized him.

“What, and this coming from the cheapest man I knew on San Diego State’s campus?” She said, “I remember you used to sneak out of line with your food at the cafeteria to save six dollars.”

Ivan laughed hard. He said, “That’s when I was holding down the fort. I had to do what I had to do. I was working a full-time job, going to school, and still sending money back home to my mom. But…like she said…I can live now.”

Ivan felt guilty even saying it. He could hardly get the words out of his mouth. But he did. The reality of the hotel had smacked him in the face with a cold hard hand of what he had been missing all of his life, an opportunity for luxury.

DINNNGGG!