She blinked at me a minute, as if she wasn’t sure who I was, which happened a lot if I wasn’t behind the reception desk. I had my coat on, too, so my uniform wasn’t obvious. After a brief hesitation, though, she returned my smile and said, “I’m afraid not. Her flight was cancelled. Weather.”
“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that. This time of year can be tough on air travel.”
“Yes. Thank you for asking.”
“You’re welcome. Just let us know when she does arrive and we’ll be sure to get her a key.”
“Not sure she’s coming now,” Dr. Yergunson said. “Depends on if she can get another flight.”
“Of course. I hope you can enjoy your trip even without your friend.”
“Thank you. Again.”
She looked around the lobby, like she was looking for a way out of the conversation. I recognized that look. Some people aren’t the chatty type. I am, which is great for my job, but I’ve also learned how to give space to those who don’t like casual small talk.
“Have a nice evening,” I said and headed toward the lobby door.
“Thank you.” Dr. Yergunson said again, rushing to the elevators.
I glanced back at her from the lobby door. She was fiddling with something inside her purse, then pulled out a cellphone. She looked a little panicked, which seemed strange. I thought back over the brief exchange. Nothing in it that should have upset her. The cellphone was to her ear and she was listening to something as she stepped into the elevator. She never glanced my way.
Still, I was bothered by the interaction. I didn’t like to upset guests and hadn’t thought I did, but she’d seemed upset. Given how exhausted I was, I didn’t trust my perceptions, though. She might not have been upset, just in a hurry. I could usually read people well, but not always, and right now I was pretty sure my ability to read body language was compromised.
I’d make amends tomorrow, if I needed to. And in the meantime, I hoped I could get more sleep the tonight.
But I’d already booked a room for tomorrow night. I wasn’t sure how I was going to break the news to Becky. I didn’t lie to her about important things. But maybe I’d fib a little and say they needed me to cover the late shift. I’d make it up to her. I could always book her a room at the hotel and take over baby care duties one night so she could get some sleep.
That idea appealed to me so much, I was smiling as I swung into the subway station, thoughts of strangely nervous guests moved to the back of my mind.
Three
Becky had almost burst into tears when I told her I had to stay at the hotel the next night, until I said I’d make it up to her with a night at the hotel while I looked after Lilith. She’d lit up like a Christmas tree then, and it occurred to me that my little sister was maybe even more exhausted than she’d been letting on. She’d never been away from Lilith and I’d half expected a fight, but she was so tired, the thought of a full night’s sleep, knowing Lilith was safe with me, sounded like heaven to her.
I decided after that conversation we’d start doing more of that. I’d look after Lilith on a night off and get Becky a room at the hotel where she could sleep and not have to worry for a full twenty-four hours. With her husband overseas, and this being her first baby, and it just being the two of us now, we were both getting a little strung out. Time to make some changes to our schedule.
“Excellent idea,” Jake said as he dished up my gyro. “My sister-in-law and her aunt did something like that, so they could both get sleep. Worked out great.”
“Thanks.” I passed him the cash for my lunch. “Anything that makes her happy right now, and less obsessed with what kind of diseases Lilith has, is good for all concerned.”
Jake laughed. “How are things at the hotel?”
“Quiet. But it’s fine for a few weeks after all that crazy holiday stuff.” The holidays this year had been particularly crazy, too.
“You hear about the latest about Chuck Marzecki?”
“What did I miss?” Chuck was the former day manager who got himself into some legal trouble involving stealing from a former employee, Agnus Hosfelder.
“Agnus is now suing for defamation after he went onto one of the morning talk shows to tell his side of the story.”
“Chuck, Chuck, Chuck.” I shook my head. Agnus now had her own show on one of the cooking channels and a lot more money behind her than old Chuck did. She already had a case against him in civil court for a bunch of stuff, and the criminal case was still pending. Doing the talk show rounds had probably been a mistake.
But what could you do? Some people just couldn’t seem to keep themselves from digging the hole deeper.
The nice bright winter weather meant the sidewalk was busier, and the lobby in the hotel was bright as well. I bumped into the honeymooning couple as they were heading out the door and chatted with them a few minutes. They were off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I have to admit to being a little jealous. I loved the Met but hadn’t been there in a while. Something to put back onto the list.
By the time I reached the desk, Miguel was leaning over the counter, waving me close so he could talk without being overheard. “You hear about Chuck?”
We discussed the latest gossip for a few minutes—having a former manager in the news for embezzlement and having a former colleague become a famous TV personality had really added some spice to our usual neighborhood gossip.
Miguel spotted my overnight bag as I rounded the desk to head back to the breakroom. “You going somewhere?”
“I got a room here tonight. I need sleep or I’m gonna break Becky’s phone and cut off her access to the internet.”
He chuckled. “Still playing amateur doctor?”
“Not as bad last night, but she still woke me up three times worried that Lilith had some new and rare disease. I had to promise her a night alone in the hotel to alleviate my guilt, but I won’t be sorry to get a night’s sleep.”
“Good tradeoff.” He looked at my plastic carry out bag from Jake’s where I’d rested it on the counter—there was no one in the lobby so I didn’t need to worry about that looking unprofessional. “Did you bring my anything today?”
“Jake had some extra falafel and couscous from an order, so you got a mini-carton of that. But you have to pay for your own lunch.”
Miguel made a face, but brightened and said, “Thanks for the falafel.”
“Spend your money at Jake’s,” I said, heading toward the breakroom. “Not just mine!”
Miguel’s laughter followed me, loud in the utterly quiet lobby.
The day was mostly another quiet one, outside of one minor crisis on the third floor when one of the ice machines started to shed ice spontaneously all over the place. The repair guy arrived quick, thanks to a little nudge from Tara, so that was getting fixed. And fortunately, the machines on the other floors worked, so we had somewhere to send people desperate for ice in the middle of a winter day in February in New York.
Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of those staying on the third floor.
At the end of my shift, I brought my overnight bag from the break room up to the room I’d booked. It was one of the smaller rooms—we might get a discount, but our options for using that discount were limited if the room was for us and not visiting family. The owners weren’t that generous. In fact, they were a little on the cheap side. But only in the parts of the hotel that weren’t visible.
The room was nice and clean, though. I was pretty sure Maria, the manager in charge of the cleaning staff, had had Vicky do a little extra cleaning in here because it was immaculate. First things first, I ensured I could sneak out the extra soaps and shampoos. Becky loved the smell of the stuff we stocked here, so when I could, I brought her some extras.
It might not seem like it at the moment, but I really loved my little sister, and I did want the best for her. The whole reason we were living together was so I could help her. Lilith was her first, and she’d freaked out when she learned she was pregnant and Pat still had another two years deployment overseas before there was a hope of him getting stationed somewhere stateside. He currently wasn’t in a place where she could follow. So it wasn’t like she could move to be with him. If he got transferred to Germany or Japan, that’d be a different story. But right now, not so much.
And since Becky and I were our only family left, of course I was happy to step up and help her. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I just needed a break from the hypochondria.
Dinner was the pizza joint next to the hotel. Sometimes we could smell their food through the walls in the back offices and that guaranteed they had regular customers in the hotel staff. I sat in the restaurant to eat and chat with Rachel Sorrentino, one of the owners. Business was quiet for them, too. Though not quite as bad as it was for us. There were always people who needed pizza.
When I got back to the hotel, I stopped to talk with Dan Long, the night desk clerk. Dan was handsome man in his early forties who stood nearly a foot taller than me and had worked at the Azur Regent since he was a teenager, when it had a different name. He even had his wedding reception here nine years ago, which had been beautiful. Two kids later, he still worked the night shift so he could get his kids ready for school and be there when they got home in the afternoon.
We spent most of the time chatting about the Chuck news. Even Rachel Sorrentino and I had discussed that scandal a little over dinner. Everyone on the block had heard about the newest lawsuit and the fascination with it all was real.
While Dan and I were talking, I saw Dr. Yergunson come through the lobby again, heading out dressed in a sparkly black dress and black, strappy heels. Her hair was done up and she wore more jewelry, and while she still looked put together, the glamour outfit really made her look different.
