Leslie walks in to the bathroom and after splashing some water on her face says, “Surprisingly, she went right out.”
“Small blessings.”
Leslie examines the fine lines around her eyes in the magnified mirror, and says, “You’re not thinking about them, are you?”
Leslie and Alejandra have been together for eight years, and married for three. Rose is a recent addition to their family. Alejandra tops up the hot water and answers, “Maybe.”
“You can’t force them to do anything.”
From a different generation and raised in conservative religious houses, Alejandra’s parents had not been too happy when their only daughter had come out. They hadn’t come to the wedding and had met their only granddaughter once.
“I know, I just thought that at some point they would finally come around.”
Leslie walks over and takes her partner’s hand and holds it tightly. She says, “Hey, my parents couldn’t make it either.”
“That’s because they are on a cruise. You know they would have been here in a heartbeat if they had been in country.”
“I know.”
“Do you think mine will ever change their mind?”
“I don’t know, honey, but I do know they are missing out on someone wonderful.”
“Yeah.” Alejandra lets herself sink under the water and focuses on floating in the warm liquid.
When she comes up for a breath, Leslie says, “Seriously, you can’t keep expecting them to show up.”
“I know.”
“Now, repeat after me, ‘tomorrow, me, the woman I love and our beautiful daughter are going to have an amazing time at Disneyland.’”
Alejandra mumbles something similar.
“That’s not loud enough. Come on, we’re going to the happiest place on earth. By the time you get out of the tub, you need to be in a happier mood.” Leslie moves to go outside, and asks, “Are you hungry?”
“Famished.”
“Want to split a pizza?”
“Music to my ears.”
“I love you, you know that, right?”
“I know. And I know I’m being perfectly silly. I have so much in my life to be grateful for, I don’t need to be whining that my parents don’t love me.”
“They do – I’m just not sure they know how to express that love.”
“I know, now how about ordering that pizza?”
“Extra pepperoni and a side of the garlicy breadsticks they can make!”
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
October 11, 10:45 P.M.
The trio enters the room, sunburned, each with ubiquitous Mickey ears upon their windblown hair and loaded with souvenirs. Dropping their belongings in the lounge, Alejandra plucks Rose from the stroller and the group collapses on the bed. Rolling over to look at her daughter, Leslie asks, “How is my Rosie-posey? Did you have a good day?”
Having slept the entire way home (and a good portion of the afternoon parade), Rose is now wide-awake and babbles happily at her mother.
“Bath time?” Alejandra asks.
“It’s my turn. No doubt she’s covered in ice cream and other sundry sugar products. Did we just eat our way through the park?”
Humming to herself, Leslie goes into the bathroom and finding a suitable temperature on the bath, fills the tub with just enough water to let her daughter splash around safely. Getting the Johnson’s baby shampoo from the nearby diaper bag, she sets Rose in the tub and true to form, her baby instantly begins plopping her chubby little hands in water, splashing water everywhere.
Finishing up the task, Leslie wraps up her warm, happy and clean baby in one of the large bath towels and brings her out to the bed. After fitting her with a clean onesie and a diaper, Rose fusses she wants to be put down. Given she’s been cooped up in the stroller for much of the day, Leslie sets her down near the bed and keeps an eye on her baby, and says, “Stay close, Rosie-posey.”
From the bed, Alejandra has already pulled out the trusty Canon which has captured most of Rose’s life to date and begins scrolling through the events of the day. There is an essence of quantity over quality, but they do have some nice pictures to send the respective grandparents. Even though they remain non-responsive, Alejandra continues to send photos and videos through to her parents, hopeful that one day they will respond.
“This one is my favorite.” Leslie points to a picture of her and Rose, both trying to eat an ice cream treat with Mickey ears.
“What do you think, Rosie?” Alejandra asks, then looks for her daughter. “Rosie?”
They have been so engrossed in the pictures, neither has kept a close eye on their daughter. Knowing there was a finite amount of space in the room the parents fan out until they find their daughter wandering down the small hallway between the bathroom and the front door of the suite.
Leslie pitches her voice low and says, “Is that our daughter? Is she walking by herself?”
“She is!” Alejandra keeps her excited squeal to a minimum.
The parents beam first at each other and then at their daughter. Alejandra backs away slowly and whispers, “I’ll go get the camera.”
Leslie drops to her knees and motioning to her daughter and says, “Come to me, baby.”
Hearing her mother’s voice, Rose totters to the left, then the right, but finally turns around. Seeing her parents grinning wildly in her direction, she smiles too. Then ever so slowly, with little toes trying to grip the carpet, she moves towards them, all with Alejandra snapping pictures. When she finally makes it to them she is rewarded with hugs and kisses.
“Best trip ever,” Alejandra says.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
October 15, 6:17 P.M.
“How could he?”
“Which one are you talking about?” Jack Beaumont asks Rachel Hartley calmly.
“Fuck you. I’m talking about Karl. I’m not the least bit surprised by my father’s actions.”
“Are you really that surprised?”
Rachel does not answer the question.
“The money,” Jack says quietly, then sips his drink and asks, “It was for you, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The engagement, that money was a down payment for whatever sort of arrangement you made with your father.”
The great campaign finance scandal of Southern California broke a few days previously and, surprisingly Jack received a text from Rachel more or less pleasing for him to meet with her. Still interested in her, even when he knows he shouldn’t be, he responded. He checked in earlier in the day and her driver made arrangements to allow her entry in the service delivery area of the hotel.
Rachel answers, “Why couldn’t my stupid fiancé have done something normal? Like take a picture of his dick?”
“Really? You think that’s preferable?”
“It would be less embarrassing.” Jack squashes a moment of jealousy and looks again at the raven-haired girl in front of him and wonders how they’ve ended up back in this place. In the span of a month, the political world as he knows it has been turned on its axis. She then laughs to herself and says, “Maybe not – it’s rather small.”
Finding his voice, Jack asks, “Have you even talked to Karl about what happened?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you he’d spoken with a reporter?”
“No.”
Jack looks out the window and asks, “Are you still engaged to that bastard?”
Rachel fiddles with the ostentatious two carat princess cut diamond ring on her finger and answers, “I’m not sure.”
“The man all but ruined your father’s career! What more do you need to finish things with him?”
“I don’t know.”
Jack crosses his arms and asks, “What are we even doing here? Why did you call me today?”
His question seems to take her off guard, and she finally admits, “You’re the only perso
n I trust.”
“Really?” Jack asks with obvious disbelief. “I find it very difficult to believe that in all of the people in your life, there’s only me.”
“Stop being so melodramatic. Everyone else is on Daddy’s team, or with Karl, or trying to cover this whole mess up.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Don’t you see? This is all my fault. If I wouldn’t have agreed to marrying Karl, then this never would have happened.”
“How exactly? Did you hold a gun to your father’s head and force him to move those funds?”
“No.”
“And did you blackmail Karl into leaking this story to the press?”
“No.”
“Then how is this your fault exactly?”
“I was raised to do what was expected of me.” She sits down heavily and continues, “I’ve never wanted for anything, but I got selfish and asked for more.”
“Why did you go along with the idea in the first place? Obviously there is no love between you and Karl.”
“Don’t you get it?”
“What?”
“That’s all I’ve ever known. After my mom died years ago, there’ve been countless women in between. Daddy keeps them from me – but I know it’s messed me up. I have no idea what a normal relationship is supposed to be like.”
“Stop right there.”
“Why?”
“I don’t buy it.”
“What?”
“So, you’ve not had all the love in the world, that doesn’t excuse you from your behavior.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do I need to spell out what you were asking for last time we saw each other?”
“Maybe.”
“Before you were married, you were already planning on cheating on your husband.”
“So?”
Jack crosses his arms, and can’t determine if Rachel is intently trying to anger him, or legitimately this immature and naïve. Irritated with the entire situation, he asks, “You called me here, what do you want?”
“Advice.”
“Why? I have serious reservations on whether or not you would listen to me.”
“Fine, maybe I just wanted a different opinion.”
“I think you wanted something entirely different.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I think you came here looking for something much more basic.”
“Which is?”
“Comfort. Someone to care for you. Someone to be on your side. Someone to look after you. Someone who will put you first.”
“And…that might be you?”
“If you’ll let me.”
Rachel stands up and moves over to him. Running a manicured finger over his mouth, she lifts his arm and wraps it around her waist, snuggling close to his larger frame. She says, “I might.”
Trying not to let his body get ahead of his mind, Jack takes a step back and says, “Before we do anything, you need to end things with Ken.”
“Really? As in this exact moment?” Her hands go on her hips.
“Rachel, you’ve had people tell you what to do your entire life. I’m not going to start anything we might have by demanding things of you. Whatever your next steps are, you need to make the choices.”
In response, Rachel picks up her phone and presses a number, looking straight at Jack, says, “Good evening, Ken.”
“Yes, I have a reason for calling.”
“Are you alone? No? Find a place where you have some space, because I am only going to say this once.”
Listening to the one-sided conversation, Jack has to smile to himself.
“As of this moment, we are officially no longer engaged. I am not your fiancé. As I am the one ending things, I’ll let you spin it however you want, but be fair and polite and keep whatever story you have to a minimum. I’ve given enough of myself to you and my father and I’m finished.”
“Oh really? I don’t think so, Ken.”
“Why? I was hoping you would ask.” Rachel makes eye contact with Jack as if to say ‘pay attention.’ She continues, “Although we had sex only on limited occasions, I decided to give myself some insurance.”
“Yes, Ken, that time with that thing. Now, do you want that image shared with the rest of the world?”
“No, I honestly don’t care what it does to my reputation. For my part, I’m mostly off camera, and if I do say so myself, look quite attractive.”
“I’ll take your silence to mean we have an understanding. Expect the ring delivered back to you some time this week.”
Rachel hangs up the call and puts the ring on the table between herself and Jack. Her cheeks flushed, she says, “Do you believe me now?”
Jack blinks a few times and then smiles and says, “Is it too soon to say I think I love you?”
Looking up through a curtain of raven hair, Rachel says, “Jack, I’m sorry. For everything… When I think of my behavior, I’m embarrassed. I’m entirely sure I deserve another chance with you.”
“Poor little rich girl, what are we going to do with you?”
Rachel settles in her original spot next to Jack and says, “I can think of a few things.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
October 18, 10:30 A.M.
Dawn and the head of housekeeping, Juanita Ortiz, look in disbelief at the suite. Dawn asks, “And you’ve moved nothing?”
“What is there to move?”
“You’re right.”
Between the two women, there is over twenty-five years in hospitality. Dawn taps her heeled foot on the tile and says, “Never have I seen such a bold klepto.”
“Me either.”
“He’s more or less taken anything that wasn’t nailed down.”
“What I want to know is, how did he manage to get everything out without attracting any notice?”
“What I always wonder about these types is, why do it? Why does he think he’s going to get away with taking everything? We have his credit card on file. It’s not as if we’re not going to get the money back.”
The staff at the Winchester is used to certain items disappearing from rooms. In fact during slower weeks, they might even go so far as to make silly wagers on which guests would take what. As much as the Winchester staff wanted to believe their guests were of a more discerning and mature nature, this attitude did not seem to stop individuals from leaving with items. The property expected toiletries to leave with their guests, same with pens, notepads, the laundry bag, and towels. From the coffee tray, it was nothing to regularly replace packets of instant tea and coffee, milk, and sugar. The fake silk orchid from the bathroom goes missing at least once a month. Although the hotel policy is clearly placed in the bathroom, the terrycloth robes will also depart the suite with regularity. More conniving guests have lifted the batteries from the remote control.
Dawn says, “Mr. Horton will not be staying with us again any time soon. Although he’s creative, I think we have to give him that.”
“We certainly gave him everything else,” Juanita jokes, trying to lighten the situation.
Dawn shakes her head and wanders through the suite. After a quiet moment, she asks, “Maybe he just loved the ambiance? Maybe he wanted to recreate it at home?”
“In all my years working in hotels, I’ve stopped asking questions of why people do what they do. Hotels are just an alternate reality for some people. They can act or be whoever they want to.”
Dawn wanders into the bathroom and comes out shaking her head. Juanita asks, “The toilet paper?”
“You would think I would understand what motivates people to take what they do, and I can get a lot of things, but never toilet paper.”
Tapping a finger on her lips, Juanita goes to the desk and opens the second drawer, the one which holds the Bible, donated by Gideons International. Her brow creases and she says, “Interesting, he left the Bible.”
“He’s obviously not heard o
f ‘thou shall not steal.’ Did he leave a tip?”
“Strangely enough, yes, he did.”
Dawn shrugs and asks, “Maybe he felt guilty about how much effort it was going to take to turn the room?”
“We’ll never know.”
Dawn nods and says, “I’ll go downstairs and get started on the paperwork. Do you think we have enough in house to get this suite back to standard before check in?”
Juanita reviews the space again and says, “I can make it work.” Clucking to herself, she goes to the mini bar and shakes her head, “He’s literally taken every single thing from here.”
“Jesus. I’ll let central reservations know, and we’ll keep him out of Winchester properties from now on.”
As a chain, the senior management is willing to overlook any number of strange behavior and illegal activity on the property. The housekeeping staff regularly cleans up vomit and other bodily fluids. They find used condoms, traces of drugs, and other unmentionable details. However, unless a guest verbally or physically assaulted another person on site or steals, management will usually look the other way.
“As much as people steal, more often than not, guests leave things behind,” Juanita comments. “I wish today was that day.”
Like any hotel, the Winchester recovers numerous items per week that guests leave behind and have policies and procedures for logging most of these items. The general policy at the Winchester is to keep items for a period of ninety days (a detail covered in the fine print of the information covered in the post on the inside of the closet, on the same page where the rack rates for the room is listed). If at that time, the owner does not claim the items, then the personal effects become property of the hotel. In a bit of a strange cyclical give and take, many patrons visit the front desk needing some charger or adapter. The hotel will look through the outdated lost and found items and be able to quickly provide the gadget to the guest.
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