Winning BIG, a little love story for all ages

by Judith Keim

  Theodore’s heart clenched. He rushed over to her. “Lila! I mean, Miss ... I mean Miss Lila, are you all right?”

  Lila looked up at him. Her pink eyes flooded with tears. “It’s Zanna. She and Simone had a terrible fight, all because of the movie Mr. Horner, the producer, is making with Rocky Strong. Simone found out Zanna might get the role opposite Rocky, and she stormed into Zanna’s hotel room. The two of them shrieked and fought like ... like ... cats! I wanted to help Zanna, I really did, but I could only watch what was going on because Fifi was there.”

  “Is Zanna okay?” Theodore couldn’t hide his alarm. It couldn’t have been a fair fight. Zanna was much smaller than Simone.

  Lila shrugged. “I don’t know. That awful dog chased me out of the room.” She clasped her paws together. “I was so afraid one of the humans would see me. I’d never forgive myself if all the mice were thrown out of here because of me.”

  Theodore nodded. All their guests knew mice were not permitted in the humans’ part of the hotel. It was one of the hotel’s strictest rules. “So what happened next?”

  “When I went back to check on her, Zanna had a black eye and she was asleep.” Fresh tears rolled down Lila’s white, furry face. “I should have done something to help her.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Theodore fought to keep his voice calm. Being this close to Lila made his heart race so fast he thought he’d faint.

  Lila blotted her eyes with a tiny, lace handkerchief. “I’ve been with Zanna since she was a girl. I feel terrible. You know how it is when you feel responsible for someone?”

  “I know.” Theodore thought of his brothers and sisters. As much as he wanted to stay with Lila, he couldn’t. “Look, I’ve got to go take care of my family. Let me know if you need any help.”

  She let out a shaky sigh and waved goodbye.

  Theodore grabbed as much food as his paws could hold and hurried out of the room.

  After quickly dividing up the food among his siblings, he rushed to the front entrance of the hotel. His grandfather was standing at the doorman’s station, checking his watch. “I thought you were going to be late, Theodore. We can’t have that, can we?”

  “No, sir,” said Theodore, catching his breath. It was going to be a long morning. He hadn’t had time to eat, and already a pair of big brown loafers was headed his way. He doffed his hat and bowed.

  “Good morning, sir. Welcome to The Winston.”

  The loafers marched on by, followed by an old female mouse, walking with a cane. Theodore rushed over to her and helped her inside.

  When another set of shoes, black slip-ons, followed by a spry, young mouse exited the hotel, Theodore bobbed his head. “Have a good day, and be sure to come back and visit us.”

  Smiling, the mouse waved goodbye.

  Grandfather gave Theodore a nod of approval. “Keep up the good work. I’m going to go to breakfast. Remember, a doorman never leaves his post unattended. See you later.”

  A number of people and smaller guests arrived at or left the hotel in a steady stream. Theodore had lost count of just how many when he heard a sweet, high voice call his name. He turned to see Lila by the mouse entrance waving frantically to him.

  “Come quickly! I need your help!”

  He paused. Grandfather’s words came to him. A doorman never leaves his post unattended.

  “Theodore, I need you!” Lila’s words were like woven, golden threads, drawing him toward her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Lila’s eyes filled. “It’s Zanna. I’m worried about her. I tried to wake her up, but she didn’t move— not even when I tried to shake her shoulder. It’s way past time for her morning exercise. Something’s wrong. I know it.”

  “What do you want me to do?” Theodore’s paws itched to wipe the tears from her sweet face.

  “You have to come with me. We need to get her some help.”

  Maybe Zanna was dying, thought Theodore with dismay. That would be awful, and bad for the hotel. He glanced around, then followed Lila inside. He had to make it quick or he might lose his job. “Which room is Zanna in?”

  “2404,” said Lila, starting to run.

  Theodore followed her up through the plumbing system behind the interior walls of the hotel, careful to avoid the pipes that were hot.

  “Here we are,” said Lila, coming to a stop. She entered a hole, pushed open a small piece of baseboard, and crawled through. Theodore followed, entering the dim interior of a closet stuffed with clothes and shoes.

  Lila waved him forward. “Hurry!”

  Theodore scampered out of the closet into the largest, fanciest bedroom he’d ever seen—a luxurious room no hotel would ever want a mouse to see.

  Lila nudged him. “She’s up there!”

  Theodore scooted up onto the wide, king-sized bed and stared at the woman who’d been so cheerful the day before. She lay sprawled across the sheets, her eyes closed, her mouth hanging open. A black bruise circled one eye.

  Lila crept up to Zanna and tugged on her earlobe. “Time to get up,” she squeaked.

  Zanna didn’t move.

  A suspicion crossed Theodore’s mind. He went over to the empty glass lying on the bedside table and took a sniff. “I think I know what the problem is. This smells weird. Zanna must have taken sleeping medication of some kind.”

  Lila shook her head back and forth so hard her diamond earrings flashed. “Zanna never does anything like that. Medication of any kind makes her sick. She always says drugs are bad for her.” She took a whiff of the glass’s interior. “Ugh! This smells like alcohol, and she doesn’t drink that stuff.” She turned to Theodore wide-eyed. “Maybe somebody tried to kill her.”

  “We have to get someone up here right away,” said Theodore, suddenly afraid for Zanna’s life.

  Lila clasped her paws with worry. “How are we going to do that?”

  “I’ll call the front desk,” Theodore answered with bravado, not certain he could pull it off. He tried to push the receiver off the phone. It barely moved.

  “Here, I’ll help,” said Lila.

  Together, they pushed and shoved until the receiver fell to the table with a thud that would have awakened a person sleeping normally.

  “Now what,” said Lila, gazing at Zanna with concern. “Hurry! She’s looking funny.”

  Theodore crawled up onto the numbers pad and read the list of extensions. “It says Front Desk-4. Here goes.” He jumped on # 4 as hard as he could.

  “Hello, this is The Winston Hotel. It’s my pleasure to serve you. How may I help you?”

  Theodore gave Lila an encouraging smile.

  “Hello? Hello?”

  The right words came to Theodore’s mind, but all he could say was, “Squeak!”

  “Hello? Hello?” The desk clerk hung up the phone with a loud click that hurt Theodore’s ears.

  “Oh, no!” cried Lila. “Now, what are we going to do?”

  Theodore cut off the call and jumped up and down on the #4 button.

  “Hello, this is the Winston Hotel. It’s my pleasure to serve you. How may I help you?”

  “Squeak!” shouted Theodore.

  “Hello? Hello?”

  Theodore took a big breath. “SQUEEEEAK!”

  “Look, I don’t know what you want, but I’ll go ahead and send someone right up.”

  Lila ran over to Theodore and threw her arms around him. “You did it! Thank you!”

  Theodore’s knees went weak. If he lived to be one hundred, he’d always remember this moment, this wonderful feeling of Lila hugging him.

  Lila let go of him, raced over to Zanna, and took hold of one of her fingers. “Hang on! Help is on the way!”

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “C’mon!” Theodore waved to Lila to follow him. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Lila shook her head. “I can’t leave until I know she’s okay.”

  The door opened.

  Theodore grabbed Lila’s paw an
d dragged her off the bed.

  A maid stood in the doorway, wide-eyed. “Eeeek!”

  “What’s wrong?” said a voice behind the maid—a voice Theodore recognized as Simone’s.

  The maid pointed into the room to the bed. “There! A body on the bed!”

  “No, Fifi!” shrieked Simone. But the dog jumped out of her arms and charged inside, heading right for Theodore and Lila.

  Theodore kept hold of Lila’s paw and scurried as fast as he could toward the window. They’d just reached the drapes lining the window when the dog lunged at them. Shaking, they hid behind the heavy material.

  “Fifi, come here!” Simon shouted.

  Fifi’s black nose appeared behind the drape, followed by a mouthful of teeth. The dog growled and snapped at Lila, barely missing her.

  “Up! We have to go up.” Theodore gave Lila a push onto the fabric. He followed behind, trying to ignore the dog’s sharp white teeth snapping at his tail.

  Out of the dog’s reach, Theodore clung to the fabric next to Lila and strained to hear what was going on in the room.

  “Zanna!” cried Simone. “Wake up!”

  “What’s going on here?” asked a male voice. “We’ve been getting strange phone calls from this room.”

  “It’s her. I can’t wake her up,” said Simone.

  “I’m calling 911 now,” said the man. “Whose dog is that? Keep it quiet while I talk!”

  “Fifi, come here,” said Simone.

  The dog stood still, looking up at Theodore and Lila with hungry eyes.

  “I’m slipping on this shiny fabric,” whispered Lila, giving Theodore a panicky look.

  “Me, too,” he said, gripping the fabric as hard as he could. “Is there another way out of the room?”

  “I don’t think so,” said Lila. “The only entrance I found was the hole in the closet.”

  Fifi charged the drapes, shaking them furiously.

  “Help!” squeaked Lila. She held out a paw and Theodore grabbed it. But with the addition of her weight, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he fell to the floor.

  “Get the dog out of here,” ordered the male voice. “The ambulance attendants are on their way.”

  “Shouldn’t I stay to make sure she’s all right?” said Simone.

  “Are you a friend of hers?” asked the man.

  “Not really,” Simone said.

  “Say ... aren’t you one of the movie stars staying here?”

  “Me?” said Simone. “No. You must be thinking of someone else. I’d better take the dog and go.”

  Theodore watched Fifi being dragged away from the window. He let out a sigh of relief that the dog was gone. Then he frowned. Why was Simone lying about being a movie star? Was she up to something rotten?

  CHAPTER THREE

  The emergency team arrived in Zanna’s room with a gurney. Peeking out from behind the drapes, Theodore silently cheered. While everyone’s attention was on Zanna, he and Lila made a mad dash for the closet, staying close to the edge of the room. He had to get back to his post before anyone noticed he was missing.

  Lila stopped him in the closet. “You go on ahead. I’m going to hide in here until I know Zanna is okay. Thank you so much for your help.” Her eyes shone. She lifted to her toes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I couldn’t have done this on my own.”

  Theodore lifted a paw to his face. Feeling as if he were in a dream, he could think of nothing extraordinary to say. He doffed his cap and bowed. “At your service, Miss Lila.”

  “Better hurry back to your post, Doorman,” she said, shattering the idea in Theodore’s mind that he was more than that to her. His spirits plummeted.

  Aware of the time, he raced down through the maze of pipes and rushed outside.

  From Theodore’s post, Grandfather glared at him. “Where were you?”

  Theodore gulped. “I was helping one of our guests.”

  “Does this have anything to do with Lila and Zanna?”

  Theodore blinked in surprise. “How did ...”

  Grandfather cut him off. “Nothing is secret among the staff in a hotel. And that includes the fact you have disobeyed orders, which is why you are now fired from your job.”

  “Fired?” Theodore’s stomach sank to his feet. “But what about my mother and my brothers and sisters? They need me to do my job.”

  Grandfather wagged a paw at him. “You should have thought of that before you left your post.”

  The clack of high heels against the pavement cut short their conversation.

  Theodore doffed his hat and bowed. “Welcome to The Winston, Miss. We hope you enjoy your stay.”

  “Hold on.” Grandfather put a hand on Theodore’s shoulder.

  Theodore turned to him. “Please, Grandfather, give me another chance. I can’t disappoint the rest of the family.”

  Grandfather stared at him for so long Theodore nervously twitched his whiskers.

  “All right,” sighed Grandfather. “One more chance. But from now on you have to be more responsible. I covered for you this time, but I won’t do it again. Understand?”

  Theodore nodded. What he’d thought had been a dream come true with Lila kissing him was turning into a nightmare that wasn’t about to go away.

  A pair of flip flops was leaving the scene. “Good day, sir. We hope you had a pleasant stay. Please come back and visit us again,” Theodore said.

  “Good boy,” said Grandfather, and left Theodore alone to do his job.

  ###

  The cafeteria was filled with noisy, excited squeaks. Theodore glanced at the table in the corner. A crowd had gathered around Lila. He paused, hoping she’d notice him, but she was too busy talking to Bandit and the other important guests.

  “Hi, Theodore,” said one of his younger sisters. She came up to him and took his paw. “Come sit with us.”

  “I’ll be right there.” He picked up a tray and surveyed the food laid out in an attractive arrangement. By the looks of it, one of the groups “in house” must have had a fancy breakfast. His stomach growled. He loved cheese omelets and sweet rolls, especially when Henrique, the mice’s chef, added his own extra touches—grated Swiss cheese for the omelets and cinnamon sugar on the rolls.

  As he carried his tray over to his family’s table, he saw Maurice sitting by himself behind a mountain of food. Maurice stopped eating when he noticed Theodore looking at him, then turned his gaze away and dug into his food.

  “Come have a seat,” urged Theodore’s mother.

  Theodore shot another glance at Lila’s corner table and sat down. Soon his attention was diverted by all the talk at the table. Listening to his younger brothers and sisters tell him about their new teacher, he smiled. He well remembered his own classroom scenes.

  “We learnt all about cats,” said one of his brothers, round-eyed. “We have to be careful with them. They could ...” he gulped nervously ... “they could eat us!”

  “Don’t forget about dogs,” said Theodore. He’d been frightened silly when Fifi had chased Lila and him.

  “The dog lesson comes next week,” his brother said, proudly.

  Theodore shook a paw at him. “Well, this week you’d better remember there’s a dog in the hotel. Be careful.”

  “Listen to your big brother,” warned Theodore’s mother.

  Theodore returned her smile but couldn’t help glancing at the table in the corner. Lila and Bandit were alone now, and he was holding her paw.

  Theodore’s mother gave him a worried look and rose from her seat. “You’re just the doorman. Remember?” She walked away, trailed by his brothers and sisters.

  Alone, Theodore pushed away his food. Seeing how Lila was with Bandit, he was too sad to take another bite.

  “So, you’re a hero or something?”

  The bossy mouse who’d accompanied Juliet appeared beside Theodore’s table. She took a seat opposite him and stared at him from behind her big, round glasses.

  “So what’s the problem wit
h Zanna? Another one of her dramatic scenes?”

  “What do you mean?” Theodore didn’t like her or the tone of her voice.

  The mouse’s lip curled. “Juliet says she’s a drama queen. That’s all. So, what happened?” She leaned forward, greedy for details.

  Theodore frowned. “Why would I tell you anything? I don’t even know your name.”

  She straightened in her chair. “I’m Cynthia. I travel with Juliet Jasper. She’s a VIP guest here at the hotel—a very important person. She won an Oscar for a movie, you know,” she added in a condescending manner.

  “Yeah? How long ago was that?” The minute the words left Theodore’s mouth, he wished he could take them back. No matter how rude our esteemed guests behave, the doorman never expresses his disapproval.” Theodore glanced guiltily around the room, but Grandfather was nowhere to be seen. He rose from his chair. “I’m sorry. I have to get back to my post.”

  Cynthia gave him a crafty smile. “That’s right, you’re just the doorman.”

  Theodore kept his mouth closed, but angry words gathered in his head. This particular guest was impossible—especially when he wanted to be so much more than a doorman to Lila.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The afternoon sped by as Theodore greeted guests and bid others goodbye. It wasn’t until he was relieved at suppertime that he finally had a moment to address the thought that had been bothering him all day. Had someone tried to harm, or even kill Zanna, as Lila suspected? The idea of a killer in the hotel was serious business. They might all be in danger.

  Theodore decided to investigate on his own. He knew Grandfather would not approve of his taking time away from his duties to find the answer, so he’d do his investigation during the evening hours when he was off.

  That evening, he ate in the cafeteria with his family as he normally would, but then he got up to leave.

  “Hey! Where are you going?” asked one of his brothers. “Won’t you play ball with me?”

  Theodore shook his head. “Not tonight, little bro.” He waved goodbye to his family and headed out of the room. Bandit was arriving as Theodore made his exit.