“It’s nothing to do with you or the hotel, don’t worry.” Xavier clears his throat. “You’ve done an outstanding job with everything. I’m proud of you, Lizbet.”
Lizbet is struck dumb. He got her name right. She would count this as a victory, but something in his tone sounds so…final.
By the time she opens her mouth to speak—to say, Thank you for giving me the opportunity, I look forward to next year when we actually know what we’re doing, most of our staff is returning—she hears a beeping noise. Xavier has hung up.
It was Edie who checked in the Marsh family back on June 6, and because Alessandra has taken lunch, it’s Edie who checks them out.
Edie thinks back to the moment Kimber, Wanda, and Louie first walked in—Kimber with her peacock-dyed hair, Wanda and Louie in their little glasses—and then the surprise of Doug! If they’d checked in today instead of on day one, when Edie was so desperate to win the thousand-dollar bonus, would she have been as accommodating? Would she have booked them for eleven weeks without a credit card? Would she have upgraded them to a suite and allowed a dog? It’s a moot point now. Edie can say—and the whole staff would agree—that they’re happy to have had the Marsh family among them for the summer. The hotel will feel incomplete with them gone.
She presents Kimber with the final bill. “Your last night’s stay is on us and last night’s room service as well. We’re really going to miss you.”
Kimber waves a hand in front of her face. “Stop, you’ll make me cry.”
“I want to thank you,” Edie says, “for mentioning me in the TravelTattler review.”
“What are you talking about?” Kimber says. “I didn’t write a TravelTattler review.”
“You didn’t?” Edie says. “I thought for sure…”
Kimber glances over at Wanda, and Edie gasps. “Did Wanda write it?”
Kimber grins. “No, it was me. You’re one of a kind, Edie Robbins.”
Richie comes down the hall with the luggage trolley. “Zeke is taking Doug out the side entrance.” He looks at Edie. “And my stuff is packed up as well.”
“Great,” Edie says. “My mom says you can move in anytime.” One of the other things that’s changing with the Marshes’ departure is that Richie is coming to live with Edie and Love until the hotel closes for the season. Kimber confessed to Edie that Richie had been living in his car before he moved into suite 114. When Edie told her mother this, Love offered Richie their spare bedroom for a very reasonable rent.
Lizbet appears from the back office as Kimber scans the list of charges. “This all looks good.” She pays the balance in cash, then throws in an extra thousand dollars. “To split among the staff,” she says. Her eyes glass over with tears. “Getting away this summer with the kids was the best decision I’ve made in my life. Thank you.” She takes Richie’s hand. “If we end up getting married, you’re all invited.”
“Come back and see us again,” Lizbet says. She gives Kimber a hug and then, as they planned, Edie brings out two gifts from the back: Nancy Drew mysteries number forty-six through forty-eight for Wanda and the lobby chess set for Louie. Edie gives each of the children a tight squeeze; Louie squirms and Wanda starts to weep, saying, “I don’t want to leave. What about Grace? She’ll be lonely without me.”
Kimber ushers Wanda to the door. “Let’s go take a picture of Adam and Zeke, honey.” She gives Lizbet and Edie a weary smile. “It’s going to be a long ride home.”
“Be safe!” Edie says. She waves as the Marsh family steps out of the lobby into the sun, then turns to Lizbet. “This is the worst part of the job.”
“By far,” Lizbet says, running a finger under each eye. “You know I wanted to kill you when you told me you’d rented them a room without a functioning credit card. And then that you’d upgraded them to a suite for eleven weeks. And then that they had a pit bull. But that was the right call in the end, for so many reasons.”
“Because Wanda wrote an article about the ghost,” Edie says. “Which increased occupancy.”
“More than doubled it.”
“And Louie entertained people with his chess,” Edie says. “So many people mentioned it in their TravelTattler reviews.”
“And Richie was happy and had a place to stay,” Lizbet says. “If he hadn’t met Kimber, he might have quit, and I would have been stuck. He’s such a team player. I haven’t had to worry about billing; he’s taken care of all the financials so that I could focus on the guests and the staff.”