Zeke gives Lizbet a dazzling smile and shakes her hand. “Hey, I’m Zeke English, what’s good?”
“The sandwich I just finished was good,” Lizbet says. “If that’s what you mean?”
“Sorry, I’m a little nervous,” Zeke says. “Thanks for having me in.”
How adorable! Grace thinks. He’s nervous.
“Please, have a seat,” Lizbet says. “I met your aunt Magda this morning.”
“Yeah,” Zeke says. “Aunt Magda’s the bomb. She moved in with us last September…” Zeke bows his head, and when he raises it again, his eyes are bright with tears. He clears his throat. “My mom died of a brain aneurysm. Aunt Magda cooks for us and…just generally makes everything better.” He wipes a tear with the back of his hand, and before Grace can stop herself, she flies down to give his broad shoulders a squeeze. She loves a man who isn’t afraid to show his emotions. The hug seems to revive Zeke a bit （or maybe Grace is giving herself too much credit?）， because he sits up straighter and laughs. “Am I blowing this interview or what?”
Lizbet leans forward. “I’m interested in hiring human beings,” she says. “Not robots. You experienced a profound loss.” She takes a breath. “Let’s start over. Hi, Zeke, welcome! How long have you lived on Nantucket?”
“My whole life, born and raised.”
“Where else have you worked on the island?” Lizbet asks.
“I’ve been teaching at the surf school out in Cisco since I was fifteen,” Zeke says.
He’s a surfer! Grace thinks. Well, it’s official: Zeke is her crush. She wonders if he would be interested in a ghost with the figure of a nineteen-year-old but the wisdom of someone much older. （She’s kidding! The scene in that nineties movie at the potter’s wheel would—sadly—never happen in real life.）
“That’s a fun job,” Lizbet says. “Why make the switch to hospitality?”
Zeke laughs. “My dad told me it was time to grow up. He said I could either work here or work for him. He was the electrician on this renovation.”
“Yes,” Lizbet says. “William and his crew did a wonderful job.”
Zeke says, “I couldn’t believe it when I heard someone was fixing it up. It had always seemed like a lost cause. You know, my friends and I used to party here in high school.”
O! M! G! Grace thinks. Zeke is one of her high-school partiers all grown up!
“Some strange stuff happened this one night,” Zeke says. “A ghost’s face appeared on this chick’s phone.” He pauses. “So then this place got a reputation for being haunted, and we stopped coming.”
Lizbet gives him an indulgent smile. “Don’t worry, we did an exorcism when we renovated.”
Ha-ha, Grace thinks. She considers floating Zeke’s résumé off the desk to prove just how wrong Lizbet is, but she doesn’t want to show off. Yet.
Lizbet likes Zeke—he’s a lovely boy, just as Magda promised—though Lizbet worries he might be a bit surfer-dude laid-back for the job. What if it takes him fifteen minutes to get bags to a room instead of Shelly Carpenter’s prescribed five minutes? She sighs. Women will go crazy when they see him…he’s a dead ringer for Regé-Jean Page. And she’s already hired Magda, and his father is their electrical contractor, so she can’t not hire him. Lizbet will just have to train him and Adam and Raoul that bags go directly to the room within five minutes! And she would like to train Zeke not to mention the ghost to anyone. Can she get away with that?
She sends him a text: You have the job!
Zeke texts back: Kk.
Lizbet closes her eyes. Kk?
A second text comes in: Thank you very much for the opportunity. I won’t let you down!
Lizbet exhales. She can work with that.
The last person Lizbet has to hire is a night auditor, but the only application she’s received for the job is from some guy named Victor Valerio （real name?） who sent a picture of himself wearing white face makeup, glow-in-the-dark fangs, and a long flowing black cape. When you ask for people to work the graveyard shift, Lizbet supposes, you end up with vampires.
Perfect company for their ghost, she thinks, laughing to herself. She’ll have to handle the night auditing until someone suitable applies.
She sends Xavier an e-mail.
Dear Xavier—
I hired our core staff today. Onward toward the fifth key!
All best, Lizbet
5. Opening Day