She watches Juliana stare at herself for a long time in the bathroom mirror after brushing her teeth. Grace marvels at how wonderful it is that one can just state one’s sexual orientation and preferences in 2022. Back in 1922, well…Grace had a feeling that the hotel’s GM, Mr. Leroy Noonan, preferred gentlemen, but he could never have said it. He was more “closeted” than Grace was!
Grace follows Juliana as she knocks on her parents’ bedroom door.
“Come in,” Mrs. Plumb says.
Juliana and Grace enter. Grace hovers close to Juliana, providing as much warmth and support as she can muster.
“I’m gay,” Juliana says.
The Plumbs seem…taken aback. Mr. Plumb clears his throat; he exchanges glances with Mrs. Plumb. Grace nudges Mr. Plumb toward his daughter, and Mr. Plumb gets the hint and holds out his arms. “Juliana,” he says. “We love you, sweetie.”
“Thank you for trusting us enough to tell us,” Mrs. Plumb says. “We’ll support you any way we can.”
My work here is done, Grace thinks, leaving the Plumbs to a group hug.
Grace discovers that the Elpines in room 203 have been experiencing some problems in the bedroom and that they’re taking this vacation to “spice things up” and “reignite the romance” in their marriage. But despite the mood lighting and the fine linens, Grace reads the room and senses the Elpines are headed for disappointment—and, very likely, some counseling.
She positions herself just so in front of the full-length mirror and within Mr. Elpine’s line of vision. Is he supernaturally sensitive? Let’s hope so, for Mrs. Elpine’s sake. Grace blows cold air toward Mr. Elpine and opens her robe. He looks over Mrs. Elpine’s shoulder, and his eyes widen. It turns out that being watched by a beautiful, young, and naked female ghost is just the thing to cure Mr. Elpine of his chronic issue. Grace slips out, leaving the Elpines to get down to business.
Kimber goes to the Darya Salon at the White Elephant and returns with her hair dyed flame orange. Richie loves it, Wanda and Louie are nonplussed, and Doug the dog barks so sharply when he sees her that Kimber has to put on his muzzle （Grace is not unhappy about this）。 Now, nearly every night after the Blue Bar closes and Adam heads home, Kimber slips down the hall to the lobby to visit Richie. Their fooling around has gotten too serious for them to stay out in the open in the lobby—what if a guest should appear or one of the children wander down?—so they are constantly looking for more private places to be together.
Kimber suggests the fourth-floor storage closet, but thankfully, Richie shoots this idea down. “It’s spooky,” he says. He thinks they should go out to the adult pool and get busy on one of the extra-wide chaise longues. They try this, but although the chaises are sturdy, they aren’t that sturdy, and Kimber complains about the mosquitoes. Kimber tries to lure Richie down to her suite but Richie is concerned about the children. They finally consummate the relationship in the break room. When Richie plays Marvin Gaye on the jukebox, Grace knows what’s coming and floats out.
The break room becomes the regular site of their sneaky links. Grace notices that after Kimber heads back to her suite, Richie often falls asleep on the sofa, then jolts awake like he’s being chased （Grace has nothing to do with this; she suspects it’s his conscience at work）。 Sometimes he sits for long periods with his head in his hands; sometimes he goes into Lizbet’s office, opens the safe, and stares at the piles of Kimber’s cash （though Grace is happy to report he doesn’t take a single dollar）。 He stays at the hotel until the birds begin to sing, then he slithers out the side door like a cat burglar.
Kimber tells Richie that she has to go off-island overnight the following week to meet with her divorce attorney, and she doesn’t want to take the children with her. She asks Richie if there’s any way he can sleep in her suite after he’s finished work and spend the two days that Kimber will be away with the children.
Yes, of course! Richie practically shouts. He’d love to!
Kimber tells Richie that the best way to acclimate the children to him staying over while she’s away is for him to stay overnight in their suite on a regular basis while she’s there.
“The children will be fine with it,” Kimber says. She has spent so much time in the sun that her once-wan skin is now subtly golden, and her hair holds appealing beachy waves. She’s also, Grace notes, glowing from within. “They won’t blink an eye.”
“Well, that may be so,” Richie says. “But it’s against the rules. Staff aren’t allowed to sleep with the guests, Kimber.”