“Yes, Barbara,” Ms. English says and both Chad and Bibi stiffen. Has Ms. English ever used Bibi’s real name before? No. They’re in trouble, Chad thinks. Bibi is in trouble. Bibi took the Gucci belt, of course—just like she lifted Mrs. Daley’s Fendi scarf. At some point when Chad was cleaning the bathroom of the owner’s suite, he noticed the door had been closed behind him. He heard the vacuum running and he’d nearly poked his head out to check on Bibi. The reason he hadn’t checked on Bibi, he admits to himself now, was that he hadn’t wanted to know if she was actually vacuuming or just using the noise as a cover. She was upset about money, the loss of five hundred dollars a month, the specter of having to pay a private investigator to track down the baby-daddy. The guest in the room, Claire/Maybe-Shelly, had left a sixty-dollar tip, and as always, Chad told Bibi to just take the whole thing, which she did with her usual attitude of entitlement even though half of it was rightfully his.
But apparently that hadn’t been enough. She had taken Claire/Maybe-Shelly’s Gucci belt.
“What did the belt look like?” Chad asks.
“Black suede with a rose-gold double-G buckle,” Ms. English says.
Bibi probably already has it up on eBay or Craigslist, Chad thinks. She’ll get six hundred bucks because those belts cost close to eight hundred. Chad knows this because his mother has a Gucci belt and it’s an egregious habit of hers to fake-complain about exactly how much her wardrobe costs.
“This is the second incident I’ve had with you two where something has gone missing.”
Bibi glowers at Ms. English, her eyes like two cold, clear marbles. “I bet you haven’t asked Octavia and Neves about it, have you?”
“They didn’t clean the room,” Ms. English says.
“But they have a master key!” Bibi says. “I’m telling you, they’re trying to frame me.”
This is the same outrageous claim Bibi made last time; it feels like a little kid pointing a finger at the playground. But her face shines with such indignant anger that Chad entertains that possibility for a second. Octavia and Neves seem like nice girls, but what if they are plotting to get Bibi fired?
Because he fears that’s exactly how this is going to end.
“If it doesn’t turn up by tomorrow,” Chad says, hitting these words hard so Bibi gets the message, “can we just replace it?”
“I’ve already looked online,” Ms. English says. “That particular belt, with the rose-gold buckle, has been discontinued.” She looks from Chad to Bibi and back. “I don’t have to remind you that this was a VIP guest, nor do I have to remind you that if and when a guest accidentally leaves something behind, it does not belong to you. It goes directly to the lost and found.”
Chad bobs his head while Bibi scowls. He can’t believe she isn’t more concerned. If she loses her job, she’s sunk.
“I was crystal clear that this was never to happen again,” Ms. English says.
“Maybe the ghost disappeared it,” Bibi says. “Did you think of that?”
“If the belt doesn’t turn up by tomorrow, there will be consequences,” Ms. English says. “Do you hear me, Barbara?”
As Chad and Bibi head up to the second floor with their cleaning cart, Bibi says, “Why do you think she said only my name?”
“Bring it back tomorrow, Bibi,” Chad says. “We can hide it down in the laundry.”
“You think I took it too?” Bibi says. “Really, Long Shot?” She looks so wounded that Chad again wonders if maybe he’s wrong. Maybe Bibi didn’t take it. Maybe it was Octavia and Neves. Or possibly Claire/Maybe-Shelly put it in a side pouch of her luggage and she’ll find it next week when she flies to Dubai or Cartagena and she’ll call the hotel to apologize. Or maybe the person pilfering the luxury goods is…Ms. English.
Ha! he thinks. No, it’s Bibi.
When Chad gets home from work, he finds the driveway of his house lined with cars and, parked in Chad’s usual spot, a van from the Nantucket Catering Company. He tries to recall the date and realizes it’s Monday, August 8. Are his parents having their annual 8/8 cocktail party despite what happened? The answer is obviously yes—but the fact that neither Paul nor Whitney mentioned it to Chad （did they?） means his presence might not be expected, which is a relief. It also makes what Chad has to do far easier.
He enters the house and hears conversation, laughter, strains of Christopher Cross （his mother is having a moment with yacht rock） coming from the deck out back. Chad takes a second to see who’s in attendance—Bryce’s parents from Greenwich, Jasper’s parents from Fisher Island, Paul Winslow’s business partner Holden Miller from the Brandywine Group, and Leith and her friend Divinity, who are wearing matching LoveShackFancy dresses. Chad again racks his brain, but he has no recollection of hearing about this party. He’s offended that his parents are having it. He understands they want to proceed as though nothing has happened, but a party? Really?