When the intern had first left the room, her arms overstuffed with Bette’s outfits, Bette had smiled.  In the past, as soon as the hotel door had closed, Jodi would have been telling Bette to give the poor intern a chance.  Later, Jodi would have been sitting on the floor with the intern, sipping wine and exchanging life stories.  Bette always tried to explain to Jodi that the intern would benefit from an experience that mirrored the real world.  Jodi always responded that Bette could wait and give them the real world speech just before they left.

Bette knew that she wouldn’t be sitting on the floor sharing wine with the intern.

She smiled.  Tina would have told her to speak to the intern and explain what she expected.  Bette’s smile faded.  “Fuck,” she muttered, angry again at where her mind had drifted.

~~

Meka had appeared again to the seated group after only a few minutes.  She happily announced, “They were just about to give the room away, but I got it back.”

She turned to the worried nanny, “It’s a suite, actually.”

“A suite?” Raph cautiously questioned, knowing that Meka’s explanation would be outrageous.

“I wanted a lake view and they only had a suite left, so I told them that I needed the space because I would be working on a memorial sculpture.”

“Meka!” a shocked Angelica responded.

“Meka,” Raph chided.

Meka angrily replied, “Every piece I work on now is a memorial sculpture.” She at first glared at her brother and sister and then looked down.

That response silenced them as they looked at the one of them who was so like her mother that it was unnerving.  Raph reached to rest his hand on Meka’s arm, “It’ll be okay, Meka.”

“Sometimes I’m still angry.”

“Me, too.”

Serafina pulled Angelica’s head down so that she could whisper in her ear.  When Angelica nodded in response, the little girl slipped into Meka’s lap and hugged her.

~~

“Oomph.  Grrrreeeh.  Shiiiiiiit.  Ahhhh.”  The bellboy grunted and cursed as he lifted the huge and heavy box on to the luggage cart.  The box had been shipped to the lodge and had been stored in the basement until its owners arrived at the hotel.  Each of the bellboys had hoped that he would not be on duty when those guests checked in.