Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
“Oh yeah, that’s definitely happening.”
We didn’t pass a single person as we made our way downstairs from the third floor, and I whispered, just because it was so quiet, “It’s almost eerily empty.”
“Joy and Felix rented out the entire property from Friday to Sunday. Their overnight guests will start arriving tomorrow. I guess all that’s left today are regular guests checking out before they head home. And there probably aren’t many of those, given the time of year.”
We were happy to discover we had three staff members waiting to assist us. Malcolm and I put together a prototype gift basket based on Joy’s photos and sent her pictures for her approval. She micromanaged the arrangement of the basket’s contents for the next half-hour, until she had to leave for a meeting with her law firm’s partners.
As I lined up three heavy, hand-woven baskets on one of the tables, I asked, “Who was supposed to do this job originally? Because it has nothing to do with the mudslide, or switching rooms at the last minute.”
“The wedding planner was supposed to fly in this morning with two assistants. I assume this was going to be their job. After she quit, I guess Joy thought she could tackle it herself. But she’s already frazzled, so the more we can take off her plate, the better.”
Even with five of us working on them, the gift baskets ended up taking several hours to assemble. Each basket got three different bottles of wine (which Joy insisted were wiped down before they were put in the baskets, label up, of course), a set of hand-blown wine glasses, a box of fancy chocolates, four tins of caviar, a carved wooden box filled with artisanal crackers, and a few other regional delicacies. The items were all arranged just so and nestled in a bed of dark red raw silk, and then the whole thing was finished off with a fluffy, matching bow.
What saved the job from being painfully dull was getting to watch Malcolm in action. One of the staff members—a cute little lady of about sixty named Delores—was a fan of his work, and she shyly asked for a selfie to send to her daughter. He posed for several pictures with her, and then, for the next two hours, he answered all her questions and told her stories about the celebrities he’d worked with.
He was incredibly patient and kind, and I was as charmed by him as she was. When she had to leave for an appointment, he sent several leftover boxes of chocolates with her. You would have thought it was Christmas by the way her face lit up.
Once we finished assembling the baskets, two women who usually worked at the front desk took over. The baskets were going to be paired with personalized, hand-written notes from Joy, which she’d sent ahead. I had no idea how a busy lawyer had found the time to do that.
As the staff members began cross-checking the names on the envelopes with the guests’ room assignments, Malcolm came over to me and draped his arms over my shoulders. We slumped together, and he asked, “Why was that so exhausting?”
“I don’t know. It just was.”
“You didn’t eat any lunch. Want me to make you a plate?” He’d ordered sandwiches and salads from room service, enough for the whole crew.
“Actually, what I want is some fresh air. Will you come outside with me?”
“I’d love to.” Malcolm grabbed two bottles of Italian soda and called, “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
We stepped out onto the deck adjacent to the banquet room, and I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. As we leaned against the wooden railing and looked out at the water, I asked, “How much do you think those baskets cost in total, five hundred dollars apiece?”
“More than that, given the vintages of the wine and the quality of the caviar.”
I muttered, “Damn,” before taking a sip of soda. Then I glanced at Malcolm and asked, “Have you ever thought about tying the knot?”
“I considered it a time or two, but it was never the right person, the right time, the right…anything.”
“But you’re not, like, opposed to it in general.”
He grinned and shook his head. “No, I’m not fundamentally opposed to marriage. That said, I don’t love what Joy and Felix are doing. Don’t tell her I said that, obviously, but this is just so ostentatious. It’s all about impressing their high society guests. I’d assumed getting married in a lodge meant they’d decided to tone it down and not go for so much flash, but no. They chose this place because to their urban guests, it’s an ‘exotic’ location, one that’ll make their wedding stand out from the rest.”
“So, you’re not buying that bit about getting married here because it’s nostalgic for the groom?”