Page 52 of Bubbles at the Beach House Hotel

“I will. I promise.” I stood. “Now, go!”

Giggling, Rhonda left the office, and I said a little prayer that this time away would help them both. Especially Will, who’d needed a vacation for a long time. Angela’s husband, Reggie, was undoubtedly celebrating that he would be running the financial services office alone, even if it were for such a short time.

A short while later, Lorraine Grace, now married to Reggie’s father, Arthur Smythe, entered the office. As our wedding coordinator and social director, Lorraine was a highly valued staff member. We could always count on her creativity and follow-through on details. Aside from that, she was one of the sweetest women I knew.

“How’s it going? Did Rhonda get off all right?” she asked me, sitting by my desk.

“Yes, she’s both excited and nervous. She hopes this will give Will and her a chance to be together again and have some romantic time.”

“I hope it works. Arthur says that Will is a workaholic,” said Lorraine. “Heaven knows Arthur is no better, but he worries about their rivalry.”

“All because Reggie chose to work with his father-in-law instead of his father. It’s a tricky situation.”

Lorraine grimaced. “A little hurtful for Arthur. But Will and Reggie work well together, so I think it’s all for the best. I see some of our weekend guests have arrived. I’ve explained that they’re welcome to enjoy the hotel, but rooms are usually unavailable until three o’clock.”

“Yes, but Rosita promised that her Housekeeping Department would try to have the rooms ready as soon as possible. Each staff member is diligently seeing which rooms are available to clean. They’re doubling the teams to do the work.”

“Tonight, it’s just a welcome cocktail party,” said Lorraine. “Tomorrow night is when the work will begin. We’re decorating the library for our Halloween guests’ special dinner. Of course, we’ll add some decorative touches to our main dining room and our lobby.”

“What about the menu? I know Jean-Luc doesn’t want us to change his dinner menu, but have you come up with some cute items for breakfast and lunch?” I asked.

Lorraine chuckled. “My assistant, Laura, has added some special touches. She put Booberry Muffins on the menu along with Franken Burgers, Haunted Harvest Chowder, Graveyard Greens, Creepy Cobb Salad, Graveyard Grinder, Creepy Club Sandwich, Pumpkin Penne, Skeleton Skewers, and the like.”

“Very clever. It adds to the fun of the weekend,” I said.

“Yes. For dinner, the waitstaff will wear orange aprons instead of the usual white. And our flower arrangements for the table are all about harvest.” Lorraine gave me a playful smile. “I’m even going to wear a Halloween headband, but that’s it.”

“We’re offering a prize for the best-dressed person, which will be perfect. We don’t want to overshadow our guests,” I said. “Vaughn and I won’t wear costumes as we’d agreed earlier.” Vaughn was thrilled that he wouldn’t have to.

“Exactly what Bernie told us,” Lorraine said. “But I bought him an orange handkerchief to wear in his jacket. We’ll see if he wears it.”

“Our stiff and proper General Manager just might,” I said. “Since working for us and marrying Annette, Bernie’s brisk manner has softened.”

“He’s great,” said Lorraine. “So fun to tease. A little bit like my husband that way.”

“How is he? You both were quite sick with the flu some time ago.”

“He’s good. Florida has a satisfying lifestyle for him. We both work hard but like to relax together. I’ve taken up more golf, and having a pool makes it easy to swim and relax there.”

“That’s great. Even though Rhonda will take the credit for her matchmaking, the two of you are perfect together. Anyone could see that from the beginning.”

Lorraine’s face broke into a wide smile. “Who knew I’d get a second chance at love?”

Dorothy Stern tapped on the door and entered. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Not at all,” I said. “What can I do to help you?”

“Actually, it’s Lorraine I need to talk to about the favors for the Halloween dinner.”

“Okay, you two, I’ve got to talk to Bernie. Anything I need to discuss with him?”

Both women shook their heads.

I rose, and the three of us left the office.

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When I got home, Vaughnand Robbie were down at the dock working on the sailboat. I changed my clothes and headed down the lawn to join them.

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