Page 54 of Bubbles at the Beach House Hotel

Ipushed aside my concernsabout Vaughn’s work and concentrated on work at the hotel. I promised I’d be present for the Halloween cocktail party in the library. About forty people were participating in this private event of cocktails and dinner. Later, the lanai would be open to all guests for after-dinner drinks and live music. Vaughn would join me for that.

Annette was acting as hostess and stood by the door greeting people as they arrived, handing them each a goodie bag filled with sweets and small gifts from local businesses, including our spa.

“Hi, Ann. It seems like a fun crowd,” said Annette, wearing a headband and holding a small witch’s hat. It was the perfect touch to her black slacks and tasteful top.

I gazed at the guests filling the room. Costumes were optional, but most people in the room wore a costume or added a Halloween touch to their outfits.

“Lorraine organized a Halloween treasure hunt for guests this afternoon, which was a big hit with this crowd, who had to walk to various places in town.” Annette shook her head. “I don’t know how she manages to pull off things like this.”

“She’s a treasure of her own,” I said, looking up as Lorraine joined us, wearing black slacks and a burnt-orange top accented with a black bead necklace and a black cat pendant.

“Hello,” said Lorraine. “It looks like another successful party is underway.”

“I’m keeping my eye on the young woman in the corner by the bar,” said Annette. “She’s had quite a bit to drink. Her date doesn’t seem to be aware of it.”

“Or he’s trying to ignore it,” said Lorraine, sounding like she’d been in this situation before.

“We don’t want anything bad to happen to her or one of the other guests,” I said. “I’m going to make my rounds and then leave to go home. I’ll be back with Vaughn for the party on the lanai.”

“Thanks, Ann.” Lorraine smiled at me. “I know it’s a pain to spend the time, but having you and Rhonda welcome our guests makes them feel important.”

“That’s one reason we do it,” I said. “Truthfully, we decided when we opened the hotel that we would treat our guests as if they were being welcomed in our very own home. It’s kept a lot of people coming back. We might be a small operation, but we are and always will be very special.”

“Exactly right,” said Annette.

I left them to speak individually to our guests. I was always interested in who was in the hotel and what brought them here. I’d learned a lot about others and, in the process, a lot about myself.

Most of this crowd was younger than usual, and I was delighted to see it. We were a high-end property, but we welcomed people of all ages.

I was talking to a young man when the woman who’d been drinking came over to us.

“Happy Halloween,” I said, smiling at her.

She looked at me with glassy eyes, put an arm around the man’s neck, and threw up on him.

His look of shock was replaced by one of anger. “I’m sorry about the mess,” he said. “I’ll take her back to our room.”

Annette hurried over to us to help, and a bartender brought several black napkins and water over to the spot on the carpet and started to clean up.

I moved away to give him space and went to another area to talk to our other guests, who, fortunately, hadn’t noticed the incident. I knew Bernie would address the situation in our staff meeting on Monday morning. We trained our bartenders to cut off people who were under the influence of too much alcohol.

Lorraine sidled up next to me and said softly, “I’m sorry. I’ll speak to my staff about situations like these.”

“It happens, but we must be careful,” I said. I turned to the couple I’d been talking to and introduced Lorraine to them.

By the time people were seated for dinner, I’d spoken to almost everyone. I watched as the first course of shrimp cocktail was served, and then I escaped to go back home. I’d return later with Vaughn.

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Vaughn and I walkedonto the lanai for the after-dinner party, which was open to all guests. The fact that he was well-known as an actor always made it awkward at first, but guests soon realized that he was with me, and he wanted to enjoy himself—that, and the fact that they had to sign a privacy agreement.

A well-known singer in the area, Kitty Carwell, was at the microphone while another well-known musician, Dee Morton, played the piano. They were often paired up, and the result was fabulous light jazz.

Kitty sang a slow number, and several couples started to dance.

Vaughn held out his hand. “Shall we?”

I smiled at him and rose. He was a graceful dancer, and together we moved well. As he held me in his arms, I felt my memories carried back to when I first met him, when we first held hands, and now, as I did then, I knew that I was so lucky to have found him.

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