Page 39 of The Hotel Nantucket
“When?” Winston asks.
Jasper isn’t sure. Winston came to Nantucket specifically to see Jasper, but Jasper has to be careful. “I’ll snap.”
Winston gets out of bed to see Jasper out, so he can’t be that mad. They do some pretty heavy-duty kissing in the doorway.
“Come back to bed,” Winston murmurs into Jasper’s mouth.
Jasper is actually considering it—his mom isn’t going to be any madder in an hour than she is now—but then he hears a rattling and turns to see the housekeeping cart rounding the corner, and pushing that cart is…Chad Winslow.
What?Chad is wearing khakis and a blue polo, and he’s with some beaten-down-looking chick who smirks at Jasper and shirtless Winston and says, “You gentlemen ready for service?”
“Jasper?” Chad says.
Jasper feels like a coyote with his leg in a trap. “Chad? Are you…workinghere, man?” Jasper and his buddies Eric and Bryce have all been wondering what’s up with Chad, but him having ajobnever crossed their minds. A job cleaning rooms at ahotel?It makes no sense.
Chad shrugs and casts his eyes over Jasper’s shoulder at Winston. “Yeah, I’m a maid,” Chad says. “What are you doing here?”
I’m a maid. It must be a joke, right? Except Jasper can tell it isn’t and Chad doesn’t seem the least bit embarrassed. It’s like Winston is always saying: There is nothing shameful about who we really are.
“Stayed over with my boyfriend, Winston,” Jasper says. And just like that, he’s out. He grins. He can’t believe how easy that was.
Chad nods. “Cool. Nice to meet you, Winston.”
“Nice to meet you,” Winston says.
“Nice, nice, nice,” the chick with Chad says. “So, are you ready for service or what?”
Nancy Twine passes around the offering basket at the Summer Street Church. She tries not to notice how much a person gives; three dollars for some is as much of a sacrifice as thirty dollars for others. But it does catch her attention when Magda English drops several folded hundred-dollar bills into the basket. (Fivehundred-dollar bills, Nancy would come to find out when she counts the money after the service.)
Now, where does Magda English, who moved here back in September to care for her poor bereaved brother, William, and her nephew Ezekiel and who is working as head of housekeeping at the haunted hotel on the other side of town, come up with that kind of money? Nancy can’t begin to guess.
10. Last Friday of the Month: June
Lizbet, Edie, Adam, and Alessandra are crowded into Lizbet’s office at 11:55 a.m. on June 24 so they can refresh their Instagram feeds right at noon.
Adam is the first one to see Shelly Carpenter’s post. “It’s the Isthmus in New York City. Four keys.”
“Kind of boring?” Alessandra says. “Although she hasn’t done New York in a while.”
“She reviewed the William Vale in March of last year,” Edie says.
“It’s scary that you know that,” Adam says. He swipes through the pictures while Lizbet, Edie, and Alessandra click on the link. Frankly, Lizbet is relieved that the Hotel Nantucket wasn’t chosen; they’re nowhere near ready.
Hotel Confidentialby Shelly Carpenter
June 24, 2022
The Isthmus Hotel, New York, New York—4 KEYS
Hello again, friends!
The Isthmus Hotel chain has been synonymous with luxury and sophisticated service since the flagship opened in Panama City in 1904 to cater to visitors coming to view the man-made wonder of the canal. The Manhattan outpost, located on the very desirable southeast corner of Fifty-Fifth and Fifth, has long been a top choice for discerning travelers, especially those from Central and South America, who appreciate the bilingual staff.
The hotel underwent a soup-to-nuts renovation in 2019 with all rooms given a much-needed makeover. They’ve opted for a clean, modern look—the rooms feature a lot of ivory and pearl gray and may be the teensiest bit generic. The lights of each room are all on a master panel inside the door and offer three choices: Festival (every light in the room on), Romance (low mood lighting), and Nighty-Night (every light in theroom off). I tried to figure out how to beat the system and turn some lights off and some on (the one next to my bed, for example). It seemingly can’t be done without a degree in electrical engineering.
I wanted to check the concierge’s knowledge of the area, so I requested the name of a salon where I could get an inexpensive pedicure within ten blocks on a Sunday. The concierge found me a place right away, but when I went to write down the address on the notepad next to the phone, I found the hotel pen was dry. Readers of this column may feel this is a tiny detail—and make no mistake, it is—but if a hotel is providing an amenity such as a pen, it should work.
The other aspects of my stay at the Isthmus were top-notch. The bedding was delicious, the comforter as fluffy as a mound of whipped cream; the toiletries in the sleek marble-and-chrome bathroom (which was massive by New York standards) were scented with sandalwood, and the water pressure in the shower was strong but not painful. My bags were delivered only two minutes after I arrived, and when ice was requested, it came within five minutes. Room service exceeded all expectations. The Isthmus in-room-dining menu includes some Panamanian flair with the additions of sancocho de gallina and chicheme, both of which I ordered and both of which were better and more reasonably priced than standard room-service fare.
