by A B Turner
"So do the press come in here?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible, Kat giggled,
"No honey, so don't you worry about only showing your good side for the pictures..they're only interested in the famous people."
I felt my body relax at this news, all I had to do was stay in this room and I would be fine.
After a long time of only being the two people in the room, it quickly seemed to fill with hotel staff who began carefully laying out vast silver trays, then arranging perfect rows of gleaming crystal glasses. The doors swung open again, as obviously-harrassed teams of florists carrying huge displays of flowers, somehow negotiating their way through the veritable maze of tables and people. Finally, Diana breezed in, I watched as she paused at the doors, and cast her eyes across the scene before her, clearly searching for the smallest fault, the tiniest detail which didn't match her original vision. She seemed so engrossed, she almost jumped when the doors opened behind her and a smartly-dressed man appeared next to her. At first, I couldn't see his face, as he bowed slightly to her, in some form of apology for the disturbance, but when he looked up, I gasped, as I instantly recognised him, it was Albert! The same man who had helped me leave the hotel when I had stayed with Vanessa, without being seen by prying eyes. I quickly turned away and busied myself rearranging an already tidy pile of books, my mind raced, leaping precariously from trying to formulate some kind of believable explanation if he did recognise me, to ridiculous plans for escaping the room. I felt my cheeks flush, I stared intently at the books again, willing my face to return to its normal colour and, hoping against hope, nobody had noticed. I glanced sideways in the vague direction of Diana and Albert, but thankfully, she was pointing at various elements within the room and he was doing nothing more than nodding intently, then beckoning a staff member to effect the change she had requested.
"Just stay over there," I whispered to myself, but clearly not quietly enough, as I felt Kat touch my arm,
"Did you say something, Carrie? Sorry, I was miles away."
I looked at her, her concerned expression matched the tone of her voice, and again, in that moment, I wanted to tell her everything about how I'd been here before, and how I needed to somehow avoid Albert because I knew she would help me. I felt my mouth open to speak, but no words came out, even as the growing panic seemed to be rising through my body like an unstoppable tide, I said nothing and just smiled. But Kat didn't see, her attention had been caught by something else over my shoulder, as I turned, I came face to face with Albert. For a moment, we were looking straight at each other, I searched his face for some kind of sign he recognised me, but he just bowed slightly,
"My apologies, madam, I obviously startled you."
I was about to reply, when Diana appeared at his shoulder, she glanced from him to me,
"Carrie, I should like you to introduce you to Albert, one of the managers here, if you have any problems at all, he will provide excellent assistance, quite honestly, he is one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to work with in any hotel."
Albert beamed,
"Thank you, Diana, that's really most kind."
He looked past me towards Kat,
"How nice to see you again, I remember meeting you on many previous occasions," he extended his hand which she shook warmly.
"It's lovely seeing you again too," she replied, "Although considering the number of people you must meet, I am surprised you remember me."
I could barely breathe now, waiting for his response, was he going to say anything at all? Would Kat's question make him suddenly recall me too? Thankfully, Diana spoke before he did,
"I'd be surprised if anyone forgets meeting you Kat, however hard they might try."
She took Albert's arm,
"Now, about these flowers by the door, rather too many don't you think? The guests only should need a drink when they arrive, not a machete."
I watched them walk back across the room, relieved I could finally breathe again, he obviously had forgotten me or if not, he couldn't remember where or when we had met before, that was obviously why he had said nothing. Suddenly finding myself reassured by my own words, I turned back to Kat,
"Is there anything else we need to do?" I asked brightly, hoping she still hadn't really noticed anything strange about my behaviour. She looked back around the room and laughed, I followed her gaze, and there were two men hastily putting up stepladders under the banner,
"See? I told you that wasn't straight, Diana must have seen it was out, she misses nothing."
She looked back at the table display, after a few moments she assured me everything was fine and so all we had to do now, was go and freshen up in readiness for the evening. Diana and Albert were still at the open French doors, but I felt no nervousness I walked towards them with Kat, I had this reassuring voice in my mind, saying everything was going to be fine so no need to worry at all. As we reached the doors, Albert reached for the gilt handle,
"Allow me," he said quietly, Kat thanked him and strode through, as I thanked him, once more, our eyes met, this time I noticed a tiny flicker of something cross his face, a slight change in expression, perhaps even just a glimpse of a frown. I felt my heart leap, so I quickly looked away and almost ran after Kat that quiet voice was now shouting, he knows you, he remembers....
I caught up with Kat and was about to speak, when I heard Diana call me,
"Just a quick word, Carrie."
I took a deep breath before turning and walking steadily back towards her, Albert was still at her side and so I was now convinced he had said something to her and she would want an explanation. What had Kat said? Diana misses nothing, obviously she was right. I felt almost resigned to the fact I would have to tell her some, if not all of my story, as I reached her. She was glancing down at some notes and then looked back up at me,
"So are you ready for this?" she asked, "I know this is unlike anything you've experienced, but you'll be fine."
"I'm sure I will be," I answered as decisively as I could.
"There are just a couple of things you need to remember though, much as there are going to be some charming people here tonight, sadly, you will receive some unwelcome attention too, so whoever it is, go nowhere alone with anyone."
She paused, obviously waiting for some sign I understood what she was saying, when I nodded, I saw the slight frown fade from her face, as she indicated towards Albert,
"..and if anyone becomes overly-friendly, just the smallest indication to Albert and he will deal with the situation with his customary discretion."
Albert took a small step forward,
"You have no need to be concerned, Carrie, we are trained to be discreet,my staff and I shall ensure you are allowed to fulfil your duties tonight without incident."
Our eyes met again, only this time I felt no panic at all, it was obvious now, he remembered me, I returned his kind smile,
"Thank you, Albert, I appreciate that so much."
It looked as if he was about to say something more, but Diana spoke first, still hopefully unaware of what had just happened,
"Right, Carrie, you had better catch up with Kat, freshen up and have some coffee, it's going to be a long evening, I don't want you fading away half way through."
I turned away and walked across the reception, I was sure he was watching me, but I couldn't look back, it would be too obvious. Perhaps hearing my heels clack noisily across the marble floor, Kat popped up from one of the leather armchairs,
"I'm guessing that was the, don't go off alone speech," she said brightly, "it's all very sensible, but when you see the people who will be here tonight, sweetheart, there'll be no-one you would want to go anywhere with.."
We both laughed,
"It's true, they're either mildly creepy, sleazy or both, especially with a few drinks inside them."
When she sensed my disbelief, she continued,
"Mark my words, at the beginning of the night, they'll be showing you pictures of the wife and kids, b
y the end of it, they'll be giving you their room number."
We laughed again,
"Have you ever thought that only happens to you, Kat you do have that whole I'm available thing?" I teased, she looked momentarily puzzled by my comment,then she playfully punched my arm,
"Excuse me, missy, no availability here," she pointed at her wedding ring,
"I am definitely taken and happily too, so if anyone needs to be careful tonight, honey, it's you...and Albert looked as if he would cheerfully do that for you."
I heard the mischievous tone in her last comment, but decided against saying anything more other than to ask where we were headed. Perhaps Kat had actually picked up on something earlier, but I knew now, there was no way she would learn anything from him. As we reached a side door, she stopped,
"Through here, sweetheart, Diana has this room set aside for us, the others will be here by now, there's drinks in there and a mirror, thank God."
As we entered, she was right, the rest of the team were either surrounding the coffee machine, or checking reflections, they all looked as we walked in. As Kat poured us both a drink, I looked around and for the first time that day, felt genuinely a part of the team and also, more importantly, free to be excited about what lay ahead.
Chapter 7
Less than an hour later, Kat and I were standing either side of the glass French doors, the hotel reception was now bathed in the golden candlelight from the vast chandeliers, which when there was even the tiniest movement, caused a shower of glittering points of light to dance across the highly-polished marble floor. As I stood there, I hoped I appeared to be the very model of professionalism as inside I felt nothing but panic. I glanced across at Kat, she seemed completely calm, suddenly, as if she felt my eyes on her, she looked over at me and smiled. I wanted to feel the comfort I knew she was offering, but instead the butterflies which had been only fluttering inside my stomach, felt as if they were now hellbent on bursting out of me at any moment. In an attempt to bring about some semblance of calm, I took a few deep breaths while mentally reassuring myself, it was all going to be fine. After the third breath, I felt the tension start to ease, my shoulders rested and I finally managed to stop fiddling with the buttons on my jacket. Feeling calmer, I looked around the reception, the rest of the team were all in place, moving only when a member of the hotel staff bustled past, carrying trays of drinks to waiting guests. I reminded myself I was not here alone, so there really was no need for panic. Somehow, the acceptance of this reality seemed to finally silence those butterflies, which was fortunate, as only moments later, the uniformed doormen opened the large entrance doors and a tide of people swept through, after pausing only to be directed towards the French doors, they turned almost in unison and started towards me. After another quick glance over at Kat, where this time I felt able to return her smile, I faced the oncoming group and spoke with a confidence which surprised me,
“Good evening, welcome to this wonderful occasion.”
A large man pushed his way to the front, his round, pink face set in a fiercely determined expression, behind him, a much smaller woman edged her way through the group, nodding her apologies as she did her best to follow him. As he got closer, I took a small step back as it felt he was in no mood to stop, when he was no further than a few inches from me, he thankfully paused and looked at me warily, his small, dark eyes peering through the rolls of flesh.
“Good even..” I began, immediately he raised his hand to silence me,
“Now, don’t waste your breath, love, just let me through those doors, I’m not paying all this money to be left standing in a hallway.”
The lady behind him leant forward slightly,
“It is a beautiful place, dear, we don’t mean to offend anyone, it’s just we’ve had to come a long way.”
She looked nervously at me, clearly hoping for some kind of sign of understanding from me. I was about to speak, when the man turned to face her,
“You don’t have to explain anything to her, Miriam,” he snapped, her head almost immediately dropped and I could see her cheeks glowing red with embarrassment. Despite myself, I felt a strong urge to tell him exactly what I thought of his behaviour, but instead I smiled and politely asked for his tickets. Once more, he looked at his wife, for the briefest moment, she didn’t seem to comprehend what was required,
“Tickets, woman,” he barked impatiently.
After a few anxious moments where I watched her fumble through her clutchbag, she finally produced them and could barely contain the sigh of relief at their discovery. She handed them to me, I read the names
“Mr and Mrs Reginald Dunwoody?”
The man nodded, then jabbed the tickets with his stubby finger, before turning to the group standing behind him,
“That’s me, Reg Dunwoody, owner and proprietor of one of the biggest electrical suppliers in the North East.”
He paused, obviously hoping for some kind of recognition, when it didn’t materialise from the now increasingly-impatient crowd, he made a kind of grunting noise,
“They wouldn’t know class if it bit them on the bum,” he muttered angrily, “So you going to let us in?” he added, glaring at me. I calmly opened the door, expecting him to allow his wife to go through first, she made only the smallest forward movement before he barged past her, almost sending her into one of the vast floral displays which had been placed either side of the entrance. In the nick of time, I grabbed her arm, she smiled anxiously as she regained her balance, I felt as if she was about to speak when his voice boomed impatiently from the other side of the door,
“Come on, Miriam, don’t stand about out there, get yourself in here and get a drink before those vultures get their beaks in the food.”
I released her arm,
“Are you alright, Mrs Dunwoody?” I asked, genuinely concerned, she nodded quickly and scurried through the doors without speaking again. For a moment, I was almost lost in my own thoughts of what it must be like for the poor woman to live with that man, however, I was quickly brought back to reality, by a gentle, deep voice,
“Good evening.”
I turned and was face to face with a tall, smartly-dressed man, he smiled warmly as he gave me his tickets, next to him, an equally tall, slim, blonde woman threaded her hand lovingly through his arm and pulled him slightly closer to her body. She obviously had heard the previous conversation, as when I read the names, she laughed,
“Yes, that’s right, we are Mr and Mrs Vulture.”
Her companion roared with laughter,
“That’s us, always got our beaks into something.”
Despite my wanting to appear professional, I couldn’t help but smile,
“Well, it seems you have the tickets for a Mr and Mrs David Thomas,” I began, feigning a degree of innocence,
“perhaps Vulture is your professional name?”
He smiled again, there was a hint of mischief in his eyes,
“You’re absolutely right,” he leant forward and whispered conspiratorially,
“Just don’t tell anyone.”
The woman playfully punched his arm,
“You are a fool, David, now let’s get in there, people have been kept waiting long enough already, let this lady do her job.”
I opened the doors for them, as they walked in, I could still hear the loud voice of Mr Dunwoody from inside the room. He seemed to be complaining about something, but thankfully, the doors closed again before the full force of his anger became audible to the whole hotel. The rest of the guests filed past me without further incident, it was fairly obvious, after Mr Dunwoody’s interruption, they were just relieved to be finally getting into the room. As the last couple went through the doors, Kat appeared at my side,
“I think that’s everyone, isn’t it?”
She looked over my shoulder as I carefully checked the list Diana had provided,
“It certainly looks that way,” I confirmed, I was about to ask what should happen next, when my atte
ntion was drawn to the entrance doors, there was muffled shouting and flashing lights.
“Alright Carrie, looks like the celebs are here,” Kat said quickly, as she retook her place, “Just remember, don’t ask them for their name, just welcome them, smile and open the door, they get seriously hacked off, if they think you don’t know who they are.”
I nodded my understanding and looked back at the doors, suddenly feeling a grip of anxiety as the realisation the ‘pudgy’ photographer might well be out there. He had already recognised me before, when I had met Vanessa, so the chances were, he would again. My eyes peered through all the lights and general chaos, but it was impossible to really see anything clearly. The two uniformed doormen, stood firmly at their posts, allowing only the guests through, as each person appeared in the reception, for the briefest moment, it was possible to hear the noise from outside. I strained to hear his voice, but again, there was no hope and I resigned myself to the fact, there was nothing I could do, but hope, if he was outside, he would stay out there. I returned to my duties and welcomed each guest, some smiled and were gracious, while other barely acknowledged me,they paused only to give me their ticket. As I thanked them, I noticed almost everyone looked closely at me, almost as if they were expecting some kind of reaction. But, following Kat’s lead, I simply smiled politely and opened the doors, again, some thanked me, whereas others sailed past me, as if I was non-existent. However, I noticed all of them take a surreptitious glance in the mirror as they passed me, before turning to the waiting throng with a beaming smile, radiating confidence. After almost an hour, all the guests had arrived and two of the hotel security staff replaced Kat and I at the doors. We hurried across the reception area and dipped quickly back into the small room where we had earlier prepared for the evening. I slumped on to one of the chairs, my feet felt cramped and sore in the new shoes Diana had provided. I was just about to slip them off when Kat yelled,