by Agnès Ruiz
“Lorelli shouldn’t have walked out like that”, he insisted, showing just how bad-tempered his ex-wife could be.
“Put yourself in her shoes”, Joanna attempted, without much conviction.
“I’ve rarely been as happy as I am now, Joanna. Am I wrong in wanting to believe it?”
After a pause, Joanna let her guard down.
“Of course... But it’s just all so sudden.”
“Love can always spring up on you on life’s path... And my path isn’t as long any more, you know...”
“Don’t say that.”
Joanna spoke loudly, but nobody was paying attention to their discussion.
“So, will you speak to Lorelli? Make her understand...”
“It seems important to you...”
“I don’t want any problems. That’s all.”
“Fine. I’ll speak to her”, Joanna consented, softening. “You should have at least warned her before and not put it like that with the fait accompli.”
“I don’t owe her anything anymore, like that”, Rodolphe G. Gaspardin barked. “We are divorced. If it were up to me...”
“Why such hatred?” Joanna interrupted him before he could go any further with his recriminations.
It was useless, and Rodolphe G. Gaspardin went on with his eternal complaints about Lorelli.
“Why does she insist on staying here? She could sell her shares and live her life, instead of poisoning us all with her presence.”
“That’s my mother! And Joshua’s. It’s normal she wants to be part of our lives.”
Joanna had raised her voice. Several people turned to look this time. Joanna caught Cécile’s eye, cornered by a group.
She didn’t like the look that happened between them and experienced a feeling of emptiness, and something else that she couldn’t understand.
Ill at ease, she very quickly turned her head to look away from the new-comer. She took a breath that was longer than necessary before assuring her father that she would speak to Lorelli. Hastily, she left, voluntarily forgetting to greet Cécile as she had wanted to earlier.
In the corridor, she hesitated, thinking of her grandmother. Had he told her? The old woman was shrewd when it came to measuring people up. What had she thought of Cécile Burnier?
It was still too early to go and see her grandmother. She hated when people just dropped in without warning, and it made her irritable for days. Better to wait and see if her father had told her of his intentions before making the situation any worse, Joanna thought.
Deciding to make herself useful and to forget the morning events, she went to the reception of the seaside hotel. She found two guests in the lobby.
Mélanie was struggling with their check-in and looked relieved to see Joanna arrive.
“What’s happening?”
“It’s the computer. It’s not doing anything. I don’t know what to do.”
Joanna quickly looked at it, clicked around on the computer then turned towards the visitors. She immediately recognised a regular guest. This woman came every August. She remembered making her booking in December.
“Mrs Blomingdale. What a pleasure to welcome you back.”
“I needed the fresh air. I told myself I could come now. I can get my usual room, right? The little one didn’t know...”
The woman looked at Mélanie with contempt, which Joanna did not miss.
“Of course. We just seem to be having a small issue with the reception computer system. Mélanie is new, so please do excuse her.”
“I suppose we were all young once”, Mrs Blomingdale recognised.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be back in order this afternoon. I will check you in myself. If you would like to go to the small waiting area, I will have your tea brought to you while we get your room ready.”
Joanna called Grégoire Bontempois to take Mrs Blomingdale’s luggage then began to manually check-in the next guest, Mr Feuron.
She was pleased to see that he only had a backpack which he was happy to carry himself. She indicated the lifts and watched him for a moment until he disappeared behind the doors, which closed behind him.
Mrs Blomingdale also left and Joanna groaned at the recurring computer problem.
“Bontempois should know where the problem came from”, she commented. “We can’t have the same problems. However, I’m afraid we are going to have to update our budget.”
Mélanie wanted to ask questions, especially upon hearing the word "budget". Did that mean they were going to dismiss her? Joanna was mainly checking the computers. No, it wasn’t a question of her post, Mélanie guessed. Moreover, Joanna was being particularly kind to her and was taking the time to explain the manual check-in procedure in case anything else happened.
“I really should have shown you earlier”, she said.
“Do you know Mrs Blomingdale quite well, then?” Mélanie asked in a small voice.
“Indeed. She is a very important guest. She is a widow. For ten years, I believe. She is very loyal to the seaside hotel. Her husband proposed to her here. She comes every year usually in August to celebrate that moment, I think, and to remember...”
Joanna drifted off, daydreaming, imagining the romantic scene between the Blomingdales. She only vaguely remembered the husband, who she had bumped into several times in the corridors.
“Why has she come now, then when it’s not August yet?” Mélanie was surprised.
“Good question. Never mind. Her room must be prepared. I will try to get hold of Cindy, to see if she can come in today, as an exception. She is used to taking care of Mrs Blomingdale. She knows exactly what she likes.”
20
Joanna went to her office and dialled Cindy’s number. She hoped she was home. If not, she would take care of Mrs Blomingdale’s room herself.
“What an idea to come before peak season”, Joanna railed when nobody answered at Cindy’s house. The answer machine came on and she left a message.
Joanna went out and came across Lorelli. She remembered her father’s request to calm her mother. It was easier said than done. Her mother was tenacious. She no doubt had her reasons to be upset with her ex-husband.
Lorelli was nervous. She had visibly not taken Rodolphe G. Gaspardin’s announcement well.
“Can we talk? Have you got a moment?”
Joanna wanted to say yes. But she had to imperatively deal with Mrs Blomingdale’s room. She didn’t have the time to listen to her mother right now. And she regretted it.
“Mrs Blomingdale is waiting, you see. I can’t make her wait long.”
“Of course, Joanna. Don’t worry. The seaside hotel always comes first... It’s first class, and don’t I know it.”
Joanna left without noticing her mother’s bitterness.
Lorelli watched her daughter walk away for some time. Then an idea came to mind. Without thinking, she went to the small waiting room to greet Mrs Blomingdale, whom she knew. They had rarely spoken in the past. Lorelli didn’t deal with the hotel, preferring instead to reap the rewards every year, congratulate them and was pleased that the seaside hotel still held water. Despite everything, the current situation gnawed at her. Last year, the earnings were meagre. What would come of it if this downward turn continued?
And today, the engagement announcement with Cécile: that pretty little empty-headed who-knows-what! Where was her ex-husband’s head?
“That old fool has almost got one foot in the grave and he puts a thorn in my side on his way out!”
“Excuse me?”
Lorelli turned and came across Mrs Blomingdale’s surprised face.
“Nothing, I was talking to myself...”
“You don’t seem very happy”, Mrs Blomingdale continued.
Lorelli couldn’t find the courage to say otherwise.
“Indeed. Some problems accumulating...”
“I understand that! Would you like to sit down a moment? I’m so alone...”
Lorelli pulled a velvet chair over an
d sat down. She ordered a black coffee.
“You should have green tea. It’s better for your health”, said Mrs Blomingdale.
“I hate tea, in all its forms”, Lorelli confessed with a half-smile.
“And I hate always watching what is good or not!”
The two women looked each other over for a moment then laughed in complicity. Taking advantage of her act of rebellion, Mrs Blomingdale lifted her teacup, turned to her right and poured the contents into the nearest plant pot.
“Do you think it’ll be good for the plant’s health?” Lorelli asked, moving closer to Mrs Blomingdale.
They laughed again and Mrs Blomingdale ordered a stronger drink and offered Lorelli a glass.
“What’s changed, Amélie?”
They had reached a new milestone from being a simple guest at the seaside hotel. They were not friends exactly, but timely confidants. They became united in a delicate moment, as if by a springboard to share their cares and complaints. They offered each other a luxury without waiting for tomorrow.
“Because I’ve come before August?” Mrs Blomingdale asked in a murmur.
“Exactly”, Lorelli replied, softly.
“My husband was a fine man, well, that’s what I thought, until a woman came to see me last month.”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you believe my husband was a bigamist? He had two completely different lives. And children with the other woman. Two, to be precise.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry. Really.”
“It hurts to learn something like that. Really.”
“How did it happen?”
Lorelli suddenly wanted to know everything. Amélie Blomingdale didn’t hold back, as if she was waiting for it. As if she needed to pour her heart out.
“One bright morning, this other woman came knocking on my door. She said she wanted everything. The house, the two cars... Even the dog, Jack! Can you believe it?!”
Lorelli held her hand out to Mrs Blomingdale and squeezed her forearm in support. The old lady continued her story, avoiding Lorelli’s eyes as tears glistened on her cheeks.
“This woman told me she was going to start legal proceedings to take back everything she was owed.”
“But she has no right...”
Mme Blomingdale sighed and finished her drink before continuing:
“On the contrary, she has every right. I am only the usurper. The second, illegitimate wife. He had never gotten divorced.”
“So you are going to lose everything, just like that... Without fighting!”
“My husband thought it more practical to put everything in his name. He always said it was for the accounts... How dim and naïve I was. If only you knew! He certainly didn’t want me to find out his dirty little secret!”
“And you came here anyway”, Lorelli commented, surprised at the turn of events.
“I didn’t know where else to go. I never had children. I had one sister who died last year. I’m alone. Then I thought of the seaside hotel. I’ve had so many good times here, you know.”
Lorelli agreed.
“I understand. Me too, I’ve had many good times here.”
“Yes, of course. You are the wife of Rodolphe G. Gaspardin, the owner.”
“I was...We have been divorced for ten years already.”
“And you’re still here?!”
“I own part of the hotel.”
“You are wiser than I am, then.”
“Not really, actually. The hotel isn’t doing so well. I’m very worried.”
“And here I am obliged to cancel my reservation for August. I can’t afford it anymore, you understand...”
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll get through it, and so will you...”
“At my age, we don’t get through much”, Mrs Blomingdale confessed. “And it’s a long way back down.”
Now she was looking at the sea that could be seen in the distance. It was retreating into the horizon, and soon, the mussel and cockle collectors would scour the sand that stretched into the distance, until the tide came back in.
“I hope you don’t have any unpleasant ideas in mind, do you?”
Mme Blomingdale snatched herself away from her contemplation, turning towards Lorelli.
“I don’t know. Maybe. My horizon is black and empty.”
“I won’t let you sink”, Lorelli announced, decided.
“Why worry about me?”
“Because I feel bad for you... Plus, I feel like we are almost in the same boat.”
Suddenly, she talked about her ex-husband who had just announced his future wedding.
“She’s the same age as our daughter, can you imagine!”
“And you have never met her before?” Mrs Blomingdale was surprised.
She seemed happy to forget her worries for a while.
21
Later, when Joanna came to announce that her room was ready, she was surprised to find her mother and Mrs Blomingdale deep in conversation. They laughed quite loudly and Joanna noticed the glasses on the table.
“It’s party time, here.”
“And once again you won’t believe it, Joanna. Mrs Blomingdale will only stay one night at the hotel. And she has to cancel her reservation for August.”
With that, Lorelli and Mrs Blomingdale burst out laughing. Joanna gave up trying to understand what was happening between them. She went back to the reception, checked that the computer system was working again, and cancelled Mrs Blomingdale’s reservation, not without grumbling.
It wasn’t going to help matters. If even regular guests change their minds, what would become of the seaside hotel?
She returned to her office and called home to see how Guillermo was doing. He was still sleeping when she left. She had heard him stir during the night, and even get up. She thought about going to see if he was well. At first, she was sitting up in her bed, waiting, ready to spring, even rush to the hospital if need be.
She finally heard water pouring; probably the pitcher she had placed on the bedside table, then the mattress springs groaned.
She told herself that it was time to change the bedding. But before changing the one in the guest room, she should think about hers and her daughters’. She wasn’t used to having guests stay over. Guillermo Voily’s presence was an exception.
An exception she couldn’t wait to be over.
“Have the workers arrived?” she asked after asking after his health.
Guillermo replied that they were working hard in his flat. She learnt that he had already been downstairs several times to check on it.
“They assured me that one week will be the maximum and that I’ll have a whole new ceiling, among other things.”
Joanna heard him sigh. He reckoned a week was already a long time. How would she react on her side if she had to leave her home? She realised that it wasn’t so bad. But Zoé would have other ideas. Her room was her sanctuary. Even she found it hard to go there. Zoé was always afraid her mother would go through her things and discover her secrets. Joanna often asked herself what secrets a 14 year old girl could hide. She tried to reassure herself by imagining herself doing the same thing at that age...
Did she, Joanna Gaspardin, have many secrets to hide? Could Guillermo Voily’s presence be harmful to her? She wondered, briefly. Suddenly, she was no longer sure that inviting him into her home had been the best idea in the world. But she couldn’t have done otherwise at the time.
“I’m sorry; I think the workers are already doing their best... I suppose it’s causing you more trouble, but, we have to face it.”
Guillermo assured her that he would be patient. Then he announced that he couldn’t stay at her flat. Joanna felt relieved to hear him speak that way. She wouldn’t have to make him leave. Except she didn’t know what to do with him. Nevertheless, out of politeness, she said that he wasn’t bothering her and that he could stay for as long as need be as they finished the building work. In her mind, she asked herself if she had los
t her mind for coming out with such an invitation.
Thankfully, Guillermo assured her that he would not be staying, despite her insistence. Perhaps he had detected a flicker of hesitation in her words?
“Maybe I could find a room if you have one free at the seaside hotel?”
“You know my family are the owners?” she asked, frowning.
He said no. He thought she simply worked there. He asked again if he could make a reservation for the week.
He thanked her again for everything she had done, including the speed with which she had called the builders so that he could get his flat back quickly. Joanna noted down the reservation then confirmed that she would pay for the week.
They argued firmly. It was Guillermo who finally lay down his arms. Instead he insisted on inviting her to dinner during the week. She laughed at his insistence and reminded him about their impromptu evening and how well it had gone.
“Neighbours make good friends”, Joanna repeated, amused.
The day before, he had repeated the phrase as though it was a mantra. She heard him laughing on the other end of the line then hung up.
She booked him a room with a sea view, thinking it would do him good. There was a small terrace where he could rest his leg in plaster. She gave the room she had just prepared one final look over then placed a chocolate on the pillow.
She checked her watch and realised that it was already two o’clock. She hadn’t even noticed the morning go by, never mind the early afternoon. She was starting to feel peckish.
The announcement of her father’s next marriage was still on her mind. She tried to push the idea out of her head. Her mother seemed to have digested the information better than she expected as she had seen her laughing with Mrs Blomingdale. And her brother? She hadn’t seen him since.
Never mind. She got in her car, bought a sandwich then decided to go home to see the building work. She would make the most of it by dropping Guillermo off at the hotel on her way back. It would be more practical for everybody, she guessed. The less time he was at her place, the better.
He told her he would try to take a taxi. It was ridiculous. Especially as it was all at her expense. And she didn’t have crazy amount to spend at will. Her insurance wasn’t covering everything.