Chapter 3
They walked into the lounge. Almost to the letter of Rose’s prediction, Adam and Eric sat in leather wing backed chairs. Both had a cigar in one hand and a drink in the other.
“Rose!” Eric exclaimed. “I was starting to think you ladies had run off and left us here!”
Both men put their glasses down and stood to greet their wives with embraces.
“See, I’m used to Faye losing herself in history. She always emerges when she is hungry.” Adam said with a large smile.
Faye playfully punched him in the arm. The presence of their husbands as well as the warmth and normalcy of this room helped to ease them out of their afternoon experience.
“You know tonight is the big dinner party?” Adam asked, glancing at his watch. It was almost five and dinner was at seven. He knew Faye got cranky if she was rushed.
“I totally forgot about that.” Faye replied as she began to chew on her lip.
Adam knew she was trying to figure out what to wear, and given how much time she had how she was going to do her hair.
“Dinner is at seven. Why don’t we mosey along and get ready. We can meet you guys at the elevator at quarter to?” Eric asked. Despite their light conversation, he was a bit concerned about Rose’s color and wanted to give her a chance to lie down if she needed it.
Faye nodded. With one gulp, the guys finished their drinks and then tapped out their cigars. The group headed out into the lobby. There were more people in the lobby than they had seen in it since their arrival. A large group sat by the fire while another appeared to be looking over the antique paintings on the wall. They made their way quickly through the lobby, all of them subconsciously picking up their pace as they came close to the desk. The clerk, however, was nowhere in sight. As they reached the long hallway to the elevator, they were confronted with the monkey-faced bell boy who was lounging against the door with his arms crossed in front of him. His expression was one of dark amusement. He didn’t say a word but his leering made his intent clear. Rose started to visibly shake. The men pulled their wives into them and protectively walked them to the elevator. As Eric pulled the door closed, he wrapped his arms around his wife. His concern was clear on his face.
“If you guys would rather skip the dinner party, we can do room service and have a quiet dinner in one of our rooms.” Faye said, placing a concerned hand on Rose’s arm.
Adam couldn’t hide his surprise. His wife suggesting they skip a party? He looked at her and then to Rose. He could see his wife had true concern for this woman. It was rare for her to connect with live people like this and another attractive female at that. He was sure this was the first time this had ever occurred.
Rose shook her head no.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll be fine. I am interested to see the other guests in this place.” Rose answered, giving Faye a look that was instantly understood.
As the elevator door opened they headed for their rooms.
“Quarter to seven it is then” Eric said, and the couples went their separate ways.
As the door closed behind Faye, she stood still for a moment, thinking, and Adam was pretty sure it had nothing to do with wardrobe or any other vanity issue. Before he could say anything, she spoke.
“So, what did you two do today?” She asked as she headed into the bathroom to start her bath.
“Well, Eric and I actually did a tour of the gardens first. He hadn’t been through so we walked through there and talked about work. He manages a major import/export business. That’s how he met Rose. Then we headed out to the back lawn. Emily was there and she taught Eric to play croquet. I’m sad to say that both of us lost to a little girl. We then enjoyed the comfort of two large chairs under a shade tree contemplating the afternoon.” He said.
“So you fell asleep… got it.” Faye said with a grin.
“Yeah, we did.” He replied with a similar grin.
“One of the guests apparently brought their pet as we were awakened by a friendly German Sheppard who wanted to play. So we tossed ball with him for a while then wandered in to find you guys and stumbled across the smoking lounge. What a wonderful concept. A room designed for good drinks, good smokes, and quiet.” Adam said as he pulled out two of his suits holding them up for her suggestions. She nodded toward the black one.
“How about you ladies?” He asked as he hung the gray suit back in the closet.
There was a long pause as he waited for her to reply, and he almost thought she hadn’t heard him over the water in the bathroom. He was about to repeat himself when she answered.
“We ventured down to the historical wing. To be fair, it’s more a small, fenced-off part of the basement with a strange hodgepodge of records in no particular order. This place does have a rather grisly past, including being owned by that infamous mobster, Vincent Castelli back in the late 1890’s” She said as she sank into the warm tub water.
“Hmm, well it sounds like it was at least an interesting adventure even if it was a less than stellar presentation of organized records.” He said.
He wanted to ask about Rose’s pallor and attitude, but he figured if it was something she thought he should know about she would tell him. He didn’t want to pry if it was something personal to Rose.
He finished dressing as Faye began to get ready.
Next door, the conversation was similar.
“Well, it sounds interesting” Eric said as Rose explained their afternoon.
Eric took a breath, and then asked her tentatively.
“You feeling ok, honey? You look a little peaked.” He asked. Rose despised being fussed over and he didn’t want to upset her.
To his surprise she simply nodded, “I think it’s honestly the altitude. We haven’t been up in the mountains in a long time and I think the thinness of the air is just getting to me.”
Rose answered and she didn’t feel like she was lying to him because she had begun to ponder if altitude sickness hadn’t been responsible for her vision this afternoon. Lack of oxygen had been known to cause hallucinations and with all the gory things they had been reading it was possible that it was all connected.
Eric sighed with relief. That was something easily fixed.
“Well, just take it easy. If it bothers you tonight at dinner, just let me know and we can cut out whenever you wish.” He said, kissing her softly on the forehead.
However in the first room on the floor, things were far less cordial. Stephanie sat at the dressing table brushing her long hair out as Matt stood by the closet staring at his shirts. She watched him for a few moments and then let out an exasperated sigh.
“You know I’m wearing my white gown. So, either wear your black shirt with your white tie or your white shirt with your black tie. Honestly it’s not that hard.” She chastised him.
He turned to the closet to keep his face hidden from her as he scowled. He had hoped this weekend away would be what they needed to revitalize their marriage but she was still being a domineering bitch. Pulling his black shirt and white tie out he began to get dressed. He laid the tie on the bed and turned back to the mirror to make sure the shirt was straight. He knew he could wear whatever he wanted, but he knew that if he chose the wrong piece of clothing, it would start a war he wasn’t in the mood for. He watched her pull her long, beautiful hair into a tight bun and he sighed inwardly. When they had first gotten married, she used to leave it loose all the time. He loved to watch it blow in the breeze. Ever since her career at the bank had taken off, she became as hard and cold as the money she managed. He turned back to the bed to pick up his tie, but in its place was a large ice pick. Its long, wooden handle splintered and its thick, silver blade dripping with blood. He stepped backward in revulsion, knocking into the dresser and causing things to rattle. Stephanie turned around with a sharp glare.
“Do you always have to be so clumsy?” she scowled, not even noticing her husband’s terrified expression.
He looked up at her to tell her w
hat he had seen, but when he glanced back at the bed all he saw was his white tie. His hands were shaking as he picked it up, turning it over several times. His mind reeled with confusion.
“I’m ready to go.” Stephanie announced. She stood without looking at her husband and walked toward the door, leaving a scared Matt hurrying to catch up with her. He fastened his tie as he went.
At quarter-to-seven, both doors opened and the couples were reunited. Faye had chosen a very simple lavender silk gown with a matching sheer wrap. Her hair was pinned up in curls on her head and she wore a single diamond on a soft silver chain on her neck. Adam stood beside her in his black suit. Rose had chosen a pale blue gown which she hoped would accentuate the tone of her skin and hide her paleness. Her hair was long and loose. Eric’s suit was almost identical to Adam’s. They smiled at each other.
“Ever feel like we are just another accessory to our beautiful wives?” Eric asked Adam with a grin.
Adam laughed and replied, “All the time.”
The quartet started to the elevators. A reassuring glance between Rose and Faye let Faye know that Rose was feeling better.
Faye pondered about her concern for her new friend. Faye had never been an overly social person. She dealt far better with the past and dead people than she did with the present and live ones. But she was instantly at ease with Rose. She was glad to have met her and it was nice to have a friend that talked back. Part of it was they both had an intense interest in the past as well as a burning sense of curiosity. Even if Rose’s interest centered on celebrity gossip Faye thought as she smiled to herself. When this week was over, she would have to make sure that she stayed in touch with Rose. After all, they didn’t live that far apart in the real world. Faye stopped herself at the thought. Why did it feel like this wasn’t the real world? Like this was some place different? She shook her head and told herself it was a thought for later. Now it was time for the party, and she shared Rose’s curiosity about the other guests. As a result of meeting Rose at the cocktail party, she paid very little attention to the other people. It was time to rectify that.
The elevator dinged loudly to announce their arrival on the ground floor. Eric slid the door open, and they exited into the dimly lit hallway. Once again, they found themselves the only inhabitants of the hall. They linked arms, and the two pairs walked closely together until they reached the surprisingly empty lobby. Not one guest or staff member was visible. There was a low din of conversation coming from the restaurant to the left of the desk. They instinctively headed to the door. When they opened it, they were faced with three long tables decked out in elegant, silver place settings. The clerk slithered his way up to them.
“Good evening! Please follow me to your seats.” He said, his smile present but not as prominent as usual.
They all nodded and followed him to the middle table. He moved through the people to empty seats on each side of the table. Faye tried to study the faces around her, but she was having a hard time getting a fix on any one particular face. It was like the crowd was in constant movement. As they settled down across from each other, Faye immediately turned to her right to see whom she was seated by. To her disappointment, Stephanie sat beside her, dressed in a very plain white gown with her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She looked as displeased as Faye felt to be seated beside her.
Rose saw the tension and decided to jump in.
“Good evening, Stephanie and Matt. It’s good to see you again.” Rose said with a smile that could easily be taken as sincere.
Stephanie nodded stiffly and Matt returned the smile. Rose noted pallor to his face and his eyes seemed worried.
Rose held up the menu card, reading it to the group.
“Looks like we are having a cold gazpacho soup for starters, followed by a chef’s salad. Our entrée is Beef Wellington, roasted vegetables, rice pilaf. We get vanilla bean cheesecake for desert.”
“That sounds really good” Faye said.
As they started to serve the soup, the lights were dimmed. It made it hard to make out details of those around them. As she looked around, Faye recognized the couple from the elevator as well as several faces from the party the previous night. Her glance caught Rose’s and she could tell the other woman had been doing the same thing. Light conversation started between the four, as they were obviously being snubbed by Stephanie and Matt.
Dinner passed uneventfully. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the dim candlelight. The food was exquisite. As desert was served, the lights came up and Faye found herself blinking. She took the opportunity to get a good look at the room. She began to wonder if her concerns were all in her head as everything appeared normal. Those that were closest to their table appeared no different from anyone else. Their dress may have been a bit dated, but people liked to do that when they were in places like this. A man down at the end of the table stood. He was wearing a black tuxedo and had a white scarf around his neck. He tapped his fork against his glass to get everyone’s attention. Rose looked up and her fork fell from her hand, clattering loudly against her plate. Faye looked over at her, but Rose’s eyes were fixed on the man speaking.
“If I may have everyone’s attention, my name is Wallace Therman. I am the manager of the Eden and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to our hotel. The Eden has a proud and colorful history of catering to the luxurious tastes of some of the biggest names in history.” He continued speaking, but Rose did not hear a word he said. She was staring at the face of the man whose head she had seen in the drawer earlier in the afternoon. As she continued to stare, a thin, red line began to seep through his white scarf soaking it. Rose looked around in a panic; no one seemed to see what she did. Even Faye was listening to him, glancing at her occasionally with a raised eyebrow. Rose felt the fear overwhelming her as the scarf became saturated and the blood began to trickle down his chest, spotting his tuxedo shirt. He continued to speak, talking of architecture and ambiance, but all Rose could hear was the sound of blood as it splashed from his neck to the tablecloth below him. The room around her took on a dream-like quality. All the faces became blurred and distorted as they calmly watched this man speak. He raised his glass, and a splatter of blood hit the woman beside him in the face. Splash! It was as loud as a shot to Rose but the woman was oblivious to it. Everyone raised their glasses to toast and Rose pushed back from the table in a panic as the faces around her began to decay. They had the same mummified appearance as the head in the drawer had. She stood as the whole room tilted and twirled around her. She heard Eric’s voice calling out to her and felt someone wrap their arms around her, but she continued to try to get away not knowing who or what was holding her. She just had to get away from this sickening sight. Faye jumped up and rushed around the table as Rose stumbled. Faye wrapped her arms around her to keep Rose from falling. Faye and Eric wrapped their arms around the panicky Rose as she fought. Finally, she simply fainted as her mind couldn’t take any more of the horror. Those around them looked on with curiosity.
“I think she’s having altitude issues.” Eric said apologetically to the crowd. A few people nodded sympathetically.
“A waitress today told me there was a house doctor.” Faye whispered to Eric as he lifted Rose up into his arms.
“I think that would be the best place for her.” He agreed.
The desk clerk moved to them quickly. His expression was neutral.
“I would like to take her to the house doctor.” Eric explained
“Excellent idea Sir, Some people have a hard time getting used to the lack of oxygen in this place. The doctor is down the hall, past the smoking lounge, fifth door on the right.” He explained and his brow creased. Faye was shocked to see that this oily creature was actually concerned for her friend. They started to walk away, and the clerk placed his hand on Faye’s arm.
“I’d stay with her if I were you. Sometimes, this place is not kind.” He said in a hushed tone, as if he was concerned that someone might hear him. He hu
rried off before she could question him further.
Faye walked quickly to keep up with the men as they carried the unconscious Rose to the infirmary. The hall was silent and empty. Panic was clear on Eric’s face and Adam looked concerned for his new friend. They reached the door and Faye moved to the front to open it. She was very puzzled by the creepy clerk’s warning. Out of all the people they had met, he seemed to be the most ominous, except for the bell hop, and he had shown true empathy for them.
The infirmary was a converted suite with a sitting room. The bedroom had four single beds in it. The room was empty.
“Hello?” Faye called out.
“Yes?” A voice answered from the bathroom as an elderly man exited the bathroom, wiping his hands on a towel.
“May I help you?” He asked. His voice had a thick German accent and his beard was full and gray. He was dressed in a three piece, brown tweed suit and he looked at them through his round spectacles.
“Yes, Sir, My wife fainted at dinner. She has been rather shaky all day. She seemed to think it was altitude.”
The doctor nodded and walked toward the bedroom.
“Lay her down in here. We see this often. Many newcomers find it hard to live in the oxygen deprived land of Eden.” He sat on the bed beside her, laying his head on her forehead and checking her pulse.
“It is a simple faint. We will let her sleep it off and when she awakes I will give her a medical remedy I’ve had much success with.” He said, a large smile revealing his rotten teeth.
Eric looked relieved and nodded.
“You should go back to the party. She will be fine with me.” The doctor said, standing and walking over to a large cabinet filled with bottles.
Adam and Eric nodded, assuming the doctor to be competent to care for Rose. Faye couldn’t shake the clerk’s warning. The more she stared at this doctor, the more unnerved she became. Something wasn’t right. His skin had a sickly tint to it and his demeanor did not show the care one would expect from someone whose job it was to care for others.
“You fellas go back and have drinks. I’m going to stay with Rose. I don’t want her to wake up alone.”
“That is not necessary.” The doctor said his tone dangerously bordering on annoyed.
His objection made her resolve to stay even stronger.
“It’s no trouble at all. I will be staying.” Faye said with finality.
The doctor grimaced and then waved his hand, walking away, “As you wish.”
“You sure, Faye, honey? We can all stay if you would like.” Adam said.
“I see no reason for all of us to hover over her. You two head back to the lounge and enjoy the rest of your evening. I will take good care of her, Eric.” She replied.
Eric and Adam nodded, both of them hugging Faye before they headed out. Faye pulled one of the chairs from the sitting room and positioned it next to the bed. Looking over at Rose’s peaceful face, she hoped that whatever had tormented her into this state was now letting her rest. She began to thumb through a coffee table book about Mount Rushmore while staying aware of the doctor’s position. He went into a little side room that had a desk and a filing cabinet in it. He was working on some kind of paper work. The only sound was Rose’s soft breathing. As she flipped through the book, she felt herself start to nod off so Faye propped herself up in the chair in an attempt to stay awake. Her eyes began to close and her head slid forward until a soft whisper jostled her.
“Hey, can you help me?” It asked softly.
Faye blinked and looked around for the source of the question. Sitting on the end of the bed was a young woman. She appeared to be in her twenties and was dressed in a flannel nightgown. Her dark hair was tussled. Faye could only see half of her face, but she appeared pale with dark circles under her eye. Faye sat up and leaned toward her.
“Do you need the doctor?” Faye answered in a whisper.
“Oh no.” She answered, shaking her head.
“See, I wasn’t feeling well and we came down to the doctor. He said I needed a shot and then, well then this happened.” The girl turned to face Faye and Faye instantly recoiled. The entire side of the woman’s face was encompassed by a huge weeping boil. Thick, yellow pus crusted around the edges.
“I think he did this to me. So many others started getting sick after they came here. With the pass closed, I don’t know how to get out, but I want to go home. Can you help me?” She asked, her eyes pleading.
Faye took a deep breath. She couldn’t be seeing this or talking to this woman. She had to be a victim of the plague and this had to be a dream.
“I will do what I can.” Faye said as she stood. She needed to get Adam and Eric and they needed to get out of here. Something was seriously wrong.
As she stood, the girl vanished into a wisp of smoke. Faye shook her head, rubbing her eyes. Her standing shook the bed and caused Rose to stir. Leaning over, she jostled Rose gently as she needed her to wake up so they could both get out of here. She had a feeling that this office was not a place of healing.
Rose’s eyes fluttered as Faye fought to wake her.
“Wake up, Rose. We need to get out of here.” Faye said in a hushed tone, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that her actions had not been detected by the doctor. Seeing no movement from his office, she shook her harder. Rose opened her eyes and seeing Faye, she let loose a soft sigh of relief.
“Where am I?” She asked in a normal tone.
“You are in the hotel’s infirmary.” A voice from behind replied.
Faye’s shoulders slumped. He had heard them.
“I have some medicine I’d like you to take. It will help your symptoms.” He said and walked over to the cabinet, turning his back on them. Faye shook her head, trying to convey without speaking that Rose shouldn’t take it. Rose looked confused for a moment, but seeing the urgency in Faye’s expression let it pass for an explanation later. She was reticent to take anything.
“That’s ok.” Rose said, standing. “I’m on special heart medications and I don’t want to run the risk of interacting with those”
She allowed Faye to steady her. She really was in no shape to leave, but it was evident that she needed to.
The doctor’s face set in a hard, angry expression and then he stalked silently back into his office.
“Let’s go.” Faye said, sliding her arm around Rose’s waist. She carried her out of the office. Once they were safely in the hall, Rose stumbled slightly and Faye supported them against a wall.
“What the hell is going on?” Rose asked.
“Let’s get you back up to my room and we can sit and talk.” Faye said.
As they passed the smoking lounge, Faye paused and placed Rose in a chair before she walked into the room. The smoke was thick and conversations stopped as she invaded the man sanctum. Faye paid no heed and walked quickly to Adam and Eric, who were seated at the bar.
“Rose is awake and wanted to go upstairs. We are going to my room and have some girl time. Maybe order up some more of that yummy cheesecake.” Faye said, trying to keep her voice light.
“Do you want us to come?” Eric asked, glancing out the door and looking for his wife.
“You’re welcome to, but I doubt you would enjoy our girl talk.” Faye turned her head away from the smoke, as it turned her stomach.
Adam nodded, kissing his wife on the forehead. ““If you need us just call down and we will be right up”
Faye smiled briefly and hurried back out the door. She took a deep breath of the clean lobby air. Rose was seated where she had left her. Her color was better and her eyes looked thoughtful.
“I covered us with girl time, as we have a lot to discuss I think.” Faye said, slipping her arm around Rose. They went to the elevator, walking quickly and keeping their eyes down. They didn’t meet the glances of the few curious guests that were milling about.
They focused on the golden hand of the elevator as the cage lifted them to their destination. As the doors opened
and they started down the hall, Faye couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching them. The hall was empty and silent, but the feeling was so strong it was almost tangible. Fumbling with the room key, she opened the door and let them both inside, closing the door with a bit of slam. Faye felt like she was shutting something unwanted outside.
Rose sat down on the edge of the bed. Faye walked over to the dresser.
“I have several comfortable night gowns. You’re welcome to them as I just don’t feel like going back out into the hall.” Faye said, pulling out a simple, sleeveless, black cotton gown.
“I agree and yes. Thank you.” Rose said.
The room was quiet as both ladies slipped out of their party clothing and into nightgowns.
Faye climbed up on the bed, sitting cross-legged against the pillows. Rose sat at the end, her back against one of the posts.
“Ok, let’s start with what happened at dinner?” Faye asked.
Rose nodded and took a long, slow breath.
“That man, the one who gave the toast, it was his head I saw in the drawer. As he spoke, blood soaked his scarf and ran down the front of him. It even splashed on the face of the women next to him, but no one saw it but me. Then the room started to spin and everyone’s face became mummified like the head in the drawer. It was like they were decomposing right in front of me.” Rose crossed her arms over her body.
“How horrific, No wonder you fainted.” Faye said. She stood and went to the small bar, pouring them both a glass of Amaretto. She handed one to Rose and retook her place on the bed.
“To be honest, I thought that it might be altitude sickness that caused your vision this afternoon and then what I thought was just a faint this evening.” Faye said.
“But it seemed so real.” Rose said softly.
“After my experience in the doctor’s office, I believe it was not you, it’s something here and something more sinister.”
“You saw something too?” Rose asked.
Faye told Rose of the girl that pleaded for help and her fear of the doctor. She also mentioned the clerk’s ominous warning.
Rose listened, sipping her drink silently.
“What’s going on here?” Rose asked.
“As much as I do not believe in ghosts per se, it is possible that his place is haunted.” Faye said.
“I think we need to do more research. Sadly, the only place I can think to do that is back in the archives.” Rose said. “Perhaps we could talk to the staff as well. I really want to know why the clerk, of all people, would issue a warning like that.”
“Should we bring the husbands in on this?” Faye asked.
Rose shook her head no.
“I don’t know about yours, but my husband will not believe me and will insist on taking me out of here. While, admittedly, part of me wants to leave this as a mystery, I just can’t walk away from it.” She said, sipping her drink slowly.
“Adam is used to my history expeditions, but if he felt that we were in any kind of danger he would take us out of here in a heartbeat. Today is Tuesday and we have until Sunday morning’s departure to figure out what these visions mean if anything.” Faye looked down at her drink. “And honestly I don’t know if it’s even remotely possible, but I’d like to try to help that girl. She seemed so sad and she just wanted to go home.”
“I don’t know what we can do for her, but if we can, we will help her.” Rose assured her. “My culture is full of stories of the dead and their power. The afterlife plays a large role in our religious practices. However, I have never heard of anything like the things we have seen. I definitely want to investigate further; however, I think that we must be very careful and if things get too odd we should go with self-preservation and leave early.”
“Agreed, I see no reason to put ourselves in danger so as long as we feel we are in control, we stay.” Faye said, raising her lips to her glass. She caught a whiff of the amaretto within and her stomach lurched. She lowered the glass.
“On top of it all, I think I may be coming down with something. My stomach has been ridiculously jumpy.” Faye said.
“I’m honestly not surprised. Today has been a bit of a rollercoaster.” Rose said.
Faye nodded.
“So let’s formulate a plan. I do think that whatever we do, we should stay together. If there is something of a sinister or unkind nature, we have a better chance if we are together. We should stick to our breakfast with the husbands and then let them go off and loaf. Have you been through the entire hotel yet?” Rose asked.
“Honestly, no. I have seen the lower floors and the gardens. I haven’t taken the grand tour, so to speak.” Faye answered, getting up to pick up the little book of activities.
“Tomorrow afternoon there is a full tour of the hotel at four. I think we should drag the men along on that one. Something about being alone with some unknown member of the staff doesn’t sit well with me.” Faye said as she flipped through the book.
“That is an excellent point. We can go down to the archives tomorrow after breakfast and try not to get lost down there again. We can do some staff interviews after lunch then grab the fellas for the tour.” Rose said.
Faye nodded. There was a knock at the door that caused them both to jump. Faye got up and cautiously walked to the door, looking through the peep hole she exhaled loudly.
“It’s our husbands.” She said.
She let them in. Eric rushed over to Rose and wrapped his arms around her.
“You look so much better honey.” He said.
“Was the Doctor able to help with your symptoms? Did he think it was altitude sickness?” He asked as he helped her to her feet.
“He just said to take it easy.” Rose lied as she picked up her dress and threw it over her arm.
“Faye and I are going to spend tomorrow looking through the archives again, just sitting and relaxing. If I feel up to it, there is a tour tomorrow afternoon that we would like to go on if you guys wouldn’t mind accompanying us?” She asked, keeping her voice light.
“Sure, we would love to right Adam?” Eric asked. It was obvious that the quick bond being experienced by the women was also affecting the men.
“Sounds like fun. We can meet you in the lobby after our daily embarrassment at croquet.” Adam replied.
“That’s true. Emily did promise us a rematch.” Eric said
The other couple left and Adam started to dress for bed.
“Rose seems to be feeling better.” He commented as he slipped on his pajamas.
“Indeed, we both think it was a combination of the altitude and the wine that caused her to faint.” Faye explained.
“Was the doctor helpful? He seemed kind of stiff and honestly a bit creepy. I was glad someone stayed with her. I would hate to wake up alone with him.” Adam said as he slid into bed.
“He really didn’t do much. When Rose woke up he offered her a medication, but she wasn’t sure how it would interact with her heart medication so she didn’t take it. He seemed kind of offended. Let’s hope we don’t have another occasion to see him this week” She added, sliding into bed. She reached over and switched off the light.
Sleep came quickly for them. Neither was troubled by nightmares.
However the calm did not extend to the room on the left. Stephanie sat at the vanity removing her makeup while Matt changed into his Pj’s.
“Seems the drama queen strikes again” Stephanie said with a sneer.
Matt raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t think that was at all intentional.” He replied his tone surprised.
“Oh please, she’s a pampered trophy wife with a need for all eyes to be on her.” Stephanie said as she quickly undressed her back to Matt.
“How do you know that, you’ve never even really spoken to her” Matt said, the disgust for her judgmental attitude evident in his voice.
“I know her kind of people, they come into the bank all the time” She snapped back.
“I’m rath
er disappointed in the caliber of guests they invited, I was hoping for more successful professionals like us” She added
“You mean more snobs like you” Matt said under his breath.
“What?” She snapped staring at him icily.
He shook his head sadly without responding he simply climbed into bed and closed his eyes.
Eden Page 4