Chapter 2 - A LUXURY REFUGES AND FROZEN PIPES
The taxi ride down the mountain pass toward the city center felt remarkably quiet. The heater in the back seat blew hot, sweet air across my cold knees, and for the first time in three years, my chest didn’t feel tight. I looked out the frost-dappled window at the snow drifting over the pines.
The Grand Crest Hotel stood like a glowing glass palace in the heart of downtown. Henry and I used to walk past its tall brass doors every Christmas, admiring the silver trees in the lobby and the doormen in their long wool coats. He had always promised that one day we would stay there.
When the valet opened my door, he didn't look at my age or my modest coat; he took my heavy leather suitcase with a polite bow. “Welcome to the Grand Crest, ma'am. Be careful on the ice.”
I walked across the marble lobby, my boots clicking softly against polished stone. The warmth inside was instant and luxurious. At the front desk, a polite young woman named Clara smiled warmly as I approached.
“Good evening. Do you have a reservation?”
“I do not,” I said calmly, placing my credit card—the high-limit card tied to Henry’s old investment account—on the counter. “I would like your best available executive suite for the next seven nights.”
Clara tapped her keyboard for a moment, her eyes widening slightly as my card cleared without a second’s delay. “Certainly, Mrs. Vance. We have our Corner Executive Suite on the fourteenth floor available. It features a gas fireplace, deep soaking tub, and heated marble flooring.”
“Heated flooring,” I murmured, a soft smile finally touching my lips. “That sounds marvelous. Please book it.”
Ten minutes later, I stood in the middle of a room larger than the entire ground floor of my house. The gas fireplace hummed softly, casting a warm golden glow across velvet armchairs and plush white rugs. I walked into the bathroom and kicked off my slippers. The stone floor beneath my bare feet was blissfully, deeply warm.
I sat down in an armchair by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out over the twinkling city lights as snow swirled through the dark night sky. My phone, sitting on the glass coffee table next to a pot of fresh hot tea the hotel staff had brought up, suddenly began to vibrate.
The screen lit up with Grant’s caller ID.
I picked up my tea and took a slow, deliberate sip, watching the phone buzz across the polished surface. It rang six times, went silent, and then immediately began ringing again. This time it was Allison.
I let it ring three more times before sliding the bar to answer, putting it on speakerphone, and setting it back down.
“Mom?!” Allison’s voice screeched through the speaker, frantic and breathless. “Mom, where are you?! The power just went completely dead! The whole house is pitch black!”
In the background, I could hear Grant shouting angrily. “Check the main breaker box again! It’s locked! Why the hell is the panel box padlocked?!”
“Mom, are you in your room?” Allison cried into the receiver. “Grant went down to check the basement, but the main outdoor breaker line isn’t responding! We called the power company and they said the account holder authorized an emergency safety shutdown! Did you touch something?!”
“I am fine, Allison,” I said, keeping my tone perfectly smooth and quiet.
“Where are you? Grant is trying to light candles, but the temperature inside the house is dropping like a stone! It’s freezing in here!”
“I know it’s freezing,” I replied softly. “Outside temperature is six degrees. You should probably put on another sweater, Allison. Stop wasting energy worrying about things you can’t control.”
There was a sudden, violent scuffle on the other end of the line as Grant grabbed the phone from her. “Evelyn! What the hell did you do?! Did you call the electric company? Turn the damn power back on right now! The pipes are going to freeze!”
“Grant,” I said, leaning back into the soft velvet cushions of my plush suite. “You told me earlier tonight that Henry isn’t paying the bills anymore. And you reminded me that there have to be rules. As the sole owner of the property and the registered primary account holder, I decided to conduct a full administrative audit of the premises.”
“Are you insane?!” Grant roared. “It’s midnight! We are freezing in here! My thermal jacket is in the closet, the emergency heat is off, and the temperature in the living room is already down to forty degrees!”
“Put on two pairs of socks,” I advised gently. “And remember what you told me: every room feels cold when it’s January. Goodnight, Grant.”
May you like
I tapped the screen, ending the call, and immediately set the phone to 'Do Not Disturb.'
I walked over to the deep soaking tub, turned the brass faucets, and watched steam rise into the air as hot water filled the tub. Outside, the blizzard howled against the reinforced hotel glass, but inside, the air was seventy-four degrees. I slid into the warm water, closed my eyes, and for the first time in years, I slept without shivering.
