Chapter 4

It was Friday night. Megan O’Brian, the manager of the inn had had the patio set up for a month already but, until last week, the temperature hadn’t climbed above 15°C so the patio had stayed empty. Then the temperature had shot up to 30°C in one go and now, with the humidity at 80%, it was like walking around in a Turkish bath. However, there had been a thunderstorm that afternoon, the humidity had gone back down to tolerable levels and the patio was packed. Most of the guests had finished supper and those that stayed for after-dinner drinks preferred to be outside; the dining room did not have air conditioning.

Because of that, Mélanie was having an easy night of it because Aelwen and Jenny were doing the tables outside while Bess was looking after the dining room tables. The only customers at the bar were Farley Gee and Skinflint MacGruder, who had come in for their freebies. Skinflint looked as if he was setting himself up to spend the night so Mélanie discreetly signed to Bess to call Kensie. It happened maybe once a month to a month and a half that Skinflint felt he needed to empty out a barrel and everyone knew to call Kenzie if she didn’t show up on her own to bring him home.

The old grandfather clock in the lobby had just rang in eight thirty when Mélanie spotted a fully dressed young woman showing up at the door to the public room. She was tall and leggy, with a skin shade reminiscent of a month spent under the Caribbean sun, auburn hair, a tight-fitting blouse over a pair of shorts and high-heeled sandals. Because of the relative darkness, it took Mélanie a few seconds to recognise Karine – she seemed frozen in place, maybe from the sight of all that naked flesh in front of her.

She called the waitress. “Bess ... could you take over for a while? I have to take care of this guest.”

Bess shot a glance at the lobby and nodded while Mélanie rushed to greet Karine.

While guiding Karine towards the registration desk, she said “I was no longer expecting you to show up tonight. Since your call last week, I had not heard whether you would be coming or not. Are you alone?”

“No, I’m here with Paul. He is busy unloading the luggage from the car.”

“Paul... ?”

“Paul Horvath. He’s one of Roger’s coworkers and a friend. Roger didn’t want to come.”

“Oh? Are you here for the night or longer?”

“Until Tuesday morning, if that’s possible ... and would it also be possible to have separate rooms – it’s already complicated enough as it is?”

Mélanie checked the reservations board. “Yes, we can do that. You’re lucky that you came this week-end; next week-end, we’re full up – a group from Manitoba wanted to celebrate the first of July in Quebec.”

In the meanwhile, a man of about twenty-two came in from outside, a sports bag in each hand. Coming up to the counter, he let both bags drop to the ground.

“Good evening,” said Mélanie. “Paul Horvath, I presume.”

“That’s right. Good evening to you as well. Sorry to have shown up this late.”

“That’s not a problem but as I was saying to Karine, it’s a good thing you showed up this week-end. Next week, I couldn’t have accepted you. Could you fill in these registration cards, please and I’ll also need an imprint of a credit card. The rooms are normally 75$ a night but I’ll speak to the boss tomorrow; I’ll try to get you a discount. Would you follow me please? I’ll take you to your rooms.”

She turned to pick up a towel and two keys from the pigeonhole board behind her. Mélanie waved toward the stairs. “Your rooms are at the head of the stairs. You each have a bathroom with a toilet and a shower but if you want a bath, you’ll find it at the end of the hallway.” She opened the door to the first room. Handing the key to Karine, she said “Paul, your room is next door but I’d like you to step in for a moment so that I can explain the rules of the house to you both.”