Chapter 15: All Good Things

Jonah’s remaining days at the hotel saw plenty of sex, thanks to Céline. And, from time-to-time Andrew joined in for another three-way.

As expected, one day Jonah failed to show at breakfast. Céline burst into tears, but Ella rushed to her side. “Honey, you missed a lot of Jonah’s hard times when he arrived here. He was so broken by the war he could hardly function. And he and I never could have full sex with each other, so he didn’t even have that for comfort.”

“I did what I could for Jonah, but it wasn’t until Andrew came with his sweet nature and modern knowledge that some of that misery lifted from him. And Jonah could become your lover, along with Andrew. Jonah left us with a smile on his face, thanks to you both.”

“But Ella, after Jonah, you’re next.”

“I know that, but until then, your brother Jean is my happiness. I will miss poor Jonah, but every day with Jean is a blessing. I felt so bad when you were single here, while I had Jean. And then Andrew joined us, and he became yours.”

Andrew held Céline’s hand, tenderly.

Unlike the actual Virginia, there were no seasons at Lawson’s Hotel to mark the passing days. But eventually Ella could sense that her term was expiring, as Beth, Horace, and Jonah had also known before her.

At dinner, Ella explained her afterlife was ending. Next to her, the burly lumberjack burst into tears. Jean wailed, “No, no, Ella, I love you! Don’t leave me!” Ella pressed her wet face into his chest. “I love you, too, Jean. But my time here is over. Stay with me for the rest of it.”

“I won’t leave you; I promise.”

It was the last time they saw Ella. In the morning, Jean appeared, tear-stained and ashen. “Ella’s gone,” he sobbed. “Céline, stay here with Andrew. I’m going off to be with my Ella.”

“Jean! No! You can’t!”

“Céline, there’s nothing left for me here. Andrew loves you; he can take care of you better than I ever could. I have learned in my time in this forest if I walk far enough away from the hotel then my afterlife will also end. Just a little sooner.”

“Be happy with your man, sister. Let me choose my true end as I will. Now one last hug before I go.”

Weeping pitifully, Céline embraced Jean, then dropped her arms and turned away as Jean left. He was never seen again.

Many days would pass before she would recover from the loss of Ella and Jean. The hotel seemed so empty with only the two of them alone.

Fortunately, there was a long gap between Ella’s 1920 death and Céline’s 1965 death, allowing her pain of abruptly losing Jean to subside.

On the veranda one evening Céline was in a pensive mood. “You know what I regret, Andrew? Not having children together. You would have been a fabulous daddy. We didn’t get the chance.”

“You’re right. But we both died young. Imagine, as parents, if our babies had been orphaned. At least we had our time here free of that horrible guilt. I do regret my avoidable death and its effects on my parents.”

“Avoidable? How so?”

“Céline, on a dangerous road I was recklessly driving my little car on bad tires in a ferocious storm. Of course, I had a terrible wreck.”

“And, worse, I didn’t bring a phone with me.”

“A telephone? While you were driving? What do you mean?”

“In 2020, they had figured out how to create a radio network for the telephone system. Almost everybody (except me) had a handheld radio phone that could call anybody anywhere, including police and rescue. Phones reported your exact position on a map, too.”

“Amazing. And everybody had one, except you? Why?”

“I was traveling to college in Maryland, and I thought I should get one there after I arrived.”

“OK. Well, Andrew, you shouldn’t fret anymore about that. Because, first, you can’t do anything about it now. And second, if you had a crazy phone, and proper tires, you wouldn’t have had me!”

“Now stop this foolishness and take me to bed!”