While Alice and Frank were agreeing on the details of the timeline of their fake marriage over coffee the next day, back at the hotel, things were going ahead like clockwork. It was a chilly day with a grey sky that promised snow sometime later in the day, so Mrs. Thingtom was busy closing windows and making sure she had enough salt to throw on in front of the house in case a thin layer of ice formed.

I always enjoyed watching her running around organizing things, it made me feel taken care of. She dedicated her entire existence to me, so I could never get too upset with her, even though she dug her sharp heels into my wooden floors or chopped onions on the counter, scratching the surface when she could have just used a wooden plank. She wasn’t too gentle with my windows either, especially if she’d close them while arguing with someone…

I suddenly realized an elderly couple was walking towards the front door. Oh, how I loved new guests back then. It was only my first week since the Wake Up Cry, as I call it, and meeting new people was my favorite part of the day. As Mrs. Thingtom introduced herself politely, she began analyzing their clothes, demeanor, how they dressed, and how their accents sounded. Once she concluded there weren’t any red flags, she offered them a room immediately.

“Do you have any young couples staying here? Any babies or children?” said Mrs. Filton, the wife, with a kind expression, careful not to seem as though she was testing the grounds. They clearly wanted to stay.

“We do have a couple staying here with a small baby. The husband is mostly away working, but Alice is very nice, a secretary down at the mail office, and Mel, her baby, is a very happy baby. They’ve been with us for a couple of weeks now.” She said with a fake smile on her face.

“Oh did you hear that, Doug? A baby… How adorable.”

As they went upstairs to settle in their room, I noticed their warm nature changed into a cold silence. The first thing Mrs. Filton did when she entered the room was to settle in front of the window and open it, staring at the street.  An ice-cold flow of air rushed through the room as if to wash the bad energy away.

Downstairs, Alice and Frank had arrived and were looking for Mrs. Thingtom, who was in the kitchen chopping onions with a vengeance – on the counter…

“Mrs. Thingtom, do you have a moment, please?” Said Alice, as she popped her head into the kitchen following the noise.

“In a second, I’ll be right there.” She tried not to sound annoyed but it was obvious to everybody that she would much rather be alone working, than speaking with people. That was something she had to continuously work on.

“Oh, hello, Mr. Camaruggio, I don’t believe I’m late on my bill, am I?”

“No, no, Mrs. Thingtom, I’m not here as your butcher. I’m here on a more… personal matter…” He smiled and gently shifted his body towards Alice, putting his hand around her waist.

“Mrs. Thingtom, this will come as a surprise, but the reason I haven’t introduced you to my husband yet is because the moment wasn’t right. You see, it was a bit of a whirlwind… We met, we fell in love, and soon after, we got married on account of… Well, Mel.” She said, blushing. “The age difference was surely going to cause rumors, so we decided to keep it a secret until now. Until he had to come meet you. And settle our bill, of course. Anyway, I lived on the other side of town, but since Mel arrived, we decided I should move closer until the time was right to tell his sons, buy a bigger house, and move in together.”

“I can’t say I’m not surprised since I’ve known Mrs. Camaruggio for a long time now and there wasn’t ever even a whisper since his late wife passed, but as long as there’s no scandal at the Willow and the debt is paid in full, whether your last name is Camaruggio or Tutankamon, is the same to me. Congratulations to you both.” They all smiled at each other, and Alice felt relieved.

“Except that’s not her husband.” Said Mrs. Filton, who was just coming down the stairs with Mr. Filton. “And the boy is definitely not his son. He’s Tom’s. My dear boy… Who she took from us.”

“Mrs. Filton…” Said Mrs. Thingtom.

“Her last name is not Filton, it’s Peterson. And I didn’t take your son from you. I loved him, and all he did was ruin my life. He put his own baby in danger when he made me help those lowlifes he worked for… To care for that horrible man’s wife when she was dying and there was nothing more to do. Knowing he was unpredictable and blinded by pain. Your son put my life in danger.”

“Lies!”

“No…” She said, like she had given up. Like she was tired of repeating the same thing over and over. “He could have worked anywhere, but he loved the excitement that came from working with them. And the money. Except we didn’t need that much more… Just enough for three instead of two.”

“We’re here to take Mel. Clearly, you can’t take care of him. You’re out here inventing husbands and lying to this woman, taking advantage of her goodwill.”

A fire lit up in Alice’s eyes. It’s like something finally broke.

“You’re taking him anywhere, lady.” She said with a dead-serious look. “You had your chance. You had a son. A son you neglected. He was desperate to prove himself. To prove himself in front of you. My son won’t end up like that. I loved Tom more than anything, but my son comes first. He put him in danger for his stupid ambition, and I’ll never forget him for that.”

While I was caught up in their conversation, I didn’t even notice the knock on the front door. I never miss the arrival of new guests, but somehow, I missed this one. He didn’t insist. One knock, and he came right in.

“Mr. Mackin…” Said Mrs Thingtom, and her face turned white. “Alice, don’t worry about the bill. You can pay me another time. It was nice meeting your husband. Mr. and Mrs. Filton, I’ll have to ask you to wait for the tea you asked for in your room. The kitchen is busy at the moment.” She said calmly and rushed everybody out of the room.

Without giving it much thought, I cracked the front door open for Frank and turned the lights on in their rooms as if inviting them to leave the hallway. They were all so shocked by the fear in Mrs. Thingtom’s eyes that they didn’t even stop to think that there was nobody in their rooms to turn the lights on…

As soon as they were finally alone, the short, almost frail-looking gentleman with dark eyes, dark hair, and very regular clothes walked slowly toward Mrs. Thingtom, looked her straight in the eyes, and said forcefully.

“My usual room, please.”