The clerk apologized. She kept talking. Something in the way she said « platinum » felt rehearsed, as if she needed the lobby to hear it more than the clerk did.
I looked away and squeezed Noah’s hand.
The clerk apologized.
Near the seating area, an older woman with silver hair and a paperback in her lap glanced up sharply at the sound. Her expression tightened for a second before she lowered her eyes back to her book.
I noticed it, but I didn’t think much about it then.
« Viv, we’re all set, » Jonathan called. « Room 214. »
« Pool first? » I asked Noah.
« Pool first, » he whispered, smiling.
Her expression tightened.
We changed quickly that afternoon. Noah practically vibrated on the walk down to the deck. When he saw the water, that clean, blue rectangle shimmering in the sun, his whole face lit up!
