Hotel Vendome

“No, he won’t, he’s a nice man.” She was turning on the lights in the room. It was one of their smaller rooms, which was how Heloise knew she’d get away with it. It would be one of the last rooms they gave out, and in the slow season like January they wouldn’t need a room this size. Billy was looking around in amazement at the luxury and comfort she had brought him to. It looked like paradise to him. It had a king-size bed, an enormous TV, antiques all over, and a large immaculate bathroom. His eyes were huge in his ravaged face as he looked at the young girl who had brought him here.

“What about your mom? Won’t she get mad at you?” He looked genuinely worried about her.

“She’s married to someone else.” He stood there looking around him then, and Heloise gently suggested he sit down. “I have to take the dog back. Why don’t you watch TV or something? I’ll come back in a few minutes and order you some food.” He nodded as he stared at her, genuinely bereft of speech, as she quietly left the room with Julius and took him back upstairs to Mrs. Van Damme.

“What a long walk you two had.” She had no way of knowing that Heloise had barely walked him more than a block, and he’d been back in the hotel the rest of the time. His owner took off his cashmere sweater, and Heloise kissed her on the cheek and hurried back out again. She was back in Billy’s room on the second floor in less than five minutes and let herself back in with the key.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with a stunned expression, afraid to lie down. He looked terrified and happy all at the same time and immensely relieved to see her again. She had already figured out that she would have to hide somewhere in the hotel that night, since she couldn’t go back to her apartment if she was pretending to be with Marie Louise. And she obviously couldn’t stay with Billy in this room, although she was sure he wasn’t dangerous. She had spoken to him often in the last few weeks. He just looked cold and old and tired by his life on the streets. He had told her he was sixty-two years old, and this was something special she wanted to do for him, to show him someone cared.

“What would you like to eat?” she asked, handing him a menu, and he looked confused the moment she did. She wondered if he needed glasses and didn’t own a pair. “What’s your favorite kind of food?”

“Steak,” he said with a big grin, although he was missing a lot of teeth. “Steak and mashed potatoes, and chocolate pudding for dessert.” Heloise picked up the phone and ordered it from room service, with a salad, and she translated the chocolate pudding into chocolate mousse, with a big glass of milk. And then she sat with him, while he turned on the TV with the remote, and she put the Do Not Disturb on the door. “I’ve never seen a room like this in my life. I used to be a carpenter. I worked in a furniture factory when I was a kid, but we never made nothing like this.” She couldn’t help wondering what had happened to him after that, but she didn’t dare ask.

Half an hour later, room service arrived and knocked on the door. She answered immediately and spoke through the door, and the waiter delivering it recognized her voice.

“Thanks, Derek. We’re not dressed. Just leave it outside. And thank you.”

“Sure thing. Have fun.”

She waited until she heard the elevator door close, then pulled the rolling table in as Billy’s eyes grew wide. The food smelled delicious, and she pulled a chair up to the table for him. “Have a nice dinner,” she said softly. She wrote down her cell phone number, and told him to call her if he had any problem, or wanted something else to eat. “I’ll get you breakfast tomorrow morning. You’ll have to leave pretty early, before things get busy in the hotel. I can get you out the same door.”

“Thank you,” he said, his eyes filling with tears again, as he started to eat the delicious dinner. “You must be an angel from Heaven, disguised as a little girl.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “Keep the door locked, and put the chain on and don’t go out in the hall.” It never occurred to her that he might refuse to leave the next day. So far everything had gone according to plan. “And don’t answer the phone.” He nodded and devoured his steak as she let herself discreetly out of the room and went back down the stairs, happy with the way things had gone. The look on Billy’s face was worth it all.