Hotel Vendome

She was coming back from her apartment one afternoon a week later, with more of her decorating accessories and belongings, when Natalie got into the elevator and found herself looking at Heloise and Brad. They were on their way up to her apartment. Brad kissed his aunt and looked surprisingly comfortable, as though both the hotel and Heloise were familiar to him now. It was Heloise’s day off. Now that her father was back, she had a little more time to herself.

“What have you two been up to?” Natalie asked, intrigued to see them so happy together. They’d been holding hands when she got in.

“We just went to a street fair downtown,” Heloise said, looking radiant. Brad put an arm around her shoulders, and a minute later they got out on the fifth floor. Natalie asked if they wanted to come up later for dinner, but Heloise was quick to say that they were going out again. And she didn’t know why, but after they got out, Natalie didn’t think she believed her. Obviously they wanted to be alone. She smiled to herself as she got off on her floor and let herself into their apartment. Hugues was working out at the gym as she put her things away, and she mentioned to him later that she had seen Heloise and Brad.

“Do you suppose that’s serious?” he asked, glancing up at her, and she smiled as she shrugged.

“As much as it can be at that age. But it’s sweet anyway. They’re both good kids with good values and their eyes on serious careers. She could do a lot worse.”

“Okay,” he nodded, reassured. He trusted her judgment, even about his daughter. He missed having Heloise in the apartment, but he knew it had been the right time for her to move downstairs. And he liked being alone with his wife. It gave them a lot of privacy and freedom they wouldn’t have had otherwise.

September was extremely hectic at the hotel. It was always a busy month as people got back after the summer or came to New York on business or for social events. And most of their regular guests showed up in September. And to complicate matters, they had a terrorist threat that forced them to empty the hotel. Hotel management had been told that a bomb would go off within the hour. Hugues assessed the threat with the police, and they had called for the bomb squad and evacuated the hotel immediately. The police suspected that it was a false threat, but they couldn’t take the chance.

Employees knocked on doors on every floor, security manned the stairways, and Heloise was racing from floor to floor with her father, to check that all was orderly and to reassure people as they left their rooms with some concern. Jennifer, Bruce, and the doorman were directing people outside, and in twenty minutes they had everyone out and corralled safely two blocks away behind police lines, while hotel employees handed out coffee and tea from rolling carts. It happened in the early evening, when many people had come back from their day and hadn’t yet gone out to dinner. Natalie arrived from her office just as the guests were pouring out of the hotel. And once they got them all out and at a safe distance, Heloise called Brad on her cell phone and told him all about it. They talked to each other constantly now, and sent texts all day.

“Do you want me to come and help?” he offered, and she liked that idea.

“Sure, if you want to.” He arrived half an hour later, having come down from Columbia by subway. He was amazed at the huge crowd of hotel guests standing in the street. It looked very orderly, although some of them were visibly upset. And they all wanted to know how soon they could go back to their rooms. Bruce and his security men were walking among them, reassuring people, while room service waiters served tea, coffee, and bottled water. Many of the guests had evening plans and were standing there in bathrobes. And SWAT teams were sweeping the hotel for bombs, floor by floor.

Vans brought food out for all the guests, and Brad helped Heloise and the room service waiters hand out sandwiches and cookies. He was extremely pleasant to everyone, and very helpful, calming people down when he could. No one appeared to be angry, but many were justifiably concerned. And Hugues was extremely grateful that it had happened in good weather and not in the dead of winter, which had happened once before. All hotels were vulnerable to that kind of threat these days.

And three hours later, the police declared the hotel safe and let everyone back in. Much to everyone’s relief and annoyance, it had been a false alarm. And once they were all back inside and had gone up to their rooms, Brad went up to Heloise’s apartment with her. They were among the last to leave the street. Brad had been impressed by how well she handled herself, how poised she was, and how cool in a crisis. She was definitely in the right business. And she had thought the same thing about him. He had been calm and helpful throughout and handled the guests well.