I called down to the desk while I toweled my hair, and this time, got an answer and reassurances that they were working on the problem with the schizophrenic thermometer and would have it fixed soon. A few more minutes of preening, and it was just past seven-thirty. I had time for a cup of coffee and a muffin before it was time to go on, if they still needed me. That was good, as I wouldn’t be doing anyone any favors if I went down to the session sans caffeine.
The General Bartlett Hotel had two restaurants, one a diner-themed coffee shop that did quick breakfast and lunch items. The other was a fancier sit-down affair, all dark greens and heavy wood, that seemed to be having a breakfast buffet at the moment and was packed to the rafters. I didn’t care about anything so much as coffee now, and found that the coffee shop was full, too. Luck was with me in the guise of Lissa. I forced my way through the crowd as politely as I could—which was straining it, by this time—and found she’d saved me a seat at her table for two.
Whatever else we did not agree on—and sometimes that seemed to be almost everything—Lissa and I understood that there were some things that were sacred. For both of us morning coffee and its worship was one of them. Lissa nodded at the chair, and I nodded back as I took it. I turned over the mug and poured from the carafe on the table, sniffing at the coffee before I sipped. So far, I’d been unimpressed with the workings of the hotel, however great it might have looked on the outside and in the public spaces. To my surprise, the coffee was great: hot, strong, flavorful. I didn’t focus on the exact nature of the flavors because I was functioning only on lizard brain; gourmet identifications came only after more basic functions were up and running.
Lissa waited until I’d got through the first cup, and then didn’t bother with the preliminaries. “I still haven’t seen the waitress since she dropped that off. We’ll have to stand on the chairs and scream if she doesn’t show up soon.”
I nodded. Drastic times called for drastic measures. More coffee flooded into my system and I began to acknowledge my extremities.
I’d made my way through the second cup when our server shuffled over.
“HiI’mEleni.” She said it all as one word, looking away from us to the cashier, who seemed to be of far more interest to her. “I’ll be your server. What can I get you?”
“More coffee,” I said.
“Me too,” said Lissa.
“And a bagel, toasted, with cream cheese,” I said. “Please.”
But Eleni did not seem to be registering our presence, much less our needs. She was looking at the cook, a young man frenetically wielding a spatula by the grill.
“Busy today,” I observed, trying to get her attention back to us and our order.
She sighed. “I had a helluva night last night.”
Eleni didn’t strike me as having a lot on the ball, so I asked her to bring my check, too, when she returned with the food. She nodded, distracted again, and shambled away. Her feet scuffed along the ground like she was wearing bedroom slippers.
“She had a helluva night last night,” I informed Lissa.
Lissa put down her cup and glared at Eleni’s back. She drew a deep breath, as if she was going to tell me exactly what she thought of Eleni’s late night, then found the effort too much, and settled for another sip of coffee.
Ten long minutes later, we got another carafe of coffee, and I got my bagel. The coffee was again surprisingly good, and Lissa and I had eventually worked our way up to communicating with meaningful grunts and squeaks.
“Eve didn’t eat an apple,” Lissa said, at last.
“Huh?”
“She ate coffee beans. That was what was on the tree of knowledge.”
“Ah.” I wiped my mouth and pushed my chair back.
“Emma, mind if I take your place?” Jay had materialized behind me; he looked like he’d been up way too late last night.
“Knock yourself out,” I said, throwing my napkin down.
“Lissa says you saw the ghost last night,” he said, sitting down and shoving my cup out of his way.
“Lissa’s a drama queen and a damned gossip,” I replied. “I didn’t see anything, I heard a noise. There was no ghost.”
She stuck her tongue out at me, then said, “Someone’s got to keep things from getting