Norman,” she said as he walked around the car and opened the door for her. “I’m glad you’re coming with me. It’s dark this time of night and having you with me makes me feel safer.”
The moment the words had left her mouth, Hannah was happy that she’d voiced them. Norman looked very pleased by her comment. They walked together to the front door of the building.
“It’s locked,” Norman said, trying the door.
“Yes, it’s supposed to be. Our door keys fit this lock and it’s kept locked. The only way visitors can use the clubhouse is if they’re accompanied by a resident with a key.”
The light switch was just inside the door on the right and Hannah flicked it on. The big, overhead banks of can lights came on and the central room was bathed in bright light.
“This is nice, Hannah,” Norman said, gazing around at the octagonal tables that converted into card tables with holders for cards or poker chips on eight sides.
“Ten tables, eight chairs at each,” Hannah said, doing a mental count. “This room, just the way it is, seats eighty people.”
“Is that big enough for your mother’s book launch?” Norman asked her.
“I think so, but there should be extra stack chairs downstairs in the gym. Let’s go down and check it out, Norman.”
Hannah led the way to the wide staircase that led down to the gym. “Here’s where they keep the exercise equipment,” she told Norman as he followed her into the cavernous room. “There’s a sauna down here that no one ever uses and all these machines.”
Norman walked over to look at the exercise equipment. “This is like the one they advertise on television,” he said, pointing to a machine that looked like a combination bicycle, treadmill, and weight-lifting apparatus. “It’s supposed to give you a complete workout in eleven minutes.”
“Really?” Hannah walked over to look at the machine. “Do you think it works?”
Norman shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe, if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions.” He picked up the manual that was hanging from a chain on the handle. “It sounds pretty complicated to me.”
“I wonder how much extra that cost us in our homeowner’s fees,” Hannah mused, patting the leather seat. “Whatever it was, I don’t think it was worth it. From the dust I can see on the seat, it looks like no one ever tried to use it.”
“Perhaps they didn’t want to get all sweaty and then have to walk home in the cold,” Norman suggested.
“But they can shower right here,” Hannah gestured toward two doors on the far wall, one marked MEN and the other marked WOMEN. “We have showers right down here.”
“Does anyone ever use those?” Norman walked over and opened the door to the men’s shower room. He stepped inside and a moment later, he came out carrying a large towel. “Someone used the shower today. This towel is still damp.”
Hannah walked over to examine the towel. “This belongs to Gala Cruise Line,” she told him. “It says so right on the bottom in big blue letters. And there’s a picture of a cruise ship on it. Somebody went on a cruise on a ship called the Expedition and took one of their beach towels home with them.”
“That happens all the time. People who stay in hotels take towels and washcloths home with them. I used to know someone who owned a motel and he said that it’s one of the reasons room rates are so high. They have to continually replace the towels and sometimes, even the blankets.”
“But that’s stealing!” Hannah said with a frown. “Those things belong to the hotel or, in this case, the cruise line. I’d never do something like that.”
“Neither would I, but lots of people do. What do you want me to do with this beach towel?”
Hannah shrugged. “Leave it here, I guess. I wouldn’t know how to return it. And even if I did, it’s a little frayed on the edges and they probably wouldn’t want it back.”
Norman returned the towel to the shower room and when he came back, he walked over to look at the stack of extra chairs in the corner of the exercise room. He counted them and then he turned back to Hannah “There are another twenty-three chairs here, Hannah.”
“Good. That means we’ll have seating for over a hundred if Mother uses the extra chairs. That should be plenty for one of her book launch parties.”
They walked across the tiled floor and Hannah led the way up