“Comforting.”
Tears filled her eyes.
He continued:
“And what you did was disgusting.”
She laughed once through the tears.
“Less comforting.”
“Both are true.”
She wiped her face carefully to preserve makeup.
“I don’t know why I did it.”
“Yes, you do.”
She looked toward him.
“You were angry.”
“You thought she was beneath you.”
“That’s not—”
He held her gaze.
She stopped.
He continued:
“You thought you could.”
That sentence settled.
The same conclusion Caroline Price would reach years later in another hotel story.
Power often revealed itself in what people believed they could do without consequence.
The rich tourist looked toward the hotel owner.
“She looked at me like…”
“Like what?”
“Like she knew me.”
The groom shook his head.
“She didn’t.”
“Exactly.”
His sister looked confused.
“She didn’t know anything about you.”
“She knew what you did.”
“Maybe that’s worse.”
The rich tourist became quiet.
Then:
“I heard what your bride said about the wedding money.”
The groom nodded.
“I don’t want it back.”
“Good.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t think…”
She stopped.
He waited.
“I liked being needed.”
The honesty surprised both.
She continued:
“When you two started planning everything yourselves, I…”
She laughed weakly.
“This sounds pathetic.”
“Keep going.”
“I didn’t know where I fit.”
“So I kept buying pieces.”
“Flowers.”
“Champagne.”
“Band.”
“Because if I paid for something, I had a reason to be consulted.”
The groom stared.
She whispered:
“I did the same thing with Dad.”
“With friends.”
“Everywhere.”
He looked toward her.
“That still doesn’t explain the cleaner.”
“No.”
She looked down.
“That’s uglier.”
He waited.
She said:
“I grew up hearing that service people were paid to deal with problems.”
“My mother said it.”
“Her friends said it.”
“Whenever someone complained about a waiter, driver, maid…”
“She’d say, ‘That’s what they’re paid for.’”
The groom’s face tightened.
Their mothers had been different.
His mother was not wealthy.
His sister’s was.
“I thought I didn’t believe that.”
She looked toward the owner.
“Apparently I did.”
The groom nodded.
“What now?”
She asked.
He shrugged.
“You apologize.”
“To the owner?”
“No.”
She looked at him.