She turned off the lights. The only illumination came from the "Do Not Disturb" sign, glowing a soft, bloody red.
Leo pressed the intercom button. "Good evening, Grand Seasons guests. The forecast for tomorrow is… more of the same."
Priya, buzzing from champagne, went down to buy gum from the lobby shop. Arthur, unable to sleep, went down to walk the empty streets. Eleanor, as she did every night, went down to return a book to the little "take one, leave one" shelf near the concierge.
"It reminds you not to get comfortable," the manager had said.
Tonight, she did her ritual. She ordered the same room service: miso soup, no rice. She ate it at the desk, not the table. Then she opened the top drawer of the nightstand. Inside, beneath the Gideon's Bible and the guest directory, was a small, worn photograph of a house with a garden. Her old house. She touched the image, then closed the drawer.