ARIANE STOOD at the kitchen door, looking out at the parking lot, holding the door for the last of the staff, Tony, just a boy, young and pimply, whose schoolboy crush was so obvious that sometimes it was enough to make her squeeze her eyes and laugh so that she wouldn’t cry. Tony wanted to dawdle.
“It’s a great night,” he said.
“It is,” said Ariane.
“The night is your time of day,” said Tony, in a rush. He had practiced this. “You’re like the night. Lovely. Mysterious.”
Ariane burst out laughing.
“Oh, Tony,” she said, pressing her hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry.” She threw her arms around him and squeezed him. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s a sweet thing to say. It’s just that—”
She couldn’t very well tell him about having been told before that she was like the night.
“—oh, you know. Look at me. I’ve been on my feet for ten hours. I’ve got gravy on my blouse, chocolate sauce on my pants, and cigar smoke in my hair. I don’t feel very lovely and mysterious.”
She gave him a little shove.
“Good night,” she said.
He took a couple of steps with his head down.
“Oh, come back here,” she said.
He came back, and she kissed him on the cheek and said, “Now get out of here.”
He walked off, and she closed and locked the door. She went to Mr. Murray’s office and leaned around the door. “Good night, Mr. Murray,” she said. “I closed up for Renée. Everything’s just as it should be, you can check if you want. Oh—but I had the boys move those potted plants—”
“I saw that,” said Mr. Murray. “You did a good job with them. Just like Renée.”
“Thank you, Mr. Murray,” she said, since she took it as a compliment.
She walked past the kitchen, down the narrow corridor to the employees’ locker room. The dining and bar areas were dark and silent now, but outside some guests, headed for their rooms, were talking and laughing. A door slammed, and their voices were gone. Ariane went into the locker room. The door to Renée’s locker was open. Ariane put her hand on the locker door as if she were about to close it, but anyone who had been watching would have been able to see temptation getting the best of her. A foxy grin grew on her face. She looked into the locker. Several of Renée’s dresses were hanging there.
[to be continued]
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