“Do you mind if I just go and lay down for a little bit?” Tyler asks.
“Of course,” I say and watch him disappear into the cabin.
I pull out my phone and scroll through social media, looking at nothing in particular. I have a few messages from Libby and I ask about the kids. Neither of us talk about my mom. She doesn't bring it up and I don't either.
Listening to the rain drum steadily outside, I feel my eyelids getting more and more tired. The light in the cabin is off and I carefully tiptoe onto my side of the bed.
Tyler is already asleep. I look at his face, calm and peaceful. He’s sleeping on his side, propping up his head with his arm. I close my eyes and slowly drift off.
A little bit later, a loud ring wakes me up. I don't know how much time has passed and it takes me a few minutes to realize that it's coming from Tyler's phone.
He grabs it groggily from under his pillow and answers.
I can tell that it's someone calling from the hotel, but I don't know what's really going on.
Tyler nods his head and sighs a few times, finally saying that he'll be there as soon as he can.
“What's going on?” I ask when he hangs up.
“That was Eileen. I have to go in.”
“Who is Eileen?”
“Manager of housekeeping. She called to say that Tim is there and he's making a scene.”
“You should not go there,” I say.
“I'm the owner. I have to.”
“This isn’t a good idea,” I say, but he's already dressed. “What about what he just did? What if he attacks you again?”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know that you can, but you're not thinking clearly.”
“What do you want me to do, Isabelle? I have to go.”
I try to reach out to him, but he shrugs me off. I can tell that his mind is elsewhere now.
He is singularly focused on this one problem, but the issue is that there's something much bigger going on here.
It's not that I'm afraid of him getting physically hurt. I know that in hand-to-hand combat, Tyler could easily take him, especially now that he is so much bigger and bulkier.
That's not the problem.
The problem is that if there's going to be a scene then there's going to be a good likelihood that the police will show up. That's the thing that he can't allow to happen.
I sit on the edge of the bed for a little bit and then decide to run after him. I climb the deck of the boat and then jump onto the dock.
I run all the way to the security door, but I see that he's already gone. I don't have a car and if I want to catch up with him, I have to take a cab over there.
I'm not sure what to do. Dressed in only a light T-shirt and pajama pants, I wrap my hands around myself and head back to the boat.
When I get into the cabin, a dark cloud descends over me. I don't know what's going to happen, but it’s not going to end well.
I'm not sure if there's anything that I can even do about it.
5
Tyler
When Eileen calls me, I wake up feeling a little woozy and still feel sick to my stomach. The chill down to my bones is gone, but something remains with me about what happened earlier on the dock.
There's a heaviness and I can't push it away. Now, driving to the hotel to face Tim again, I know that it will take a lot to get rid of him.
Isabelle tried to stop me from leaving. I know what she's worried about. It was a mistake not to report his theft and it was a mistake not to report him pushing me off the dock, but what choice do I have?
I have a new identity and a new look, but that doesn't mean that an inquisitive police officer with a little bit too much time on his hands won't be able to connect the dots and discover who I really am.
Luckily, Tim doesn't know anything about that.
Right now, he's just angry. He's upset that I caught him stealing and he's mad that I refused to forgive him and give him his old job back.
The fact that I promised to give him a good recommendation for the work that he did do seemed to fall on deaf ears. I don't know if he saw that as weakness but it definitely wasn't.
Kindness is often mistaken for weakness when it is actually the opposite. To be kind in the face of adversity and hatred is something that a weak person can’t do. It's only something that a strong person can do.
When I get to the hotel, I leave my car with the valet but tell him to keep it in the front of the lobby.
I look around to make sure that Eileen hasn't called the cops. I texted her not to, but things might have escalated since then. Luckily, I don't see any flashing lights or hear any sirens in the distance.
As I walk into the lobby, I can almost hear Isabelle's voice standing in for my conscience.
“Why can't they just take care of it? You have a security guard, right?”
I know exactly what she's worried about. The same thing that worries me. I can't not go and deal with things.
Tim is making a scene. He has a few drinks in him, more than a few actually, and he's refusing to pay for them.
Hank, the security guard who works nights, is trying to get him out, but he’s refusing to go.
“If you want me to leave, you have to call the police,” Tim says, slurring his words.
I know Hank is hesitating. He and Tim used to be pretty close, even went fishing a few times.
If he calls the police and Tim keeps fighting and tries to resist them, then there's a chance that they will arrest him for something and that will end his career in hospitality at least as far as general management goes.
“Come on Tim,” Hank says, trying to usher him from his barstool. “Why don't I call you a cab?”
“I don't need a cab,” Tim says slowly but loudly. “I'm going to stay right here and have another drink.”
Tim looks disheveled and tired now. His tie is loose and his suit is wrinkled.
He leans on one hand to prop up his head and his hair looks like it has been through some sort of wind tunnel.
I start to walk toward him, but Eileen pulls me aside. She's a no-nonsense woman in her mid-50s who has been managing housekeeping at the Elliott Hotel for most of her adult life.
She has grown children and two grandchildren who live with her and she does not suffer fools lightly, as the saying goes.
“He's going through a divorce,” she tells me. “That's why he got kicked out of that apartment. His wife moved out and he couldn’t afford the rent. He can't afford to pay for the lawyer and he's worried about losing his kids.”
“What do you want me to do?” I ask. “You want me to take it easy on him?”
“I don't know,” she says, shaking her head.
“He came to the boat today and asked me for his job back, but of course I can’t do that. I caught him stealing. I told him that I would give him a recommendation, but that wasn't enough.”
Eileen nods and points out, “Most people wouldn't even do that.”
“I'm not trying to be a bad guy,” I say. “I have to look out for this place. I can’t have the GM stealing from me.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Oh, perfect, you're here!” Tim yells out from across the restaurant.