Night Auditor

Abby (1)

She gawked at me like she was confused.

And I was even more confused when the woman working the front desk couldn't find our reservation.

"Could you try it under my partner's name?" I asked. "Lily Soupley. S-O-U-P-L-E-Y. Lily with an L-Y."

I patiently watched as the young woman slowly tapped away on the keyboard with her brown eyes reflecting the glow of the monitor. I was sure this woman had better things to do and she'd already done more than enough when she quickly brought us towels.

And I knew I made the reservation. It had only been a few weeks since and I even received a confirmation code in my email. Reflexively, I reached for my phone in my pocket but I suddenly remembered my phone running out of battery when we landed at the airport four hours ago. Maybe Lily had it--

I looked behind me but didn't see Lily or Gale anywhere in the lobby. Behind me was a wet trail leading from the double doors we just bursted through, and bags drenched in infamous Florida rainwater.

"I'm very sorry, I think my wife is still in the restroom. I think she has our confirmation code."

"I'm in no rush miss--" the woman glanced at my ID again before handing it back to me. "--Abby. I was just about to go brew a fresh batch of coffee. Would you care for some?"

The thought of hot coffee warming up my body instantly made me feel better about the three days of driving and flying and even more driving, and if only our reservation could just make itself known so this nice young lady could check us in and we could all sleep through the night.

"That would be lovely," I said. "I'm sure they'll be back once you're done with the coffee."

"Perfect."

"I'm sorry," I said, abruptly stopping the woman from walking away. "What's your name again?"

"I'm Meredith. I'm your night auditor tonight."