“And do you like the job?”
“Very much so. It’s probably hard for you young people to imagine. You all want to be rich and famous, but this is my dream job. I hope I get to keep doing it for as long as possible. Oh, Grace, here you are! We were just looking for you.”
“Congratulations, you found me,” Grace said with a grin.
Giulia pointed at me. “You already know Kate. She’s working for The Darlington from today. I want you to train her.”
“Sure, no problem. This is going to be fun!”
“You’re not here to have fun, you’re here to work,” Giulia admonished, not sounding at all stern. I decided I liked her. The Darlington may have been grand and intimidating, but both Giulia and Grace seemed down-to-earth and warm, which instantly made me feel at ease.
“Why can’t we do both?” Grace asked.
Giulia rolled her eyes like an exasperated mother. “I’ll let you get to work. Let me know if you need anything. My door is always open.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
Giulia nodded and turned to leave. Grace and I didn’t speak until she’d disappeared around the corner. “I’m glad you’re workingfor Darlington now too,” Grace said. “I have to admit, I was hoping you would when you said you were looking for a job.”
“Yes. It was a pretty spontaneous decision.”
“I heard you’re living here at the hotel. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“With Henry?” Grace asked inquisitively.
I laughed. “No. I have a room on the first floor.”
“Wow. But you’re not paying, right?”
“Oh my god, no. Henry is letting me live there in exchange for me working here.”
Grace gave a dreamy sigh. “I’m envious.”
“I get it. It’s a really nice room.” On Friday night, after Henry had left, I’d taken a bath and gone straight to bed. Aside from trips to the bathroom, I hadn’t left my mountain of pillows, catching up on months of lost sleep. When I woke, I watched TV and scoured the hotel for snacks, taking apples, pears, and bananas from the golden bowls on small tables I found in almost every corridor.
“Do you have your uniform yet?” Grace asked.
“No, not yet.”
“Let’s pick that up first, and then we can start.” She led me to a room that was a combination of a utility room and a laundry. The washing machines clattered loudly, and the clean smell of fabric softener hung in the air. “Towels and bed linen, as well as the cloth serviettes and tea towels from the restaurant, are washed externally. A van comes by once a day to pick them up. We take care of the guests’ clothes and our uniforms in-house. That’s not part of your job, though. We have Patricia and Estrella for that.”
I made a mental note not to forget their names.
Grace examined me. After a moment, she went to one of the many cupboards and pulled out a dark uniform. “Small,” she said,handing it to me. “It should fit. When you need a fresh set, you can just take that one to the laundry service and help yourself to a new one. Come on, I’ll show you the changing room.”
“There’s a changing room?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes. Employees have their own space, with a kitchen and a dining table. There are a few beds too, but you won’t be needing those,” Grace replied, and led me on through the corridors. “There are three shifts: early, late, and night, so there’s always someone here to take care of the guests. But only one room attendant is assigned to the night shift, since it’s not very busy. You’re mainly on call in case there’s a spillage or something like that. So it’s cool to have a place where you can hang out. I actually don’t work the night shift anymore, because I take care of the Darlingtons’ private rooms during the day. We always get our work schedule a month in advance.”
“I don’t have one yet.”
“You’ll get one.” Grace opened the door to the staff area. It smelled of coffee and air freshener. There was a large table in the middle of the room next to a kitchen and even a sofa with a TV. “Over there is the room with the beds, here is the restroom, and this is the changing room with the lockers.”
The changing room was empty, presumably because the staff assigned the early shift had long since started. I took off my leather jacket and put it in a locker. I kept on the top I was wearing underneath, because I didn’t own a bra.
Grace sat down on a bench.
