blogwithvalor

It was almost midnight when Nancy and Daniel dragged their luggage into the hotel lobby. An older man popped up from behind the counter. Holding a stack of papers he seemed to be picking up from the ground.

“Welcome to Sunshine Hotel. You’re here a little late. I hope everything is alright, and if not, I’m sure we can change things for you. Do you have a reservation?”

Nancy looked over at Daniel, who let out a long sigh before speaking. “No, we missed a bus and are stuck in this town until the next one, tomorrow morning.”

“Why don’t you try tell him why we were late?” Nancy said.

Daniel looked at Nancy, then at the old man, “She’d like you to think I just wrote down the wrong time. And so what if I did. We were supposed to be there early anyways. If only someone would have been ready when I was, then we would have made it.”

“That’s a bunch of bullshit!” Nancy leaned over the counter. “I was on time for when I was told.”

“You were told we were leaving early, damnit!” Daniel clenched his fists on the counter.

The old man behind the counter took a step backwards and raised his hands. “Okay, okay. It sounds like we’ve had a rough night. I’ve got the perfect room for you two. Let’s get you set up and get some sleep.”

The old man took their information and payment, then handed them their keys.

“Let me take your bags for you.” The old man offered.

Daniel picked up Nancy’s bags quickly. “No, I’ve got this. We just want to go to bed.”

Nancy rolled her eyes and followed Daniel out of the lobby then towards their room.

Nancy opened the door to their room and Daniel followed her in, dropping their luggage on the ground. The room was simply furnished. There was a single king size bed in the center of the room and a couple of dark wood nightstands on either side of it. Across the room was a desk, chair, and long dresser. Everything seemed normal except for the walls. They were covered in a yellow wallpaper with a white paisley design over it. Within the teardrop parts of the paisley design were blue eyes. It was one of the strangest things Nancy and Drew had ever seen.

Nancy and Daniel stared at the walls, which seemed to be staring back at them. Then they looked at one another and suddenly burst out laughing. Nancy fell into Daniel’s arms and they leaned into each other laughing themselves to tears.

After a full minute of them laughing together, Nancy looked up into Daniel’s eyes. “Geez, this wallpaper is so awful. I’ve forgotten why we were fighting.”

Daniel was still holding Nancy in his arms but felt the need to hold Nancy a little tighter. He really wanted to feel her in his arms. As Nancy felt his arms tighten, she stood on her tiptoes and closed her eyes. She moved without thinking. Their lips met and for a long moment they stayed there in a warm embrace.

They pulled away from each other and looked into each other’s eyes. Their noses brushing against one another.

“It was my fault. I had the wrong time. I should have double checked when the bus left.”

“No, mistakes happen. And if we’d left early, like you wanted, then we would have been there just before it left.”

“You were on time for the time I told you. Ultimately, it’s my fault. I’m sorry. And I’m sorry I got angry after. You didn’t deserve that.”

“I’m sorry I got angry too. You didn’t deserve it either.”

Nancy and Daniel slept better that night than they had in a long time.

The next morning, they entered the hotel lobby with giant smiles on both their faces.

“Well, it seems like we had a good sleep last night,” the old man said from behind the counter.

“It was the best sleep we’ve had in months,” Daniel said while putting his arm around Nancy.

“It was almost like our problems disappeared when we entered the room.” Nancy said as she leaned onto Daniel’s shoulder.

“You really ought to change that awful wallpaper, though.” Daniel chuckled.

The old man let out a laugh with Daniel. “Oh, that old stuff. I could never. As ugly as it is, no one leaves that room unhappy. It’s our lucky charm.”