The Things That I Know || George Michael

eight - i'm trying so hard

"So, how long have you guys had this planned for, hey?" George's half-hearted attempt at enthusiasm is convincing enough to bring a smile to his children's faces, the following Friday afternoon. "Because I bet you knew about this, didn't you?"

"We decided about this last Saturday," Levi explains, pulling up in front of the hotel in the car. "When we were all sat in the garden late one night. You were in bed because of your hangover."

"Yeah, and we kept it a surprise." Kieran covers his mouth to indicate how secretive he believes himself to be; through his fingers, a muffled giggle escapes. "Did we do good, Daddy?"

"You all did excellent," George praises; he is extremely grateful for the weekend getaway that Levi has brought the family on, but his guilt lays in the fact he feels no better than he has done the last few weeks. "This weekend is going to be fantastic."

The four of them each unfasten their seatbelts, before getting out of the vehicle; with their backpacks in tow, they enter the hotel reception. The building is decorated simplistically, with a modern feel to it; cool hues of blue and indigo mingle flawlessly with the white walls to appear somewhat futuristic. A young woman stands waiting at the front desk, a smile upon her chiselled face as she watches the family approach her.

"Good evening," she greets accommodatingly. "Are you staying with us tonight?"

"We have two nights booked under Panayiotou-Jones," Levi informs her, propping himself up against the desk with his arm. "Sorry — spelt P-A-N-A-Y-I-O-T-O-U." He turns to his partner, smiling bashfully. "I sometimes forget my name isn't quite as simple as it used to be. No thanks to you."

"I didn't ask to be born Greek," George comments, the first sign of playfulness in a very long time.

The young lady types in the prolonged surname as Levi has spelt it; she glances at her computer screen, grinning as she successfully locates their reservation. "Excellent! So — two nights in the family room; breakfast is included, and you've already paid ahead for car parking. Is that correct?"

"Spot on," Levi agrees. "What time does breakfast close in the morning?"

"Because you're here for the weekend, it'll close at eleven o'clock. On weekdays it's usually ten." She averts her eyes down, to slot the room keycards into an envelope for safekeeping, before she hands it across the counter to Levi. "Enjoy your stay with us. Any queries, please come and ask. You're room two-four-seven, on the second floor."

"Thank you," George chimes in, at the last moment. He hauls his backpack over his shoulder, cautious not to hit anybody in the process; then, he heads towards the lifts in the corridor. The rest of the family follow behind him, with Levi trailing behind at the back of the line. George presses the 'Call' button for the lift, stepping back to observe which of the three will arrive at their floor first. The one to the right eventually stops; when the doors open, the group walk inside. George presses the button for floor two, but becomes slightly disgruntled when the lift doesn't respond to his request. "What's this about?"

"It's not responding to you pressing it, is it?" Levi asks rhetorically; with his own attempt at clicking floor two proving unsuccessful, he heaves a sigh. "What's going on with this?"

"Daddy," Gemma pipes up. "You need the keycard."

"Oh." Levi, now embarrassed, scans the room card over the sensor, before pressing the button for floor two once again; this time, it works as intended. "Well done for noticing that, sweetheart."

The lift doors finally close, before the family are whisked up to level two. Upon arrival, the doors open once again, revealing a long corridor of doors; each one has its own unique number on, to mark the entrance of its own individual room. Levi leads this time, walking down the never-ending tunnel, until they come face-to-face with room 247; he hovers the keycard over the sensor, unlocking the door on his first try.