UnAlaska

4. Lotus Eaters

Afternoon, August 17th

Laura walked down the natural wool plush carpeted halls of the Cecaelia toward her stateroom, the gracious hallway wide and paneled to her waist in blonde, satin finished wood. The panels shone with dense ripples and swirls and matched together like mirror images below walls of muted dove gray. Understated nickel light fixtures hung from the ceiling. The hallway reminded Laura of a seafaring Apple store. It's a hell of a lot nicer than the GSA-rate hotels the FBI put us up in, she thought.

An attendant greeted her in a crisp, dark suit. He smiled broadly, looking about thirty years old with dark hair and a neatly trimmed short beard. He reminded Laura of a waiter at an expensive restaurant, flirtatious and handsome. He raised a glass of champagne streaked with small bubbles.

"You must be Laura Constantine."

Laura rolled her suitcase to a stop against the hallway wall. She accepted the proffered glass with a nod. "That's me." She took a sip and felt the cool effervescent champagne, full of pears and light pastry. "Let me guess." She paused to nose the glass. "Veuve Clicquot Yellow Brut?"

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Impressive. I've never had a guest do that."

"It's a fun party trick."

"I'll say. Did you have a long journey here?"

"No, thankfully. I live in Seattle. No worse than a drive to the office."

"Fantastic. We're delighted to have you on board." He winked in a small, sly way. "The couple next door flew in from Dubai for this. I'd take your trip, hands down. My name is Francis." He pointed to a small engraved metal name plate on his lapel. "I will be your cabin steward aboard the Cecaelia. Great choice of luggage, by the way. Is that a Zero Halliburton?"

"It is." She smiled. "It looks like I'm not the only one with a party trick."

"Well, huh. I guess so. When you check as many people in as I have, you get a taste for these things. May I show you how to use your Amulet?"

"Sure." Laura raised the small metal disk on its lanyard.

He gestured at a small brushed nickel panel next to her door with a small screen mounted above it. "If you tap it here, your room will unlock. The screen will greet you."

Laura tapped the aluminum disk against the panel. A hidden circle of lights glowed green and a pleasant chime sounded. The display woke up and displayed:

Welcome, Laura Constantine

Day 1: Embarkation

Francis stepped back. "May I show you the room?"

"No thanks, I like to settle in on my own."

With that, Francis nodded. He lightly touched her elbow as he glided past her down the hallway, and continued on soundlessly. She caught a whiff of expensive cologne like a crackling fireplace.

Laura stepped over the threshold into a spacious room. She smelled a faintly herbaceous and sweet, warm smell. Was it vetiver? It was lovely. She walked first into her bedroom, and found a bed made with soft, creamy satin sheets and draped with a saffron yellow wool blanket with a small label from Iceland. Jewel-like lighting shone on a large abstract oil painting hung on the wall in a black frame. She set her champagne on the night stand and rolled her suitcase against the bed. She sat on it and took off her flats with a deep exhale.

Walking into the living room, she smelled the sweet musk of lilies. A small, minimalist ikebana arrangement sat in the center of an impeccably clean glass coffee table. Francis had dutifully plucked the pollen from them. Was this Helen's idea? Thought Laura. She thought back to their days in their shabby college apartment, when Helen would bring a bouquet of lilies home from the grocery store, wrapped in crinkly plastic. She remembered settling into their sagging thrifted couch to watch episodes of Eligible, their favorite campy dating show.