The Room with the Second-Best View by Virginia Smith

Author:Virginia Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736964821
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Chapter Eleven

The dishes finally cleaned and put away, the leftover colorful Derby napkins stored in a zipper baggie for next year, and every stray grape from Lulu’s hat retrieved and disposed of, Millie and Al retired to their bedroom. Exhaustion dragged at her limbs, which made her nightly ablutions seem to take hours. She envied Al, who donned his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and slid between the sheets before she’d even managed to remove her makeup.

“Did you hear that?” His voice reached her from the bedroom.

Millie popped her head out of the bathroom. “Hear what?”

He sat up in bed, propped against a pillow, an old Zane Grey novel he’d read a dozen times in his lap. “The toilet flushed.” He lifted a scowl toward the ceiling. “The water rushing through the pipes sounded like we should make a dash for Noah’s ark.”

She was too tired to try to placate him tonight. “Don’t exaggerate, Albert.”

As she returned to the bathroom, footsteps pounded from above. Goodness, they were quite loud. Perhaps she should look for a thick rug to put over the hardwood floor up there. Would that be enough to muffle the noise?

While running a brush through her hair, she traced Miss Hinkle’s footfalls, her mind’s eye supplying the woman’s path from the bathroom to the dresser. A few moment’s pause, and then another tromp across the room. To bed, hopefully? Or to the antique student’s desk between the two windows? Whichever, silence descended, thank the Lord. Millie lined her toothbrush with minty gel and set about cleaning her teeth.

She’d just rinsed when Albert once again called to her.

“Millie!” This time his summons came in the form of a loud whisper.

Peeking into the bedroom, she found him sitting straight up, eyes wide, the novel forgotten. “I think she’s coming.”

Sure enough, the sound of heavy steps stomping down the hallway warned her moments before their bedroom door was thrown open without so much as a knock. Miss Hinkle, draped in yards of cotton and lace, stood in the doorway, her expression heavy with outrage.

“Mr. Richardson, at the prices I’m paying for lodging, I should at least be able to expect a reliable Internet connection. Yours is so slow it’s practically unusable.”

Albert, who had snatched the edge of the comforter up to his chin like a blushing maiden caught unawares in her nightie, stammered a reply that might have been, “Well…it’s always been…that is to say…” He cast an alarmed glance at Millie in a clear plea for help.

Time to take control of the situation. Millie strode from the bathroom—thank goodness she’d not yet undressed—and crossed to the bedroom door. Taking Miss Hinkle by the arm, she led her firmly into the hallway and shut the door behind her.

“Thank you for letting us know about the Internet.” She pasted on a genuine smile but instilled her voice with a purposeful edge of steel. “My husband is a computer specialist, so I’m sure he’ll be able to address your concerns tomorrow.”

“A specialist?” The woman gave a haughty sniff.

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