Ruth ran back to reception. Erica was mid-mouthful of mince pie. ‘One of the nicest things about November is that the shops start selling these. You simply have to try the Salted Caramel ones from Lidl. Or Aldi. I can never remember which. Delicious.’ She stuffed the second half in her mouth.
Ruth shuddered and said, ‘I would like to clean the communal room.’
Erica brushed some mince-pie crumbs from her mouth. ‘You, young lady, need to slow down.’
‘May I clean the room?’ Ruth asked again.
‘Why?’ Erica asked, suspicion written over her face.
‘So that we can use it,’ Ruth answered. ‘It says here in rule nineteen …’
Erica held her hand up. Those rules would be the death of her. ‘I know what it says. I personally laminated them myself.’ She took a moment to go through the pros and cons of Ruth’s request. She couldn’t think of a single objection. Yet still, she was fundamentally against the idea.
‘No.’
Ruth looked around the hotel lobby and said, ‘Imagine having a quiet space that your residents could retire to in the evening.’
‘Go on,’ Erica said, putting down her second mince pie.
‘What if the unused communal room became The Silver Sands Lodge Library?’ Ruth said, inspiration hitting her.
‘A library?’ Erica repeated. She had to admit that did sound rather grand.
‘Just think what that would do for The Silver Sands Lodge. A boutique hotel with its own library,’ Ruth said. She noted with satisfaction the look on Erica’s face. Erica liked the idea.
‘What’s in it for you?’ Erica asked.
‘The children need a quiet space to do their homework in. It is impossible for them to concentrate, study or write in their bedrooms. So the room has to be used by all guests. Not just the “normal” ones. Somewhere they can read a book or newspaper, have a cup of tea …’
Erica raised her hand, ‘There is no budget for your proposed project. My housekeeper and her team are already at full capacity and do not have the time to take on the cleaning of another room.’
‘What if I clean the room every day? There will be no additional responsibility for your staff because I will take care of it all,’ Ruth said.
‘I can’t pay you,’ Erica shouted after Ruth, who was already running down the corridor.
Ruth was too excited to wait for the lift so she ran upstairs two at a time, heading straight for the kitchen. Kian, Ava and Aisling were still there, plus Melissa from room 131, who had a toddler in her arms.
‘I found the communal room,’ Ruth said.
‘Praise be,’ Kian replied.
‘Good for you,’ Aisling said, elbowing Kian.
‘It is very dirty and full of rubbish,’ Ruth said.
‘Course it is. Typical of this dump,’ Kian said. ‘Look at the state of that wall.’ The once-white paint in the kitchen was now grey.
‘I am going to clean it,’ Ruth said.
‘The kitchen wall?’ Kian asked.
Ruth looked at that and shrugged. ‘Maybe later. But right now, I am going to clean the communal room. And I hope you will all help me.’
Ava made a face. She had just painted her nails. They weren’t really dry yet.
‘I’m not sure, Ruth …’ Aisling said.
‘The children need somewhere to do their homework. I have already been called into DJ’s school to discuss the decline in his homework quality. It is impossible for him to concentrate in the bedroom. And there is no desk for him so he ends up working on his bed. It is unacceptable,’ Ruth said.
Melissa added, ‘My daughter Ciara is doing her junior cert this year. There are five of us in our family room. It’s an impossible situation.’
‘So your idea is that this communal room downstairs is going to be a homework room?’ Kian asked.
Ruth nodded.
‘What’s the point of doing that, though?’ Melissa asked. ‘This hotel is just temporary for us all.’
‘I like the idea of a homework room. Won’t lie. But why should we have to clean the hotel, do their bleeding jobs for them?’ Kian said.
‘Exactly,’ Melissa agreed.
‘Playing devil’s advocate here. Just say we do clean the room up, what then? Who says Erica will even let us lot use the room?’ Aisling asked.
‘I have spoken to her about that. The room will be renamed the Library, to be used as a quiet room for all residents.’ She looked at Kian. ‘No more hiding behind the palm tree when you want to read the newspaper. No more balancing their maths homework on their knees. A proper homework area with desks. Erica has agreed to it as long as it does not cost the hotel money to create or maintain. I have told her I will do all of that.’
Ruth looked around at them all, staring at her with varying degrees of shock and surprise on their faces.
‘It’s a waste of time, something I don’t have spare,’ Melissa said, walking out.
‘I don’t know, Ruth,’ Aisling said. ‘I think you are being taken advantage of by Erica. You’ll do all the work, clearing the room out. Then she’ll say it’s only for her “normal” residents.’
Murmurs of agreement moved through the room.
Odd whispered in her ear, as Ruth’s shoulder sagged with the weight of her disappointment. She cleared her throat then repeated one of Odd’s lines. ‘Perseverance is impossible if we don’t permit ourselves to hope.’
‘Come again?’ Kian said.
‘It is a line from a book I love. Odd Thomas. It’s my mantra when curveballs are sent my way. I believe that we have to keep trying, persevering, pushing for our children’s sake. And the only way I can find the strength to keep doing that is believing and hoping that it will all work out in the end. For DJ’s sake, I have to hope that.’ She walked out of the kitchen and made her way back down to the communal room.
I can do this on my own. I do not need anyone. Why then, did she feel so disappointed?
Standing on her tippy toes, she reached up to pull a chair from a tall stack.
‘You trying to kill yourself?’ Kian’s voice said, making her jump.
She turned round in surprise to see him standing there, with Aisling and Ava by his side. ‘You came.’
‘My diary was wide open today so you chose a good time to make a speech,’ Kian said.
‘Anna needs somewhere to go other than our bedroom or the park. I figure that if we do this, maybe it will be like good karma or something,’ Aisling answered.
‘I like the idea of a library,’ Ava said. ‘I read about these free libraries popping up around the world, outside cafés, in villages, towns, even in people’s front gardens. A free book exchange – take a book, leave one back. I’ve got a few bags of books in storage I can donate.’
Ruth said, ‘I found a couple of boxes of books in here. We could have a section for children and for adults.’
‘There is some serious shit in these boxes,’ Kian said, peering through open box lids. He picked up a plastic green turtle and threw it back in again.
‘I’ve got lots of kitchen stuff over here that could be useful.’ Aisling held up some saucepans. ‘We could do with a few of these upstairs. Someone burned the bottom of a couple of the pans in the kitchen last week.’
Kian held up a kettle. ‘Couldn’t we make a little hot-chocolate station for the kids, too? Cormac would love that.’
Ruth smiled. ‘DJ loves marshmallows.’
‘I’d say this place hasn’t seen a duster in years,’ Aisling said.
‘I like to clean. I just need help with the furniture,’ Ruth said, afraid that they would leave again. And she did not want that. She found she liked having their company.
‘Many hands make light work. Let’s get going so.’ Kian began unstacking the chairs one by one.
‘I’m going to take some of this kitchen stuff upstairs. That way we are clearing as we go,’ Aisling said, sorting a box out.
‘Where do you want this table?’ Kian asked, and they looked around the room, trying to work out how it would all fit.
‘How about over here for a homework station for the older kids? They need space for all their books,’ Ruth said.
‘And over here, we could have a few tables for the small ’uns. Melissa’s kids are forever running around the hall. They might sit still for five minutes if they had somewhere to do it,’ Kian said.
‘That’s a lovely idea,’ Aisling said.
‘I’ve been known to have a few,’ Kian winked.
Ruth noticed Aisling blushing scarlet and turning away to hide it.
‘We need a bookshelf,’ Ava said.
‘Why don’t you use the windowsill?’ Kian suggested. They walked over to look at it and all agreed it was perfect as it was so deep.
‘Ah, lads, I’m on fire today, what?’ Kian said, and the room filled with laughter and hope. ‘You happy with the plan, boss?’
‘I am not the boss,’ Ruth answered, startled, when she realised he was talking to her.
‘Oh, you are, no doubt about it. This is all you. I’m just the muscle.’ He flexed one arm and Aisling pretended to swoon.
The four of them worked well together in companionable silence, with Kian cracking the odd joke. The furniture was moved to new positions, the rubbish stacked out the back with the bins.
Ruth collected a vacuum cleaner and some cleaning materials from the housekeeper.
‘Give me a go of that bad boy,’ Kian said when she came in dragging a Nilfisk behind her. ‘I’m parched. Why don’t you all go for a cuppa and I’ll be up in five minutes when the floor is hoovered?’
Aisling, Eva and Ruth watched him for a few minutes, delighted to see an acceptable red carpet revealed under the layer of dust. Then they walked upstairs to the kitchen.
‘Kian is really lovely when you get to know him,’ Aisling said.
‘I never thought I would ever agree with that statement. But he’s been all right today, I suppose,’ Ava replied.
‘He is a man of many contradictions,’ Ruth said.
They looked at her with interest. Ruth continued, ‘Well, he curses a lot, yet he is also polite, well mannered. He looks lazy, yet he is not afraid to get his hands dirty. And despite his tendency to rant and rave about the injustices of the world, his arguments and views are valid and well informed.’
‘Wow,’ Aisling said. ‘You really nailed him!’
Ava made a pot of tea and poured Ruth a glass of milk.
‘Who would have thought cleaning could be so much fun?’ Aisling said.
‘Kian is like a one-man stand-up show,’ Ava said.
‘He made me laugh occasionally,’ Ruth said.
Kian walked in at that moment, ‘Ladies, ladies, I know you are talking about your favourite subject, me, but would you ever pour this hard-working man a drink?’
Ava did the honours, then said, ‘I’ve texted Brian and he’s going to get our books from his mam’s house on the way home from work. I’ll start sorting the books from the boxes below when we go back down.’
‘They must be in alphabetical order,’ Ruth said.
‘I think I can manage that,’ Ava said, throwing her eyes up to the ceiling.
Aisling said, ‘You do know that five minutes after the kids arrive, they’ll mess up any order you put them in?’
‘Sometimes, I go into Eason on O’Connell Street and sort their books out for them,’ Ruth said.
‘I bet they love seeing you,’ Ava replied, laughing.
Once they’d drunk their tea they all got back to work. And within a few hours they were done. They stood side by side and looked around the newly transformed room, with satisfaction and pride.
‘It’s beginning to look like a library now,’ Ava said, and everyone nodded.
‘Gas thing is, I can’t stand books myself. I’d much prefer to watch stories than read about them,’ Kian said.
‘You are missing out on so much!’ Ruth said, shocked at his admission.
‘Like what?’ he asked.
‘Odd Thomas, for a start. A race against time. Good versus evil. It is truly excellent,’ Ruth said.
‘I’ve visited so many different cultures, more than I could ever visit in a lifetime, all through books. Just with the flick of a page,’ Ava said.
‘Like Pico Mundo in California,’ Ruth said.
You know that is a fictitious town? Odd whispered.
It is real to me, Odd.
‘Last night I was in Hawkins, Indiana, courtesy of my auld pal Netflix. With the flick of a remote-control switch! Not sure it’s a place that you’d want to go to, though. Stranger things happen there, get it?’ Kian started to laugh at his own joke and Aisling joined in.
‘Anna and I love that show, too. How talented are those kids?’ Aisling said.
‘You should watch it together some time. It is obvious to everyone that you have taken a fancy to each other. Kian, you cannot keep your eyes off Aisling. And, Aisling, you start to giggle whenever Kian is around. Watch the programme together.’ Ruth carried on cleaning while she spoke.
‘Who needs Tinder when you have Ruth around?’ Ava said.
‘I didn’t think we would get this done by tonight, never mind before lunch.’ Ruth was oblivious to the reaction her words had made.
‘I can’t wait to show Cormac,’ Kian said, stealing a glance at Aisling.
‘And me, Anna,’ Aisling agreed, flushing under his gaze. ‘We could have a little party to show it to them? Get some crisps and pop? I can go to the shop to pick up a few bits.’
‘Great idea. I’ll go with you if you like,’ Kian said.
‘I’d like that very much.’ She beamed a smile in his direction and they walked out, shoulder to shoulder.
Ruth looked around the room with satisfaction. For the first time in months she started to feel hope begin to dance its way around her again. Whatever amount of time they had to spend here, she would do all in her power to make it a better place for them. A home.