When the play ended, Clio retreated to her room to let her brain absorb what could only be called the most astonishing theatrical display she had ever seen.
Just as she finished changing into her pajamas and opening a window in the stuffy, blue room, there was a knock on her door.
"Come in," she said.
"Hello, Miss Ford," Spencer said opening the door. "How did you like the play?"
"I enjoyed it actually. I especially liked your fight sequence," Clio replied.
"I'm actually quite proud of that part. Thanks for that," Spencer said.
"I was just being honest," Clio answered. "So, what brings you?"
"Oh, well," Spencer said reaching out into the hallway and grabbing a cart, "I thought you might want this TV and air conditioner. If you don't, I can just take it somewhere else."
Clio laughed, part from being amused and part from being relieved that she wouldn't have to suffocate tonight. "Thank you."
"You know," Spencer started as he wheeled in a cart with the TV and air conditioner, "you look familiar."
Oh jeez, Clio thought. Maybe he won't figure it out.
"Have we met before?" Spencer asked.
"No, pretty sure we haven't. I'd definitely remember you," Clio replied. "I'm from Philadelphia. I've never been to New York before. This is my first time."
Spencer began to think quietly to himself as he set up Clio's TV.
"Were you ever on TV?" Spencer asked.
"Not really," she replied.
"Not really?" he asked. Clio nodded.
"Not really," she maintained, unsure herself of what "not really" meant.
"Okay, so, let's move onto questions that you can answer, like, what brings you to New York all by yourself?" Spencer asked.
"My mom is away restoring painting in a shack somewhere on the other side of the country. I was supposed to work at an art store this summer but she ended up sending me to stay with my dad while he did some work out in Italy. My mom's work ran long so when my dad sent me home I got sent right here to the Hopewell," Clio said.
"You were in Italy? No wonder you're so tan," Spencer said. "New York probably seems pretty lame in comparison then."
"I was actually out on the ocean. I didn't see too much of Italy. . ." Clio said. She wanted to finish her sentence "except for after our yacht got commandeered and I ended telling the Italian police about it", but she felt that was a story better left for later, if it was one she was going to tell at all.
"What were you doing out on the ocean?" Spencer asked pulling the cart over to the window to install the air conditioner.
"Nothing special. Just doing some dives out in the ocean. Looking at old boats and junk," she replied. Clio still wasn't clear on how much she was supposed to reveal (or how much she wanted to reveal) about her exploration of the Mediterranean so she stuck with the vague details.
"Dive! The board game! That's where I know you from! You were on the cover! I used to play that with Scarlett all the time," Spencer laughed, elated by his sudden epiphany.
"Oh, yeah, that," Clio said. Her opinion of her father had improved over the summer, but her attitude towards being on the cover of that game had not. "My dad and I invented that game when I was a kid."
"You do look a lot older," he said moving onto the air conditioner. "Anyway, if I remember reading your reservation correctly there's supposed to be two of you here isn't there?"
"Not for a while. My friend Elsa is coming to stay here with me for a bit and then she's going back home," Clio explained. "She was with me on the boat in Italy. She's mostly English."
"She's mostly English?" Spencer asked.
"Well, her mom is English and she lives and goes to school in England, but her dad is Swedish and she prays in Swedish when she's scared. So, she's mostly English but also, partly Swedish," Clio explained.
"This friend of yours, Elsa, seems very interesting," Spencer said plugging the air conditioner into the wall and then proceeding to sit it inside of the window.
"She is very interesting actually," she replied with a smile.
Then there was a snap that startled Clio. She looked over to the window to see that the air conditioner had vanished from the window, leaving on the cord stuck in the outlet below to give any evidence that it had been there in the first place. Outside there was a crash and a scream.
"Oops," Spencer said.
"What happened?" Clio asked.
"I almost killed my sister I think. . ." he said, unusually calm considering the circumstances. ". . . Yeah, that's Scarlett alright. . . Oh, she looks mad. . ."
"Is she okay?" Clio asked.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine," he said dismissively.
"You almost killed your sister just now," she pointed out.
"Almost killed my sister, but didn't," Spencer said brightly. Clio knew she shouldn't, but she laughed.
"I'm gonna go get another AC unit for you and I'll be back shortly."
Spencer walked out of the room, leaving Clio, amused and slightly confused. Spencer was an unusual sort of person. He rode a unicycle, was an actor, and he laughed after nearly killing his sister by way of crushing her with an air conditioner.
Just as Clio was allowing herself to become fully distracted by the enigma that was Spencer, her phone rang. She rolled over her bed to the night stand and examined the screen.
Call From: Elsa
Clio quickly answered. "Elsa!"
"Clio! Goodness, I miss you," she said. "How's New York? Is it wonderful? I bet it is."
"It's. . . Interesting for lack of a better word," Clio replied. "I haven't been here very long so I haven't really been able to pass judgment on it just yet."
"How's the hotel?" Elsa inquired.
"Even more interesting. They're performing 'Hamlet' right here in their own dining room. I saw it. It was amazing," Clio went on. "The boy who plays Guildenstern works here and is apparently in charge of personally seeing to it that my stay is comfortable."
"Oh! What's he like?" Elsa asked.
"He's. . . Interesting, just like everything else around here," Clio replied.
"Is he cute?" Elsa asked with a giggle.
"I guess so," she replied.
". . . Have you heard from Aidan at all since you left?" Elsa asked, suddenly changing the subject. A knot formed in Clio's stomach and she let out a sigh. "I'll take that as a no."
"He hasn't called, e-mailed, texted or anything," she said.
Elsa scoffed. "What an idiot. I cannot believe he wouldn't call you! After everything you went through together! Why is he being stupid?"
"Don't worry about it, Elsa," Clio said, trying to calm her angry friend. She was angry enough at Aidan for the both of them.
There came a knock on the door to her suite.
"Well, I've got to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow," Clio said.
"I'm going to call Aidan and tell him how stupid he's being," Elsa said.
"Elsa, no!" Clio pleaded, but Elsa was already gone. Clio sighed. "Come in."
The door opened and Scarlett walked inside, looking rather frazzled.
"You didn't happen to drop an air conditioner out of your window and nearly kill me did you?" Scarlett asked.
"Um. . . Of course not," Clio said. "Alternatively, you may want to ask your brother."
As if on cue, Spencer walked into the suite, a new AC unit in hand.
"Spencer!" Scarlett shouted.
"Oh, calm down," he said. "It's not like I intended to almost kill you."
"There's no telling with you, Spence," Scarlett replied. "Now, unless you intend actually kill someone this time, will let me help you with that?"
"Sure, sure," Spencer said, "But there's no way it would happen two times in a row. You're paranoid."
"And rightly so," Clio put in.
"Thank you," Scarlett said, happy to have Clio come to her defense. The AC unit was placed in the window, without incident this time.
"What would I do without you, Scarlett?" Spencer asked.
"Kill hundreds of innocent bystanders," she replied.
"Oh, stop exaggerating," Spencer said.
"I'm not," Scarlett replied. She turned to Clio. "Goodnight, Clio."
"Thanks, Scarlett," Clio said.
Scarlett skipped out of the room, leaving Clio alone with Spencer.
"You sound like a dangerous man, Spencer," Clio said.
"Occasionally," he said with a nod. "Anyway, I don't have a performance tomorrow, so if you would like, I could give you a personal tour around the city."
"Really?" Clio asked.
"Sure, unless you'd rather sit in here all day," Spencer said.
Clio giggled. "I'll take you up on that offer. Thank you, Spencer."
"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow at eight in the lobby," he said.
Clio gave him a thumbs up. "Sounds like a plan."