Fanny eyed the rose on the table suspiciously. What was that no-good Julian up to? She prowled around to cast an eye out for him. She found him in the next bedroom sprawled inelegantly on a chair taking a nap. She shuddered and averted her eyes. She would never be able to get used to that. He woke with a snort when she tapped him on the shoulder.
'What is that rose doing in Mrs Sheldon's room?' She asked frostily. If Julian was playing silly buggers again…
'Just a little something for her birthday.'
'She's eighty three, you won't get anything in return' she snapped. Julian had a habit of moving things around the hotel. Sometimes it was the gravy boat in the kitchen, sometimes it was messing around with people's laptops. One couple had broken up the week before thanks to his meddling. He and Robin had sniggered about it for the entire day while Kitty mourned the loss of a relationship that was going nowhere. Fanny had informed her that they wanted different things and they might as well break up but for the woman to find out that her boyfriend was apparently searching for 'shark porn' (she couldn't even say the word) was not the right note for them to finish on. She highly disapproved of it.
Kitty burst through the door waving her arms about.
'She loves it!'
They all crowded into Mrs Sheldon's room. Her son brought her to the hotel every three months for a week's holiday. She was batty, according to Julian. Fanny had feared that he was going to muddle her even further by moving everything around but to her surprise, Julian had left her alone until now.
'Some of my best work' he exclaimed. 'I'm exhausted.'
They watched Mrs Sheldon's delight at receiving a rose. Her son walked in a minute later wanting to know who it was from.
'My valentine' she said, clutching it to her.
Where, Fanny enquired, did he get the yellow rose from?
'Pinched it off a bouquet left in reception. Knocked it off and rolled it upstairs with the help of unsuspecting guests.'
He looked very pleased with himself. Kitty clapped her hands together in delight.
'My aunt had the same problem. She could no longer remember anything by the time she had died. That was a year before I did. She used to wander off in the night and only think of things that had happened in the past. Such stories she used to tell! But she never could dress herself by the end.'
Fanny knew of the condition. It wasn't something that had the same name in her day. But Mrs Sheldon wasn't the only guest with dementia.
'I heard it was her birthday so I wanted to give her something nice. She reminds me of my aunt.'
Fanny's eyes misted over for a second. How like Kitty to want to give nice things to people and persuading that rotter Julian to make it happen. He had his uses.
'That is a very kind gesture, Kitty. I approve.'
The other two beamed as Mrs Sheldon's son tucked the rose in her blazer pocket for her to wear for her birthday lunch. Job well done. Kitty followed them downstairs.
Julian yawned and stretched.
'Well, I'm going to continue that nap. Room three have been banging away like gorillas and if I'm lucky I'll get to see the floor show when they come back.'
And there it was again. Fanny shuddered. He had his moments but there was no changing a character like Julian.