Wednesday
Lynn Sr. woke up to the sound of whirring wind muffled by the walls. He slowly inched off the bed to not wake Rita up. He stepped onto the carpet and put on his green checkered shirt and brown slacks. He pulled his sweater over his shirt as he stepped out into the suit's living room. Lily was still asleep in her crib tucked under her lavender blanket. He tenderly rubbed her blond tuft of blond hair before leaving.
He took the elevator down to the ground floor. As he walked to the diner he noticed he had a spring in his step. He felt like cooking up something special for the family today. He walked into the kitchen and flipped on the lights.
He collected the ingredients from storage and began making lots of cinnamon french toast. He took the trays out of the oven and began to intricately carve the bread into Christmas items. He lifted the individual shapes out of the tray and onto plates. He decorated the pieces with thin lines of syrup and whip cream before carefully placing them onto the cart.
The kids started coming into the diner and taking their seat at the table. He made hot chocolate for them to drink and made some special caffeinated stuff for him and Rita. He put the jugs of hot chocolate onto the cart and rolled it out.
"Morning everyone!" he said.
"Morning Pops! How'd you sleep?"
"I slept fine. Look what I made you all!" He began to rapidly set out the plates in front of the seats.
"This is sweet of you Dad!"
"And there's more," he said as he poured the hot chocolate into their cups. They began eating their french toast and Lynn Sr. pushed the cart over to his and Rita's table. He set out their plates and began pouring the caffeinated hot chocolate into her cup.
"Hot chocolate?"
"Caffeinated. I'd thought you'd like some too." He poured himself some before eating. He watched Rita cut off a bit from her snowman shaped slice and eat it. "How's it taste?"
"It's delicious."
"Nothing but the best for my family." He took a sip of his hot chocolate before cutting up his french toast.
"You seem cheery today."
"I am. You were right, finding something for them to do together really did turn things around." They both looked over at the kids. "Look how happy they are. No arguing, no fighting, just good times. It should be smooth sailing from here on out."
"Well I'm happy that you turned things around. I've made enough progress on my novel so far that I can take a day off to be with you."
"I have to go outside and just make sure everythings in order before the storms come, so you can still work on it for a bit longer."
"Okay. Don't stay out there too long, I don't want you catching a cold."
"I won't. See you soon." He stood up and walked out of the diner. He passed the Christmas tree and piano heading towards the front entrance. He stopped to put on his gloves and a coat before stepping outside.
Lincoln swirled the last piece of french toast in a puddle of syrup on his plate before eating it. He looked around the table as his siblings began finishing their meals as well.
"So, any ideas on what to do today?" Lynn asked.
"I believe that outdoor activities are off the table seeing as the snow storms are starting to break," Lisa said.
"Okay, so we stick indoors. How about hide and seek again?"
"Too soon. How about something else?"
Lincoln saw an opportunity to finally use the massive amount of quarters he had brought with him to the hotel. "Hey guys, there's a game room here with board games and an arcade we could use. I brought a bunch of quarters I could share."
"Is there Ring the Finger?"
"Is there Dance Battle?"
"Yup! It's on par with Gus' Games and Grub and we have it all to ourselves."
"Rocking! I'm heading up there right now," Luna said as she stood up with the others following suit.
"You guys go on ahead, I need to get the quarters." They all left the diner and went to the elevator bank. Lincoln got on a separate elevator from the rest of the group and ascended to his floor. He went to his room and pulled the jar of coins out of the drawer and got back on the elevator.
The elevator came to a stop and he walked down the hallway. He turned into the game room where his sisters were waiting around.
"I've got the quarters! Everyone take a handful," he said, holding the jar out in front of him.
"Thank you Lincoln, but we'll only be needing one each," Lola said with a smile. She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a key chain. "I'll unlock the coin doors so we can play all the games we want with only one coin each!"
"Awesome! I've been collecting these for months and I won't have to spend a single cent! Here, come get one." They all pulled a single quarter out and dispersed through the room. Leni tried putting Lily down but she wouldn't let go of her.
"Come on Lily, let me just set you down-,"
"No Leni," Lily said and held on tighter. Leni looked over to Lincoln. "Lily's acting clingy and won't let go of me."
"She almost fell off the pool table yesterday. She's probably still scared." He put down the jar of quarters and walked over to Leni. He put his arm around Lily and gently tugged. Lily let go of Leni and let Lincoln carry her.
"There, there, it's all good Lily," he said as he swayed her back and forth. He walked over to the ball toss game. Lola came over and unlocked the coin door before Lincoln slid the coin in. The machine produced five red rubber balls. He picked one up and handed it to Lily.
"Here, try and throw it through that hoop." He pointed to the hoop and Lily chucked the ball at it. The ball bounced off the backboard and fell through the hoop.
"Nice shot Lily," he congratulated. Lily gave a delighted giggle and reached out for the other balls. He then threw a ball with the same result and they alternated throwing.
After Lana had received her quarter she shifted through multiple arcade games before settling on race car one. She climbed up onto the seat and pushed in her coin only to have it fall back into the palm of her hand. She went through the maps one by one before going back and customizing her race car in slightly different ways for each playthrough.
She started to grow bored with the game, her eyes growing sore from looking at the screen for too long not helping things. She wished she could actually experience the thrill of racing down a tract with the wind rushing against her face, like her racing hero Bobbie Fletcher.
I think I can. I can come up with something. She finished the game she was on and stepped off the seat. She did a quick stretch before walking around trying to figure out how to actually race. The sounds of the arcade kept interrupting her train of thought and she stepped outside into the hallway.
She passed by the beige walls until she came across a large alcove with vending machines and a luggage cart pushed up against the far wall. She walked over to it and sat down, dangling her feet. She felt as if she was missing something, the solution to the problem that she was looking for.
The luggage cart! The thought streaked through her head as if it had been yelled at her. She jumped up and realized she had been sitting right on top of it. She excitedly pulled the cart out and rolled it into the hallway. She was about to push out when another thought struck her. You need somebody to race against. That's right! It wouldn't be racing without another person. I should let everyone know what I'm doing, it'll be a nice change of pace. She began to roll the cart back over to the game room.
Lincoln began lining up his shot for his turn at the pool table. After some time together going around the arcade Lily had grown comfortable enough not being held by someone but she still kept close to Lincoln. He decided to take a break from the video games and teach her how to play pool. He had taken Lily's puzzle from the last time they had been here and carefully put it on another table. He had noticed the center of the puzzle was bloated as if from water damage but he couldn't imagine why.
He jabbed the cue forward and ricocheted his ball into one of the holes. He looked up to Lily who was sitting at the corner adjacent to him. "It's your turn Lily." She poked one of her ball's, causing a chain reaction that ricocheted. He smiled warmly as she laughed at the effect. It was a step up from when she tried whacking the ball on her first turn.
"Hey guys, look what I found!" He turned to see Lana at the door with a luggage cart behind her.
"Ooh, what is it?" Leni asked excitedly, looking around Lana.
"It's this," Lana answered with a gesture to the cart.
Lynn's face fell slightly in disappointment. "That's it?"
"Yup. Isn't it cool?"
"I don't get it. What about it's so cool?"
"We can race in it! I got bored of the arcade, It'll be much more fun actually doing it!"
Lincoln scratched the back of head. "I don't know Lana. Doesn't seem very safe. Can you even steer that thing properly?"
"I find out as I go. What's the harm to it?"
Lincoln began formulating a response but couldn't seem to think of something to rebut. She just wants to have some fun with the rest of the family. Besides, she's Lana. If anyone knows about racing properly it would be her. Plus look how happy she is.
"Alright. Are there any more carts?"
"Yeah, somewhere. I just have to find them."
"I'll help," Lola said. The twins left them and they continued playing their games. They came back a few minutes later, pushing and pulling four carts. "Got them," Lana called out. They all gathered around the carts. They split up into groups, Lincoln and Leni carrying Lily in one, Luna and Luan in the other, Lucy and Lynn in the third and the twins and Lisa in the last.
Lincoln placed his foot on the floor ready to push off. He looked over to Lana's car at the front. "So… when do we start?"
In response Lana pulled off her baseball cap and held it out to the side like a flag. "Ready.. Set… Go!"
Lynn Sr. finished his rounds and walked back to the entrance of the hotel. His teeth were slightly chattering and he left his mouth slightly open to keep his teeth from colliding. The sound of snow crunching underneath his boots slowly disappeared as he came under the concrete covering in front of the entrance. He tossed the shovel he had been using on a pile of snow pushed against the wall.
The doors parted for him as he walked in. Some snow had followed him inside but that could wait for later. He walked up to the receptionist desk and pulled his gloves off. He brought his hands up to his mouth, breathed in them and rubbed them together to put heat back in his hands.
It was quiet and he heard only the sound of wind brushing against the hotel. He would warm up for a bit before finally being with Rita again. He peeled out of his coat and laid it on the desk. He began walking for the elevator bank but stopped at the hallway that led to the managers room.
He walked down the hallway and came to the door. He tried the handle and found that it was unlocked. He swung the door forward and flipped on the light switch. The room still looked the same from when he took the job. His footsteps on the tiles echoed as he walked over to the plush velvet chair behind the desk. He sat down and spun around looking at the various awards, a photograph from the hotel's founding and the screen playing the same slide show.
He came to a stop and stared at the door. He began to feel drowsy, maybe from the warmth and the energy he had spent working outside. Surely Rita would appreciate more time working on her novel.
He crossed his arms on the desk and laid his head down. Just a short nap.
Rita kept typing away at her laptop taking sips from her coffee mug every now and then. The mug ran out of coffee and without looking away from the screen she placed the cup back into the coffee dispenser.
The dispenser gave a dry whirring noise making Rita look away from the computer. It had run out of coffee mix. She reached into the cardboard box next to it but couldn't find any more mix. She'd have to go find some more downstairs. Oh, well. She had made enough progress today.
She closed the computer and walked out of the conference room. She called an elevator and descended to the ground floor. The golden doors slid open and she began walking in the direction of the diner.
She paused, thinking she heard something. She shrugged to herself and continued. She stopped again. No, she really was hearing it. It sounded like…
"Lynn?" she called out. It sounded like yelling. She began walking in the direction of the noise and broke into a run when she was sure it was him.
"Lynn!" She ran into the entrance looking around for Lynn, seeing the counter with his snow gear and the couches but not him. Another pained yell echoed through the room coming from a hallway next to the check in.
"Lynn!" she cried out again. She ran through the hallway to the open door. Lynn was slumped over a desk shaking and raspisply breathing. She got behind him and pulled him up. He woke up and shook out of her grip, both he and the chair he was on falling to the floor spluttering in horror.
She quickly kneeled down next to him but was pulled down by Lynn who hugged her in a death grip. "Honey, what's wrong!?" He only squeezed tighter but his breathing became slower and more controlled.
"Bad, bad dream," he stuttered. She could feel his heart slamming against his chest. "It was the worst nightmare I ever had," he kept saying over and over, his eyes darting around.
"Lynn, you're awake, everythings fine, really," she said, trying to calm him down.
"You were dead, Lori was dead, Leni was dead, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, Lily, all dead, freezing to death and I just watched and couldn't stop it," he rambled on, close to tears. "I killed you all, I'm losing my mind-"
"No you're not. It was just a bad dream." She wormed her way out of Lynn's grasp and pulled him back up to his feet slowly. He was shivering and slightly wobbly so she put her arm around his back. "I'll just take you ups-,"
Crash!
They both flinched at the initial sound that was followed quickly by the sound of off tune musical notes. Rita felt a physical change in Lynn, he had stopped shaking and bounded forward. She followed behind him to see what the noise was.
Turning the corner at the hallway she saw the kids, and for some reason luggage carts, around the Christmas tree that had fallen onto the piano. They all looked nervous but they weren't looking at her.
"What. Happened?" Rita was baffled by Lynn's sudden change. His fearful stutter was gone and he was standing completely still.
"We, we were racing around in the carts," Lana quickly said. "It seemed like fu-,"
"Is this fun to you!?" he yelled, causing all of them to flinch. "Is it fun to cause this much damage!? What were you thinking? You've, no, all of you have just caused damage to hotel property. We are guests here and you cannot do that!"
He made a gasping noise before he continued yelling. "And how did you even get these?"
Lola meekly pulled out a key chain. "I may of kept the keys that we used y-,"
"Why do you still have those? Those are hotel property and we need those! What if they had gotten lost?" He stamped over to her. "Give them back. Now." Lola, who was visibly trembling like jello, extended her hand with the keys out. He snatched the keys away from her with such force that the edge of her pink glove was pulled down to the elbow. He crammed the keys into his pockets before turning his attention to Leni.
"And you, why would you be carrying around Lily while doing this?"
"It looked safe," Leni tried to say before being cut off by Lynn.
"But it wasn't! Look at this, what if Lily had been in that cart? But you didn't think about that did you? You never do!" He kept walking to her as he kept yelling, the kids silently stepping out of his way not wanting his ire directed at them.
"You know what Leni? You don't deserve to watch over Lily. Hand her over to me." Leni's bottom lip quivered as she slid Lily off and into Lynn's outstretched arms. He took some steps back separating himself from the kids. He started to speak but stopped himself.
"I don't want to hear another word. Go to your rooms. All of you."
"Bu-,"
"Not! Another! Word!" he roared. The younger kids quickly dashed for the elevators with the older ones trailing slowly behind. Lily had started to cry softly, startled by Lynn's outburst. He took a deep breath before turning back to Rita. He held out Lily to her and she took her, pressing her against her breast tightly.
"I'm sorry Rita, I just… I just need to walk it off." He walked past her and she watched as he walked down the hallway and eventually turned out of sight. She lulled Lily back into a sense of calm as she wondered what had just happened.
Lynn Sr. stormed down the seemingly endless corridors of the hallways going in circles. He had to restrain himself from yelling out in anger. He had half a mind to knock over the furniture that decorated the hall's but he only lashed out at the space in front of him.
Those goddamn kids! They had just caused what was probably thousands of dollars in damage. That money for Leni, stupid, foolish and borderline retarded Leni's college fund was definitely off the table now.
His self control finally broke down. "God damn it!" He had turned this vacation around only for them to do this to him. I gave them this opportunity, I gave them good memories, I have cleaned up after each and every mess they have made, not just here but everywhere. And they spat in my face in return.
He came across the door to the bar. He needed to sit down. He pulled out the keys and shoved it in. He turned the handle and strode into the room. It was dark and the only illumination there was from the light that broke through the overcast sky and the window. He reached the window and rapped his fingers on the glass as he looked out into the uniformly white landscape.
"I need a goddamn drink," he muttered to himself. Something to numb away the anger. He turned his head to the bar counter. Surely they must have left something. He came over to the counter and peered over the edge. The shelves stood bare and empty. He reached over and flipped the light switch to get a better view.
The room was bathed in soft yellow light. Nothing except empty cups and an ice maker. In desperation he pulled out a cup, put it under a tap and depressed the handle. Nothing. He slammed a fist down on the counter in frustration and took a seat. He placed down his arms and set his head in it. Nothing was going his way.
"Long day?"
"Longer than you think." He lifted his head up to see Dell standing behind the counter.
"Care for a drink?"
"Love one." Dell turned away from him to face the stocked shelves. He pulled down a bottle of 1808 whisky. He poured it in a cup with a few ice cubes and pushed it forward to Lynn. He reached for his wallet to pay but found both pockets empty.
"I, uh, seemed to have left my wallet at my room," he said as he started to stand up.
"No problem. It's on the house," Dell said in his southern drawl. Lynn stopped and slowly sat back down. "Why thank you Dell."
"Employee discount, you could say."
Lynn picked up the glass and tilted it around watching the whisky surge back and forth. He prepared himself and took a sip. He felt the drink wash over his tongue, going from cool to hot and prickly in a few seconds. He savored the bitter sweet after taste for a few seconds before sucking it away for the next sip. The resentment he felt towards his kids kept simmering but his anger had abated, scrubbed away by the drink as if his mind was a chalkboard.
"How are things going Lynn?"
Lynn set down the cup before responding. "It could be better. It could be a whole lot better."
"I hope it's nothing too serious."
"No, no. It's just the kids. Nothing that I can't handle."
"I'm glad to hear that." He poured Lynn some more drink, twice as much as he got before. Lynn took another sip before continuing.
"They've been a problem almost since day one. And we've been at this fine establishment for four days. Snow everywhere. Food fights in the diner. Knocking a literal tree down onto a fucking piano." Dell listened to him with a small polite smile as he poured another round.
"They don't appreciate what I have given them. They don't. They never have. I'd do anything for them. I have done everything for them. And they only cause trouble! No matter what I do, they find a way to screw it all up!"
Lynn took another sip before continuing. "If only they would behave but they don't."
Dell looked down at him. "Well, if it's any consolation to you I know someone who's had to deal with something like this."
"You do?"
"Yeah. He comes here for a drink from time to time. He's not here now but he should be around later."
"Lynn?" He heard Rita say.
Lynn looked down at the empty cup in his hands as he heard footsteps behind him. He felt Rita put her hand on his back. "Lynn?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to come up to our room now?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah." He stood up from the bar stool and began walking. He stumbled and almost fell down. Rita caught him and pulled him back into a steady position before they walked out with Rita supporting Lynn.
Lincoln sat on his bed leaning against the backboard with his arms wrapped around his curled up legs. He felt absolutely terrible. He had never seen Dad get that angry before. He had never seen anyone get that angry before. He wanted someone to talk to, to try to get rid of the guilt he was feeling but he didn't dare leave the room lest he be singled out for Dad's wrath.
He could try talking to one of his sisters over the phone but he wasn't sure if Dad didn't want that happening either. Better safe than sorry. He began pulling his hand away from the phone when he thought of calling Lori. He dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Hi Lori."
"Oh hi Lincoln, how are things going?"
"Not that good."
"Why, what happened?"
"Well we got a bunch of those luggage trolleys and started racing around in them but we knocked over the Christmas tree onto a piano."
"You what?"
"I know, I know, stupid idea but it seemed safe. Dad got mad. Really mad."
"Well of course he would. You literally dropped a tree onto a piano."
"No, like, 'too angry to be the same person,' sort of angry."
"Like angry when we destroyed Vanzilla?"
"Worse."
"Oh. Well just keep your head down and don't do stuff like that and you should be good. There'll still be some tension but you shouldn't get another outburst like that again."
"Okay Lori. Thanks for talking to me."
"No problem. Oh, before you leave one more thing; We've had a change of plans. Me and Boo-Boo Bear will be coming on Christmas Eve. I couldn't get a hold of Mom or Dad so could you tell them?"
"I will," he said. When it's safe to come out of his room.
"Okay, thank you Lincoln. See you soon!"
"See you soon," Lincoln replied. He hung up and placed the phone back down on the holder. At least he had that bit of news to cheer him up.