Love, Rosie (257 page)

the
wood
in
the
building),
behind
it
is
a
messy
collection
of
former

guests’
hats,
umbrellas,
and
coats
that
are
currently
collecting
dust.

The
walls
are
wood-paneled
from
the
floor
to
halfway
up
the
wall

which
is
a
nice
feature
and
the
walls
which
were
probably
once
a

rich
olive
green
color
are
now
a
more
moldy
green.
Small
lanternlike

lights
adorn
the
walls
and
throw
out
absolutely
no
light
at
all.
The

378

Cecelia
Ahern

place
is
like
a
dungeon.
The
carpets
look
like
they
were
laid
in
the

’70s,
they’re
dirty
and
smelly
and
have
cigarette
burns,
black
patches

of
stuck
on
chewing
gum,
and
other
stains
the
smell
of
which
I
don’t

wish
to
know.

This
long
corridor
leads
down
to
a
large
bar
area
which
contains
the

same
dirty
smelly
carpet,
dark
wood,
paisley-covered
stools
and

chairs,
and
when
the
sun
shines
through
the
tiny,
paint-flaking
win-

dow
all
you
can
see
is
the
air
thick
with
wisps
of
smoke
probably

still
there
from
the
old
man
who
used
to
sit
there
with
his
pipe
200

years
ago.

The
dining
area
has
twenty
tables
and
a
limited
menu.
It
has
the

same
carpet
except
it
has
the
added
feature
of
food
stains.
There
are

brown
velvet
curtains,
and
net
blinds;
the
tables
are
covered
in
what

was
once
white
but
now
yellow
lace
tablecloth
with
rusty
food-

stained
cutlery.
The
glasses
are
misty,
the
walls
are
white,
which

makes
it
the
only
room
with
light
but
no
matter
how
much
the
heat

is
turned
up
it
feels
cold.

But
the
smell
.
It’s
like
somebody
died
and
was
left
to
decay.
It
has

since
been
absorbed
into
the
furniture,
the
walls,
and
into
my
clothes.

There
are
60
rooms,
20
on
each
floor.
Beanie
proudly
announced

that
half
of
them
are
en-suite.
You
could
imagine
how
happy
I
was

to
hear
that,
thinking
immediately
that
I
should
ring
up
the
TV
and

radio
stations
to
advertise
this
wonderful
feature.
The
fact
that
some

bedrooms
have
bathrooms.

Two
wonderful
women,
Betty
and
Joyce,
each
aged
about
100
years

old,
clean
the
rooms
three
times
a
week
which
frankly
I
find
rather

disgusting.
And
given
how
slowly
they
move,
I’d
be
surprised
if
they

cleaned
the
room
even
that
often.

I
was
also
beginning
to
wonder
what
kind
of
customers
a
hotel
like

this
would
attract
but
it
all
became
clear
to
me
as
I
worked
the
late

love,
rosie

379

shift
one
night.
As
the
lap-dancing
club
finished
downstairs,
the