“Mr. Hughes, I need you to awake up.”

Ellis blinked his eyes open. He looked over his shoulder and tried to focus on the towering frame of the doctor who peered down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Pardon?” Ellis mumbled.

“It’s nearly dinnertime, I need to close up shop and you need to eat,” Grant stated firmly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes and you still need to join Masoud to get details about offloading the plane tomorrow so make yourself presentable and head to the dinning room. Get up slowly, we don’t need you passing out again.”

Ellis nodded and pushed himself up. Grant removed the IV from the back of his hand and layered a cotton ball with a bandage over the puncture. Ellis hid a yawn behind his trembling fingers and tried to orient himself. He grabbed his half-drunk water bottle from the doctor’s outstretched hand and took a sip.

Grant watched him carefully to ensure he didn’t stumble as he regained his footing, studying his posture and movements for signs of distress or uncertain motions. Ellis fixed his sweater and stabilized himself before he began walking toward the door.

“Are you good?” Grant inquired.

“I think so, I’m a bit dizzy,” Ellis replied.

“Give me a second to shut things down and I’ll go with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I’d rather not have you passing out in the hallway. Go sit down.”

Ellis did as he was asked. He walked back into the office and took a seat in the armchair. He smelled the familiar notes of Lisle’s cologne—a prominent, oaky scent—that seemed to linger wherever the proprietor went. He wondered if Lisle came in to check on him or speak with the doctor at some point. His eyes locked onto the computer, something he was surprised to see with how adamant the resort seemed to be about the ban on technology. The doctor seemed to be quite thorough with his note keeping, so he could imagine a more modern method of record management needed to be available, especially if the information needed to be sent back to other medical professionals.

He was shaken from his thoughts by a hand against his forehead. Ellis turned his eyes up in a bit of shock. The doctor’s palm was chilled and it felt nice against his skin.

“Your fever’s gone down some, good,” Grant said, mostly to himself.

“I feel a bit better,” Ellis noted.

“Dinner tonight is steak and potatoes.”

“Oh… I can’t have that.”

“Can’t, as in physically?  Or can’t, as in you feel like you shouldn’t?”

Ellis blinked a few times, “The latter?”

“You’re not required to, but it will offend Janine if you simply refuse it. It’s an end of season tradition so you may as well get used to it, or at least let her know in advance if you prefer something else. You do need more protein in your diet, too, but don’t make yourself sick.”

Grant extended his hand. Ellis took his hand and let the doctor lift him from the chair. He steadied himself and exhaled slowly. He smiled weakly and the two exited the office. Biscuit meowed loudly and raced out into the hallway after them, trotting along happily. The bell around her neck made soft noises, the big pink ribbon bounced and her large tail wiggled happily.

“She seems energetic,” Ellis noted, trying to make light conversation.

“She’s only a few years old so she still does have some kitten energy in her, Lisle got her as a birthday gift for his 30th a few years ago. I do wish she wouldn’t stay in my office, the patients don’t like to leave when she’s there,” Grant said calmly as he slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

Ellis wasn’t sure how to respond. Doctor Fontenot seemed to be a bit grumpy, a bit agitated, but deeply concerned about everything. He seemed studious and always had a stern gaze on his face, as if he were contemplating the universe with intensity. He decided to keep quiet and follow the doctor through the lounge toward the restaurant, observing the layout to try and commit it to memory so he wouldn’t be late again going forward.

Biscuit noticed a stray toy mouse beside the fireplace and made a beeline for it with her tail wagging aggressively. She zoomed around the lounge, happy as could be, almost as if she wanted to prove to Ellis that she was the one in charge.

The men walked into the restaurant where they were met by the rest of the staff. Ellis did notice that Lisle was not present, but the wrinkled elderly man chatting away with Luisa was one he did not recognize. He ascertained it must have been Ove and, judging by the fact he was covered in soil, it appeared the gardener had been hard at work since the early AM hours.

“That was a long doctor’s appointment!” Luisa joked as they noticed Ellis walk into the room.

“He passed out,” Grant noted with little emotion as he took a seat at the table.

“Are you well, Ellis?” Masoud inquired.

“Yes, I didn’t eat enough, apparently. The bloodwork was a bit much,” Ellis explained.

“Let’s make sure he gets plenty of protein for the next week, if you don’t mind, Janine. Doctor’s orders,” Grant stated.

“Of course. Is Lisle on his way?” Janine asked.

Grant shook his head, “I think he said he was going to take dinner in his office, he has mounds of paperwork and things to do before—”

“I’m here! Apologies,” Lisle called as he hurried down the hall.

Everyone turned to look at him. Grant stood as the hotel proprietor approached. Lisle was a bit pale, a bead of sweat rolled down his jawline.

“I thought you were busy,” Grant noted as he set his hands on his hips.

“I can’t stay long, of course, but I wouldn’t miss our first family dinner with our newest addition. That would be horribly rude of me, wouldn’t it? Especially since it's New Year's Eve!” Lisle said with a smile.

Grant grabbed hold of Lisle’s arm and set his free hand on his back to steady him mere moments before the proprietor’s legs buckled, almost foreseeing the event before it actually happened. Ellis, who had been standing nearby, helped support his warm frame as Lisle struggled to fix his posture. A soft cough crept out of Lisle’s throat as he was escorted to the dining table.

“Ran a bit too fast,” Lisle said with a light jocularity to his tone.

“Take it easy,” Grant replied, bordering on threatening.

“Are you alright, sir?” Ellis asked.

“Yes. Thank you, Ellis. Now, as I was saying, I have an immense amount of paperwork to deal with so I can’t stay long but I am famished so I do hope that there are plenty of potatoes,” Lisle said as he turned his gaze toward Janine.

Ellis noticed the staff seemed a bit on edge after Lisle’s small lapse, as if they were ready to act should something dire happen. Grant deposited Lisle down upon the chair he had been briefly occupying, never once removing his hands from his person until he was sure he was stable. Ellis noticed that Grant seemed to act in a much gentler manner than with Lisle he did in any other scenario he had seen him, and his mind raced with the what-ifs and the whys. He wondered if it had something to do with the burn scars across the few visible patches of Lisle’s flesh, the harsh gravel that lingered in the way the proprietor often spoke and coughed, and the paleness of his demeanor.

Perhaps Lisle was also a patient, and a special one, at that.

“Did you get your morning meds?” Grant inquired.

“I’m not sure, I’m sorry. It’s been a long day,” Lisle apologized.

“Make sure you get your night round, okay? Don’t let your paperwork consume you tonight,” Grant demanded.

Janine set a plate with a thin steak and a heavy helping of mashed potatoes in front of the hotel proprietor. She hurriedly set the table and urged everyone to eat while the food was warm. As Ellis sat in the last remaining empty seat, the elderly man cleared his throat.

“I am Ove, it is nice to have you here, young man,” Ove said as he extended his hand to Ellis.

Ellis took it, the older man’s grip was intense and unexpected, “A pleasure.”

“Ah, before I forget; one of our guests tomorrow is in a wheelchair from an accident so we need to ensure we have extra hands available to help get her into the hotel before we begin offloading the luggage. It’s supposed to be quite cold tomorrow and I don’t want her out in that weather at such an early hour after those long flights,” Lisle stated as he cut into his steak.

“Of course, we will handle things and having Ellis available to offer extra help will make things go much smoother than before. As long as we know what rooms everyone will be staying in, we should have no issues. Please take the morning off, Lisle,” Masoud insisted.

“I agree with Masoud, you need rest,” Grant said.

“I will consider it. If nothing else I’ll take a long nap after I know everyone is settled,” he replied, causing an audible sigh from Grant.

“The rooms all look good, I’m assuming you’ll want them in sequential order?” Luisa asked.

“I want our young guest in the wheelchair—her name is Emma, she’s Doctor Prescott’s daughter—in room 1 so she can be close to the elevator. Sydney and James will be here so let’s put them in room 3, and we have a writer coming who may be restless so let’s put him in the last room in case he’s a night owl. You know how those creatives can get,” Lisle explained.

“Sounds good!” Luisa said with a large nod and smile.

Ellis looked at his food for a moment before he took a small bite of potatoes. His face lit up, the flavor was rich and buttery and the warmth was heavenly. The staff began eating and discussing things that needed to happen come morning and how they planned on spending their evening before things got hectic again. It didn’t take long for Lisle to excuse himself, plate in hand and a tired look on his face. He bid everyone goodnight and promised he’d see them in the morning.

Surprising no one, Grant followed with his own untouched plate wordlessly. Janine sat down in one of the empty seats and cracked her knuckles.

“What are your plans for tonight, Ellis?” she asked.

“I’m not sure,” he replied.

“The morning will come early so I do suggest going to bed at a reasonable time, but you’re more than welcome to hit the pool or read in the garden, or unpack if you’d like to get yourself organized and… if you’re planning on staying, of course,” Masoud noted.

“I think I am, I’d like to…” Ellis trailed off.

“And we’d love for you to, if you get hungry feel free to grab something from the store. If doing simple bloodwork caused you to pass out, I’d like for you have snacks on hand. Your room has a mini-fridge so you can take whatever you’d like,” Janine offered.

“I think I may just unpack and get comfortable, this food is filling… I may be lethargic here shortly,” Ellis said with a soft smile.

“Janine’s cooking will put an extra forty pounds on you before the season is over if you’re not careful! She’s one helluva cook!” Luisa said with a hefty chuckle.

The staff laughed. Ellis found himself smiling, he felt more comfortable than he had a few hours prior and he was looking forward to making his new room his own. Looking forward to sleeping soundly and feeling full. He cut into his steak and savored the first bite. He had never tasted something so delectable, and though it was hard to let himself enjoy it, he tried his hardest.