The Arms Hotel Lobby, Tuesday

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

Sometimes Mary worried about the kinds of trouble Danny was getting into in Las Vegas without her to keep track of him. Today, she was not just worried. She was horrified by the photos that Sam had emailed her of Danny in a bizarre costume. "He's insane! What in the world was he thinking? What was Delinda thinking by letting him do this?" she asked Gunther as she showed him the picture.

Welcome to the Arms Hotel
Today's Specials
Pork Chops with Apples and Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Chocolate Cupcakes with Meringue Frosting


[Open! The OCD died of second-hand embarrassment.]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal had been meaning to speak with the hotel's owner since he'd asked Nick about renting one of the banquet rooms, but with one thing and another, he hadn't gotten around to it yet.

He thought he'd try today, since he was free before his office hours and nothing was trying to kill him on the way. He entered and looked around, then went up to the woman behind the counter.

"Hello; are you Mary?"

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"I am. How can I help you today?" asked Mary with a smile.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Doctor Hannibal Lecter," he introduced himself. "I'm teaching at the school, and I wanted to inquire about possibly renting one of your banquet rooms for my class one evening."

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

Mary's smile went from polite to positively giddy. "It's definitely possible. I don't have any events booked for the time being, so you have your pick of dates," she said.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Wonderful." He smiled and nodded at her. "I also wanted to inquire about having access to the kitchen during that time. Would that be possible?"

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

Mary hesitated for a moment. It wasn't that she was unwilling to let someone else use the hotel's kitchen. She was just afraid of the tantrum that Gunther would throw when he learned that he wouldn't be cooking. "It could definitely be arranged as long as I have some advance notice," she said.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Of course." Personally, Hannibal had found Gunther perfectly polite, but maybe that was just him. "Would perhaps next Saturday be sufficiently in advance?"

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"That would work perfectly, actually," said Mary. She figured she could sent Gunther to a strip club on the mainland for the evening and he'd never find out.

"Did you have anything specific in mind for how the room should be set up?" asked Mary, grabbing her clipboard and a pen. "You could have one long table, or maybe several smaller tables if you'd prefer."

[sharp_as_knives]

"One long table will be perfect. There will be ten of us if everyone attends." It was rare that anyone didn't.

[montecito-east.livejournal.com]

"One long table and place settings for ten," repeated Mary as she wrote it down. "I'll have everything set up for you."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Thank you." Hannibal smiled at her. "I look forward to it; I was pleased to find someplace with such pleasant facilities."