The Stay Was A Smashing Success

It’s handover time at the front desk. The night auditor gives the morning shift a heads-up. 

Night Auditor: “Room 809, family suite. Special request. Housekeeping’s cleared out all breakables; glass tables, mirrors, lamps. Basically, turned it into a padded cell with beds.”

Me: “That’s… unusual.” 

Night Auditor: *Shrugs. “Apparently, the mom asked. Said it was essential. You’ll see.”

Later that afternoon, the family arrive; a tired-looking mom, dad, and three energetic boys bouncing off the walls.

Mom: “Hi, I had a special request for our room?”

Me: “Yes, ma’am. Housekeeping removed the fragile items like you asked.”

Mom: *Relieved.* “Perfect. I’ll just go check the room before the kids do.”

She leaves her family in the lobby and heads up. A few minutes later she returns.

Mom: “Could you also have housekeeping take down the painting on the wall?”

Me: “The painting? I suppose so, but… may I ask why?”

She gestures to her sons, who are currently trying to climb onto the luggage cart.

Mom: “Because my three boys have a very SPECIAL talent for breaking things. Especially nice things. Nice things are like an unspoken challenge to them. If that painting stays up, it won’t survive the night.”

Me: *Nodding in sympathy.* “Got it. Painting comes down.”

Housekeeping obliges. The family checks in. One night only, they’re on a road trip, over seven hundred miles still to go! The next morning, my coworker is checking them out. They told me that the Mom looked almost giddy at checkout.

Coworker: “Good morning! No issues with your stay?”

Mom: *Smiling wide. “No, for once! The boys didn’t break anything!”

Cue the three boys wrestling in the lobby. One crashes straight into a lamp, which topples and shatters on the tile.

Mom: *Sighs, staring at the ceiling.* “I was so… so close.”

My coworker just waves her off and doesn’t even touch the deposit. Poor woman’s got a long road ahead.