years ago. Wait… Lulu changed her search to historical photos and drawings of the town. They wouldn’t be two hundred years old, but that didn’t matter since the hotel wouldn’t have changed that much in the early years. The grand hotel she now stood in hadn’t come to be until the seventies. And even that version had been updated.
Historical photos proved easier to find, though Onsen remained elusive in all of them. A few periodicals of the day made mention of the hotel, but only as a passing thing since the owners were Japanese and that was a rare sight in those days. The same family had owned the hotel since it was built. They’d even made a few minor headlines as one of the only Japanese families to avoid the internment camps during World War II.
That wasn’t their only lucky break. They weathered the Great Depression as though it wasn’t happening just like the most recent recession. Nothing bad seemed to touch this hotel or the owners. Everyone in the family had died of old age -- extremely old age. Most of them lived past one hundred. The oldest living member of the family was already one hundred and seven.
Weirder and weirder. If Lulu believed in deals with the Devil, she would swear this family had made one. But devils and the like didn’t exist. But neither did coincidence. This family had an ace up their sleeve that had kept them and their hotel on top since the beginning. Women’s intuition or a gut feeling made Lulu believe the answer to their luck and success could be found in that mysterious hallway that didn’t exist.
The chime of her phone alarm pulled her out of her thoughts. She had to get ready for dinner. But this wasn’t over. The path to the true reason she had come to this hotel had revealed itself. She planned to take it… after dinner.
* * *
If she had to fake one more laugh, she was going to scream. Richard was a man who liked to hear his own voice and tell a lot of unfunny jokes. Or maybe she found no humor in his jokes because that mysterious hallway had her distracted. The only reason she hadn’t excused herself was because she couldn’t go sneaking around while the hotel was bustling with guests and staff. Her search would end right as it started if someone caught her in that hallway again.
Once was a mistake. Twice was intention. That would make the staff suspicious of her, which might mean cutting her trip short. She had to be careful and patient… and laugh at Richard’s jokes since she couldn’t find a valid excuse to get away from the man. Thanks to him, she’d learned a good amount of information about the history of the hotel and the décor. That alone made her suffering worthwhile.
The more Lulu learned, the more impressed she was that Voda had been able to compete as well as it had. Voda was fifty years old and had no hope of pulling even with Onsen now or any time in the future. Lulu just had to find a way to impart that news to her boss.
She prayed her boss would accept her report and decide to work harder at improving Voda’s reputation -- not that the five-star resort needed improving -- rather than taking more drastic measures, like sending in a spy to act as an employee. He’d said it jokingly, but Lulu had heard a hint of truth in his statement. Besides, people only did cliché stuff like that in movies… she hoped.
Once she got away from Richard, she would find out if her boss was serious. If she were at home, she could check her phone and make up some excuse about turning in early because of work the next morning. Being on vacation -- working or not -- didn’t afford her the luxury of using that excuse.
Fate must have been looking out for her, because Richard’s phone rang. He excused himself before answering it. Lulu turned her attention to her dessert while pretending not to listen. She hoped the call was about something that would make him end the evening.
Richard broke into a huge grin. “Now? No. No. That isn’t a problem at all. I
Historical photos proved easier to find, though Onsen remained elusive in all of them. A few periodicals of the day made mention of the hotel, but only as a passing thing since the owners were Japanese and that was a rare sight in those days. The same family had owned the hotel since it was built. They’d even made a few minor headlines as one of the only Japanese families to avoid the internment camps during World War II.
That wasn’t their only lucky break. They weathered the Great Depression as though it wasn’t happening just like the most recent recession. Nothing bad seemed to touch this hotel or the owners. Everyone in the family had died of old age -- extremely old age. Most of them lived past one hundred. The oldest living member of the family was already one hundred and seven.
Weirder and weirder. If Lulu believed in deals with the Devil, she would swear this family had made one. But devils and the like didn’t exist. But neither did coincidence. This family had an ace up their sleeve that had kept them and their hotel on top since the beginning. Women’s intuition or a gut feeling made Lulu believe the answer to their luck and success could be found in that mysterious hallway that didn’t exist.
The chime of her phone alarm pulled her out of her thoughts. She had to get ready for dinner. But this wasn’t over. The path to the true reason she had come to this hotel had revealed itself. She planned to take it… after dinner.
* * *
If she had to fake one more laugh, she was going to scream. Richard was a man who liked to hear his own voice and tell a lot of unfunny jokes. Or maybe she found no humor in his jokes because that mysterious hallway had her distracted. The only reason she hadn’t excused herself was because she couldn’t go sneaking around while the hotel was bustling with guests and staff. Her search would end right as it started if someone caught her in that hallway again.
Once was a mistake. Twice was intention. That would make the staff suspicious of her, which might mean cutting her trip short. She had to be careful and patient… and laugh at Richard’s jokes since she couldn’t find a valid excuse to get away from the man. Thanks to him, she’d learned a good amount of information about the history of the hotel and the décor. That alone made her suffering worthwhile.
The more Lulu learned, the more impressed she was that Voda had been able to compete as well as it had. Voda was fifty years old and had no hope of pulling even with Onsen now or any time in the future. Lulu just had to find a way to impart that news to her boss.
She prayed her boss would accept her report and decide to work harder at improving Voda’s reputation -- not that the five-star resort needed improving -- rather than taking more drastic measures, like sending in a spy to act as an employee. He’d said it jokingly, but Lulu had heard a hint of truth in his statement. Besides, people only did cliché stuff like that in movies… she hoped.
Once she got away from Richard, she would find out if her boss was serious. If she were at home, she could check her phone and make up some excuse about turning in early because of work the next morning. Being on vacation -- working or not -- didn’t afford her the luxury of using that excuse.
Fate must have been looking out for her, because Richard’s phone rang. He excused himself before answering it. Lulu turned her attention to her dessert while pretending not to listen. She hoped the call was about something that would make him end the evening.
Richard broke into a huge grin. “Now? No. No. That isn’t a problem at all. I
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