I had a little help from a ladder and a stubborn electrical crew. Hope studied the ceiling. "That's good," she said. "Because I was worried it took you all Christmas."
He laughed, a sound that seemed to surprise him. He showed her how one hidden switch made the tree's lights flicker in gentle waves, then told her about the year a squirrel had gotten into the attic and chewed through half the decorations before the big dinner. Hope listened as if he were recounting a battle of great historical importance. When he finished, she asked whether he would sit down because he looked as though his feet were tired.
Arthur glanced toward the tables, confused. "I work here," he explained. "My chair's down in the staff room when my shift is over. Hope pointed to Table One.
"We have a really good chair," she said. "It's not even squeaky. Ethan opened his mouth to explain that the arrangement was more complicated than it sounded, but Arthur's face had changed, and he found himself reluctant to interrupt.
Evelyn joined them before Arthur could refuse. "You have fifteen minutes before the tree needs you again," she told him. "Why not spend five of them with us? Arthur gave her the same doubtful look Ethan had worn beside the stalled car.
"Ms. Hartwell, I couldn't. "Of course you could," she said. "The hotel won't fall down if you drink a glass of water sitting in the ballroom."
Arthur's mouth moved as if forming an answer. Then he shook his head and let Ethan guide him to an empty chair at the nearby table, where a server found him a glass of sparkling cider. Hope sat beside him for two minutes, told him about the star she'd made for her mother, and asked whether he had ever been inside the ballroom when the guests weren't here. Arthur said he had walked through it thousands of times, but never thought much about the lights until someone asked him how long they took to hang.
"That's silly," Hope said. "If you make something beautiful, you should get to look at it." Arthur looked down at his hands, and Ethan saw that the man's fingers were trembling slightly. He understood the gesture without needing to know the whole story. Grief had taught him that a stranger's smallest kindness could enter a place where familiar reassurances no longer reached.
Dinner began with a salad of winter greens that Hope eyed suspiciously until she discovered the candied pecans. She asked Ethan whether the tiny bread rolls were real food or decorations, and he told her the hotel had probably paid someone to determine that question. Across the table, Evelyn caught the comment and smiled into her water glass. Graham asked Hope about school, and she explained the difference between first grade and kindergarten with the solemn intensity of someone discussing a promotion.