Read Online B00C4I7LJE EBOK by Robin Skone-Palmer - Free Book Online Page B

for Phyllis to be up, but I called anyway. Sure enough, the operator at the Connaught told me they had a “do not disturb” on their phone. (I hadn’t even known it was possible to do that until I’d begun traveling with Phyllis.)
    Brunch at Kay’s apartment turned into a reunion. Kay had invited several friends I’d worked with. My British friends didn’t know much about Phyllis Diller because her shows had not been on the telly there. But still they were pleased that I had such a great job and got to travel. Or at least I hoped I would do more traveling. Besides the trip to London, I’d only been to Pittsburgh and New York.
    While at Kay’s, I called Phyllis’s suite. Three o’clock and they had just finished breakfast.
    “Are you having fun?” Phyllis asked after I told her where I was.
    “Absolutely!”
    “Well, I don’t think there’s anything I’m going to need today. We’re going out with Colin for dinner and we leave at seven in the morning for the studio.”
    I heard Warde say something in the background.
    “Hold on,” Phyllis said as she put her hand over the mouthpiece. I could hear a muffled conversation, then Phyllis came back on the line.
    “Warde wants to know if you’re sure you got all the bags off the plane. He seems to be missing something.”
    My heart sank. I could imagine all the fuss and furor I would have to go through to retrieve a missing piece of luggage. On Sunday, no less.
    Why the hell hadn’t he noticed it yesterday?
    I thought back, remembering which bags we had brought with us. I couldn’t imagine I’d overlooked one. I was sure I had counted them all at least half a dozen times. I’d counted them at the airport as they came off the carousel, again after we’d gone through customs, and also when the porter stashed them in the boot of the car. At the hotel, I made certain that all the bags were out of the car, I counted again after the porter brought them inside, and I watched to be sure that all the bags were taken to the suite.
    “No, I’m sure we’ve got them all,” I replied. “Which one does he think is lost?”
    “Which bag, Warde?” I heard Phyllis ask. There was more conversation between them while in my mind I counted the bags once again. There was no way one had gone astray.
    “He doesn’t know which bag it was,” she said, “but he’s sure he brought his suede jacket, and he can’t find it.”
    “Have you checked all the wardrobes?” I vaguely remembered the porter opening closet doors after he brought up the bags.
    Phyllis called out to Warde. “Is it in one of the wardrobes?”
    I heard only silence for nearly a minute, then Phyllis came back on the line. “We’ve found it,” she said. “It was in the closet behind the coats.”
    What a relief! I had visions of my entire afternoon being spent trying to track down a nonexistent bag at the airport.
    “Well, I guess that’s it,” Phyllis concluded. “Remember, the car’s going to pick us all up here at seven tomorrow.” I wondered why Colin, or whoever had made the arrangements with the car, hadn’t had the forethought to ask them to stop by the Cumberland at 6:55 and get me first, but that was a minor inconvenience compared to having the rest of the day to myself.
    Kay served mimosas—champagne with orange juice—and we all chatted a long while. Some of my friends left, and after a bit someone suggested the four of us who remained go to a bistro, which was halfway between Kay’s flat and my hotel. It would be an easy walk.
    The bistro specialized in French country food and although I thought I’d never eat again after the spread Kay laid out, I put away the better part of a coq au vin. We had talked and laughed for longer than I realized because when I glanced outside, it was fully dark . How did it get so late so fast?
    “Hey,” I said, “tomorrow’s a working day for all of us. It’s been great seeing you, but I’m going to head back to the hotel.”
    There were hugs