Original story
Conrad poured tea across the hotel’s white tablecloth and demanded to know where his omelet was. Elena tried to check the room number. He slapped his key card onto the wet linen and asked how hard it was to read a ticket.
Priya came over with the printed order. She checked the room number against the card, then sat down beside the table to read the delivery instructions. Elena waited, a damp towel still in her hand.
Extension:
“You called down this morning,” Priya said. “You asked us to send breakfast upstairs.”
Conrad remembered packing his suitcase with the phone tucked against his shoulder. He’d finished early, come downstairs and chosen a table by the windows. The one thing he hadn’t done was tell the kitchen.
“I asked you how hard it was to read a ticket,” he said to Elena. “You were reading it. I wouldn’t let you finish.”
Elena let him finish now. Then she said, “Thank you. I’ll see if I can catch the trolley.”
She returned a few minutes later with a covered plate. “They were just getting into the lift.”
Conrad moved his room card out of her way. “Thank you for catching it, Elena.” This time he waited until she’d set the plate down before he picked up his fork.
