Ring of Fire Read Online Free

out of here,” he grunts. He steps aside to avoid the giant Scottish suitcases of Mr. See-Young Wan Ho.
    The man from China is also frowning, and his shiny silk suit isn’t enough to improve his mood. “Well, what about me, then? I reserved a double, the one that’s being given to you … and now I wind up in a single room! And I have a son here, too.”
    But unlike “poor Harvey,” the Chinese boy is running and jumping around wildly in the snow, commenting on everything he can see: the wooden terrace, the four statues peering down from the balustrade, the bleak-looking stairway of the entrance with the jeering mask, the well in the middle of the courtyard, the hotel’s minibus.
    The two French guests have remained off to the side and don’t seem to have any intention of taking part in the dispute. They perfectly resemble each other, like two peas in a pod, and are dressed identically. Thin, delicate clothing in a color as indeterminate as their straight hair. When Mr. Miller asks for their opinion, Mrs. Blanchard limits herself to pointing out, “Evidently a mistake’s been made with the reservations.”
    “This is an outrage!” the American man thunders out again, not at all pleased with such acquiescence.
    “Let’s get out of here,” his son repeats grouchily.
    “Wait …,” Mr. See-Young Wan Ho says, looking over at the hotel entrance. “Something might be happening.”
    Hey
, his son thinks, stopping in his tracks in the snow. Elettra has appeared.
    She has an oval-shaped face; dark, determined eyes; and a cascade of curly black hair. At her side is an equally beautiful woman with a fresh appearance, light eyes and silvery shoulder-length hair. Both of them are smiling and reassuring, like those who have the solution to any problem.
    “We’re so very sorry …,” the woman begins to say. “But everything can be worked out. You’ll see.”
    “In any case, we can talk this over where it’s warm, if you like,” says Elettra, inviting them in.
    Captivated by Linda’s eyes, the American professor radically changes expression. He frees his jacket lapel from his wife’s grip and replies with an unexpected and conciliatory, “Of course.”
    Even “poor Harvey” seems to show a glimmer of interest in what’s going on. Mr. See-Young Wan Ho accepts the invitation with a little bow. The two French ladies allow a very sheepish-looking Fernando to slip past them so he can take care of the luggage, and they follow Elettra into a beautiful dining room with a low ceiling, where there are five little freshly set tables and bright, cheery paintings hung on the walls.
    Waiting for them is an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
    “My name is Irene,” the woman begins, smiling at them calmly. “And I’m tremendously sorry about what’s happened.”
    The American professor seems ready to protest, but then, as ifsomething has just dawned on him, he promptly decides to hear her out.
    “There are no excuses for the mistake we’ve made,” the woman continues. “But we believe our proposal is reasonable. The city’s full of people and it would be impossible to find you better accommodation. Believe me, the rooms you’ll be staying in might just be the most comfortable ones in the hotel.”
    “But mine is missing a bed for my daughter …,” the French woman adds.
    “We can solve that problem, too,” Elettra then replies. “My room has two bunk beds. If … Mistral, right?”
    The French girl nods shyly.
    “If Mistral wants, she can sleep in my room. The boys can share the other bunk bed. That way, everyone will have a place to sleep.”
    Mistral looks over at her mother, awaiting a nod of approval.
    Sheng lets out a convinced
“Hao!”
He tries to catch Harvey’s eye, but the American boy is staring down at the floor, embarrassed. His parents quickly discuss the situation. Mr. Wan Ho looks tranquilly at the elderly woman in the wheelchair.
    The first person to decide is Mistral’s mother, who shrugs