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Hotel   The housekeeper has children living in town with her but her husband and relatives are in Somalia   A tiny woman in a striped sweater shivers while waiting for the elevator   Wealthy hippies next door: a British mother, probably in her early thirties, clad in a flower-pattern kimono robe and ankle-tie espadrilles She’s banging at the door; she’d gone shopping and now her baby’s nanny can’t hear her I let her use the phone in my room   The tall, lanky father wears loose-fitting shirts and a yoga bun The baby only cries during the day At night, one, or a few of them, open and shut the door noisily At times I hear more than two people, plus the baby, in the room   Room-service trays with half-eaten pieces of bread sit on the hall overnight and the morning after   On Sunday afternoon they eat at the poolside restaurant Later, the mother walks down the street with a strung-out fellow   The night before they leave, two champagne flutes on the room service tray sit for hours outside their door   A short guy in a red vest with a comb-over dyed dark brown takes tickets at the movie theatre A taller bearded blonde guy in a ponytail also wears the vest   An Eastern European housekeeper says she’s always hot when working   Three tipsy couples either coming down the elevator – or going up? – ask that their picture be taken before the door closes   The women at the gym enjoy talking to hotel guests at the fitness centre   A man carrying his fresh dry-cleaning complains about the slow elevator   A man carries bulky photo equipment and drags a console on wheels   A woman at the coffee bar admires my shoes ‘Comfortable,’ she says   The server can’t believe the cream that’s been sitting there all morning has turned It’s late September and it’s 97 degrees out   A friendly man on his way to the pool says he’s noticed that the pool’s fountain spews hot water   A teenager in tight pyjama shorts, flip-flops, and a tee sucks on a lollypop as she runs from the elevator to someone’s room She pounds on a door Someone who looks like her mother opens and tells