Chương 49: Book 3 - Chapter 1 C

Coming back from the bathroom I went out to mingle. Snacks and Dr Pepper are a wonderful combination anytime. Eventually there was a call for attention from my Mom. It was time for presents. There were calls "Speech, speech, speech!" as I approached the front of the room to the table piled with packages. I pulled a chair around, and stepped up onto it so I was high enough to look out at everyone.

"Thank you for coming to my party. I'm still a little dazed that I have so much to celebrate. Like all such events in life worth celebrating, this party is simply the short moment between where we have been, and where we are going. May we always have more places to go, and a good reason to celebrate where we've been. Cheers!" I said, raising my glass of Dr Pepper.

"Cheers!" the crowd responded back. I stepped down and had a seat in the chair I had been standing on. Dad handed me the first present.

"This is from your girlfriend," he teased.

"Just the President of my fan club," I joked, as I unwrapped the present. I was able to genuinely laugh in delight at the present. It was a t-shirt, and it said: "I'm John Cook and I belong here." I stood up and pulled off my shirt, to cat calls and camera flashes, and put it on. Then I turned to show the audience still smiling widely. Amber, my oldest friend, and unofficial president of my fan club had gotten me the perfect gift. Her note simply said, "Sorry we couldn't be there, congratulations."

I opened more gifts. Many of them t-shirts, as Mom had requested funny or custom ones with the invitations. A few were better than others, my top favorites were: 'Mad Science is Fun Science' 'I might have a PhD but I can still play Doctor' 'Take me to your leader!'

'Super Conductor' (with a picture of Superman conducting an orchestra). Then came the gift from Grandma. It was a custom lab coat, my size which was four foot four, with lots of pens in a pocket protector on the front. It included massive black rubber gloves, black rubber boots, and large safety glasses. It was hilarious and great. I put the coat on then gave her a hug. Typical gag gifts followed: a toy stethoscope, a rubber reflex hammer, and a speculum paired with a comically large magnifying glass.

That particular gag gift certainly got a laugh from the women in the room. Especially when my Mom took the speculum away. With that part of the festivities complete everyone was invited down to dinner at our new restaurant on the second floor. I'm rather proud of our hotel. The Mayo was built in 1925 and is a famous Tulsa landmark. The second and third floor are U shaped, while the ground floor and mezzanine level are the full footprint of the building, about 140 feet on each side.

The mezzanine space looks down onto the lobby and is reached by the grand staircase or the elevators Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. We had cut the full basement in half. It was now partly parking lot with a private entrance for the hotel. In addition to deliveries, it was a way for a guest to enter the hotel without coming through the public lobby. The other half was our new spa treatment area and our indoor heated pool.

The sub-basement below it had held the staff accommodations, break rooms, and laundry. Part of it was now the bottom of our basement pool, the remainder was still the laundry. The pool and spa were still under construction. We would offer everything from massage, steam, and sauna to beauty treatments and salon services. There was also a work out space with stationary bikes and treadmills. The U shaped second floor, a 17, 000 sq foot space, got our biggest kitchen, and our premier dining room.

Officially called 'In Flagrante Delicious,' this would be its first event. Mom had surprisingly been happy with the name, she was convinced that it would help sell the hotel as a romantic getaway, especially on Valentine's day. This second floor is divided 60/40, seven thousand sq feet of kitchen space, ten thousand sq feet of dining space. With spacious seating for 500 it's a big restaurant.

The third floor features a second 5, 000-square-foot kitchen catering to the breakfast buffet, pastry production for the lobby coffee shop, and 24-hour room service. The remaining 12, 000 square feet of the third floor is a versatile, multi-purpose space, its accordion walls allowing it to be sized as needed. Primarily for meetings and small conventions, it also handles the hotel's complimentary breakfast buffet. Two more restaurants are on the premises.

First, a coffee shop: 'The Daily Grind' that is reachable from either the lobby, the street, or the mezzanine level as it is two stories. The Grind does counter service, pastries, sandwiches and fountain drinks. The coffee shop is served by dumb waiter from both kitchens so doesn't actually cook anything more than making and serving coffee and other drinks. It's in the corner of the building and accessible from both Cheyenne Avenue and West fifth.

Second, a bistro/pub: 'Twister Grill' is next door and accessible from Cheyenne Avenue or the lobby. It plates the meals served, but most of the cooking is done in the hotel restaurant above, arriving via dumb waiter. The 'Twister' offers table service, does fast hot food with beer and wine but only with meals. Both restaurants can be fully provided by either kitchen as needed. The hotel lobby entrance is on West 5th Street, directly across from the recently completed OneOK (pronounced one oak) building.

The check-in desk, valet station, bellboy station, a gift shop, and an open sitting and relaxing area finish off the ground floor. They are overlooked by the hotel concierge desk, manager's office, and second floor of the Daily Grind on the mezzanine second level. Floors four and five offer two bedroom luxury suites with balconies facing the interior of the U shape. A mix of one, and two bedroom suites without balconies are on floors six through nine.

Floors ten through thirteen have two and three bedroom apartments. The units on the thirteenth level are unique for being two levels, extending up into level fourteen. The rest of level fourteen is Grandpa's office level, including his boardroom. Fifteen, where we live, has only five apartments, plus a large family space with dining space for everyone and room for entertainment. The hotel manages the entire property.

Level fifteen is private, while levels twelve and thirteen will be leased out as luxury residences, primarily targeting single individuals and couples working downtown. Floors ten and eleven are available for daily or weekly stays through the hotel.