Shirley

"What I did not find were any of the morning kitchen staff who were supposed to be signing in to prepare the breakfast, nor any of the staff who had to prepare the restaurant for service. As the minutes ticked by, any hope of having workers to prepare and serve breakfast for up to 400 guests began to evaporate. I rushed back to my room and woke up Diana. “Round up as many wives and partners as you can. I am going to need every bit of help in the kitchen and dining room. Now!” I then called Sol. Shirley answered, and I explained the situation. I would be supervising in the kitchen. As my bleary-eyed crew of bookkeepers, housekeepers and wives slowly traipsed into the kitchen, I handed out the jobs. Adele Lucas, the effervescent public relations executive, was primed to handle the door, while Sol pressed oranges. Shirley boiled eggs while I orchestrated a simple breakfast buffet."

"Although they had been taught the differences between Burgundy and Claret, Champagne and Prosecco and so on during their training, by the end of service they were resorting to “red”, “pink” or “white” in their descriptions of the copious wine list. As things started to go wrong, Sol’s anger rose. He’d had no time during construction to concern himself with service; now his attention was clearly required. His scowling face told me everything. But then two strange things happened. Shirley, sensing that her fiancé was about to blow a fuse, got him to laugh. She was the only person in the world who could do that when tensions were running high. Second, the seasoned travellers who were our guests found the restaurant experience charming. They knew that they were in Africa, that the hotel had just opened its doors and that the staff were doing their best. In fact, the people who had arrived that day were so impressed by the achievement of building and opening such a unique place that Sol could have served them baked beans on toast and gotten away with it. They were in awe of him, and as they drifted out of the restaurant to the bar or to bed, many told him so. As chaotic as it had been, the first day in the life of the Beacon Isle was over. Somehow we had managed to pull it off."