"Hear, hear!" yelled Solvay.

Nods of approval. Whispers. Mumblings.

"You want to go home?" asked Wally to the group in general.

Home? Wait a minute! I didn't want to go home. I just got my clothes back. I had the good room. The good view. At least, I'd have the good view when the fog cleared. I had another week with Etienne! I couldn't leave. He hadn't even seen me naked yet.

"Okay, let's have a show of hands," said Wally. "How many of you are ready to cancel the rest of the tour and head home?"

Hands flew up all over the room. No! This couldn't be happening. This was a trip of a lifetime! How could they be throwing it all away?

"I guess I don't need to ask how many opposed."

I raised my hand. Wally looked in my direction. "One opposed," he said. "You're way outnumbered, Emily."

"Things could start to get better," I reasoned. "The food isn't that bad. The fog could lift. And since people die in threes, we've already met our quota."

"You can say that because you're young," shouted Bernice. "You're not worried about dying. You probably don't even know what your cholesterol level is."

"Yeah," said George Farkas. "Three gone already. What's to say we won't start on another set of three? I agree with Lars. I say we head out to the airport in the morning and camp out until they find a plane to take us home."

More nods of approval. "Is that what everyone wants to do?" asked Wally.

"You bet it is," barked Lars.

"Get us out of here," agreed Bernice.

Since I was the lone dissenter, it seemed futile to protest the decision. Majority rules. We were going home, and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't even stay behind on my own because I was the freaking escort.

Wally quieted everyone down. "I'll still be continuing the tour for the people from Rhode Island, but I'll call the airport right away to see what I can arrange for flights for the rest of you. If there's anything available, you'll have to be prepared to have suitcases outside your doors at five o'clock tomorrow morning and be ready to leave the hotel by seven."

I'd just unpacked my suitcase and now he wanted me to re pack it before I went to bed tonight. Typical.

"I'll call each of you tonight to let you know the plan, so please don't stray far from your rooms. And don't forget about the photos in the bar."

Nana walked over to me as the group broke up. "Are you disappointed we're leavin'?"

I nodded. "I didn't even get to send any postcards."

Dick Teig walked past us in a daze. Helen touched my arm on her way by. "When Dick and Lucille didn't show up at dinner, we called their room, but there was no answer. We thought they were probably still miffed at each other and not in the mood to socialize." She shook her head. "We had no idea."