Gracie's night at the Inn

Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem. ~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh ~

It isn't always apparent when a hotel guestroom already has an occupant. If I had been more clued in to our dog Gracie's behavior, I could have done the math on our additional room companions a bit quicker.

Although the activities were minor and might otherwise have gone unnoticed by a guest who chose to overlook bathroom drawers opening on their own, someone who traveled with a pet might have had a bigger challenge.

I prefer to avoid sleeping in rooms that are haunted but sometimes it's a matter of convenience and since we hadn't booked anything in advance for this vacation (mostly because I don't like to be stuck with a preset schedule), we were up for accepting whatever seemed to be the best available space.

Gracie might have given us a warning but she hadn't been consulted nor had we even considered that aspect. So that's how we got the extra bunkers for the night. (We may have to rethink that on future vacations.)

Our first clue might have been when, at 2:30 in the morning, totally out of character, Gracie woke us up with an urgent request to go outside. During the time she and Andy were out, I felt something brush against my arm. The move was very soft and subtle so I didn't think much of it; then I got up and noticed a drawer in the bathroom was slightly ajar so I pushed it back in place.

By this time, Gracie had returned with a perplexed Andy who said, whatever the urgent reason for the outside outing, it had nothing to do with taking a potty break. At this point I did notice she had claimed two distinct areas in the room: a very secure corner space, nestled between the wall and two suitcases on the floor and now, after her walk, right beside Andy - on the bed. Once again, we settled in for the night.

Just prior to getting up and still half asleep - I had a glimpse of an arm being thrown over my side. When I felt no physical impact, it dawned on me the arm I saw looked nothing like Andy's. Affirmation came within seconds when Andy made the same move.

Once again, pushing another cabinet drawer back into place, I asked Andy if he had forgotten to close the drawers. He said he hadn't opened any drawers and if he did he certainly would have closed them.

The kicker was when we went off to enjoy the complimentary breakfast and left Gracie in the room alone. It then became very apparent who the ghost was really interested in.

We came back and opened the door to a blaring television alarm and a visibly agitated Gracie, who was now occupying the center of the bed. She didn't bark but was clearly relieved to see us return. The surprise: the bottom left corner of the bedspread and the sheet under it had been completely turned back off of the bed.

Gracie and I are connected enough that she can often give me a clue about her encounters. So I asked her if she could tell me what had gone on in our absence. Her reply? Gracie said, "They wanted me to play with them but I didn't know how."

Who and what were "they"? Gracie couldn't help me with that. But from what Andy and I sensed, one appeared to be a child. The other was an older man. Whether they resided at the hotel or were just passing through like we were, wasn't apparent. The hotel employee I did ask offered no information - and I didn't ask any more questions. No need. I've been through this enough to know answers don't always help.

So we packed and headed off to the next destination. By this time it's kind of a given for me that we will run into a few ghosts along the way. Whatever the case, Gracie was happy she didn't have to stay a second night.