After an hour of mingling, he and Madison headed back to the Bellville Villas and left Stephanie to party until the wee hours. Actually, most of the dinner guests ate and disappeared early, too. It wasn’t a late, late night. Everyone was saving their energy for the main event on Saturday. And that was still a whole day away. Madison’s heart sank when the attendant at the front desk of the Bellville Villas told them there were no messages from the Houston airport or Sky High Airlines. Madison was becoming more and more convinced that, indeed, her luggage had plummeted to earth somewhere north of nowhere. She would never see her stuff again, she thought. She and Dad took the elevator up to the third floor and said their good-nights. Dad thanked Madison for coming to the dinner, and then she thanked him for being such an understanding father “most of the time.” “I’m sorry about the way I acted at the party,” Madison said as they stood in front of her room. She plugged her key card into the slot in the door and half hugged Dad good night at the same time.
