She left with the same lightness she had arrived with, trailing not just the scent of her perfume but a promise that made me feel, for the first time in ages, that maybe I did have a place in the world.

The Lion’s kitchen buzzed like an entire city crammed inside. Massive pots overflowed with stocks, skillets seared at precisely the right heat, and knives flashed through the air like swords. The hotel’s thirtieth anniversary dinner was about to unfold, and every staff member seemed to have ...