Tom came over at lunchtime as soon as he picked up my message, and ran ahead of me up the stairs to see the damage. The earlier overpowering stench had gone, but even with the windows open the room smelt of urine. He carefully inspected the wreckage, asking rhetorically several times, 'How on earth could anyone do something like this?' He hugged me protectively and said, 'You must feel as if you've been punched in the face. If I get hold of them I'll tie them to the back of the van and drag them round the streets.'
Although the room looked a complete wreck, he thought most things could probably be repaired or replaced reasonably quickly, and pointed out that the effects could have been worse if they had ripped out bathroom fittings and caused a flood, or smashed the windows or knocked holes in the partition walls. He suggested fixing the things that could be done quickly first, and then when he had worked for about an hour would break for a cup of tea and assess what remained to be done.
Leaving him to repair the damage, I found the energy to make a start on the hotel rooms, having to skimp because there was so little of the day left. After an energetic hour I went down to the kitchen, switched on the kettle and put some raspberries with vanilla ice-cream into three little glass dishes.
When Darren came back from work he joined Tom and me for this little treat, after which we all went up to the vandalised room. It already looked much better than before. Tom had removed the pieces of broken mirror and righted the dressing table so that its angles were square again. He had put the beds back in place and rehung the door. The remaining obvious signs of damage were the graffiti, still obscenely prominent, and a light fitting which was too twisted out of shape to repair. He had removed the broken television to a cupboard on the landing.
'I'll paint over that obscenity on the wall, but I'm not sure what to do about the carpet.'
'I suppose I'll have throw it out.'
Darren offered to try to clean it. 'It's only a bit of weewee. If we get it down into the garden, I'll give it a good hosing down and use carpet shampoo on it. You shouldn't have to throw it away.'
'You're an expert on cleaning carpets now are you?' I asked. 'How long do you think it's going to take to dry?'
'It's worth trying.'