"Damn!" Carly Tenney exclaimed as she furiously pressed the button to end her cell phone call. "This is just great, just perfect, just what I needed to end a really lousy trip! Why is it when all I want to do is get home to my little boy, I get caught up in an ice storm, and end up not in Chicago, or at least somewhere in the relative vicinity of Oakdale, but instead in this little excuse for a city in New York, what is it? Port Charles? And with no available flights, anywhere…of all the rotten luck…" Carly picked up her bag, held it while she checked to make sure her coat was buttoned up tightly, and swung the bag over her shoulder. She walked down the street, looking for any signs of a nice, comfortable place where she might be able to rest for a little while, maybe even get a bite to eat, before she tried haggling with the airlines again. Carly couldn't see much of anything at first-most of the town seemed to be closed up for the night-but the lights of the Port Charles Hotel stood out like a sore thumb against the rest of the cityscape, and Carly was certain she'd find a moment's peace inside. She crossed the street and headed straight for the hotel's front door. A well-dressed doorman stood nearby and smiled at Carly as she went to reach for the door handle. "Here, ma'am, let me take care of that for you."

"Thank you," Carly said as she returned a smile to the doorman. As she walked into the lobby, she gazed at the finery of the establishment and an impressed look came over her face. "Well now, this little town does have some taste after all," she remarked as she made her way through the lobby and into the foyer of the Port Charles Grill. She removed her coat and took a seat at the bar, immediately catching the attention of the bartender as she was setting down her scarf.

"Good evening," he said with a smile, "what can I get for you?"

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