It was midnight. My husband covered it with a towel, and we went to sleep. At 2 a.m., the door burst open. The Airbnb owner stormed in, furious, screaming, โYou idiots, this is aโฆ
My husband and I sat up in bed, blinking like deer caught in headlights. The owner, a man in his late fifties with graying hair and a Hawaiian-print shirt that looked wildly out of place given the situation, stood in the doorway, panting. His eyes darted between us and the towel-covered device.
โDo you have any idea what youโve done?!โ he continued, his voice a mix of panic and exhaustion.
I looked at my husband, who was still processing everything. โWait, what?โ I managed to say.
The owner groaned and marched over to the wall. He yanked the towel off, revealingโฆ well, not a camera. Instead, it was a round, white fire alarm with a small blinking light.
โThis is not some spy camera!โ he hissed. โItโs a smoke detector! A legal requirement for rental properties! You covered it, and the system automatically alerted me to a malfunction.โ
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. โOkay, butโโ I started.
โBut what?โ the owner snapped. โYou thought I was watching you sleep? Why would I want to do that?!โ

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