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“Usually, Moroni has this all covered by the time I come in to see what’s going on in here,” Rick said. “I wonder if he’s on the phone with some extended family. He was pretty excited, if tired, when he came in this morning. Any idea why?”
“Nope. Might be because he’s graduated from high school now,” I said. “Whatever the reason, he’s allowed to be a little slower today. We don’t need him on top of every meal until the season begins, anyway. Speaking of the beginning of the season, do we have rooms ready for Wyatt and Seth?”
“Yes, we do. Their usual rooms have been set up and blocked off for the whole season, since I imagine they’ll be here all season long as usual,” Rick said as he unfolded one of the tablecloths. “The preparations for your cousins are all done. It’s getting everything else ready for the season that we need to get moving with. After all, the first of the customers are arriving next week.”
I nodded slowly.
Before I could say more, Moroni joined us from the kitchen. His eyes were bright, but he had bags underneath them as if he had been up far too late the night before. Considering he had texted to say he overslept and would be late, not entirely shocking to see that he had bags. I wondered if there was a reason he had come out, but I didn’t have to ask.
“I’ve been sitting in the kitchen all day wondering how to say this, but I’m quitting,” Moroni said. “Effective today, end of day. I finally got a mission call, and I’ve decided that a mission is what I’m going to do before college. I leave for Utah next month. As much as I would love to be able to continue working here and save up even more money for the mission, I want to see my extended family before I go. I know that if I work the season, I’m not going to have time to see them, and you’ll be down a cook in the middle of the season – when it’s the busiest. I’d rather have you high and dry now than in the busiest season.”
I took a deep breath.
He had warned me when he took this summer job two years ago that he would be leaving when he decided whether he wanted to go on a mission for his church or go to college – but he hadn’t shared what that decision would look like. Though a little surprising, I couldn’t exactly be angry at him for following what he had warned me he was going to do.
“Oh man, this is sudden! You sure we can’t convince you to stay?” Rick raised an eyebrow.
Neither Rick nor I were very religious, but I understood more than Rick that sometimes, religious people didn’t make a lot of sense when it came to following the tenants of their faith. Something like this had been expected when I hired a young Idahoan man.
“I’m afraid not, Rick,” Moroni replied, grinning. “I appreciate that you’ve been so willing to have me work here, and to let me at least dip my toes into the culinary waters, but it’s time that I’ve moved on and moved away from home for a while. I know this is so sudden. I didn’t know when I’d have the opportunity to go, and I can’t give up this chance.”
“Well, don’t you be afraid to come back here when you return to Waterfront,” I said. “I’m sure that you’ll have plenty of stories to tell when you return. Remind me how long you’ll be gone?”
“Two years,” he said. “And I’ll probably be going off to college shortly thereafter. But when I return, I’m coming home for a little while. I’ll be sure to drop in and see if you have the time to listen to my stories.”
With that, Moroni walked back into the kitchen.
I waited until I was sure that he couldn’t hear me before scowling and letting out a deep sigh.
“Well, that puts us in a bit of a pickle,” I said. “I didn’t think he was leaving for another year. Or until the end of the season.” I scratched my chin absentmindedly. “And I didn’t think he’d be gone for years.”
“Well, that certainly puts a wrench in our plans. Do either Wyatt or Seth know how to cook?” Rick looked at me. “That’d at least be a good fix for this season while we look for another cook.”
I pursed my lips. That was true, but I knew neither of my cousins would want to be stuck in the kitchen all day, every day for the season. They came to enjoy nature for the same reason that I bought the lodge in the first place. They wanted to fish. They wanted to be outside. I couldn’t make them work in the kitchen. They came to help me out of the goodness of their hearts, and I couldn’t ask them to do something they’d find so unbearable.
“Well… where do we find a cook on such short notice?” Rick sighed. “I wish Moroni had told us a little earlier that this is what he was doing and gave us time to find a chef. It’s not as easy as hiring someone for the summer.”
“We’ll figure it out, Rick,” I said. “We’ve done it before. We’ll do it again. For now… let’s finish setting up the dining room. Then, we can think more carefully about how to find another cook for the season.”
Chapter three
Laurel
After Alex and I had managed to get a few more of my valuables from Mark (prepacked, all shoved in the suitcases I owned without rhyme or reason), I took it all to a hotel for a few days. It was going to be a strain on my finances, but I didn’t have the energy to do anything more. Even staying at friends’ houses felt exhausting. I didn’t want to talk about it, and I was tired of the sad looks of pity. Besides, my credit was enough to give me the flexibility for an emergency. I had made sure of that before getting married. Hadn’t expected to need it the week before my wedding, but that was life sometimes.
I intentionally picked a hotel on the other side of town. My parents were in town for the wedding. They’d come in early so that they could spend the week before the wedding with me and getting to know Mark better. So far, we hadn’t been able to do anything. However, I was suddenly glad that they had only seen Mark on video calls I had with them over the time we had been dating.
They weren’t as attached to the relationship as I was.
After a good deep breath, I decided to call my mom first. Alex had somehow arranged with the head chef to give me tomorrow off after all of this, though I was off the schedule until after my honeymoon, anyway.
“Laurel! Honey, we were just about to call and see if you and Mark had eaten yet,” Mom’s voice greeted me. “Are you hungry?”
“Mom… there’s not going to be a wedding…” I couldn’t help it as my voice cracked. “He…” I took a deep breath. “He cheated on me.”
Tears started to run down my face again. It was too much for me to handle alone, and I pulled one of the pillows on the bed to my chest as my mom tried to put words together to let me know that it’d be all right.
“Well, at least you found out before the wedding,” Mom offered feebly. “Saves you the cost of the divorce. What do you plan to do? Weren’t you two sharing an apartment?”
