Page 24 of A Winter Thaw

Elaine laughed and then shivered a moment later when a side door in the dining room was opened by a couple of guests and a gust of icy wind rushed inside.

“My goodness, it’s frigid out there,” Audrey said, shivering as well.

“It feels like there’s going to be more snow,” Elaine said. “Smells like it too. We’d best bundle up well.”

“I really don’t want to look like a marshmallow today,” Audrey said with a laugh.

“We won’t. Remember we brought those fashionable coats and scarves? Those should keep us warm enough and prevent us from looking like marshmallows.”

Audrey popped a bite of waffle into her mouth and nodded. “You’re right. Speaking of clothes, I’m excited to show off our outfits at the conference today. You really do look great, Mom.”

“We both do,” Elaine said proudly.

I don’t think anyone will think we’re just a couple of country bumpkins, she thought. I think we’re going to look impressive and do ourselves proud. I can’t wait for today!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Michelle wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and then made a face as she felt her bangs come into contact with the raw eggs that were on her fingers. She inhaled, trying not to become too frustrated.

I can take a shower, she told herself, thinking the words in a slow tempo in an attempt to calm herself down. Later today, once things are settled, I can take a shower.

But the truth was, she didn’t know if things ever would get settled. She’d risen an hour earlier than she usually did that morning, and she still felt groggy and exhausted even though she’d been awake for hours. She’d made a few quiches for the hotel’s breakfast, but the early risers had already eaten everything she’d made. Four of the guests were still sleeping, and she was rushing to make another quiche before they came downstairs. She felt that not having a hot breakfast ready for them would be an absolute disaster. Delicious breakfasts were something that they advertised for the hotel, and she hated the idea of letting people down. She also felt worried that if she failed to provide breakfast, the guests would leave a bad review online.

I won’t let things fall apart on my watch, she thought, opening the oven and sliding the quiche inside. I’m going to make sure everything works out.

Sighing with fatigue, she made her way to the kitchen sink and began to wash the egg off her hands. Puddle, who was in the kitchen with her, gnawed happily on a plastic squeak toy. Michelle had removed the squeaker from it the night before, since the non-stop shrill noise coming from the toy had been too much for her frazzled nerves.

“You’re having fun, Puddle?” she asked the dog.

Puddle looked up and wagged her tail.

“Well, at least one of us is.” Michelle smiled at the puppy and then turned back to the kitchen sink, which was full of dirty dishes. She groaned and set to work, rinsing plates off carefully before setting them in the dishwasher. She finished the dishes and made her way to the stove, which needed cleaning badly. She began to wipe off the stovetop and then realized with a moan that she’d forgotten to turn off one of the electric burners that morning.

“Great,” Michelle muttered, carefully wiping around the hot burner. “I’ve been wasting all that electricity for hours.”

“Hey!”

Michelle squealed and jumped, nearly burning her hand on the hot stove. She whirled and saw that one of the hotel’s guests had stuck her head inside the kitchen.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The woman placed her hand on her heart and stepped fully inside the room. “I came to find you because I can’t get the Wi-Fi to work. I’m going to need it within another hour—I have to send an email that’s very important for my job.”

Michelle felt a pang of stress. The internet had been acting up lately, and she could no longer just blame it on the weather, since it was a perfectly sunny day outside.

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said, wiping her dirty hands off on a paper towel. “Let me, um—I’ll come fix that for you.”

If I can, she thought darkly. I’ve never been able to fix it myself before.

She followed the guest out of the kitchen, smiling cheerfully as though nothing was wrong. A second later she realized she still had egg in her bangs and she quickly smoothed her hair down, wondering if it was noticeable. She couldn’t feel the egg, so that was probably a good sign.

“Why don’t you go ahead and go back to your room?” Michelle suggested, keeping the cheerful smile on her face. “I’ll have it fixed ASAP.”

“Okay, sounds good.” The woman smiled at her. “Thank you so much, Michelle.”

“Of course.” Michelle maintained a pleasant expression on her face until she was fully inside the parlor, and then her expression dropped into one of dismay. She hurried over to a mirror that was hanging in the corner and checked her reflection. She grunted when she saw that there was in fact visible egg in her hair, although it wasn’t extremely obvious so she could hope that the guest hadn’t noticed.

She grabbed a tissue and wiped her hair with it. The egg left a greasy streak, but at least it was gone. She didn’t have time to fuss over her appearance—she needed to get the internet back on as quickly as possible.

She made her way over to the modem and sighed when she saw that the light, which usually was blue, had turned to red. She bit her lip, wishing that Audrey was there. Her mother always seemed to have the magic touch when it came to getting the internet back on. Every time Michelle had tried to do it herself, it hadn’t worked. She’d always ended up calling for her mother, who had always been able to fix the internet almost right away.