Page 26 of A Winter Thaw

Audrey dialed Michelle’s number and stepped out into the breezeway of the bookstore. It was a little chilly there, but she wanted to go somewhere quiet, since the bookstore was playing jazz music over its loudspeakers and she thought it might be hard to hear Michelle over the music.

“Hey, Mom.” Michelle sounded slightly breathless, and Audrey’s Mom radar immediately went off. She could tell immediately that her daughter was stressed.

“Hey, hon. How are things going over there? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, swimmingly.” Michelle gave a laugh that sounded a little fake. “Everything is great here.”

There was a long pause. Audrey listened to the muffled sound of the jazz music. Down the street, a car honked loudly.

“Um, are you sure?”

“What do you mean?” Michelle countered. “What? Did you hear something?”

Audrey frowned with concern. “No. Why would I have heard something?”

Michelle sighed with relief. “Oh, nothing, I just thought one of the guests might have complained.”

Audrey blinked. “Complained about what? Michelle, everything isn’t going fine there, is it? It’s okay, you can tell me. I won’t be mad.”

Michelle groaned. “I mean, nothing terrible has happened. No one would complain about it unless they were being really fussy. It’s just—well, right after I dropped you guys off at the airport and came back, there was a slew of new arrivals. A whole bunch of people came early. And even though I had two rooms ready, I didn’t have a third, and it was almost a disaster but then this really kind woman offered to just change the sheets in her kids’ room since she felt bad it was going to end up being really messy in there anyway.”

“That was really kind of her,” Audrey agreed. “But you also shouldn’t feel bad. That wasn’t your fault at all. You’re not expected to let people check into their rooms early—they can always wait if necessary, since that’s the policy.”

“I know, but I’d already told the family they could have the two rooms and then this really cold couple showed up and they really looked like they needed it, and it was just awkward because the dad in the first group told them that everyone’s rooms were ready when that wasn’t true.”

“Oof.”

“I know. So that was all okay, but then I found out that Puddle had been let out of the closet and she totally destroyed this grumpy guest’s pillow⁠—”

“Oh no!” Audrey gasped, feeling alarmed.

“But that was okay too,” Michelle said hurriedly. “He wasn’t here at the time, so I was able to clean it all up and get him a clean pillow in time. It was really stressful, but all’s well that ends well—but for a second there, I thought maybe I missed some of the feathers that were all over the floor of his room and he was upset.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Audrey shook her head. “That sounds so stressful. Did you have to run out and get him a new pillow? I never thought to keep any extras in stock in the linen closet.”

“No, I gave him one of my extra ones.” Michelle laughed. “And yeah, we should probably grab some extra pillows soon. We weren’t planning on adopting a little angel-faced terror. I guess I should add that to my to-do list.” She sighed.

“Hey, it can wait until your grandma and I get back. We’ll help you take care of everything then, okay? Don’t stress.” Audrey paused, biting her lip. “Did anything else go wrong?”

“Um, yeah—the Wi-Fi went out again and it took me a long time to get it fixed but then I finally did. And then while that was happening, I burned the quiche that I’d made for breakfast. That was probably the worst moment in all this—but then Puddle made me feel better and I made some pancakes quick.”

“Good thing you thought to buy those pancake mixes,” Audrey said, feeling proud of her daughter. “I know it’s all overwhelming, but it sounds like you’re handling all this as well as anyone could, Michelle.”

“Thanks, Mom. That means a lot.”

“I mean it. But also, don’t feel like you have to keep struggling by yourself. It sounds like the hotel is just too much for one person to handle, even for a few days. Your grandma and I can come back if you need us to. Or maybe just I could come back and she could stay here and keep learning things.”

“No, no, you don’t have to do that. It’s okay.”

“I don’t know, I feel like I should have had a clearer head about this and not left you there by yourself in the first place.”

“No, it’s all good, Mom, really. I’m figuring out the swing of things. These little hiccups have been some growing pains, for sure, but I’m going to figure it all out. Like, I put a sign on Puddle’s gate asking the guests not to let her out, which must have been what happened when she ate that pillow.”

“Do you think so? Or did she just jump the gate?”

“No.” Michelle chuckled. “It was open. She’s not that much of a show dog yet.”

Audrey laughed too. “Well, if you’re sure. But feel free to call if you end up needing backup.”