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The big garage door stood open, and Dena was up on a ladder in front of rows of shelving, pulling down big plastic bins. One was on its side on the concrete floor.
“What are you doing?” he asked, moving to the bottom of the ladder. “Get off of there. You shouldn’t be climbing up and down.”
She laughed. “Don’t say ‘in my condition,’ please. Last I heard, being pregnant doesn’t affect equilibrium, and I’m hardly off balance from the extra point-three pounds I’m carrying.”
She looked adorable. Her nose was red from the cold, and she wore a thick red sweater and jeans.
He softened his tone. “Get down, please. You can tell me what you want and I’ll get it down.”
“You’re being weird.”
“I’m the guest, so you have to do what I say.”
“Fine,” she grumbled, making her way to solid ground. “I only need those last three bins. I’ve already taken in most of them.”
He went up the ladder and carried the bins to the floor. They were bulky but lightweight and filled with holiday decorations.
“How many are there?” he asked.
“About sixty. The public spaces are pretty big, so we put up a half dozen trees. I had a couple of high school kids come in and help with that this morning, so they’re up and decorated. Now I just have the rest of it.”
“You’re doing this yourself?”
“I told you. I had help this morning. It’s fine.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“Have I mentioned it’s a lima bean, because it is.”
“You said you had a support system.”
She laughed. “Yes, for when I have the baby. Micah, you’re sweet to worry, but I’ve been doing the decorating here at the B and B for years. Before I inherited it, I worked here part-time. Even after I was teaching, I took shifts in the summer.”
It all sounded logical, but he couldn’t get past the fact that she was doing all this alone.
“You’ve got me now. I’ll run these inside. Then you can get off your feet and point to what needs to be done.”
“I don’t think so. Remember the guest thing?” She looked at him. “Are you deliberately being difficult?”
“I’m a talented guy. Take advantage of that.” At least, he used to be talented. On the bright side, helping her decorate meant that for an entire afternoon, he wouldn’t have to deal with his inability to write. That was enough of a win for him.
“Thank you. You’re sweet to offer.”
“It’s not an offer. It’s an act.” He picked up two bins and started for the main building. “Don’t even think about picking one up,” he said without turning around.
She laughed and followed him inside.
He saw right away she hadn’t been kidding about the number of storage containers. They were stacked everywhere. A big decorated tree stood in front of the living room’s main window, with two smaller ones flanking the fireplace. He could see others by the reception desk and in the dining room.
He set down the bins he held, collected three empty ones and went back to the garage. It only took a couple of trips to take the rest inside and bring out the empty ones. Once that was done, Dena showed him the decorating plan.
“The bins are color-coded,” she said, pointing to several bins with big dots on the side. “Red for the living room, blue for the dining room, green for the reception area and so on.”
She opened a red folder. The drawing of the fireplace in the living room was crude, but he could see exactly where the dancing bears were supposed to go, along with the decorative pine and the glass bulbs. Other drawings showed different parts of the room and what went where. There was a folder for each space, along with a diagram of where all the wreaths would go.
“Did you do this?” he asked. “It’s impressive. Easy to follow, and the instructions are clear. Nothing gets mixed up, and when you put it away in January, you simply keep the sections together in the bins.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I worked on this for a couple of years to get it right. Decorating used to take weeks, but now I can do it over the long weekend. I get help on the trees, and I have professionals putting up the outdoor lights first thing in the morning.”
