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Right about then was when girls started to notice me.
But what was I going to do with girls who only saw me as a magazine cutout? They don’t give me a chance to show my way of life, my passions, my dreams. It sounds cheesy, but I want to be seen for who I am, the person I’ve always been, and not the body I grew into a few years ago.
But to show them that part of me… that demands a whole other kind of relating.
I’m not good at that kind.
So instead, I fill up the tank and pay at the pump, feeling them watch me, giggling behind my back. I’m sure this is supposed to feel better than it does. A compliment? An ego booster? But it doesn’t.
“Have a nice day,” I say to them as I get in my car. I watch them explode in giggles as I pull away.
Thank goodness this drive is enough to clear a man’s mind from anything that may have been weighing on him back in the civilized world. The fresh air, the pine trees, the snow-topped mountains in the distance…
And then the final turn, ten miles out from Hampton Falls, that’s where the Chateau Rose Hotel, with its equally luxurious canine counterpart, the Dog’s Paw Dog Spa, rises behind a cast-iron gate.
The gate is closed since it’s Sunday, and I don’t see the groundskeeper, Scotty, anywhere around. He covers weekends, but I didn’t tell him I was coming. If no guests are arriving or leaving, he might be off riding the lawn tractor or clearing the back forest.
No problem. I get out of the car and open up the gates, the splendor of the Chateau Rose awaiting down the gravel drive.
As I pull into the staff parking area, I see Scotty ahead, digging up a part of the lawn. He must hear the car, as he looks up and gives me a friendly wave. I step out of the car and wave back.
“Scotty! What are you up to? Re-laying the grass?”
“Actually, it’s a gift.”
“A gift?” I stroll over to the corner of the garden that is right up against the shrubbery that lines the property edges of the Chateau Rose.
Scotty wipes the sweat from his forehead. “Miss Chardonnay mentioned a while back that when she lived in France, she kept a small vegetable garden. She said that she misses the simple pleasure of keeping it up. So I’ve spent a couple of seasons watching the grounds, trying to find a spot where the patrons won’t happen upon it if they don’t want to and where it’s viable enough to grow a few things. And—as they say in France—voila!”
“How thoughtful. I have no doubt Miss Chardonnay is going to be touched.”
He wipes his hands on his coveralls. “I know you’re still pretty new here, but Miss Chardonnay has come through for a lot of us in different ways. She hired Rita sight unseen because she needed a job. She gave me all the time I needed when I was grieving for my wife. She saved Amelia’s wedding from certain disaster–”
“Amelia, the vet in training?”
“At the time, she was a groomer, but yes. That’s the one.”
“Miss Chardonnay saved her wedding?”
“She did, but that’s a whole other story.”
“I haven’t crossed paths much with Miss Chardonnay since I joined, but that’s pretty neat of her.”
Scotty smiles. “At first, she can come off as eccentric and out of touch, but stick around long enough and you’ll see that inside her is a Frenchie heart of gold.” He picks up his shovel and sticks it into the dirt. “Now what on earth is the accountant doing here on a Sunday? That’s what I want to know.”
“Just trying to get ahead before the Monday madness. I’d like to get this trend report sorted out.”
“And you’re coming up to three months with us now, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“You sure keep to yourself.”
I shrug. “I’m an accountant.”
Scotty looks around. “Ranger not with you today?”
“Not today. I want to focus on the work. See, that’s also why it’s so important to me to pass this probation period with flying colors. There are very few places in the world where an accountant can bring his dog to work.”
