She heard the teasing tone in his voice but forced a smile. “A good manager is punctual, preemptive, and positive.” She grimaced to think she had just quoted the three Ps from one of her least favorite college instructors. What a joke.
Jacob laughed. “Then I’ll be preemptive and punctual by making a positively swift exit. If I get home in time, I might have a chance to see Maizie before Kendra carts her off for the day. See ya—wouldn’t wanna be ya!”
“Not so fast.” Anna held up a hand. Jacob had worked here longer than she had and was well aware that management was expected to “communicate between shifts.” They were supposed to fill each other in about the goings-on of the motel. “You haven’t even given me your update—”
“Nothing to report.” He dropped his manager name tag into the top drawer. “Well, except a little excitement in Room 213 last night.” He tugged off his tie, dropping it in the drawer as well.
“What happened?” She stashed her purse in the storage cabinet, locking it since they suspected someone in housekeeping had sticky fingers.
“Just the same old same old.” He tossed the morning mail into the “In” box, then slipped his cell phone into his shirt pocket. “Some teenagers had an adult register a room for them last night. He slipped them in a back door, and of course, they decided to party a little too hearty. The family in 212 called to complain around midnight. Mickey had mentioned something about the kids partying down by the pool earlier but not that they had alcohol or were underage. Anyway, when I checked in on them, it was pretty obvious someone had pulled a fast one on me. So I called the cops. They found alcohol and weed in the room. Hauled all six kids down to the station. End of story.”
She shook her head. “And it’s not even the weekend yet.”
“Yeah, but they feel summer in the air. And you know how kids in small towns can be when the weather gets hot.” With his nylon lunch bag in hand, Jacob was on his way out of the reception area. “After all, you grew up here.” He winked. “Bet you were trouble too, back then.”
“That’s a bet you’d lose,” she called as he headed for the front door.
“See ya tomorrow, Anna. Same bat-place. Same bat-time. Same bat-channel.”
Then he was gone and the lobby was quiet. As Anna shuffled through some checkout receipts that Jacob had already printed, she wondered about him and his young family. He and Kendra had their hands full with eight-year-old Maizie and three dogs. Jacob was supposed to be finishing his business degree with an online university, but he was nearly forty now, and Anna wondered if he would really pull it off. Even if he did, would he look for other employment or, like her, would he settle here? And did that mean she had settled?
Anna sighed as she pinned the plastic name tag onto the lapel of her dark blue blazer, careful not to snag the fabric. It was a nicely cut Ralph Lauren suit and something the saleswoman had called an “investment” piece. “You should dress for the job you want,” she’d told Anna with authority that seemed convincing, even if the young woman was simply working as a Nordstrom sales clerk. For her first year at the Value Lodge, Anna had been reluctant to wear the expensive suit. Into her second year, it no longer seemed to matter. At least she’d looked impressive when she’d bumped into Marley, she remembered. That was lucky.
After sorting the mail and tending to the usual reception chores, Anna noticed a mom with two small children exiting from the nearby breakfast area. Since she hadn’t seen Shawna around yet and it was Shawna’s responsibility to maintain the “complimentary continental breakfast,” Anna ventured over to check on the condition of the food area. As usual, the counter was messy and sticky and the glass coffeepot of regular coffee was empty and scorching on the bottom. She turned off the element and considered calling Shawna to remedy this situation, but seeing a young couple headed her way, she decided to do it herself.
After all, she knew a good manager was willing to do any or all of the tasks that she expected of her staff. Of course, she also knew that a truly good manager made sure that she never needed to. Grabbing paper towels and a fresh coffeepot from the storage cabinet, she quickly put the kitchen to order. As she gave the final swipe to the counter, she imagined how inviting a big bowl of fresh fruit would look. It didn’t have to be extravagant or expensive—just oranges, apples, and bananas.
“Good morning,” Anna said to the couple as they studied the selection of boxed cereals. They looked about as impressed as she felt.
“Good morning.” The woman held up a box of toasted flakes with a creased brow. “Are we too late?”
“Too late?” Anna considered playing stupid but couldn’t. “Oh, you mean for the continental breakfast? No, this is what we have to offer—cereal, juice, milk, coffee, and tea. That’s about it on this particular continent.” She smiled stiffly. “Have a great day.” She grabbed a few more paper towels to use in the reception area. When was the last time someone had dusted in there anyway?
As she cleaned the dark green plastic laminate countertop, she remembered how she used to bring a small bouquet of flowers with her every Monday. She’d pick them up at the Safeway store the night before and arrange them in a vase at Grandma’s, and in the morning, feeling optimistic about the upcoming week, she’d place her perky blooms on the corner of the reception desk. She realized she probably appreciated the flowers more than anyone else. But after a few months, and after both the vase and flowers went missing one time too many, she gave up that habit.
With her regular chores done and the reception area tidier than usual, Anna was bored. Drumming her fingers, she stared at the clock. Because checkout time was 11:00, she didn’t expect to be very busy until a quarter till, when a few guests would trickle down to check out. It would pick up around 11:00, and sometimes there would even be a short line by 11:30. It amused Anna how guests seemed intent to stretch their stays at the Value Lodge to the very last minute, as if they couldn’t bear to part with such luxurious accommodations.
Eventually the guests began checking out. She didn’t feel too surprised when the dad from room 212 complained about the disruptive noise from the rowdies last night. She had expected this. Smiling, she pointed to his receipt—the one she’d already reprinted and adjusted earlier.
“I’m so sorry for your inconvenience, Mr. Ramsay,” she said with a look of sincere concern. “As you can see, I’ve discounted your bill by twenty percent and included a discount coupon for your next visit with us. I hope that will help.” She pointed to his kids, who were waiting with his wife. “Count your blessings that your children aren’t teenagers yet.” She smiled. “I’m sure they’d never be like that anyway.” She slid the papers to him, and just as she expected, he simply nodded and thanked her. Preemptive, she thought as she told them all to have a great day. Now if she could only be preemptive when it came to her own life. Was there no action to take, nothing she could do, no way to change this dead-end route her life had taken?
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, including The Christmas Joy Ride and Once Upon a Summertime. Melody has received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books. She and her husband live in central Oregon. For more information about Melody, visit her website at www.melodycarlson.com.
Books by Melody Carlson
FOLLOW YOUR HEART SERIES
Once Upon a Summertime
All Summer Long
Under a Summer Sky
HOLIDAY NOVELLAS
Christmas at Harrington’s
The Christmas Shoppe
The Joy of Christmas
The Treasure of Christmas
The Christmas Pony
A Simple Christmas Wish
The Christmas Cat
The Christmas Joy Ride
The Christmas Angel Project
MelodyCarlson.com
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Melody Carlson, Under a Summer Sky--A Savannah Romance
Under a Summer Sky--A Savannah Romance Page 26
