by Cindy Bell
Once Suzie and Paul were alone again in the kitchen, the glaring obviousness of his unanswered question seemed to fill the room. He lifted his eyes to hers, and without him speaking a word, she knew that he was still waiting on an answer.
“Oh, I picked up something for your trip,” Suzie said as she turned and rummaged in the tall cabinet beside the refrigerator. She heard Paul heave a heavy breath as she avoided the topic again, but he didn't press it. When she turned back with a case of his favorite soda, he grinned.
“Just what I needed,” he said happily. “I wasn't sure if I'd have time to get to the store before I left.”
“And this,” she added and handed him a slim book. “In case you have any time to relax.”
He picked up the book and glanced over the title. “Mystery, just what I like,” he grinned. “Suzie, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you knew a little bit about me.”
“Just a little,” she smiled.
He glanced at his watch. “Well, I should be going, I hope that everything else goes smoothly. I'll call you when I get back to land, okay?”
“Okay,” she nodded and stood awkwardly before him. He eased the tension by leaning forward for a slow, soft kiss. Suzie felt herself rise up on her toes to lengthen the kiss. When he broke the kiss he winked at her and turned to walk out of the house.
“Maybe when I get back, we can talk?” he asked as he started to cross through the doorway.
Suzie gulped. “Absolutely,” she managed to say. She heard him whistle lightly beneath his breath as he walked through the door.
Suzie felt relieved and disappointed that he was gone. It was so confusing to be so attracted to him, but so unsure of what it was she wanted that attraction to lead to. She was glad there would be a few quiet hours between Alice's arrival, and that of the next guests. Mary returned to the kitchen.
“That woman is high maintenance,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Ben taught you that, didn't he?” Suzie grinned.
“Yup,” Mary nodded. “Is Paul gone?” she asked.
“Yes, he's shipping out tonight,” Suzie explained.
“Too bad,” Mary frowned. “Well, at least Alice is settled for the moment. She thought the room was acceptable,” Mary laughed at that.
“This is going to take a lot more patience than I thought,” Suzie grimaced.
“I'm going to check and see if Martin would like anything,” Mary said. As she walked away Suzie sat down in one of the dining room chairs and drew a deep breath to calm herself.
Chapter Four
Everything seemed to have started calming down and Suzie was enjoying a few minutes to herself before the next guests arrived when she jumped at the ear-splitting scream that came from one of the rooms.
“Oh no!” she nearly fell out of her chair as she lunged towards the hallway. “Something terrible must have happened.”
“What room is it coming from?” Mary asked as she raced after her. With the second less piercing scream it was clear that it was coming from the Venice suite.
“Alice?” Suzie asked as she knocked on the door, and then opened it. “Alice?” Mary stepped in behind her. Suzie could hear water running in the bathroom. The door was closed, but the light was on.
“Alice, are you in there?” Suzie asked as she stepped cautiously towards the door. Before she could open it, it flung open. Suzie braced herself expecting a grisly scene, or a wild animal of some sort. Instead it was Alice dressed only in a towel.
“This water is ice cold,” she huffed. “I ran a bath, and went to step in, and I probably have frostbite in some terrible places right now!”
“It's cold?” Suzie asked with a frown. “It shouldn't be,” she stuck a finger into the water. Although it wasn't ice cold, it certainly wasn't warm enough for a bath.
“I better check the water heater,” Suzie said.
“Yes, you do that,” Alice said with a disgruntled glare. “Some vacation!”
“Don't worry we'll have it fixed up in no time,” Mary assured her.
“I bet,” Alice said with obvious annoyance.
Ben must have heard the screaming, too, because he came bounding down the hall. Mary cut him off in the hallway to ensure that he didn't get a view of Alice in a towel.
“What's going on?” he asked with concern.
“For some reason there's no hot water,” Suzie said as she stepped out of Alice's room.
“Huh, that's strange,” Ben said. “I'll check the water heater.”
“Thanks,” Suzie said with relief. When he headed downstairs Mary turned to Suzie.
“I'm going to put together a plate of snacks for Alice, maybe that will smooth things over a little,” she said and patted Suzie's shoulder. “Don't worry it's just opening weekend hiccups.”
“I hope so,” Suzie grimaced. She was already adding up in her mind how much it was going to cost to get a new hot water heater. They had depleted their funds quite a bit to get Dune House ready for opening.
A few minutes later Ben returned.
“The water heater looks fine,” he said with some confusion. “But the water level is low. It looks like you must have a leak somewhere.”
“A leak?” Mary asked. “But how could the plumber not have seen that when we had the pipes inspected?”
“I don't know, it must have just happened,” Ben said with a shrug. “Because I took a shower last night and the water was fine.”
“Well, we better get a plumber out here,” Suzie said with a grimace. She pulled out her cell phone to call Lester, the plumber they had used before. But his number went to an answering service that stated he was on vacation for the week. “Great, this just keeps getting better and better,” she said with a frown.
“Try not to panic,” Mary said. “There has to be another plumber in town.”
“You know what, I'll call Paul and see if he knows anybody, I'm sure that he's not on the boat yet,” she added.
“I'll keep Alice happy,” Mary said. “I'll try knocking on Martin's door to warn him about the icy shower, too.”
“Thanks, Mary,” Suzie said as she walked away to make the call. Paul picked up on the first ring.
“Missed me already?” he teased.
“Oh Paul, we've got a problem,” Suzie said.
“What's wrong?” he asked, worried by the tone of her voice.
“It looks like there's a leak in the plumbing. The water came out of the pipes but it was ice cold, and now our guests are going to be very unhappy,” she sighed. “I tried calling the plumber we used for the inspection, but he's on vacation. Do you know anyone else I could contact?”
“Let me think a moment,” Paul said. “Actually, I do. He's from a few towns over but I'm sure he'll come right away. I'll text you the number. Tell him that fisherman Paul sent you.”
“Thanks Paul, you're a lifesaver,” Suzie sighed.
“Just remember that,” Paul said lightly. “Don't let this get you down, sweetheart, everything will be fine.”
“That's what everyone keeps saying,” Suzie said with some frustration. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Have a safe trip.”
“I will,” he promised her before hanging up the phone. He immediately texted Suzie the phone number. She dialed the number.
“Doug of Doug's plumbing,” a boisterous voice said.
“Hi Doug, I'm a friend of fisherman Paul's and he said that you might be able to help me. I have a plumbing crisis, but I'm in Garber,” she explained.
“Oh, that's not a problem. I actually don't have any appointments this afternoon so I can come right over. Anything for Paul,” he added.
“Thanks so much. It's a big place, are you familiar with Dune House?” she asked.
“Who isn't?” Doug laughed. “Don't worry, I'll be there in thirty minutes.”
“Thank you so much,” she said before hanging up the phone. She took a deep breath and was starting to feel better.
“I tried knocking on Martin's d
oor, but he's not answering,” Mary said as she walked down the hallway. “But I slipped a note under his door for when he wakes up.”
“He must have been very tired,” Suzie said. “He's been in there for quite some time.”
“Are you sure he didn't leave?” Mary asked.
“No his car is in the driveway, and I haven't seen him walk through the lobby,” Suzie shrugged.
“Well, some people like to sleep on their vacations,” Mary pointed out. “How did the call with Paul go?”
“I've got a plumber coming in thirty minutes,” Suzie replied. “Let's just hope it's a quick fix and we can get the pipes running well again.”
“I hope so,” Mary crossed her fingers. “If not we could always do it the old fashioned way and heat up some water on the stove. We could call it rustic,” she laughed.
“That's pretty rustic!” Suzie said, but managed a smile. She couldn't help it. Mary's positive attitude tended to spread.
“Don't worry, Suzie,” Ben said. “We'll figure this out.”
When the plumber arrived Suzie and Ben were waiting on the front porch for him. She quickly explained the situation and that the water heater seemed to be working properly but without enough water.
“Well, if there are no leaks inside it must be under the house,” Doug said. “Let me take a look.”
“I'll go with you,” Ben offered. He followed after the plumber. After about twenty minutes the plumber came back to the porch, where Suzie was still waiting, hoping for a good solution.
“Well, you have a damaged pipe under the house,” he declared with a frown.
“What? How does that happen?” Suzie asked with concern. “We haven't had any bad weather, and the plumber who did the inspection said that the pipes were fine.”
“Honestly, it looks like someone did it on purpose,” the plumber said. “The wood around the porch was tugged away so someone could get access.”
“How strange,” Suzie sighed. “Maybe one of the locals is still unhappy about the B & B. Can you fix it?” she asked with urgency.
“I can,” he said with confidence. “I just need to go into town for some supplies. I'll be back soon and should have it fixed in about two hours.”
“Oh good,” Suzie said. “Thank you, this is our opening weekend.”
“You've got a beautiful place here,” he said and headed for his van.
“Hopefully, whoever did this won't try anything else,” Ben said with a shake of his head.
“The important thing is that it's getting fixed,” Suzie said. “And none too soon, as our next guests are due in an hour. I'd hate to have them drive up in the middle of the repair. But if they do, they do.”
Suzie tried to keep herself busy preparing some food for the guests to feast on if they chose. She sent Mary for a walk on the beach with Ben, since there wasn't much they could do until the next guests arrived. She noticed that Martin still hadn't emerged from his room. She decided to walk by the room to see if she could hear any signs of life. As she walked by she noticed that the slip of paper Mary had pushed underneath the door was sticking half out. She thought that was a little strange. If Martin was inside why had he pushed the note out? She lifted her hand to knock on the door, but before she could, Alice came storming down the hall.
“I'm going out for a run on the beach,” she said with annoyance. “I expect to be able to shower when I get back.”
“Well, hopefully the pipe will be fixed by then,” Suzie said as courteously as she could.
“I should hope so,” Alice said as she pushed past Suzie. She was dressed in a fancy running suit with her long, black hair in a high ponytail. Suzie shook her head as she watched her go. She was starting to think this guest was more trouble than she was worth, but in some way she could understand her frustration. She glanced at her watch to see that the guests they were waiting for were already an hour late. She hoped they would still show up. She checked the information about them on the small computer they had in the lobby area. They were out of town guests, so it was very possible that they had been delayed. She had forgotten about the note under Martin's door by the time Mary and Ben had returned from their walk.
“We saw Alice on the beach,” Mary grimaced. “She's in a real good mood.”
“Well, all we can do is try to accommodate her,” Suzie shrugged. “Our next guests are almost two hours late.”
“Have you heard from the plumber yet?” Ben asked.
“Not yet, I don't think he's back yet. And Alice isn't going to be too happy about that,” she sighed.
“With the speed she was running it will probably be a while before she gets back,” Mary said.
“That's good at least,” Suzie said.
“Oh look, someone's pulling up, looks like the plumber,” Ben said. “I'll check to make sure he has all of the parts he needs.”
“Thanks,” Suzie said. After Ben walked out Mary spotted another car coming up.
“Oh and there's someone else pulling in behind him,” Mary said. “Must be the guests we're waiting for.”
“We made it!” the woman said breathlessly as she burst through the door. “I didn't think I'd ever get out of that car!”
“Oh Diana, you're being a little dramatic, aren't you?” asked the man who stepped in behind her. He was carrying their bags.
“Maybe if you had asked for directions, it would not have taken us two extra hours to get here, Jim,” Diana complained and shook her head. “Men,” she rolled her eyes at Suzie and Mary.
“Diana, that's what a GPS is for so you don't have to ask for directions,” Jim pointed out as Suzie took a few of the bags from him. “Sorry we're late,” he said sheepishly. “Apparently some of the roads leading into Garber aren't accurate on my GPS.”
“Small towns can be that way,” Suzie said with sympathy. “I'm sorry you've both had such a rough trip. Hopefully we can change that,” she smiled.
“All I need is a bathroom and a cup of hot coffee,” Diana said.
“Right this way,” Mary laughed and led Diana off towards the guest bathroom.
Jim stretched his arms above his head, trying to loosen his back.
“She's right,” he admitted. “But I won't tell her that. We drove in circles for about an hour before I finally broke down and asked someone about Dune House. Seems like everyone knows of it!”
“It has been here for a very long time,” Suzie explained as she led him to a couch so he could rest. “So, most of the locals even a few towns over know of it.”
“It doesn't look old at all,” he said with surprise. “I mean, it looks authentic of course. But it's spotless, and looks beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Suzie said warmly. “Would you like some water? Coffee? Maybe a beer?”
“A beer would be great,” he nodded. “We've had a bumpy start to our weekend.”
“I can fix that,” Suzie smiled.
“What? How?” Jim asked.
Just then Diana was returning to the lobby.
“Diana, seeing as you’ve spent extra time traveling here, we would like to make your weekend extra special so you can relax,” Suzie said sympathetically. “So, I've upgraded you to the honeymoon suite.”
Diana's eyes widened. “Really? The one that overlooks the water and has a spa bath and…”
“That's the one,” Suzie laughed. “We're not heavily booked, and I'd like to make sure that you both have the best vacation you can.”
“This is wonderful!” she said happily.
“We'll bring your dinner and coffee to your room if you'd like,” Mary offered as she returned to the lobby. “Or we could seat you on the deck, there's a nice breeze off the water.”
“I think it would be nice to eat in the room tonight,” Jim said with a yawn. “I'm pretty tired.”
“I'll take you there, now,” Mary said.
“Mary, the honeymoon suite!” Suzie called out.
“Oh?” Mary smiled. “I'm sure you'll both enjoy it, it's a huge sp
ace.”
As Mary led Diana and Jim off, Suzie finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even though they only had four guests she felt as if she had run a marathon. She had a slight twinge of panic over what she might have gotten herself into. Between the troublesome Alice Montreal, the pipe problem, and the question that Paul had posed to her, she was exhausted. Luckily the intercom was set to ring to her room in case there were any problems during the night. Once everyone was settled she and Mary met up in the dining room to make sure things were ready for breakfast the next morning.
“What a day,” Mary sighed as she heaved herself into a chair.
“How are you holding up?” Suzie asked.
“I'm okay, I just didn't imagine it would be so frenzied,” she laughed.
“And we haven't even made breakfast yet,” Suzie pointed out.
“Mom, Suzie, are you in here?” Ben called out from the lobby.
“In the dining room,” Mary called back. “What's the verdict?” she asked when Ben walked in.
“Well, it's not good,” Ben said grimly. “He's got the pipes flowing for tonight, but you're losing water every time someone uses the water. You're going to have a big bill.”
“What about a fix?” Suzie asked hopefully.
“He says that he can fix it,” Ben said. “But he has to go into town to get some more parts and the stores won't be open until tomorrow morning. He couldn't see much under the house, but he did say it was strange that the wood was pulled back. It looks like someone pried at it.”
“What?” Mary gasped. “Why would anyone do that?”
“I don't know,” Suzie said grimly. “But we better keep a close eye on things until we find out.”
“Thanks for your help, Ben,” Mary said. “Is it okay if we just have a quiet night in tonight? I am bushed.”
“That’s perfect. So am I,” Ben agreed. “I’ll see more of Garber tomorrow. I am going out tomorrow night with Jason and his girlfriend, to check out the Garber nightlife.”
“Garber has nightlife?” Mary asked.
“Jason has a girlfriend?” Suzie asked.