That put the finishing touch on the disaster. By the next afternoon the five visitors would have no place to stay except a shelter for the homeless.
These people are in terrible straits, Louise thought. I have my family and my home, while they are far away from theirs.
Alice arrived carrying a mug of tea, and at Louise’s inquiring glance, she lifted it and smiled. “I thought you might need another cup.”
It was as simple as that, Louise realized, and felt all her resentment disappear. When you thought someone was in need, you provided what you could to help to ease her burden. It might be something as small as a cup of hot tea or as important as shelter from the cold.
Her Aunt Ethel’s words came back to her at that moment. “A Christian home keeps a candle burning in the window through Christmas Eve to light the way of the Holy Family, as well as to welcome guests.”
“Thank you, dear.” Louise accepted the tea and marveled at the sense of peace she felt as she let go of the resentment that had been her companion. “What would you think of inviting our tour group to stay with us until they can make arrangements to get home?”
Chapter Fifteen
Even after their talk, Alice could not believe that Louise was volunteering to put up the tour group at the inn until they could find a way home. Her older sister had been so adamant about taking their vacation time for themselves and now she was giving it away. She even seemed happy about doing it.
“We must be practical,” Louise said. “Given the circumstances, it’s really the only thing to do.”
“Couldn’t we drive them to the next nearest city?” Alice asked. “I’m sure there have to be some hotels available in Lancaster.”
“I think our guests would prefer to stay here instead of being shuffled off to another strange hotel.” Louise glanced at her Bible for a moment. “I feel very strongly about this, Alice. It’s the right thing to do.”
The group had various reactions to Louise’s suggestion.
“It would only be for a day or two, right?” Ted asked hopefully. “Until the new van gets here or we can contact our families?”
“I wouldn’t count on the van,” Max muttered in his gloomy way.
“I’m grateful, of course, Louise, but do you have enough room for the five of us?” Edwina asked. “I would share with Laura, if that would help.”
“I’m a terribly light sleeper,” Laura said and folded her arms defensively when everyone looked at her. “It’s true. Even the slightest sound wakes me up. I can’t help it.”
Alice saw the way Louise looked at the younger woman, this time with more pity than exasperation. She was tempted to ask Laura how well she would sleep in a homeless shelter, then felt a surge of guilt for the unkind thought.
No, she decided, if Louise can be graceful about this, then so can I.
Ted pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose before he glanced around the room. “I’d share with Allan, but I think he needs his own room so that he can rest undisturbed.”
Max regarded the younger man. “Well, I can’t share a room with you.”
“I wouldn’t be a bother, sir,” Ted said, flushing a little. “I’m a very quiet person.”
“That’s not the issue. This is.” The businessman tapped the bump on his prominent nose. “I had it broken when I was a boy and I’ve snored like a freight train ever since. My wife had to wear earplugs. Unless you have some, you wouldn’t be able to sleep.”
“There is no need for any of you to share,” Louise said, startling Alice again. “We have four empty guest rooms, and I or one of my sisters will give up one of our bedrooms to provide the fifth.”
Jane frowned at their older sister for a moment, clearly surprised at her sudden and complete turnaround. “It may only be for one night. The tour company could show up with a new van tomorrow.”
“I may be able to get in touch with my brother, if he hasn’t left town for our parents’ house yet,” Ted said. “He may be willing to give some of the rest of you a ride into the city.”
Since Louise was sacrificing her long-anticipated holiday and Jane would be cooking for everyone, Alice decided to make her own contribution.
“I’ll give up my room and sleep on a folding bed,” she volunteered. “Jane, do you mind if I double up with you? Your room is a little bigger than Louise’s.”
Her younger sister nodded. “Sounds good to me. We can sneak down and have a midnight feast together after Louise goes to sleep.”
“No pizza,” their oldest sister said in her severest tone, even as approval glowed in her eyes. “No ice cream.”
Laura scanned their faces, her own expression uncertain now. “You three are talking like this is going to be some kind of schoolgirl adventure.”
“Why not let it be an adventure?” Jane asked. “We can’t change the situation and it’s better than being unhappy.”
“We’ve all been so disappointed that we really haven’t thought about the other side of this,” Ted said, looking at the rest of the group, trying not to sound as glum as before, “We’re forgetting that these ladies also had holiday plans and now we’re spoiling those plans.”
Laura looked uncomfortable. “Are we ruining your Christmas?”
Alice summoned a smile. “How can a house full of people at the holidays be a bad thing?”
Alice thought Max might jump in and start complaining along with Laura about the inconvenience of it all, but oddly the businessman remained quiet.
“Ms. Lattimer, we’ll try to make the best of it.” Alice said. “That’s all any of us can do.”
“It will be if we don’t get a change of clothes.” Edwina tugged at her sweater. “I don’t think I share the same size with anyone here, so I wouldn’t even be able to borrow something from you other ladies.”
“My little car isn’t very trustworthy on icy roads, but if Louise will lend me her Cadillac, I’ll drive all of you over to your hotel to check out tonight,” Jane said. “You can get your cases then.”
“If that van doesn’t get here tomorrow, my holiday and my business are going to be ruined.” Laura was staring at the snow falling outside the window. “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do? No one we can call? What if we end up being stuck here through Christmas? What are we going to do?”
Alice thought she sounded a little desperate and went over to place a hand gently on her shoulder. “You’ll help us celebrate it, Laura.”
Jane took everyone but Allan Hansford, whose items Ted promised to retrieve, off to Potterston to check out of the hotel, while Alice and Louise prepared what was needed for their unexpected guests. The rooms were clean and prepared for the guests that they had booked for after the holidays, but the bathrooms needed to be stocked with the towels and complimentary toiletries that they provided for guests. Then there were menus to consider and supplies to check.
When they returned from Potterston, their new guests needed to make calls to their families to let them know where they were and what had happened.
Unfortunately, the families were unable to help the stranded group. Ted’s brother had already left to visit their parents, and as Ted didn’t have snow tires on his own car, the long drive was too dangerous for his wife to make. Edwina’s husband had to stay home to be on hand to pick up their son’s family and other relatives from the airport. Allan’s wife couldn’t come to pick up her husband since she had stopped driving several years before because of poor eyesight.
“What about Laura?” Alice asked Louise.
“She has been trying to contact someone,” Louise said.
In fact, Laura Lattimer’s attempts to reach her attorney, her mother, or anyone else who could drive to Acorn Hill to pick her up drained her cell phone’s battery. The very next morning she went downstairs early and began monopolizing the inn’s phone for much of the day.
“I only want to call the office again and see if my secretary was able to reach my mother,” she told Edwina when the schoolteacher
said something to her about it. “She wouldn’t have gone to Europe for the holidays. She hates the Continent in winter.”
“You’ve already phoned her at least a half dozen times since last night, Laura.” Edwina sighed. “I don’t think the answer is going to be any different.”
Through it all, Louise remained rock-steady and serene. That afternoon, she met in the kitchen with her sisters to plan strategy. “Alice, if you would put out clean towels for everyone, I will recheck supplies and supervise telephone calls.” She glanced at Jane. “Would you like someone to help you with dinner?”
“You’re going to stick me with ‘Lady Lattimer,’ aren’t you?” When her older sister nodded, she sighed and squared her shoulders. “All right. I’ll talk about lofts in San Francisco and make her chop celery. Or maybe I’ll tie her up, gag her and toss her in the corner.”
“Lofts,” Louise said firmly. “Celery. Nothing more.”
Jane had just put together the ingredients for dinner when Ted came into the kitchen. “Hi, Ted. What’s up?”
“I’m your substitute helper,” he said. “Miss Lattimer developed a sudden migraine and had to go lie down for a few hours.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Is she all right?”
He cleared his throat. “I’d say she’s just very, very frustrated. She’s called her mother over and over, but so far, no answer.”
“That’s awful.”
“The thing is, I don’t think she’s as upset over not reaching her mother as she is about the tour company. I think she’s used to having a certain amount of control over the business side of her life. So being unable to get around this problem”—he spread out his hands—“is probably a whole new experience for her.”
“I hope it turns out to be a good one.” She glanced at his hands. “How are you at chopping veggies?”
He gave one bunch of celery a pained look. “About as skilled as I am at piloting the space shuttle.”
“No problem. We’ll just keep you away from NASA and my kitchen knives, and make you use your hands. Speaking of which, would you mind washing up at the sink?”
After Ted had scrubbed his hands, Jane brought over a big salad bowl and two washed heads of iceberg lettuce, one of which she handed to him.
“First, you remove the stem, like so.” She slammed the lettuce stem-side down on the counter, then turned it over and easily popped out the wide, flat stem section.
“Wow!” Ted imitated her with nearly the exact same results. “That’s a neat trick.”
“We chefs know a million of them. Just don’t slam too hard, or you’ll only have pulp left and have to make veggie juice. Now, you insert your thumbs here”—she showed him the place at the top of the lettuce—“and rip it in two.”
Ted was successful in dividing the head into two halves. “Why don’t you use a knife to do this?”
“You can use a knife, but tearing it up this way makes the lettuce appear more appetizing. It’s also a terrific way to work out frustration, as is the stem removal part.” She set the bowl in front of him. “Now, you tear the halves into quarters, and the quarters into eighths, then separate the eighths and toss them in the bowl. Tear up any big pieces that are not bite-sized. While you do that, I’m going to whip up our entrée.”
Ted went to work on the lettuce. “Cooking seems like fun.”
“Why do you think most chefs are guys?” She chuckled at his expression. “It’s true, you know. Real men really can cook.”
“We can burn things too.”
Jane’s quickest version of beef stroganoff was simmering by the time Ted finished the lettuce and set the dining room table, so she had time to show him how to chop the other vegetables for the salad and mix up homemade vinaigrette dressing.
“I like making my own dressings versus store-bought,” she told him as she poured a measure of red wine vinegar into the shaker bottle. “No chemicals, no preservatives, and I decide which ingredients to use. You make just enough for the meal and then you don’t have bottles of dressing sitting in the fridge either.”
“I wish my wife Linda was here,” he said unexpectedly. “This is her kind of cooking. She loves spontaneity and surprises. I know she would really like you and your sisters.”
Jane gave him a sympathetic smile. “Were you able to get hold of her?”
He nodded.
Maybe getting him to talk about it would help. “Was she disappointed?”
“Not very. In fact, Linda was great on the phone.” He hunched his shoulders. “She said that calendars don’t run our lives and that if I get stranded here for the holidays, then Christmas would be the day I come home.”
“Sounds like you married the right woman.” She went over to check and stir the stroganoff mixture.
“I know I did.” He ducked his head and his voice went low. “I don’t deserve her, you know. Linda is such a good, loving person. I can’t even afford to give her a proper home.”
“Yet.” Jane gave him a sympathetic look. “Professional freelance photographers make good money, Ted. Don’t give up on that.”
“Do you know that she insisted that I spend my Christmas bonus on this trip? Even with my bonus, I could only afford to go alone, but she didn’t care.” He took off his glasses and used his handkerchief to polish the lenses. Without them on, he looked very young and unsure of himself. “That’s the kind of person she is. She told me that I could take some fabulous pictures on this tour and that building my portfolio was more important to her than a fancy gift or big dinner.”
“She’s investing in your future.” Jane felt admiration. “That in itself is a gift.”
“I know, but it was still so hard to leave her behind. Now I might miss our first Christmas together.” He put his glasses back on, but they didn’t hide the sadness in his eyes. “But like Linda, I’ll have to make the best of it.” He glanced around. “Now what can I do?”
Jane smiled. “Let me introduce you to the immense pleasure to be had in sautéing garlic and shallots.”
Jane’s delicious beef stroganoff was received with enthusiasm and the appetizing fare went a long way to improving the atmosphere over dinner.
“We do appreciate you ladies providing accommodations for us,” Edwina said. “I know you weren’t expecting five houseguests to drop in like this.”
“It’s the nicest thing that’s happened on this trip,” Laura murmured, then looked up with a guilty expression. “I’m also grateful.”
“So am I,” Ted chimed in. “Thank you, ladies.”
Max frowned. “Will the tour company be reimbursing you for the expense of putting us up?”
“Yes, the manager was quite happy to do so,” Jane assured him. “There will be no charge to any of you either. They’re taking full responsibility for the cost and we’re still hoping they’ll find a van for you all.”
Louise brought up the subject of holiday dishes, and all the guests talked about things they liked to cook and their favorite recipes for the holidays. Only Laura seemed pale and depressed, and after picking at her food excused herself from the table to return to her room.
“You know,” Jane said, her tone thoughtful as she watched the interior decorator depart, “Laura didn’t mention anything about her family.”
“Does she have anyone?” Max asked.
“She said she was planning to visit her mother after the business party she’s giving on Monday,” Edwina said, “although I got the impression that they’re not very close and evidently her mother has gone off somewhere without telling Laura.”
“Not very thoughtful of her,” Ted said.
Max’s expression turned melancholy. “At least she has someone to visit.”
When the rest of the group had finished and Louise and Alice had begun to collect the dishes, Edwina insisted that she clean up after dinner.
“I know my way around a kitchen, and you ladies have done enough for us today,” the schoolteacher said firmly. “Ted, would you check on Allan? Max ca
n help me with the dishes.”
Alice rose to her feet. “I’ll go up with you, Ted.”
“Would you ask our patient if he’d like some dinner?” Jane asked. “I can make up a tray for him if he’s feeling hungry.”
Alice nodded. To Ted, she said, “Let me get my medical bag so I can give him a quick check-over while I’m up there.”
After she retrieved her bag from the front closet, she accompanied Ted to the second floor. “Do you know what Allan is allergic to?” she asked.
“He mentioned pollen and that he suffers a lot during the summer.” Ted thought for a minute. “You know, now that I think about it, he started feeling ill just after we visited Mayor Tynan’s home. That big, dried-flower wreath on the inside of his door might have triggered this.”
“That could be it. Pollen is a catalyst whether it’s from fresh flowers or dried ones.” Alice knocked on the door of the Sunrise Room. “Allan? May Ted and I come in?”
There was the sound of coughing, then a muffled, “Yes.”
Louise had put Allan in the Sunrise Room, probably in hopes that the bright color scheme of yellow, white and blue would cheer him up. It was Grace Chapel Inn’s unofficial “sick” guest room.
When Alice saw his watery eyes and reddened nose, and heard the congested sound of his breathing, she set down her case and took out her stethoscope.
“Allan, if you have no objections, I’d like to check you over,” she said as he sat up. “I’m a registered nurse, but if your condition requires a hospital visit, we need to take you there.”
“I don’t mind at all, although I look about as good as I feel,” he told her. “My prescription allergy tablets are at home and the over-the-counter medication I bought yesterday isn’t helping much.”
Ted excused himself so that Alice could examine Allan with privacy.
After a quick check and some questions about his medical history, she found that aside from the discomfort of his sinus congestion, the older man was in very good health.
Home for the Holidays Page 16