Page 6 of Spring Showers

America laughed. “That tracks.”

“No.” Embarrassment dripped from her lips. “I mean, we started to, then you came in. We didn’t really have time for the whole tour.”

“Relax. I’m only teasing you. And him. He likes it.” America steered them to a narrow staircase that led to a loft area. “Here we are. The office. We just added this. Well, there was a loft here before, but I wouldn’t say it was safe to walk on, let alone hold furniture and all these storage shelves. The whole barn has had an overhaul in the last eight weeks.”

The loft was a wide-open space that covered about half of the barn’s footprint. Rows of black metal storage shelves, like something one might see in a big-box store, held dozens of crates and bins. “What is all this?”

“You’ve got your different holiday decorations over there.” America pointed to a grouping on one side. “And these are filled with things from binoculars to water slides, and ice skates and camping stoves. Pretty much anything you might need to put on any activity you can think of. You have access to anything in there.”

“That’s...thorough.” Thandie said, suddenly seeing the scope of what they expected. “So, this week we have a wellness retreat?”

America flopped a large binder on the desktop.

“What is that?”

“This has everything you need to know for the week. All the guests’ profiles, their preference sheets that include any limitations they have, and a sample schedule for you to start with. Of course, you should use it as a template and change it to whatever you think is best. Any questions?”

About a million, Thandie thought. “I think I can get something put together.”

“The guests arrive tomorrow, and the retreat runs through Saturday,” America said. “And then we’ll figure out the next week.”

“Is this like a trial run or something?” Thandie asked.

“Let’s hope not. We already have bookings for the next few weeks,” America said. “The one next week is another wellness retreat, so that should be easy to figure out. Then we have a writing retreat planned for the first of next month.”

Thandie walked to the shelves and began taking stock of the items labeled on the bins. Some of the storage containers were made of clear plastic, and she could easily see the contents, while others were opaque and had detailed descriptions of what was stored inside. More than taking stock of the items, she was taking stock of the reasons for her staying there and managing such a massive job.

Her reason boiled down to necessity. She needed the money if she had any hope of moving on to the next place. Though she had only been there for an hour, she liked The Foundry so far. The thought of having to leave after only one week didn’t seem as appealing as it had a few hours before. Thandie realized just how tired she was of running from one place to the next.

“Is everything alright?” America said from behind the desk where she was filing some papers.

“America, what’s your story? I can tell you’re not a small-town girl like me.”

“What gave me away?” she joked and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I was born and raised in the city until I came here last Christmas. I’m a writer and came here on assignment to write a piece about the town’s amazing holiday celebration. But when I got here, the whole town was basically dead. There wasn’t any Christmas for me to write about.”

America’s story got Thandie’s attention. “What did you do?” Intrigued, she sat in a light-blue tufted armchair across the desk from America.

“I roped Leo into helping me bring back all the Christmas traditions so I could write my article. But instead of just finding a good story, I found my own Christmas in his kind heart and in the way we laughed together.” America’s eyes were distant and dreamy.

“So, you fell in love and decided to stay?”

“That’s right. I knew this place was special, and I felt free here. Not like living in the city where the walls always seem to be closing in around you.” America looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows visible from the loft space, though she wasn’t looking at anything in particular. “Enough about me. What’s your story?” she finally said and looked at Thandie again.

“I’m just trying to move on from...from some bad stuff,” Thandie said as she considered America’s words.

“You know, sometimes starting over starts within,” America said with no hint of judgment, only compassion. “I don’t know what you’re running from, but you have safe harbor here.”

“Thanks for not pushing for more.”

“You know what they say about small towns,” America said and raised her brows in three rapid bursts.

“I’m aware.” Thandie appreciated America’s lightheartedness. Though they had only just met, Thandie didn’t rule out the possibility that she could become good friends with America.

America closed the binder and folded her hands on the desk’s worn wood surface. “Alright. Let’s get down to it. What’s your expertise and how can we use it this week?”

Thandie paused at that giant question. Her expertise? “I have a degree in botany.”

“Hmm.” America thought for a moment. “That could be useful if you take the guests out on the trails. What else?”

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