Page 10 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
“Please call me Anne.”
Helen nodded. “Anne, I have you all booked in. You are in room four but, like I said, it’s not ready.” She plucked the key out of the drawer of the desk and handed it to her.
Anne nodded. “That’s okay. Can you recommend a place for lunch in town? I told my Uber driver to wait until I get my bags inside.”
Helen grimaced. “I’m new to town as well. I’m afraid I am not familiar with the town yet. But I did have a wonderful dinner last night at a restaurant on Main Street. It’s next to the antique shop. The name of the restaurant was Main Street Grill and Bar. But you could ask your Uber driver for recommendations as well. They are always well informed of the best places to eat.”
Anne nodded and stood. “Thank you so much. Again, I’m sorry for the early arrival time.”
Helen stood and smiled. “Not a problem. I hope you will enjoy your stay.”
Anne tucked her key in her purse and gave a little wave before disappearing out the door.
Helen breathed out a sigh of relief that it had gone so well.
Standing, she headed to the closet, grabbed her caddy, and headed upstairs to get the room ready.
Chapter 6
At around five, the guests began to trickle in from their outing in town. Helen made sure to be downstairs to greet them as they came in. Mr. and Mrs. Hill had eaten an early dinner and were in for the night, while Mrs. Lewis came in with a brown bag, which Helen guessed from the smell was her dinner. Jackie came in but quickly left after changing clothes, and Anne Wells had not come back yet.
Helen had a long day, but it wasn’t over yet. She still needed to have a menu for tomorrow’s breakfast.
Rebecca and Kacey had suggested a hearty Southern breakfast of bacon, eggs, grits, and toast. But Helen had been thinking on it all day and came up with an idea. She had printed off options for breakfast and slid each one under all the rooms with instructions to fill them out and place them on the dining room table before nine that night.
She headed into the kitchen to make sure she had all the ingredients for breakfast tomorrow.
She opened the refrigerator and peered inside.
“Excuse me.”
Helen turned around to see Mr. Hill standing there with the papers in his hand.
“Hello, Mr. Hill. I see you filled out your menu for tomorrow.” Helen smiled and walked toward the older gentleman.
“I did. This is a great idea. Before I mark my wife’s menu, she wanted me to ask you about the custard oatmeal. Can you tell me what you put in it?”
Helen clasped her hands together and brightened. “Of course. It’s oatmeal with milk and an egg whisked in. Once it’s cooked, I’ll be adding a topping of bananas, honey sweetened walnuts, coconut, and a drizzle of honey.”
He looked delighted. “That sounds wonderful. Especially this time of year with the cooler weather. Tell me, can I get a side of bacon with that as well?”
Helen smiled and nodded. “Of course. There’s an option on the menu for that as well.” She pointed to the papers, and he held them out.
“So, you want the eggs, bacon, grits, and toast and your wife wants the custard oatmeal with a side of bacon?” She looked up at him.
“Yes. Although I may try my wife’s breakfast tomorrow.” He laughed.
“Perfect. Breakfast is served between seven thirty and eight thirty. Do you have a preference when you will be down?”
He chortled. “We are early birds so put us down for seven thirty. We will probably already be down before then for a cup of coffee.”
Helen took the papers and nodded. “Of course. And is there anything else we can do to make your stay a pleasant one?”
He hesitated. “Well, my wife is an early riser and takes that time to read. She was wondering if it would be okay to sit in the living room in the morning, so she doesn’t bother me.”
Helen blinked. “How early does she get up?”
He grimaced. “Around four thirty. She is a retired schoolteacher and always got up early so she could ‘sit in peace’ as she called it before getting ready for the day. If it’s a problem, then forget I asked. She did buy me a sleep mask for this trip.”
