Page 79 of Sea Breezes at The Beach House Hotel

“The carpeting people are due to arrive to replace the one in the main bedroom downstairs,” said Nell, sounding breathless as she and Angie carried bags into the house. “Manny has agreed to install some new fixtures for us.”

Manny grinned as Nell set down her packages and gave Manny a pat on the back.

“We’ll leave you to it,” said Rhonda.

“I understand Clint will be returning to Sabal tomorrow. Any idea what time?” I asked Nell.

“He’s on the eleven o’clock flight,” said Nell. “I’m going to pick him up and bring him to the house. I thought we’d have lunch here. Why don’t the three of you join us? It’ll be a small celebration. After the first of the year, when we’re settled in the house, I’m going to host a big party for everyone who’s helped transform it.”

“That sounds like fun. And the three of us will be here at noon tomorrow for the big reveal,” I said, silently confirming that with Rhonda and Tina, who nodded their approval.

“Do you want me to take Gabe?” I asked Liz.

“No, thanks. Liana is watching him while the Ts are in school,” said Liz.

“That’s nice,” I said. “She’s been wonderful about helping out.”

“I’ve got to get back to my boys,” said Tina. “I hired one of the hotel’s babysitters to watch them, but she’s new to me, and I don’t want to leave them with her for too long.”

“All the babysitters that the hotel recommends are excellent,” said Rhonda. “But I understand.” She checked her watch. “Guess we need to go too. Annie and I have a meeting to attend.”

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At the hotel, Annette, Bernie, Lorraine, Jean-Luc, and the department heads met in a boardroom to discuss staffing for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. We made an effort to make it easy for employees to spend time with their families.

The schedule had already been set up. Now, we needed to reconfirm. Rhonda and I always accommodated our families during the holidays, even if it meant being on call at home.

Bernie and Annette usually took off after the holidays to take a short trip somewhere away from Sabal. The rest of the department heads waited until after the holidays to enjoy some personal time. However, in the hotel business, the work of operating it never truly ended.

When Bernie was satisfied that we were well-staffed for the next three weeks, he broke apart the meeting. Rhonda and I stayed behind to discuss bonuses for certain employees.

“How’s Nell doing? Is she expected to return to work as you mentioned? Or should we give her a little more time?” he asked me.

“She’s planning on coming back as soon as the kids return to school the first week in January. It’s important to her. You’ve been very flexible. I appreciate it,” I said.

“We both do,” added Rhonda.

“I didn’t want to put you on the spot in front of the others,” Bernie said. “High season will be in full gear when she returns, and we need to be able to count on her.”

I made a mental note to speak to Nell about the commitment. Liana had agreed to continue to help with the kids in exchange for college tuition and expenses—a plan she and Vaughn had devised. Nell was the first of our daughters to decide to work at the hotel. Something her husband and children would have to get used to.