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sp; “But; I do want you to at least do me the courtesy of heading down to the dock and letting the Cruise liner know that I’ll no longer be attending. They had arranged some things for me so I don’t want them to go to the trouble if they don’t have to anymore.”
Before I’ve got a chance to object and tell him to send an errand runner or something he’s taken the call, and I stand up from the desk and waltz over to the window and pull out my cell. I make a call to the Cruise liner but of course the lines are down, so I hang up with the intention of trying again in a few minutes.
I get another drink of water and then dial the number again, but just as before; the lines are still down. And if the situation over there is anything like what we’re dealing with here at the hotel office, then the phone lines might be tied up for quite some time. After a few more failed attempts I disconnect the line with a sigh, getting more and more annoyed with all the noise around me in the office.
It’s constant chatter and non stop arguing, the level of noise doing absolutely nothing for the killer hangover that is currently waging war on my head. So after a moment of gazing out the window and getting more and more irritated by the minute, I decide that I need to get out of here.
The Cruise liner isn’t that far from the office, so maybe I can just go down there in person and straighten things out for Robin. I’ll let them know that he isn’t going to be taking the cruise anymore, and I’ll get some fresh air and quiet to help clear my head.
Win/win.
So I make my way back downstairs, smirking as I pass the fountain and see remnants of last night’s shenanigans in the form of a ribbon still tied around the wrist of one of the statues. It doesn’t take me long to hail a cab out front –I’m a gorgeous woman, of course– and before I know it I’m out of the chaos of the office and inside a quiet cab, on my way to the docks to help deal with a mess that definitely isn’t my fault.
Maybe.
Two
Jess
This week has been one of the worst weeks of my entire life.
As a young and stereotypically struggling writer, my life hasn’t ever been easy. Still, I’ve always been able to scrape by, and working a few shifts at The Cozy Nook book store has helped more than I could have imagined. However, even having a convenient job that allows me to work on my novels during the day can’t help me with the problems I’ve been facing this week.
I’m currently holding the third publishing rejection letter of the week in my hands, and as I struggle to find a reason not to scrap all of my hard work, my four year old nephew runs around the kitchen on a sugar high. I can’t hear myself think. The rejection letter crumbles in my hands as I toss it into the trash can, and I sigh as I notice that I’m running late for work again.
“Alex, sweetie, settle down for Aunt Jess. It’s time to head to the bookstore, don’t you want to hear a story today?” I see the resemblance of my sister Penny in his flaming red hair and brilliant green eyes and it saddens me.
My sister used to have the same brightness in her eyes, and we used to get along better than any pair of best friends. Yet, after high school, Penny began to hang out with the wrong crowd. She often had brushes with the law, and I could never have a serious conversation with her because she was always high.
Our single mother didn’t think too much of it, simply saying that she was experimenting and having fun. The problems with Penny didn’t stop though, even after I graduated from college and she had dropped out. After mom passed away, Penny moved in with her then-boyfriend and had Alex.
Unfortunately, a few weeks ago when her boyfriend left her, Penny resorted to her old ways and landed in rehab once again. This left me suddenly caring for a four year old that reminded me of the energetic person my sister used to be. Alex is a wonderful and smart kid, but his mischievous side often leaves me annoyed and late for work.
“No story. Hide and seek, hide and seek!” Alex giggles, and I groan as I realize he’s hidden my car keys for the fifth time this week.
As the clock ticks closer to 9am, my patience wears thinner and thinner. “We don’t have time! Find them now or I’m going to be very angry with you!”
The threat of anger brings an embarrassed blush to the young boy’s face. His eyes begin to well with tears and I instantly regret raising my voice. He’s already lost two parental figures, and the thought of making me upset must be frightening to him.
“Sailboats use wind to move.” It’s another boat fact. He shares facts about boats and geography a lot, but especially when he knows I’m getting upset with him.
“That’s very interesting!” I coo, moving to pat him on the head. “Why do you do that when I get angry?”
The boy fiddles with his fingers, looking down towards the floor. “If I’m smart, maybe you’ll keep me.”
My heart breaks, and I forget all about the car keys and my lateness as I embrace Alex in a hug. “Sweetheart, I’ll always love you. Facts or no facts.”
The gesture leads him to run to the couch after hugging me back, and to my relief, he pulls a set of keys from the cushions. “Story time.”
With a big smile, I lift him into my arms and hurry to the car after struggling to grab my laptop bag as well. It was easier than I had anticipated to get my keys back, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m now 30 minutes late. Luckily, when I appear at The Cozy Nook with Alex in my arms, the bookshop owner quickly changes her look of disapproval into a smile.
“I see Alex is in a good mood today.” Rachel floats over to us, offering to take my nephew off my hands.
“I’m so sorry for being late, he decided to play hide and seek with my car keys again.” I’m deeply embarrassed, but Rachel seems to understand that I’m struggling to adjust to my new guardian role.
My boss sighs, ushering Alex over to the kid’s story circle while pointing to a lanyard around her neck with a set of keys attached. “Working around kids all day, you learn to outsmart them. You should try this, it works for me.”
“I’ll try it, thank you for understanding.” After getting her nod of approval, I shuffle over to the register to start my work for the day.
