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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHARLOTTE
Charlotte sat in on a staff meeting after lunch on Monday afternoon, eager to tell her cousins the news.
She glanced at Beryl, whom she had invited to the meeting to help with scheduling. Gran had a way of attracting excellent people to her devoted staff. Beryl was no exception. Of average height and medium weight, she was in her late fifties, like her husband. Her black hair, streaked in the front with a natural white strip, surrounded a strong-featured face. More handsome than pretty, her kind nature showed in her dark-brown eyes.
“Pretty exciting for Ellie to have you girls here helping her,” said Beryl. “We’ll work together to make it right for her.”
“Oh, yes,” Charlotte said, waiting for Brooke to sort the paperwork in front of her.
When Brooke finally looked up, she smiled at them. “Thank you, Beryl, for being here. Gran said you’re indispensable, and we’ve already seen it.”
“I’ve got exciting news,” said Charlotte. “I can’t wait any longer to tell you that all the soft goods will be delivered next Monday. Then we can begin to change out bedspreads, sheets, and new towels for the old ones.”
“We will need to launder the sheets and towels first,” reminded Beryl. “And we’ll need a double crew to change everything out and prepare the old spreads that are in decent enough condition for delivery to a charity.”
Charlotte turned to her cousins. “We decided on the charity helping women in shelters. Right?”
“And the homeless shelters,” Brooke reminded her. “With that in mind, I’d like to address the dining room issues. Livy and I have taken an inventory and want to get rid of some of the smaller items and order more.”
“It ties into the kitchen,” said Livy. “We need to replenish glassware and mugs. We discovered some old ones partially hidden in the back of the sideboard in the dining room and want to get rid of them to make space for updated ones. Also, some silverware needs to be added to our supply, especially if we go ahead with plans to serve occasional dinners.”
“I found a company online that will give us bulk discounts for ordering mugs. I’ve found beige pottery mugs imprinted with the outline of a sanderling on it,” said Brooke.
“I want to add the name of the Inn to them for no cost and be able to sell them to guests,” said Livy. “Several women in one of the groups wondered if we had things like that for sale.”
“What is all this going to cost?” asked Charlotte, pleased that Livy and Brooke were working together on this.
“Not as much as you might think.” Brooke handed out a list she’d made. She turned to Beryl. “We need to schedule a deep clean for the dining room.”
“I don’t think we need any new furniture for that room,” said Charlotte. “Do we agree on that?”
Brooke and Livy nodded.
“Why don’t I schedule the deep clean for Wednesday?” said Beryl. “We’ll devote Thursday and Friday to cleaning the gathering room. Are any new furnishings or decorations on order for that room?”
“None that I know of. I’d like to suggest moving some of the photos and paintings around between the dining room and the gathering room. I’ve mentioned it to Dylan, and he’s offered to look at everything we have and make some suggestions.” Charlotte beamed at them. “He’s even promised to give us one of his pieces of art.”
“That would be fantastic,” said Livy.
“I’m going to talk to him about some ideas I have for notecards using his artwork,” said Charlotte. “Maybe we can use the one he gives us for special cards, and we can write a little story about it on the back of them. A PR kind of thing for both him and the Inn.”
“That would be perfect,” said Livy. “We can add them to the collection I want to set up next to the registration desk. I figure we can sell things like hats, T-shirts, mugs, and cards that promote us. Nothing that isn’t tasteful, but things our guests have been asking for.”
“It’s an easy way to spread the news about the Inn,” said Charlotte. “There’s a lot of competition out there.”
“As long as we don’t invest a lot of money in it,” said Brooke, holding up the budget she had given to them.
“What about a fresh coat of paint in the dining room?” said Beryl. “Amby told me the other day that he thinks it needs it.”
Charlotte looked to her cousins, and they all agreed. “Okay, now, I’ve been working on banners for the website and have several to show you.”
“Thank you, girls, for inviting me to the meeting,” said Beryl, rising. “Don’t worry. The team and I will take care of the dining room and the gathering room for you. Any questions about what to do with what we find, we’ll ask you.”
Charlotte got to her feet and impulsively gave Beryl a hug. There was something so real, so kind about her that she couldn’t resist.
After Beryl had gone, Brooke and Livy stood looking over Charlotte’s shoulder as she showed them some ideas for the updated website. The banner they chose was a simple one of sanderlings, which look like sandpipers, on the beach as waves washed ashore. A picture of the Inn inside a circle was included to the left. On the home page, the background of the website picked up the color of the water. Charlotte was developing other pages for things like attractions, special events, and the like.
