AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hugged her back and insisted, “I’ll be fine.”
When she stepped back, my dad moved forward and hugged me. “Have a good time, son.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you soon.”
With that, I turned, walked out, and hopped into my camper.
Then, I called a couple of my buddies to let them know I was back in town and heading to Blue Spruce for the next week or so. They all agreed they’d find a day to stop up so we could ride together.
Pulling out of my parents’ driveway, I got on the road, not knowing what was ahead for the week, but certainly looking forward to whatever was going to come.
FOUR
Indy
It wasn’t until I was about halfway through the interview when the nerves I felt started to settle, even if there was still a big part of me that was utterly terrified.
It seemed strange to feel that way, but I realized the feelings were for different reasons. The nerves and trembling I felt in my belly and hands were the result of me not wanting to fumble the interview, whereas the terror I felt was all related to my current financial and living situation.
Though I came into this knowing just how critical it was for the interview to go well and for me to get the job, I hadn’t been expecting the reaction I wound up having to it.
At the start of my drive from Janine’s house to the resort, I’d been confident. I even gave myself a pep talk, reminding myself of the woman I was and who I intended to be moving forward.
I thought I’d done a good job, but apparently, I was wrong. The closer and closer I got to Blue Spruce Ski Resort, the worse I felt. Maybe it was the whole process. I’d done this several times over the last six months, and with each interview I went to where I didn’t get the job, I grew more and more discouraged.
The only explanation I could come up with now for my reaction was that I was realizing this was my last chance. If this didn’t go well, if I couldn’t lock down this job, I was going to have to make the move to Arizona.
I wondered if Victoria, the woman interviewing me, had seen the change in me. I’d been cautious and reserved when I first walked into the room, but somewhere in the middle of it, I felt myself relax.
Victoria had kept it very laidback, casual, and friendly.
“Alright, so, now that I’ve asked all of the questions about you that I needed, do you have any questions for me about the position or the resort?” Victoria questioned me.
I’d applied for the position of a front desk agent at the resort. The job description and responsibilities were relatively self-explanatory, and Victoria had done a wonderful job throughout the interview of filling in the blanks about it.
Should I get the position, my job responsibilities would include answering phones, checking guests in and out, working face-to-face with customers, resolving discrepancies with guest bills, and any other customer-related issues.
Of course, Victoria noted that having strong, friendly people skills was a plus, along with being able to navigate a computer and having strong communication skills. When I first walked into the interview, Victoria might have thought I wasn’t a good fit, considering I was feeling particularly shy and spoke with my voice just a touch over a whisper. But I managed to turn it around, and now I was much more confident.
In fact, I was feeling so good about the interview, I decided to ask a question. “I think I’m pretty clear on the job itself, but I was curious about the housing. I noticed it was an option, and I was wondering how it worked.”
“Oh, right. Yeah, usually we wait until we offer the position to someone to explain some of the perks and benefits of working here at Blue Spruce, but there’s no harm in telling you about some of them now. So, as you noted, we do offer housing for our employees, and we have several options to choose from. You can either do a single, double, or a quad. So, with singles, you’ll be living on your own, in your own space. Doubles means that you’ll have a roommate. And for the quad, there are three other individuals sharing the space with you. The costs for housing vary, and don’t quote me on this, but I believe they are in the range of four-hundred and eighty dollars a month to five hundred and fifty or sixty dollars a month. Obviously, the singles are the more expensive ones, since you’re covering the cost yourself instead of splitting it. Regardless of which option you choose, the expense is taken right out of your paycheck, and the best part of all is that you’ll save tremendously on transportation costs, because everything is right here on the mountain,” she shared.
This was such a big deal for me. I was here, hoping to get a job that would help me rebuild my life after I’d made some foolish choices. Knowing that I’d be able to save on transportation was a big deal.
“That sounds great,” I replied.
She nodded. “It is, and we have a lot of employees who do take advantage of it. Now, in the event you get the position, we’ll have to check and see what options are left, since they fill up rather quickly right at the start of the season. If it is still available, and you wind up choosing a quad, you’ll likely need to take the shuttle to the resort hotel, because the quads are quite a distance away on the opposite end of the mountain. Of course, you can take the free shuttle from the singles or doubles if you like, but they are within reasonable walking distance as well.”
“Okay, so there are still some housing options available, but it’s a matter of which specific ones, correct?” I pressed.
“Yes. Yes, I know we still have a handful of open spots, but we’d need to check which is available,” Victoria confirmed. “In the event we hire you, is that a perk you suspect you’ll want to take advantage of?”
Nodding, I replied, “Yes, I would.”
“Excellent,” she said as she jotted some notes down on the paper in front of her. “Since we’re on the subject of it, I’ll just tell you a bit more about the benefits we offer. Obviously, we believe we’re offering some of the highest compensation rates in the industry, with this position starting at twenty-two dollars an hour. In addition to that, there’s a 401k retirement plan, and once you’ve met the three-hundred-hour mark, we offer medical, dental, and vision insurance plans. Of course, there’re also free passes for you and discounted lift tickets for your friends and family. We also offer employees discounts on the food, gear, and lodging if you choose to stay in one of the resort rooms at any point. There are a few other things, but that covers the gist of it.”
I desperately wanted this job. It was becoming more appealing with each word she spoke. The pay was excellent. Of course, it wasn’t what I’d been accustomed to seeing come in when Travis and I were in the height of success with his business, but it was still three dollars more per hour than I’d been making at my job as an administrative assistant. What was even better was that the housing costs, even if I chose to go with the more expensive single—something I hoped I’d be able to do—were hundreds of dollars cheaper than I’d been paying for my one-bedroom apartment years ago.
