‘I am a bit upset about something actually.’ Beth Keenan, the master of understatement.
‘D’you need my help with anything?’
‘No.’ I felt like curling up in her arms and boo-hooing my whole mess of a short-term fling into her shoulder, but I wasn’t going to. ‘No, I don’t think so, Mum, not yet.’ Just because the card had gone into the wash, didn’t mean it was ruined. And just because I’d made a mistake, didn’t mean he would never forgive me. The guests had. This was a little different, but I wasn’t prepared to give up without a fight. If the disasters of this Christmas had taught me anything, it was that it wasn’t over until you’d done absolutely everything you could to make things right.
The card was ruined. Nothing but a pile of white fluff, reminiscent of the snow that had caused me so much hassle this past week. No matter. I had a back-up plan.
Mum was manning the reception desk in the lobby. It was coming up to half past eleven, our checkout deadline, so she was likely waiting for some guests to come down. I gave her a reassuring smile and went through to the office, settling myself at the computer.
I should be able to get Nick’s number from the booking system. Normally, I never would’ve accessed his personal information like that, but he had given me his card, so in a way, he’d already given permission. I drummed my nails on the desk, waiting for the machine to warm up, and glanced out the door. The Hendersons were piling into the lobby, with their massive suitcases and thick winter coats at the ready.
Ah-hah. The log-in screen popped up and I quickly typed in the admin details and searched under Cartwright but only Stephen and Dorie came up. Nick must have been on Dorie’s original booking, which had been intended for her and Nick’s mum. I could see where the additional room had been added, changing it from one twin room to two doubles and his name was listed but that was it.
I collapsed back into the chair, my hands sliding from the keyboard. That was it. I’d exhausted every avenue I had to try and get hold of him. I was out of ideas.
I stared into space, each of my organs turning to stone and weighing me down until I managed to rouse myself with a shake of the head, turned off the computer and went out to the reception desk. The Hendersons were still there and when Holly saw me, she called out my name and came running around the gap to give me a hug.
‘I’m so sorry,’ her mother said. ‘Holly, come back here; you’re not meant to go behind the desk.’
‘It’s fine, honestly,’ my mum reassured her as she passed over the final printout of the bill.
I gave Holly a little squeeze and straightened up. I could do this. I could deal with this terrible feeling of disappointment. My heart was notbroken, because of course, I hadn’t beenin lovewith Nick. It was just grazed.
‘So, have you had a fun Christmas?’ I managed to ask her in a normal-sounding voice.
‘Yeah. And guess what? Mum said when I go back to school I can learn the piano, like you!’ She bounced up and down in her pink welly boots.
‘Really? That’s brilliant,’ I exclaimed, the excitement in her big eyes warming me up where I’d gone cold inside.
‘Your carolling evening was quite the inspiration,’ Mrs Henderson agreed. ‘Come on, Holly, it’s time to go. Thank you, we had a wonderful holiday.’
‘Thank you too. You helped save Christmas Day.’
She shrugged and smiled like it was all in a day’s work for her. ‘It was our pleasure.’
They trooped out the door chorusing goodbyes and when the door swung shut behind them, Mum turned to me with a smile, crossing her arms over her neatly pressed shirt. ‘You’ve been doing double time this Christmas. As well as keeping the hotel going, you’ve been recruiting more people into learning instruments, haven’t you?’
‘It’s like a disease,’ I joked.
She laughed but beckoned to me. ‘Come and chat to me while I do a quick stock-check in the bar. We seem to have got through alotof alcohol this Christmas.’
‘Yeah…unfortunately I found that a complimentary round of drinks was the best way of keeping them happy.’ I winced as she unlocked the doors and we went inside.
‘Well, it worked.’ She closed the doors over behind us and headed for the bar. ‘So, I can’t fault your instinct. I’ll just need to restock a bit earlier than usual.’
I jumped up on one of the bar stools, while she grabbed the folder under the cash register and flipped to an inventory page. The large room was a lot colder than it had been on the Mince Pie Evening. It was amazing how people changed a place, with their noise and their warmth. It was still a gorgeous space, with the ornate furniture and pretty decorations but the fire wasn’t lit and none of the twinkly lights were shining. The no man’s land between Christmas and New Year always gave things an odd desolate feel to me.
My eyes strayed to the rug in front of the fire and I couldn’t suppress a sad smile. All the plans I’d had for spending Christmas at the hotel had come true in a way. I’d spent cosy evenings in front of the fire, and laughed and danced at the festival, and gone for brisk walks in the snow, but it had all been with Nick, not Peter, like I’d imagined. None of it had been part of a relaxing holiday either, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was still more fun than if I had been with Peter and it had all worked out like I planned.
‘You’re not talking much,’ Mum commented, her back turned as she checked the level on the vodka bottle.
‘Didn’tyouaskmeto come in here for a chat? I assumed you had something on your mind?’
‘I do actually. I need to talk to you about something.’ She noted something down in the folder and then snapped it shut.
‘About how you’re thinking of selling the hotel?’
Her mouth gaped open for a second and then she rolled her eyes. ‘Lydia. Of course. I don’t know why I trusted her to keep it to herself.’
