It was a couple of months ago that Joy opened her B&B, and although she was still new to the industry she was starting to feel a little less like a fish out of water.
She had quickly discovered that there were far more things to learn about running a B&B that she didn’t know than there were, things she did know.
Before opening, she had worried about whether or not she could cook enough breakfasts in the time she had set herself, and whether she would get in a muddle with double bookings, but she had soon discovered that the things that would throw her off course the most, would prove to be things like the comments in the guest book, how often she should change the towels, and whether or not being graded was essential for her business.
Today Joy didn’t care. Sam was coming.
Sam had arrived back at his barracks in Colchester a couple of days ago, and had a week’s leave, he then had to report back to his barracks for two more weeks after which, he would be retiring from the army and coming to help her run their new business.
Joy looked at the clock, an hour to go before the first guests appeared for breakfast. She took extra care with her appearance, and smiled to herself in her mirror. She had suggested driving to Colchester to pick Sam up, but he wanted to come by train and gain an impression of Sunfair as a guest. He said it was the only opportunity he would ever have of seeing it through guests’ eyes and it would be an invaluable experience.
Trust Sam to be practical, Joy thought, and recognised that it would take a long time before his training in reconnaissance and other military skills would enable him to think in a more emotional way. She was sure it would mean that he would be the ideal business partner and that was why she had decided to wait for Sam to join her before making any major changes, like whether or not to seek a grading or take beds out of the family room.
Joy went into her dining room and started to lay the tables, she had dedicated one table to each of her rooms, this morning she was cooking breakfast for two couples who were in her two double rooms, and a single man who was in her twin room. Her family room was empty, she had not let it since the first night when Mr Brown had demanded his money back. As Joy laid the tables she thought about Mr Brown, she had sent him his deposit back but he had not responded, At least he hadn’t (so far) left a bad review on TripAdvisor,
Joy went into the kitchen and started preparing the food ready for cooking. She had decided from day one that she would only use fresh ingredients and she liked to bake her own bread. Warm food smells soon enveloped her and as they wafted up the stairs, her guests started to come downstairs for their breakfasts.
The two couples sat down within a few minutes of each other and Joy was able to take four orders and prepare their breakfasts at the same time. She could hear them talking to each other which was always a good sign. Guests who sat in silence, she had discovered, were more likely to find fault with their stay. She popped her head round the door to make sure that the two couples had all they needed, and she went back into the kitchen to start preparing food for her final guest.
Joy did not quite know what to make of the final guest, Mr David Dines the single man in the twin room who said he was in town to carry out inspections on arcade gaming machines. Last night he knocked on her office door three times, the first time was when he asked for another toilet roll. What had he done with the other two she had wanted to ask. Then he knocked on her door about an hour later to ask her to show him how to work his shower. She followed him to his room and realised as he opened the door that the room was in darkness, she quickly reached out and flicked the light switch. For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of what was it, disappointment on his face? No, she had imagined it. She explained how to use the shower, asking herself if she had forgotten part of her usual patter when she first shown him to his room.
Shortly after that, he again knocked on her door with a small towel round his waist, saying that he had dropped his bath towel in the shower so could he have another one. Joy glanced to one side of him and said she had a pile of towels she had just finished ironing, if he would just wait there a moment. Joy left him standing in the hall outside her office and went to retrieve some clean towels, she opened the door and handed him two large towels and stepped back into the office, shutting the door. Was it her imagination, was this man trying to make her notice him. She had noticed him alright, but perhaps not in the way he had intended.
She hoped that the two couples would still be chatting when Mr Dines came down, she did not particularly want to be on her own in the dining room with him. She wondered what sort of inspections he did on gaming machines, but she didn’t want to ask, he might think she was interested.
Joy heard the scraping of chairs and went into the dining room in time to see one of the two couples getting up to go. Joy said “See you later, have a nice day” and turned to the second couple saying “More coffee” she wanted to add “please”. “No, it’s ok, we are just finished, that was a lovely breakfast thank you.” “OH, er oh, thankyou” said Joy, trying to sound relaxed.
Then she heard footsteps, Mr Dines came through the door as the second couple stood up. Joy looked at him and smiled. He totally ignored her and sat down at his table. She went up to him and asked what he would like for breakfast. He stared straight ahead and started singing loudly along with the radio…
The Candy Man can ‘Cause he mixes it with love And makes the world taste good.
Joy did not know what to do, Where was Sam when she needed him. She felt quite out of her depth, was this man trying to impress her, or unnerve her, or was he just messing about?
What do you think Joy should do in this situation?
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