Laura's Big Win (8 page)

Dennis stopped at the back guest
entrance since it was closer to their rooms than the main entrance
to the great room. With Alice in the lead, the troop entered the
building and quickly came to Suite A. Mag carding the door lock
brought on the lights and adjusted the thermostat for occupancy; it
would operate that way so long as the sensors recorded movement
every few hours. The Nessing family followed her inside, and
although the children were just grateful for the space, the room
exceeded what Laura expected from her conversation with the shelter
night super. The understated elegance said “You’re worth it;
enjoy”. Clearly, this was no chain hotel, or even a high end place
for travelers, but rather than creating an unease at the luxury, it
was at once warm and inviting. Quickly, Alice showed Laura around,
the fully appointed kitchenette, the large bedroom, and the
bathroom with its spa tub and adjacent walk-in triple headed
shower. The large bed looked like a field of flowers with the
beautiful spread in place, matching the other items of décor in the
room. Probably enough room for four people on there, Laura mused,
and they wouldn’t even have to be friends. Plus, her two small
children could have their own section to sleep in. Sensing what
Laura was thinking, Alice pressed a nearly invisible button in the
wood paneled wall, and two bunks folded down from the wall, showing
spreads matching the large bed.

“We don’t have much call for these, but
now and then guests bring small children and we do like to think of
everything anyone could want. And by the way, the consumables in
the kitchenette are for your use. You’ll find some familiar snacks;
please feel free to use them if you like. I have a few things to do
early in the morning, so I’ll come collect you about, say, 8 AM?
That should give you enough time for a good night’s sleep; we have
a lot to do tomorrow, but please don’t concern yourself about a
thing for now. Windmere is a little bit like a fortress for
security, and besides, I think Dennis likes the kids; they couldn’t
find a better protector.” The big man smiled at her reference. “If
for any reason something goes wrong, or you just feel uneasy about
something, press zero on the phone and I’ll respond. This card is
the door key; the other way in is the voice command, which we
address in the morning, or to have facility computer code access;
that system pretty much controls everything, but don’t concern
yourself about it for now. “Warmer” and “Cooler” on the suite
control panel mean exactly that, one degree per button push. Now,
is there anything else I can do for you?”

Laura just wanted to cry, these people
had done so much for her in so short a time, but she managed a “No,
thank you. You’ve done so much already I don’t know how to thank
you. The kids seem to like Dennis equally well; for now they’ve had
a long day already and I think bedtime calls. Thank you again; I’m
sure we’ll be fine.”

With that, Alice and Dennis departed,
leaving Laura and her children to settle in for the night. Laura
opened the duffle and extracted their night clothes, such as they
were. Limited though their wardrobe was at that point, she did
intend to maintain some semblance of civil living, as least as much
as she could, but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by
childish squeals of delight. Afraid this dream could somehow be in
jeopardy, Laura flew to the kitchenette to find her children
staring into an open refrigerator full of snacks, including ice
cream bars.

“Can we have one, can we have one,
pleeeese?” came the plea. Laura thought about it for a moment, and
decided ‘What the heck? If this is what it takes to ruin a dream,
it isn’t much of a dream’ “Yes, one and only one. Remember, we’re
guests here (wherever this may be, she thought), and then it’s off
to bed with you.”

Within minutes they had devoured the
treat, went horizontal without protest, and quickly fell asleep in
comfort for the first time in days. Kids asleep, Laura explored the
large marble tiled shower, washing away the days accumulation, and
a lot of stress in the process. It took a bit of doing to learn the
shower operation, but with a little luck she figured out the three
heads operated independently and could be adjusted in about every
possible way from stream to mist, pulsate to major flood. Shower
complete, she dried off with one of the towels provided; the sheer
size and thick texture of the towels did not go unnoticed, and the
terry robe that matched the towels swathed her in comfort until she
could climb into one corner of the bed. Her next thought was left
incomplete, so fast did sleep overtake her. Somehow, 9:30 PM seemed
rather late.

Chapter 6 – The Morning
After

Awakened by streaming sunlight, Jack
helped Mandy dress and led her in a very limited version of tooth
brushing and face wiping; then, curiosity overcame them and they
decided to open the door just a little bit to peek out. At that
moment, Dennis was heading to the kitchen for a morning booster
shot of caffeine and caught sight of the two peering out. “Anyone
hungry?” he repeated his question of the night before, knowing the
kids always seemed to be hungry. “Yes” again came the chorus, but
subdued enough that their mother, still sleeping soundly in the
bedroom, didn’t awaken. Dennis shushed them with a finger to the
lips, then took them in tow to the kitchen. ‘This’ he thought to
himself ‘should be a change for Doris. No sense letting her get
bored.’

Doris Cook had worked in some really
exclusive hotels and restaurants in her career, some of the best,
places recognized for their gourmet menu and ambience. She was a
rarity, a female in charge in a male dominated profession. Her
husband, Louis, was almost equally adept in the kitchen, and at one
point had worked under his wife’s direction. Their lifelong dream
was to operate their own high end restaurant, but the means to do
so had eluded them. Louis became critically ill during one point in
their marriage, and their funds were seriously depleted. So it came
to pass that when Doris’ aged mother needed assistance, and the
money was tight, they relocated to Conyerville to care for her.
Doris hired on where she could find work, which provided needed
revenue but little in the way of a culinary challenge.

In the early days of Ryan’s ownership
of Windmere, since there was no real kitchen staff, Ryan and Mary
occasionally took their meals at one of the assortment of
restaurants in town. Recalling their original foray to Conyerville,
Ryan found the restaurant they had formulated their offer in, and
became acquainted with the unassuming, but hugely qualified, Doris
Cook. At that point in her life, she had resigned herself more to
the hamburger end than to Chateau Briand, but it was a living. Ryan
changed all that. With Windmere, Inc. becoming a reality, he needed
expert advise on food service and an expert in the kitchen; Doris
Cook filled both needs. Wanting to semi-retire anyway, she loved
both the demands and freedom “her” kitchen at Windmere allowed. In
the process, she had also learned the joy of less demanding cooking
for people who simply enjoyed good food well prepared, and genuine
friendship. Her kitchen became an informal staff meeting place,
always with fresh coffee or cold drink, aided and abetted by a
particularly enticing snack or two just out of the oven. And, on
those occasions when it was more than one person could do, Louis
often joined her in the effort, along with Maria Hernandez, the
weekend cook. Since she normally did only workweek breakfast and
lunch, she frequently checked the travel schedule, and as on the
previous night, left a prepared meal in the refrigerator that took
little preparation.

Doris was not surprised to see Dennis,
that was pretty routine, but the appearance of two small children
with him brought out all her grand-motherly instincts. “Okay
Dennis, talk. They look pretty young to be new hires.”

“Alice and I went to town and picked
them up at the homeless shelter last night; bosses orders. I guess
that would include feeding them for the next few days as well. Now
you know as much as I do about what’s going on. Coffee
hot?”

“Of course the coffee’s hot, and fresh.
Does this look like a fast food joint of some kind? You kids look
hungry. Ever eat pancakes?”

And the chorus rang out: “Yes, please,
ma’am.”

“And polite too. Dennis, find the
boosters please, and set them up over at this table so the loafers
can’t gather.” Everyone was accustomed to her accusing them of
loafing any time they were in the kitchen, an accusation neither
they or Doris took seriously. Kids in place and griddle hot, Doris
poured the usual puddle of batter, then poured two small puddles at
the top, and one very small puddle at what would be the front of
the design. The kids recognized the mouse like figure at once and
expressed their joy in syrup swirls and flying forks. Glasses of
milk disappeared equally fast, and within a few minutes, Doris
knew, if nothing else, the kids were very healthy eaters. She did
still wonder about their status, but since Dennis seemed to accept
them, she placed them in the “guest” status for now. Maybe they
would find out more later in the day; regardless, she would enjoy
their openness, and their unfettered appetites.

As the kids were finishing up their
breakfast, Franz Smith appeared for the same reason Dennis had been
on his way in, caffeine replenishment. In fact, Franz and Doris
reprised the earlier routine Dennis and Doris had gone through. The
kids, just finishing up stuffing themselves, at least for a few
hours, were curious about the newcomer, and his somewhat different
speech pattern. Being kids, it was neither good nor bad to them,
just different, a curiosity. They were quick to realize Franz was
as much a part of this group as everyone else, sort of like a big
family of assorted relatives. Although he was a relative newcomer,
Franz was indeed considered to be “family” by the others. Born with
a slight speech impediment, he had often been treated as someone
who was a little “slow” so to speak. To make matters worse, he was
of slight build, and grew up in a part of town where being
“different”, especially with something as obvious as a speech
problem, could make life difficult. Franz got by on street smarts
and a sixth sense that alerted him about impending danger so he
could stay clear. Still, his opportunities had been limited in
life, and when Ryan first saw him, Franz was working for a grounds
maintenance company. Observant as usual, Ryan noticed Franz handled
all of the equipment problems for the company on site, quickly and
with a seeming ability to see mechanical problems at first sight.
The crew gave him plenty of practice since if the equipment was
down, they could power down for the few minutes it took to fix it.
With Windmere growing, and their 100% satisfaction policy, Ryan
needed not only on-site maintenance, but competent and responsive
maintenance. Ryan also saw an advantage in Franz being physically
small since he could get in and out of tight places quickly; on top
of that, Ryan believed that Franz would cleanup well and would fit
into the team he was building. A few minutes of conversation
confirmed what Ryan had thought; seeing through the slight
impediment, he saw a rather knowledgeable and perceptive man who
just took a little longer to make his position known. In the great
scheme of things Windmere, a Franz could unobtrusively fill a need,
and avoid the appearance of a grease monkey on the loose at the
same time. An offer was made, and accepted. Franz truly loved his
position where he was pretty much his own boss, and, when he went
into town for parts he secretly enjoyed knowing that he was way
ahead of those who had treated him, if not badly, at least not as
well as they should have.

Listening to the casual conversation
between Dennis and Franz, Jack quickly learned that Franz took care
of the facilities mechanical needs and cars, and decided this man
should be his friend, playmate, and so on. For his part, Franz had
no objections to the tag along; he enjoyed company, regardless of
size, and reflected back to when he would have appreciated someone
to stand with him when he was that age. And when he hinted about
other vehicles that might be in the carriage house, Jack was
hooked. Finishing his cup of coffee, Franz asked Dennis if there
were any plans for the kids that morning. Dennis hadn’t a clue, but
taking a shot in the dark, said “No, nothing that I know of;
besides you have your pager if we need you back for some reason.
Road trip this morning?”

“Yes; I need some air conditioning unit
filters, and there are some repair parts in for the fairway mowers.
Gotta stay ahead in the parts race you know; those operators could
break a steel ball playing with it. Anyway, you think there would
be any problem if short stuff here went with me?”

“No, but if something comes up, it’s on
me. I’ll let Alice know the deal as soon as she shows up. See you
back here for lunch about twelve?”

“You got it. Jack, you ready for a
parts run with me? Bathroom check first?”

Jack flew off the booster seat, in and
out of the nearby bathroom, and was ready to go in under three
minutes. This was more fun that he had seen in a while and he was
not about to miss the chance. Besides, much as he liked Dennis,
this guy was more his size. And a friendship that lasted for years
was begun in a bouncing 4 by 4 making a parts run.

With Jack and Franz gone, Dennis
announced he had to make a security round of the grounds and check
on some plantings. “There’re two seats in the cart. Anyone around
here want to ride shotgun?”