Home for the Holidays (22 page)

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith, but we’re booked straight through until New Year’s Day,” the clerk told her.

“These people have no transportation. They won’t be able to leave.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve been checking the other hotels in the area for available rooms and they’re in the same situation. Let me ask my manager.” The clerk put her on hold and then came back to the phone. “My manager, um, says that the folks in your group will have to check out tomorrow morning by eleven.”

“You intend to throw them out onto the street? In this weather?” Louise asked, incredulous.

The clerk put her on hold for another minute. “My manager says that if they have no place else to go, they can stay at the town shelter. I’m really sorry, Mrs. Smith.”

That put the finishing touch on the disaster. By the next afternoon the five visitors would have no place to stay except a shelter for the homeless.

These people are in terrible straits
, Louise thought.
I have my family and my home, while they are far away from theirs
.

Alice arrived carrying a mug of tea, and at Louise’s inquiring glance, she lifted it and smiled. “I thought you might need another cup.”

It was as simple as that, Louise realized, and felt all her resentment disappear. When you thought someone was in need, you provided what you could to help to ease her burden. It might be something as small as a cup of hot tea or as important as shelter from the cold.

Her Aunt Ethel’s words came back to her at that moment. “A Christian home keeps a candle burning in the window through Christmas Eve to light the way of the Holy Family, as well as to welcome guests.”

“Thank you, dear.” Louise accepted the tea and marveled at the sense of peace she felt as she let go of the resentment that had been her companion. “What would you think of inviting our tour group to stay with us until they can make arrangements to get home?”

Chapter Fifteen

E
ven after their talk, Alice could not believe that Louise was volunteering to put up the tour group at the inn until they could find a way home. Her older sister had been so adamant about taking their vacation time for themselves and now she was giving it away. She even seemed happy about doing it.

“We must be practical,” Louise said. “Given the circumstances, it’s really the only thing to do.”

“Couldn’t we drive them to the next nearest city?” Alice asked. “I’m sure there have to be some hotels available in Lancaster.”

“I think our guests would prefer to stay here instead of being shuffled off to another strange hotel.” Louise glanced at her Bible for a moment. “I feel very strongly about this, Alice. It’s the right thing to do.”

The group had various reactions to Louise’s suggestion.

“It would only be for a day or two, right?” Ted asked
hopefully. “Until the new van gets here or we can contact our families?”

“I wouldn’t count on the van,” Max muttered in his gloomy way.

“I’m grateful, of course, Louise, but do you have enough room for the five of us?” Edwina asked. “I would share with Laura, if that would help.”

“I’m a terribly light sleeper,” Laura said and folded her arms defensively when everyone looked at her. “It’s true. Even the slightest sound wakes me up. I can’t help it.”

Alice saw the way Louise looked at the younger woman, this time with more pity than exasperation. She was tempted to ask Laura how well she would sleep in a homeless shelter, then felt a surge of guilt for the unkind thought.

No
, she decided,
if Louise can be graceful about this, then so can I
.

Ted pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose before he glanced around the room. “I’d share with Allan, but I think he needs his own room so that he can rest undisturbed.”

Max regarded the younger man. “Well, I can’t share a room with you.”

“I wouldn’t be a bother, sir,” Ted said, flushing a little. “I’m a very quiet person.”

“That’s not the issue. This is.” The businessman tapped the bump on his prominent nose. “I had it broken when I
was a boy and I’ve snored like a freight train ever since. My wife had to wear earplugs. Unless you have some,
you
wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

“There is no need for any of you to share,” Louise said, startling Alice again. “We have four empty guest rooms, and I or one of my sisters will give up one of our bedrooms to provide the fifth.”

Jane frowned at their older sister for a moment, clearly surprised at her sudden and complete turnaround. “It may only be for one night. The tour company could show up with a new van tomorrow.”

“I may be able to get in touch with my brother, if he hasn’t left town for our parents’ house yet,” Ted said. “He may be willing to give some of the rest of you a ride into the city.”

Since Louise was sacrificing her long-anticipated holiday and Jane would be cooking for everyone, Alice decided to make her own contribution.

“I’ll give up my room and sleep on a folding bed,” she volunteered. “Jane, do you mind if I double up with you? Your room is a little bigger than Louise’s.”

Her younger sister nodded. “Sounds good to me. We can sneak down and have a midnight feast together after Louise goes to sleep.”

“No pizza,” their oldest sister said in her severest tone, even as approval glowed in her eyes. “No ice cream.”

Laura scanned their faces, her own expression uncertain now. “You three are talking like this is going to be some kind of schoolgirl adventure.”

“Why not let it be an adventure?” Jane asked. “We can’t change the situation and it’s better than being unhappy.”

“We’ve all been so disappointed that we really haven’t thought about the other side of this,” Ted said, looking at the rest of the group, trying not to sound as glum as before, “We’re forgetting that these ladies also had holiday plans and now we’re spoiling those plans.”

Laura looked uncomfortable. “Are we ruining your Christmas?”

Alice summoned a smile. “How can a house full of people at the holidays be a bad thing?”

Alice thought Max might jump in and start complaining along with Laura about the inconvenience of it all, but oddly the businessman remained quiet.

“Ms. Lattimer, we’ll try to make the best of it.” Alice said. “That’s all any of us can do.”

“It will be if we don’t get a change of clothes.” Edwina tugged at her sweater. “I don’t think I share the same size with anyone here, so I wouldn’t even be able to borrow something from you other ladies.”

“My little car isn’t very trustworthy on icy roads, but if Louise will lend me her Cadillac, I’ll drive all of you over to
your hotel to check out tonight,” Jane said. “You can get your cases then.”

“If that van doesn’t get here tomorrow, my holiday and my business are going to be ruined.” Laura was staring at the snow falling outside the window. “Are you sure there’s nothing we can do? No one we can call? What if we end up being stuck here through Christmas? What are we going to do?”

Alice thought she sounded a little desperate and went over to place a hand gently on her shoulder. “You’ll help us celebrate it, Laura.”

Jane took everyone but Allan Hansford, whose items Ted promised to retrieve, off to Potterston to check out of the hotel, while Alice and Louise prepared what was needed for their unexpected guests. The rooms were clean and prepared for the guests that they had booked for after the holidays, but the bathrooms needed to be stocked with the towels and complimentary toiletries that they provided for guests. Then there were menus to consider and supplies to check.

When they returned from Potterston, their new guests needed to make calls to their families to let them know where they were and what had happened.

Unfortunately, the families were unable to help the stranded group. Ted’s brother had already left to visit their parents, and as Ted didn’t have snow tires on his own car, the
long drive was too dangerous for his wife to make. Edwina’s husband had to stay home to be on hand to pick up their son’s family and other relatives from the airport. Allan’s wife couldn’t come to pick up her husband since she had stopped driving several years before because of poor eyesight.

“What about Laura?” Alice asked Louise.

“She has been trying to contact someone,” Louise said.

In fact, Laura Lattimer’s attempts to reach her attorney, her mother, or anyone else who could drive to Acorn Hill to pick her up drained her cell phone’s battery. The very next morning she went downstairs early and began monopolizing the inn’s phone for much of the day.

“I only want to call the office again and see if my secretary was able to reach my mother,” she told Edwina when the schoolteacher said something to her about it. “She wouldn’t have gone to Europe for the holidays. She hates the Continent in winter.”

“You’ve already phoned her at least a half dozen times since last night, Laura.” Edwina sighed. “I don’t think the answer is going to be any different.”

Through it all, Louise remained rock-steady and serene. That afternoon, she met in the kitchen with her sisters to plan strategy. “Alice, if you would put out clean towels for everyone, I will recheck supplies and supervise telephone calls.” She glanced at Jane. “Would you like someone to help you with dinner?”

“You’re going to stick me with ‘Lady Lattimer,’ aren’t you?” When her older sister nodded, she sighed and squared her shoulders. “All right. I’ll talk about lofts in San Francisco and make her chop celery. Or maybe I’ll tie her up, gag her and toss her in the corner.”

“Lofts,” Louise said firmly. “Celery. Nothing more.”

Jane had just put together the ingredients for dinner when Ted came into the kitchen. “Hi, Ted. What’s up?”

“I’m your substitute helper,” he said. “Miss Lattimer developed a sudden migraine and had to go lie down for a few hours.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Is she all right?”

He cleared his throat. “I’d say she’s just very, very frustrated. She’s called her mother over and over, but so far, no answer.”

“That’s awful.”

“The thing is, I don’t think she’s as upset over not reaching her mother as she is about the tour company. I think she’s used to having a certain amount of control over the business side of her life. So being unable to get around this problem”—he spread out his hands—“is probably a whole new experience for her.”

“I hope it turns out to be a good one.” She glanced at his hands. “How are you at chopping veggies?”

He gave one bunch of celery a pained look. “About as skilled as I am at piloting the space shuttle.”

“No problem. We’ll just keep you away from NASA and my kitchen knives, and make you use your hands. Speaking of which, would you mind washing up at the sink?”

After Ted had scrubbed his hands, Jane brought over a big salad bowl and two washed heads of iceberg lettuce, one of which she handed to him.

“First, you remove the stem, like so.” She slammed the lettuce stem-side down on the counter, then turned it over and easily popped out the wide, flat stem section.

“Wow!” Ted imitated her with nearly the exact same results. “That’s a neat trick.”

“We chefs know a million of them. Just don’t slam too hard, or you’ll only have pulp left and have to make veggie juice. Now, you insert your thumbs here”—she showed him the place at the top of the lettuce—“and rip it in two.”