for a guy his age. Behind him, a gangly teenage boy walks in. Wait is that… “Thomas?” Hope asks as she steps forward toward him.
“Hey, Hope.” His eyes light up, and he walks in and gives her a hug.
What teenage boy hugs anyone without being prompted by their parents? Behind Thomas, Joanne enters the B&B. “Joanne? Oh my God, you look fantastic! What are you doing here?” Hope asks.
The older guy stands to the side. His shoulders are high, and he’s casting a wary glance around us. He’s making me nervous. “Hi, Hope,” Joanne says as she gives her a hug. “Tabitha, it’s good to see you.” I come around the counter to meet her, and give her a quick, shallow hug. I’m not a touchy person. I don’t like it when people want hugs, and I especially hate it after sex.
“What are you doing here?” Hope looks at the guy standing still to the side.
“Don’t mind Miles. The only way Dad was going to let me come back here is if I bought one of his security team with me.” She forces a smile and looks down at her feet.
“Oh yeah, that’s cool,” Hope says. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, um…” Joanne stammers. “After what happened, I was whisked away and didn’t get a chance to say thank you to anyone.”
Ah, she’s referring to the incident with her husband, Damian or Darren or something. He beat her to within an inch of her life, and she left. I know he’s in jail, and her parents come from money, but other than that, I’m not too sure why she’s even here. Who has she got to thank? I’m too consumed in my own life to worry about everyone else’s.
“So many people helped get me away from… him,” she pauses and looks at her feet again when she says him. “And for that I’m grateful. So, we’re here because I’m hoping you have two rooms? Please?”
“Oh!” Hope says in a high-pitched voice. “We actually do.” Hope walks into the office, then comes back with two of the white electronic keys. “So, how have you been?”
“I’m getting better. I’ve decided to go to college and study hospitality,” Joanne says with the hugest, proudest smile.
I look at Hope, Hope abruptly turns to look at me. “Please tell me you’re thinking what I’m thinking,” I say to her.
“We’re definitely on the same page.” Hope steps over to Joanne, and places her arm around her shoulder. “So, I have a question I’d like to ask.”
“What’s that?”
Miles straightens, and looks Hope over. Thomas has disappeared out to the back of the B&B. “I need someone to run the B&B. We’re stretched so thin with all the stuff we have going on. I have a young guy who comes in every day to clean the rooms. Tabitha runs the kitchen, and looks after guests who come in, and she has Cara and Evie who come in and help her in the kitchen. I look after the front end, but when I’m not here, the job falls back on Tabitha. It’s too much for all of us.” Hope skips on the spot. “… and we need someone here running the day-to-day of the B&B. I can only imagine we’re only going to get busier, and… I honestly should’ve thought about all of this before I decided to turn Old Roger’s house into a B&B, but, duh.” She lightly smacks her forehead. “Of course, I didn’t. I mean I’ve never run a B&B before, and I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m drowning. So…” Hope winds down from her incredibly long, breathy spiel and looks to Joanne.
“Sorry, I missed half of what you said because I wasn’t listening?” Hope and I questioningly look at each other. “Just kidding!” Joanne cracks a huge smile, and lightly pushes Hope on the shoulder. This is obviously a new Joanne.
“Is that a yes?” Hope asks as she eagerly awaits Joanne’s answer.
“I can’t give an answer yet. I’ve got to talk with my parents, and Thomas to see if he wants to move back here. Can you give me a day or two, please?”
I can see Hope’s disappointed that it wasn’t an immediate “yes,” but she holds it together. “Yeah, of course.”
“Not to mention, I have nowhere to live if I move back here.”
“You can stay in the McGrath’s Room downstairs until you find something, or I’m building five houses over on Oak Tree Parade if you happen to be in the