#6 Messy but Good - Teachtaireach Ach Go Maith

I came to the assumption Grace was either outside or in town gathering supplies or passing out invites for our big bonfire the next day. She was always furiously prepping last minute and my guess was she would be MIA for the rest of the night. I crossed the foyer aimlessly casually checking the cleaning roster we had in the cabinet behind the check in counter. All the rooms had been taken care of so perhaps my co-workers, Evelyn & Dania had gone home early.

I busied myself tidying behind the desk for a few moments. Mid afternoon to evening was never too busy for us. Most customers arrived in the morning and although our guests tended to be extroverted they occupied themselves, leaving the staff little else to do besides clean and make the odd afternoon treat. Because of our irregular schedule some days flew by and some crawled.

My morning started off busy with the twins and Lyle causing breakfast to run late, then my trip to the market. I crossed to the middle of the room standing under the old chandelier so I could see the cuckoo clock that hung opposite the base of the staircase. It was nearly six.

I silently cheered my luck that Evelyn and Dania had finished the cleaning earlier. Not that I didn't mind changing bed linens, I'd done it enough that I could make a bit of a game out of it, but I knew it would be a rush at this time because guests would be coming back from a day out and want to freshen up or relax before dinner.

Bored my wandering mind found its way to Lyle. I glanced behind me to the short hallway of rooms that led off the West side of the home. Rooms one and two were all single person rooms furnished with a twin bed, writing desk, dresser, lamp etc. None of our rooms were strictly 'themed' per say, Grace in her good taste had decided instead of a gaudy or overpowering decoration she would go with simple neutral tones that complemented our natural environment.

In an effort to create a more homey feel - and to spare her sparse bank account - the bulk of our furniture was recycled, and more than a few I know for a fact were once on the curb. However, after a good scrub and a once over with a paint brush or sewing needle they were good as new.

No two furnishings were alike. The only consistent decoration was a framed pressed flower that hung on each door. The flowers were picked from the beds that lay below first floor windows. We pressed them within the first week right after the idea struck Grace, but it wasn't until the night before that we framed them.

It was a few minutes before midnight as we collapsed on the breakfast benches. The beds were made, pillows fluffed, fridge stocked - we even burned some sage in the foyer. My head lulled as I struggled to stay awake when Grace suddenly shot up. "The flowers!" She exclaimed running to the closet.

It took me a moment to comprehend which flowers she was referring to, but within the next few minutes she returned to the kitchen. Her arms struggled to balance the mix of wood and glass while she held a thick paged journal between her teeth.

Being the helpful servant that I am I took the journal from her mouth just before she dumped the materials onto the freshly waxed table. Dried cut flowers filled each page. Some of the color bled onto the paper creating a fain shadow surrounding the petals.

Two hours later each flower was framed and hung.

"We're ready now." I recall Grace saying. Relief in her voice she yawned and pulled me into a hug. We got less than four hours of sleep that night, and it was far from our last late night project.

I smiled. It was hard to believe that was almost three years ago.

I wandered down the West hallway until it dead ended. I paused at the window. Dark rain clouds settled in the sky, but I could still make out the mighty pine tree that stood ten feet away. The owners told Grace that a majority of the pine trees that encircled the B&B and its expanded property were upwards of one hundred and fifty years old. I admired it for a moment as its lower branches bounced up and down with the force of the large rain droplets.

I was stalling. I'd past Lyle's room wondering if she were in there. She'd gone so suddenly -not that I thought she had to wait for me while I dealt with customers – but still, I hadn't wanted our time together to end.

Maybe she wanted to go to dinner. My stomach rumbled just as the idea came over me. It wouldn't be a date - just a friendly gesture - an extent of the olive branch. A chance to get to know each other a little better.

I turned my back on the window and eyed the carved wooden '2' that stood out a few shades lighter than the door.

Or maybe I'd try not to ask so many nosy questions.

I laughed to myself. Yea right. She was much to intriguing to completely mark off my curiosity. Lyle seemed to indulge my inquisitive nature and came prepared with a counter that never fully satisfied my questions. Quite honestly at first her habit annoyed me, but over our time in the gallery I'd grown to enjoy it.

Maybe she had too - enjoyed her time with me.

My feet found themselves planted in front of Lyle's door. I was eye height with the carefully sanded wooden '2'. I paused.

My mind raced. Was this too much? I'd just spent the entire afternoon with her and I worked here. Isn't there some rule about asking your guests out to dinner – not that Grace would mind she would have a happy fit if she knew what I was contemplating.

Maybe I'd just offer her some ideas on good places to eat in town. That wasn't intrusive at all, I was doing my job. Plus she'd already taken me up on my advice earlier by checking out the gallery.

Content with my decision I knocked on her door.

No answer.

I chewed on the inside of my lip, and counted to ten.

Ten came quicker than I thought so I stayed a few moments after. She wasn't there, or just wasn't answering the door.

I walked back through the foyer and into the kitchen. I tried to quell the feeling of embarrassment that came over me. With little resistance the butterflies of embarrassment were soon replaced with my creature of habit, curiosity. I hadn't heard the door close while I was in the kitchen washing my shirt, which is why I assumed her to be in her room. I peered out the rain stained window to see that Lyle's car was still parked in the same spot three places from the door. Odd.

I chewed at my lip again as I pivoted and snuck a peek at the fridge which was somehow always stocked even lighter than my own. I made mental note of the pancake batter that would become my dinner after my shift was over before closing the door and hoisting myself up onto the counter.

"May!" Grace called from the other room and I jumped off the counter just as quickly as I'd pulled myself onto the cool top.

"Oh thank god." Grace greeted me in her usual manner when she had a million tasks to finish by sundown - which was almost everyday.

"God, at your service." I cracked a smile and gave a deep bow in her direction.

"Oh honey what happened to your shirt?" She cried bounding toward me, the spring in her step more prominent than usual. Grace was carrying multiple roasting sticks in each hand which she rested against the counter in order to take a closer look at my stained shirt.

"You always find yourself in a mess." She reflected taking the material in her fingers giving it a gentle tug so I would follow her to the sink.

While she attempted multiple remedies to rid the stain she interrogated me about my still damp hair and long afternoon out. I started out with the market, filling her in on who of the regular vendors was there and a bit of the small town gossip I'd caught. Then I mentioned the gallery and Lyle, intentionally leaving out my trance like state that led to my appearance at the art show.

Grace squealed in excitement and accidentally splashed bubbles in my face as she dabbed the stain with a sponge.

"I haven't even done anything and it's already working." She exclaimed excitedly before looking around the kitchen as if she had jinxed herself. I grimaced inwardly, if only she knew that I had just tried to ask her out. She'd be so surprised she would've sprayed herself with the faucet to make sure it wasn't a dream.

"You sure are a miracle worker." I replied to which Grace hit me with the sponge splattering more bubbles onto the wood floor.

"You're a good gal May, messy but good."

"I like to think messiness is one of my best qualities."

Grace ignored me and released my shirt. It was a bit stretched and the mark was still there, now a more pink than red so I categorized it as progress.

Grace instructed me on a night treatment that we both knew I wouldn't follow through with. I made a mental note to check if we had more back stock of our tee shirt 'uniforms'.

"Those need to be washed," She pointed to the metal rods propped against the counter. "I got them out of the basement. We really should clean down there more often and not just dust clean. The owners left some boxes that I still haven't gone through, what if there is something priceless sitting below our feet rotting away." She threw up her hands in exasperation.

"I'll help you but I am not going down there alone. Last time you made me go through boxes I found that creepy Santa toy in the Christmas decorations. That dude was not right."

Grace shot me a 'stop being such a baby' look. "So he had one eye missing, I bet he was an antique and you just threw him away!"

"If it wasn't for me we'd have creepy clowns and disturbed Santa's in every window."

"May Ellis, for goodness sake you know we don't allow clowns in this building, it throws off the feng shui-" Her phone buzzed and she paused to look at it. "Shoot, Tony says the tarp keeps blowing off the fire wood. Can't have wet wood!" She winked as she rushed out of the room phone in hand.

Tony was Grace's fiancé. I saw him about once a week as he and Grace still didn't officially live together. Or rather they did, they just hadn't decided on which home to live in. Tony lived outside of town in a cabin similar to my own that was part of a larger tourist maven. He led tours for a living, often ones that were several days long and required camping in the wilderness. He was as outdoorsy as they get and I'd taken to calling him Mcgyver on instances due to his ability to fix anything with anything.

He was a good man and I was happy for Grace, they seemed to work well even though they both led increasingly busy lives. Plus he was the top recruit to fix the front door so I would approve of him even more once that annoyance was solved.

Grace poked her head through the kitchen doorway and pointed to the pokers with a rain coat clad arm. "Clean! I'll be back in an hour or two, I gotta go to Tony's!"

I saluted and Grace disappeared only to be seen moments later in the kitchen window running through the downpour to her beat up Camry.

-

Oh! If Lyle had answered the door what do you think she'd have said to May???

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