‘I doubt very much if it is at her age, but I’m one to face up to things. If it is, then we get all the facts and deal with it.’ The man’s use of the word ‘we’ gave Rosa the same warm tingling feeling that she had experienced the other day. ‘But you can’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do,’ Christopher added. ‘Your mother is not stupid. She will confront it in her own time, I’m sure.’
They both now sat at the red-leather-topped desk, a lovely hot cup of coffee in front of them. Christopher pulled a blue folder from one of the drawers. ‘I have good news, by the way,’ he said.
‘Great.’ Rosa took a tentative sip of her hot drink.
‘After our conversation, Felix handed this over to me and said he’s more than happy for you to pick up on it. His one wish was that you could update him if you think it’s a viable proposition, and also if it does go ahead, he’d like to perform at it.’ Christopher then took on the man’s effeminate and pompous attitude. ‘I am a renowned opera singer, don’t you know.’
They both then fell about laughing again, during which Rosa caught her dad’s eye and held his gaze for a split second.
‘I’m glad you moved to the Bay,’ she said spontaneously. The man looked down, then shuffled some other papers on his desk.
‘Like I said, Rosa,’ he replied, with a slight croak to his voice. ‘There’s always a solution.’
CHAPTER 13
‘Team meeting time!’ Lucas shouted up the stairs of the Ship Hotel to Danny and Tina, who were preparing the rooms for the new arrivals. The pair scurried down the steep stairs, then sat on the opposite side of the bar to their boss. Big mugs of coffee and a plate of chocolate digestives were already in front of them.
‘You spoil us with your biscuits, sir,’ Tina mocked, then laughed.
‘You’re both working your nuts off, that’s why.’ Lucas looked at his handwritten piece of paper. ‘Basically, there are three main things on the agenda. The hotel inspector, Fireworks Night and the Christmas Grotto, OK?’
Tina and Danny nodded as their boss continued. ‘There is a Ms Swift booked in for two nights. She’s our first solo guest for a while, so just in case she is the inspector, I want you to put her in the Titanic room, which is not only the best room, but has the slightly better bathroom. I’ve got a half-bottle of champagne and some of those posh chocolates that supplier left us the other day, so put those on the bedside table when you’re done getting it ready, thanks.’
‘Better not put any ice in the champagne bucket,’ Tina quipped. ‘We don’t want her going down hard on this ship.’
‘Not even funny, Ma,’ Danny replied.
‘Oh come on, it was quite,’ Lucas grinned. ‘The room has to be spotless, so wipe the paint down on the skirting boards and even check the top of doors for dust too, please. New bedding has just arrived from the laundry, so it will be smelling fresh. That’s it really, and if she orders anything in the restaurant, then Danny, you pull out all the stops, OK? And her breakfast has to be perfect.’
‘Yes, boss. Do you think an inspector would stay two nights?’
‘I don’t bloody know; this whole game is new to me, too,’ Lucas said. ‘I just hope we haven’t missed somebody coming in already?’
‘Nah,’ Tina replied. ‘It was all half-term holiday families last week. Thank goodness no kids are booked in for a while now. I found crayon on the walls of HMS Victory this morning and the Mary Rose headboard was covered in bogeys. Ugh.’ She shuddered. ‘Little perishers, or maybe it was their chuffing parents. Henry VIII would have beheaded the lot of ’em.’
‘Good history knowledge, Ma.’ Danny chinked his mug with his mother’s.
‘Have you ordered in all we need for the fireworks barbecue, Dan?’ Lucas asked.
‘Yep, all in the freezer, mate. And to confirm, we ain’t doing any menu food that night, are we?’
‘Correct, we always make a killing on the burgers. The café is doing hot-dog rolls this year and the Residents’ Society are selling pasties, so it should be a good ’un. I just need to find a good Spotify playlist and we’re sorted. I’ve interviewed a couple of lads to run the bar, so that leaves me and you to do the cooking, Dan. And that reminds me, I’ve ordered 200 fresh burger baps from the bakers. They will deliver the morning of the fireworks.’
‘Noted, boss.’
‘OK, we are getting there.’ Lucas drained his mug. ‘Grotto-wise, it is to run from December the first to December the twenty-third. We need to make sure we then focus on the bookings that we have in from Christmas Eve onwards.’
‘Good idea. We are fully booked for the Christmas and New Year packages now,’ Tina piped up.
‘Thank you, Tina, that’s great news.’
‘Lucas, I do need to talk to you about me and Ma working our shifts to make sure Alfie is our prime focus at Christmastime,’ Danny said.
‘That goes without saying,’ Lucas replied kindly, ‘and I think we will need to take on a couple more people to help if the grotto is as busy as I envisage it will be. Danny, have you ordered supplies to build the makeshift huts out there?’
‘Yep, it’s all coming next week. There’ll be a hut for kids to write letters and a hut for Santa – that’s right, innit? I’ve worked out we can run electricity out there, so they will both be heated.’
‘Yep – and good work with the electrics. We still need to leave some room for a few cars and also a pen with hay for the reindeer if we can get them. Davina wants to be involved too.’ Hearing this, Tina let her hackles rise and fall discreetly. ‘I think she has just one more prospective Father Christmas to interview,’ Lucas went on, ‘and she is seeing if we can source reindeers from somewhere.’
‘Our Alfie will love it.’
‘Great.’ Lucas put his page of notes down. ‘I just need to contact Carly, our marketing lady, so she can start promoting it.’
‘We will need some signs for the huts,’ Danny said. ‘Maybe she can do those too. And we’ll need a couple of decent chairs in each.’
‘Yeah, we can’t have Father Christmas getting a numb bum,’ Tina guffawed.
‘Good call. OK, leave the chairs to me. I think that’s it for now then. We’ve an hour before we open for you to get cleaning. All happy?’
‘Yeah,’ the mother and son said in unison, as the front door opened, letting in with it not only a big whoosh of cold, seaweed-laden air but also a very pretty woman. Lucas and Danny caught each other’s eyes in appreciation of the female standing in front of them. She was in her mid-twenties, with long dark hair, a shade of bright green eyes not dissimilar to Rosa’s, and a naturally pretty heart-shaped face. She was wearing a long beige trench-coat that cinched in her tiny waist and accentuated her neat little breasts. Heeled ankle boots and a swipe of thick clear lip gloss on her rosebud lips finished off her look. Her smile was friendly but shy as she took in the two men standing looking at her.
Tutting to herself, Tina waved, smiled, then made her way upstairs with the bag of clean bedding that the laundry had just dropped off. There were things to be getting on with, and if the blokes wanted to stand there like tits in a trance, that was their business.