The Washwater Hotel: Chapter 19

Joel Yannison and Henry Tucket had begun to venture down the stairs to the lobby, when Henry spotted Mr. Wash and the cook first. He held a finger to his mouth and urged Joel forward with a push to his back first. Joel stumbled, but held tight to his packet of information and jogged down the steps while the council member ducked back around the corner.

Obidiah glanced up from the unctuous tray of meat to meet eyes with Joel. “Ah, Mr. Yannison. Good to see you.”

Joel returned with a confident nod to the owner and the cook as he met with the ground floor. “Same to you. Looks fantastic!”

Mr. Wash smirked and patted Brian on the shoulder with his free hand. “Courtesy of Mr. Gates, here. I’ve finally got him to come out of hiding so we can introduce everyone to the man who’s been preparing all of the wonderful food of late.”

Brian and Joel met eyes for a brief moment. “Ah, we’ve met, actually.” Joel remarked.

The cook nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”

Obidiah glanced between the both of them. “Ah, I see, then. Well, let’s get a move on, now, should we? Before it gets cold.”

Joseph and Elizabeth had been waiting at one of the tables and cautiously chatting with the nearby locals while keeping a lookout for their chef. The woman tapped furiously on Joseph’s leg under the table to call him to attention. “There!” She hissed out between her teeth, just loud enough to him to hear.

“I knew it!” Joseph said loudly, preparing to stand.

Elizabeth latched onto his wrist and held him down. “Calmly. We don’t want to just run off.”

The final bit of the feast was out, and the hotel staff, including Mr. Wash, were at the serving line. As the final person, the ginger man from the city council, exited the Hotel, Marianne stroked Anna’s shoulder, the signal they had discussed earlier. Anna perked up and recalled her line. “Uhh… Maman, I need to use the restroom!” She announced, loud enough for the surrounding folk to hear.

The locals giggled and smirked as Marianne pulled the napkin off her lap and stood up, Anna’s hand in her own. “If you’ll excuse me.” She said, leaning about the surrounding chairs and the people sitting in them. The mother and the little girl snaked their way around the serving table and back up into the lobby of the Washwater. Marianne took one last glance back to make sure nobody else would be coming their way. “Ok, Anna. We need to make this quick. All the way to Mr. Wash’s office.”

Mr. Wash stood among his staff at the food table. “Thank you all for coming today. Our lovely guests of the hotel, locals of Bluewater, and those from out of town alike, we welcome you to our… first annual commemorative reawakening feast! Please enjoy yourselves, and enjoy this wonderful spread prepared by our very own chef Brian.”

As people began to drift towards the food line, there were already murmurs about the cook. “That can’t be… that TV guy?”

Elizabeth and Joseph pushed through the line and confronted Brian, who was serving out cuts of the roast. His face instantly turned sour as he met eyes with him. “No, no, no, you can’t be here.” He stirred quietly, his lips tight.

“Please refrain from pushing.” Mr. Wash warned them. “My, Brian, are these guests friends of yours?”

Brian laid down the carving fork with a loud clack. “I know them, certainly, but they are quite unexpected. Excuse me, I must retrieve some more of the Yorkshires from the oven.”

The two city folk cut around the table and caught up with Brian as he pounced up the stairs. “Mr. Emmanuel, you have to come back to us.” Elizabeth pleaded. “The network has been breathing down our necks for the past two weeks now. We’re going to lose our funding.”

“You can kiss any of your big paychecks goodbye, as well.” Joseph added in.

Brian shook his head and continued his way back to the kitchen. “Don’t need any of that. I like it here, quite a lot, actually.”

Henry had taken up a plate of food and sat nonchalantly at the same table as Joel. “Well, not too much longer now.”

Joel sighed and peered down at the enticing selection, unable to palate any of the foods at the moment. “I kind of feel bad, doing this.”

Henry sucked on the tender piece of roast before swallowing it. “I feel the same, Joel, but it must be done.” He said, mouth half full. “A shame it is, too, with a cook like this. Maybe I can contact this Brian fellow to open up a restaurants in town? I know of an open lot not far from the square.”

“Ugh.”

Sarah Seer had taken her time in moving through the line so as to meet up with Obidiah. “This is wonderful.”

I guess it is.

“I’m glad everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Brian truly has outdone himself, as well.” Obidiah nodded in agreement. His gaze traveled back to the entrance, where a short, white bus was pulling up. “Ah, I wondered if they were going to appear today.”

The black text on the side of the bus read ‘Bluewater Retirement Home.’ Obidiah passed the serving fork to Heather, who offered up some of the roast to Sarah. The owner stepped to the edge of the grass to make contact with the bus driver. “Good day, sir. You may let these folks off here, and I will have someone park the bus after.”

---

Continue reading “The Final Shift”

The Washwater Hotel: Chapter 18

Saturday

It was a busy morning around the Washwater Hotel. Horatio and Melinda had spent the morning putting the folding tables and chairs about the front lawn, and even Brian and Mr. Wash had helped with setting up the shade structures. With most of the heavy lifting out of the way, the housekeepers, including Heather, who had come early, were able to dress up the tables nicely with weighted tablecloths and basic settings.

Brian returned to the kitchen to begin prepping the meal. The potatoes were long since peeled and boiled for the mash. Just before they were to be served, he would mix in the dairy and force the entirety into a fine puree. He began to tackle the dessert next, a fruit puree that would have to sit in the freezer for some time for it to be ready to be served just at the end of the dinner.

Obidiah was busy about the front desk, answering the questions about the meal service either from the phone line or the guests coming down to meet with him. Marianne was one such guest.

“Mr. Wash, good morning.” She said, presenting herself before the desk. Anna was at her side, the top of her curly hair just visible above the edge of the fixture.

“Ah, good day, Ms. Guislain, Anna.” Obidiah greeted them. “Will you be joining us for our dinner this evening? You are fine with beef, I hope?”

Marianne glanced out the front windows to the setting on the lawn and folded her arms. “Oh, it looks lovely. Of course, Mr. Wash. Seems like we are expecting a lot of people.”

Obidiah nodded. “Indeed. I’ve sent out personal invitations to a few folks around town whom I thought would be interested.”

Marianne tugged on Anna’s hand to bring her into the dining room to pick up a spot of breakfast. “We will see you this afternoon, then, Mr. Wash.” She said, leaning down to Anna. “Do you hear that? The front desk should be empty. Perfect.”

Joseph and Elizabeth had already been down for breakfast, and remained to linger in the dining room in hopes of seeking out the cook to determine if he was their Brian or not. They had, however, been thwarted at their attempt to sneak back into the kitchen by Melinda, who was deviously preparing sets of silverware wrapped in napkins to be brought out later for the feast.

Dr. Harris was down outside in the gravel parking area beside his camper van with the hose from the hotel’s side yard. The clear acrylic tank was taking in the water from the nearby hose and causing the suspension in the vehicle to creak. The previous evening, Steven and himself had managed to scoop the wolf fish into its original home-away-from-home, being the plastic container, without injuring themselves or the fish. They had agreed to take it down right before that day’s dinner while the others about the hotel were either busy or distracted. The water in the tank would then have time to acclimate and become saturated with the salt they had borrowed from Joel’s room.

Joel had been cramped up in his room for almost the entire day previous, packing his things and preparing the notes he would have to bring forth before Mr. Wash when his contact from the council arrived at the agreed time later. He was nervous, both of the Hotel’s situation, and of the reaction its owner might offer.

---

Four o’clock hit, with the dinner service being only a half hour away. All the places were set outside in the yard, and Brian had begun to take the roasts from the oven to carve up and place into the serving dishes. The rolls from the local bakery were already set in a basket, and soon joined the Yorkshire puddings which had been able to cool just enough. Horatio, who had been back and forth about the kitchen all afternoon, began to bring out the first of the food.

The two big city folks had found seats side-by-side on the veranda, watching for the first signs of the meal starting. They perked up as the first basket of food came out the front door, only to return to their apathetic state as Horatio followed out after.

“What if it isn’t him?” Joseph said, his voice low.

Elizabeth grunted. “Are you thinking that little fellow could be their Brian?”

“It’s not too uncommon a name.” The man returned.

“Yes, but for cooks, and in this area specifically?”

Joseph twiddled his thumbs and looked back and forth across the covered deck. “What if it is him and he sees us first?”

“I’d say he has nowhere to run at this point.”

Continue reading “The Big Day”