The day flew by as Grace prepared for her friends to arrive. Dinner was on the stove and the table was set. Just as Grace sat down to relax for a few minutes she heard a car in the drive. It was not someone she knew.
As the occupants got out she saw an older couple looking at the roses as they walked to the door.
“Hello.... Is anyone here?” the gentleman asked.
“Yes, I'm here,” Grace responded. “How can I help you?”
“Well, we stopped by the other day and hoped to book a room here for the weekend. I hope you are not all booked up. We're visiting some friends in the area and they told us about this cottage and we tried to make arrangements the other day. The young man told us it was being renovated.” the man seemed a little hesitant.
“I'm up here for just the weekend,” Grace was not quite sure what to do here. “I guess you could stay in the front room upstairs, if you are interested. Did you want dinner here?”
“Dinner? Oh, no, our friends are having us for dinner. We've been staying there and it's just better if we have a separate place to stay as their place is so small,” this time the woman responded. “We just wanted to know if we would be able to have a place to sleep and have breakfast in the morning. Will that work?”
Grace thought this would be a good plan. She and her friends would have the evening and all she would have to do is serve breakfast for everyone.
“That would be fine,” Grace responded. “Would you like to see the room so you know where you are staying when you return? I can leave the door unlocked so you can get in.”
At that point, Dennis and Laura became Grace's first official customers. They didn't even flinch when she told them it would be 40 pounds a night. For that Grace was pleased, as she didn't want to deal with haggling over price. She bid Dennis and Laura good bye after they checked out their room, and started to head back into the cottage when Peter pulled into the drive.
“Grace, I have something to show you,” Peter shouted excitedly. He reached into the back of his truck and pulled out a sign. It was beautifully designed and painted. As Grace turned to examine it closely, she about fell back in shock. The sign said “Aine's Cottage, B&B”.
“Peter, what made you think.....,” Grace paused in the middle of her sentence. How could she argue with Peter when she just accepted her first guests for that weekend?
“Peter, it's perfect,” she finished. Now where is it going to be?”
“Well, I thought you might just want to have it on hand in case you wanted to open the cottage again as a B&B. I didn't think you would want to put it up right away,” Peter was confused by Grace's response.
“Oh, oh, I see. I was just so surprised to see the sign and thought you might have wanted me to put it up now,” Grace was a little embarrassed that she jumped the gun on Peter's idea. “Where did you get it?”
“I have a friend who does some woodwork and we designed it together. Thought you might want to have a rose design in it, so I drew it out and he carved it out in the wood. As much as I was over here watering the roses and other plants, I thought it was only appropriate.” Peter explained.
As they stood there chatting Sue and Chloe arrived. When they exited their car, Grace introduced them to Peter. She noticed Chloe taking in a long look at Peter, and had to smile to herself. Chloe had just broke off a long relationship a few months earlier and she was happy to see Chloe had not lost her interest in men.
“Alright everyone, we can't stand out here for ever. I have a dinner I need to serve, or it will be overcooked and dried out. Are you three ready for some dinner?” Grace worried her dinner would be over done and her friends and Peter would be disappointed with dinner.
There were oohs and aahs from the girls as they entered the cottage.
“Grace, it's so homey. It's like going home to visit my folks,” Sue explained.
“There's such a warm feeling here. And the food smells great! Did you do any of the decorating? Are these flowers from the garden?” Chloe was full of questions.
“Lassies, let me give you a tour of the place while Grace takes care of dinner. Grace, what room for your friends?” Peter was playing host with no prompting at all.
As Grace finished preparations in the kitchen she thought to herself how she and Peter worked so well as a team. It was nice to have someone to depend on when she was in Dublin. And how thoughtful of him to design and have the sign made. Should she put it up? No, she thought. She was getting way ahead of herself. She turned her focus back to plating dinner for her guests.
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