The soft chime of her alarm clock woke Grace at 6:30AM. She was so tired she didn't hear a thing after she climbed into bed. She would have loved to roll over in bed and enjoy the comfort of the cool morning a little longer, but knew she had paying guests that she needed to take care of with breakfast. It was nice that she didn't have to serve any breakfast until nine, but she needed to get the table set and get some hot water for tea started.
For today's breakfast Grace found a recipe for Curach(Honey Cream Oatmeal) in amongst all of Aine's recipes. She thought this uncooked dish would be a nice addition in the morning with some fresh raspberries and the hint of Irish whiskey. Adding an Irish Coffee Cake to this menu she felt there would be something for everyone. She always had cereal on hand in case any of her friends were picky eaters.
By the time the oats were toasted and the cream whipped, she could hear the water from the showers running at the upstairs front of the cottage. Dennis and Laura were up and would be off for their walk. This would give her plenty of time to get things finished.
Grace had not heard Peter's truck in the front, but she was preoccupied with the morning's breakfast. As she turned to pour some milk into a pitcher she was startled to see Peter standing in the doorway.
“I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I hope you don't mind.”
“Oh, you just started me. I didn't hear your truck. Mind about what?” Grace was confused.
“I thought you realized. When we got back last night, I was a little too tipsy. Chloe and Sue would not let me drive, so they made me stay in the small bedroom upstairs,” Peter explained.
“That would explain your rumpled clothes,” Grace smiled at Peter. He obviously had a good time the night before. Maybe even a little too much fun.
“Do I have time to run home and clean up before breakfast? That is if I'm invited?” Peter flashed his smile as he asked.
“Of course you are invited. Yes, get going, I am serving starting at 9:00. You should have enough time,” Grace liked seeing Peter in this more relaxed mood. He didn't have to worry about cooked food getting cold today, but wanted to be back to have breakfast with the girls.
Grace realized that she had not hear a sound from the back bedroom upstairs. Maybe Peter would have more time than he thought with the girls sleeping in later than usual. As she put the pot of hot tea on the table she heard Dennis and Laura come in the front door.
“Grace, dear, this has just been the most enjoyable night and morning. No hassles and we didn't feel like we were imposing. The room was perfect,” Laura was bubbling with compliments.
“And I have to say that was the best morning shower I've had in ages,” Dennis chimed in.
They both sat down for tea and loved the Irish coffee cake. They were light eaters and passed on the Curach. Grace took the time to chat with them as they had a second cup of tea. Dennis asked if Grace had any business cards that he could share with his friends. They often came up this way and wanted a place to get away from the cities just to relax.
Grace explained that she was just coming up every few weekends at the moment as she still had a job in Dublin and was unsure if she would be opening up the cottage on a permanent basis. Dennis and Laura were insistent on having a way for their friends to contact Grace to see if she was going to be in Swatragh, and if they could stay at the cottage. Grace told them she would set up an email address that she would share with them and give it to them when they checked out the next morning.
All this talk still made Grace very uncomfortable but she didn't have too much time to dwell on it as when Dennis and Laura left for their friends place, Chloe and Sue came down still in their PJ's.
Grace laughed at the girls seeing them just out of bed. “You had better put something more on. Peter just went home to shower and change so he could impress you when he got back.”
“Oh, no,” squealed Chloe who turned and ran up the stairs. She obviously didn't want Peter to see her this way.
Sue shrugged her shoulder and turned to head up the stairs saying, “Guess I should throw on some sweats. It's not like Peter really cares how I look.” She smiled and winked at Grace as she headed up the stairs.
“And when you come back down you two are going to have some explaining to do about last night!” teased Grace.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment