"Welcome! Make yourself comfortable while I go prepare a room, Mister uh-"
"Oh! Carson. Matthew Carson."
"Well, then. I will be down shortly." It's been a week since the party we hosted, and life in a B&B was starting to roll. On this brisk December morning, just after Hazel and Shiloh went off to buy decorations for Christmas and a few groceries, a man in a suit came saying he needed a room for a night. He wasn't a happy man, of that I could be sure. His face looked as if he used to smile, but now that smile was wiped from his face. I knew somehow that deep inside this man would need something kind, something warm to reach inside and pull out the person that used to smile. I started by smiling and hoped that his deep crevices weren't too deep.
When I showed him to his room I went back downstairs to make myself some tea and continue reading the novel that I had just started when Mr. Carson knocked at the door. I just finished chapter seven when Matthew Carson came downstairs wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Had he not been so stern I would have thought him handsome. His dark hair had been brushed out of its sleek look when he came in, and whether I knew it or not he was likable man.
He sat down on a stool by the island and just sat there. He didn't say anything, much to my confusion. I would've expected that my visitors would want to explore the house. Duh, Avé! He's probably wanting something, I said to myself. You are the hostess, after all. I got up and went to refill my mug of blueberry tea.
"What kind of tea is that?" Mr. Carson asked me.
"Blueberry. Probably not the smartest for the season, but it is my favorite." He nodded an excepting nod. I nearly forgot my job, "Do you need anything? Coffee, or something?"
"Coffee, if it's not a bother."
"Not at all. How do you take it?"
"A cinnamon stick, if you have it. If not then two sugars." As I handed him the mug I remembered what I didn't do. I felt so stupid, let alone what I suspected that he thought of me. "I totally forgot! My name is Avé, by the way." I gave him a apologizing look. "Avé Pfleegor."
"Hmmm, Avé," After a few times, him saying my name got suspicious. Then he got louder. I felt a sudden chill down my back, and it took the second chill to realize the December breeze was sneaking in.
"Avé! We're home!" I woke up with a start. I looked around to see Hazel walking into the kitchen with an armful of groceries. I rubbed my eyes from their dreariness. I got up from my sunken spot on the couch.
"What is there to bring in?"
"Plenty."
I made my way out to the car and what awaited my attention were bags and bags of Christmas decorations mingling with groceries. I pulled out several wreathes and much garland.
We started decorating the Bed & Breakfast when the Lamborghini was relieved of it's load. The job was completed soon after starting, and when we stepped back I was filled with a love of Jesus, I was reminded of Him as a child. The pine tree sat in the ling room corner, next to the electric fireplace, under which sat the nativity scene. Babe Jesus, wrapped in His clay swaddling, lay in the manger, Virgin Mary and Joseph praying thanks over Him.
I smiled. Not much could break this season. In a matter of weeks we were hosting a grand Christmas party. I always cherished the get together, almost as much as the holiday itself. I found my memory wandering to the time the family would come together and celebrate under my grandmother's roof. On my thirteenth Christmas we started a tradition. The Secret Santa was always the best part of gift giving, and we started that tradition among the kids, myself included. But, seeing how much fun it was, the adults were quick to arrange themselves in the very next year. The memory never ceased to make me smile.
But that night, my dream while laying on the couch troubled me. For one thing, why did I fall asleep? I don't even remember feeling tired. The harder I thought about it I remembered sitting down with my book and drowsily reading. But what did a dream that seemed so real mean? I had no idea. No matter, I thought. It was just a dream. Had I known what surprises I would get that night and the days to come, I would not have thought such a thing.
