Once Upon a Summertime Read online

  He gave her a sympathetic look. “That bad?”

  She shrugged. “I think it’s hopeless.”

  He glanced at the clock, and although it wasn’t even time for his shift to end, he looked hopeful. “Mind if I leave a few minutes early?”

  “Why not,” she said dismally.

  He looked slightly offended. “I’ll stay if you want.”

  “No, it’s fine.” She waved him away. “I’m just discouraged.”

  He leaned over to peer directly into her eyes. “Anna, this is the Value Lodge. I understand your longing to make it better, and I’m sorry to break the news to you, but this might be as good as it gets.”

  She made a tolerant smile. “Yeah, I know.”

  “Hang in there.” He waved as he headed for the door. “Remember, it’s just a job—not your personal identity.”

  As she watched him leave, she realized she’d forgotten to ask for his updates. But maybe it didn’t matter. As she went through the morning mail and her usual routine, she reminded herself that her days at the Value Lodge were numbered. Really, why should she feel down or discouraged? She had bigger, better things to look forward to. Still, she knew she had to follow through with the probationary warnings she’d just delivered. She couldn’t just forget about it. Although, she reassured herself, she didn’t have to deal with it today. In all fairness, she should give them at least twenty-four hours before she lowered the boom.

  Anna always kept her phone handy while at work, but today she kept an even closer eye on it, hoping to hear something back from Marley. When her lunch hour came, Anna was tempted to run down to Lou’s Café in the hopes of having an informal conversation, where Marley would just happen to mention her brother Max. Then Anna would casually inquire about the hotel job. Yet when 1:00 came around, Anna couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t want to appear anxious or desperate. If this was meant to be, it would be . . . right? Marley would call if she had news.

  By the end of her shift, Anna had not heard a word from Marley. She considered stopping by the café on her way home, but knowing it was the dinner hour and that Marley probably had her hands full, Anna decided to be patient. However, if Marley just happened to pop out as Anna walked by, well, perhaps she would broach the subject with her. But Anna passed the café with no sign of Marley. As she continued on home to Grandma’s apartment, she began to wonder if she’d made a mistake to put so much hope in what seemed like a true long shot. Really, why would some fancy SoHo boutique hotel want an inexperienced young woman who couldn’t even manage the Value Lodge very well?

  As she went into the apartment, she remembered that it was her grandmother’s bunco night. Fortunately, it was at someone else’s house this week. Anna kicked off her shoes and, since the drapes were still shut, proceeded to strip off her work clothes. Although she wasn’t really some weird exhibitionist who liked to walk around her in her underwear, moments like this, when she had the apartment to herself, were rare. Since she was hot from walking home in the high temps, she just wanted to cool off.

  She placed her phone in the charger and went to the fridge, still in her underwear, to see what looked good for dinner. Then she stood in front of the kitchen sink, eating last night’s leftover salad right from the serving bowl. As she rinsed the bowl in the sink, she realized how pathetic her little life had truly become. Really, was this what she had come to?

  She went back to peer at her phone, wishing that Marley or someone in New York would call her with good news. After several minutes of just staring at her phone, she knew she was being silly. This simply wasn’t going to happen. She pulled on a T-shirt and shorts, picked up the paperback novel that Grandma had recommended to her last night, and settled herself on the sofa to read until she fell asleep.

  The next morning, Anna felt more than a little discouraged as she walked to work. She was seriously troubled by three things this morning: One, Marley had not called and was probably not going to call. Two, Anna’s life was probably not going to change, ever. Three, she would have to follow through on her probationary warnings or risk looking like a wimp. When she reached the motel parking lot, though, she got mad. It still had not been cleaned up! Honestly, that was the same cigarette package in the same place it had been two days ago. Mickey was clearly not taking her seriously.

  As she marched into the foyer, Jacob watched her with interest. “Hey, Anna. You look like you’re on a mission.”

  “I am.” She slammed her purse down on the counter. “I’m fed up.”

  “With what?”

  “With the way our staff are not doing their jobs.” She told him about the parking lot. “I’ve asked him again and again to clean it up, and it’s got the exact same trash in it as two days ago.”

  “Oh.” He nodded. “So what’re you going to do?”

  “I’m going to fire Mickey.”

  Jacob’s brows arched. “Really?”

  She looked at the clock. “You don’t leave for ten minutes—that gives me just enough time.”

  “You sure about this?”

  “Absolutely.” She pointed to her purse. “Lock that up for me, please. I’m going to speak to Mickey right now.”

  “Anna, do you know what you’re do—”

  “I refuse to sweep this under the rug again,” she declared. “Even though that’s how Mickey likes to clean up a mess. I’m finished with him, Jacob.” Without another word, she turned away and marched off to hunt down Mickey.

  Swinging by the pool, partly because she was curious if he’d sprayed down the decks and arranged the chairs like she’d asked him to do the other day, she was almost relieved to find it undone. One more reason to give the lazy bum his walking papers. She was about to leave when she spotted a small cloud of smoke at the opposite end. Shading her eyes from the morning sunshine, she realized it was Mickey and Shawna, sitting on a table and smoking.

  Anna took a deep breath, striding purposefully toward them. She’d never actually fired anyone before and wasn’t even sure she knew how to do it properly. Perhaps it would be better to do it in writing. Except that if she worded something wrong, it wouldn’t surprise her to have Mickey use something she put in a letter against her.

  “Excuse me,” she said in a formal tone. “Am I interrupting you?”

  “That’s okay.” Shawna smiled as she extinguished her cigarette. “But good news—Mickey and I are back together again. We ironed things out.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” she said in a chilly tone. “If you don’t mind, I need to have a word with Mickey.”

  “Nothing you can say to me that Shawna can’t hear,” Mickey said with a defiant look in his eye.

  “Okay then.” Anna nodded. “Mickey, you are fired.” She waited.

  “You can’t fire me.” Mickey stood up and glared at her.

  “I’m the manager,” she pointed out. “I can fire you.”

  “On what grounds?” he demanded.

  “You are not doing your job.” She held up her fingers and listed the things he had failed to do.

  “But I was about to do that,” he argued.

  “That’s what you always say.” She frowned. “Or else you lie to me and tell me you have already done it—when you know you haven’t.”

  “You’re not being fair,” he protested.

  “It’s not fair for you to pretend you’re an employee here, Mickey, when you clearly have no intention of actually working.”

  “You can’t talk to me like that.” Mickey turned to Shawna. “You heard her, didn’t you? You’ll back me in this, won’t you?”

  Anna pointed at Shawna. “You’re already on probation, Shawna. And I just caught you smoking on motel property too.”

  “Are you firing Shawna too?” Mickey demanded.

  Anna shrugged. “Sure. Why not just get it over with?”

  “You can’t do—”

  “I just did,” Anna told them. “Please get your things and leave the premises immediately.” She turned and walk
ed away, feeling a bit like an evil employer. As she entered the building, she could feel her hands shaking. She hurried back to the reception area, starting to question herself. She felt worried that she had handled it all wrong. Worse than that, she felt worried that she wasn’t cut out for management. Because really, if she couldn’t handle this kind of stress at the Value Lodge, how could she expect to handle it in New York?

  6

  Not long after the registration hour ended, the motel owners showed up. “Rich will watch the reception area,” Sharon briskly told Anna. “You will come with me.”

  Anna simply nodded. She had been expecting this. Mickey had obviously gone whining to his aunt, complaining about how Anna had been unfair. Now Sharon was here to force Anna to take him back. She would make excuses and promise that he would do better. Just like she’d done before.

  Sharon closed the door to the staff room, then turned to look at Anna. “Mickey told me what happened.”

  “I’m sure he told you his version of what happened.”

  “Not only his version,” Sharon corrected, “but Shawna’s as well.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, they both claim that you have been too hard on all the staff. They say that you are always complaining about the motel and how cheap it is and how no one works hard enough. It sounds as if you have created a very hostile work environment for everyone. It sounds as if the guests have even mentioned it.”

  Anna blinked. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I am not.” Sharon firmly shook her head. “I’ve tried to overlook it in the past when you and Mickey locked horns. But I’m afraid the time has come to let you go, Anna.”

  “Let me go?”

  “Yes. I know your grandmother and I are old friends, but I’m sure she’ll understand. We gave it a good try. Some people just aren’t cut out for management.”

  “But I—”

  “I’ll admit that I was taken in by your fancy college degree and your pretty face, but it’s been a mistake from the get-go. I can see that now.”

  “But I never—”

  “I didn’t come here to argue with you.” Sharon held up her hand like a stop sign. “Rich is cutting you a check for two weeks’ pay. He said it’s in your contract. If I had my way I’d—”

  “I can’t believe this.” Anna was pacing back and forth in the small room. “You are firing me? Because I expected employees to care enough to do their best here? Simply because I’ve tried to make this motel a better place for—”

  “Make this a better place?” Sharon looked offended. “There is nothing wrong with the Value Lodge, Anna. We serve thousands of happy customers each year. You obviously don’t understand how an establishment like this is best operated.”

  “Obviously not.”

  “Blame it on your youth and inexperience.” Sharon slowly shook her head in a dismal way, as if Anna was beyond help. “For the time being, Rich will return to managing, until we find your replacement. Someone who understands the way a motel like this should be run.”

  Anna forced a stiff smile. “I wish you good luck with that.”

  Sharon narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to offer you a letter of recommendation.”

  Anna felt a chill run down her spine. “But I’ve done my job to the best of my ability, and I’ve never had—”

  “You’ve been fired, Anna. Do you not get it?”

  Anna felt angry tears filling her eyes, but she was determined to keep Sharon from witnessing her cry. “You don’t have all the facts,” Anna told her. “If you did, you wouldn’t do this.” She turned and walked out of the room. Rushing past one of the maids that she’d just put on probation, she went straight to the reception area, grabbed up her purse and a few belongings, and without saying a word to anyone, she left.

  As she hurried home, Anna felt certain she had never been so humiliated in her life. To be falsely accused and treated like she’d been in the wrong, and then to be fired with no recommendation for her next job? It was just too much! With tears of frustration streaming down her cheeks, Anna didn’t want to be seen by anyone as she walked down Main Street. She took a side street instead, but as she got closer to her grandmother’s apartment complex, she wished she had someplace else to go—a private place where she could have a good cry.

  Thankfully, Grandma wasn’t home. Anna went straight to her little powder room bathroom, and after closing the door, she sat down on the toilet seat and proceeded to sob. Using toilet paper to blow her nose and wipe her tears, she allowed herself to just cry it all out. This was all so unfair, so wrong. Two years of her life—and for what? Why had it happened like this? What could she have done differently? What would she do next?

  Finally, she felt cried out. She tossed a big ball of toilet paper into the wastebasket and splashed cold water on her face. It was time to put on her pragmatic hat. She had to figure this thing out. There must be a way to fight the unjustness of her situation. She imagined going back to the motel and gathering up accounts from other employees—not the disgruntled ones but the ones who liked and respected her. At least she thought they did; she hoped they did. She could present their testimonies to Sharon and Rich, pleading her case. Not to get her job back but simply to garner a recommendation for her future.

  Yet she knew it would still come down to her word against Mickey’s, and Mickey was family, whereas she was not. Besides, was it really fair to drag the other employees into this? To put their jobs and livelihoods on the spot for her sake? Most of the dependable employees needed their income just to put food on their tables and a roof over their heads. No, she couldn’t do that.

  Feeling like it was useless, she finally emerged from the powder room and sat down on the sofa, attempting to think. What should she do? Where should she go? Without references from her last two years of work, it seemed unlikely she could get a job—certainly not a good one—in the hospitality industry. But one thing she knew for sure: as much as she loved her grandmother, she did not want to remain here in Springville. Whether she liked the circumstances or not, it was clearly time to move on. The question was, where should she go?

  She was just taking off her work clothes when she heard her iPhone ringing in her purse. Wondering if it might possibly be Sharon—perhaps someone had spoken out in Anna’s defense—she grabbed it up to see. To her surprise, it was Marley.

  “Sorry to call you while you’re at work,” Marley said quickly. “But Max just got back to me, and it sounds like he’s arranged for you to meet with Vincent Newman.”

  “The owner of the SoHo hotel?” Anna asked eagerly. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. Max wants to know if you can get to New York by Saturday morning at ten.”

  “You’re kidding! Mr. Newman wants to meet with me in person?”

  “It’s the only way he’ll hire anyone. He has to see them face-to-face.”

  “I, uh, I don’t know if I can—”

  “Anna, if you want a chance at this job, you have to go there and see him in person,” Marley insisted.

  “I’d love a chance at a job, it’s just that—”

  “I can probably get you a reduced airfare rate, but I need to do it ASAP,” Marley told her. “You can stay in my room, since I’ll still be here.”

  “That’s very generous—”

  “So tell me you’ll do it,” Marley said. “I’ll arrange for your flight and everything, but you have to want it.”

  “I do want it. But I—”

  “No buts. And sorry I can’t talk. Two of our waitresses are out with some kind of bug today and we’re short-staffed.”

  Anna considered offering to lend a hand at the café. After all, she was jobless now.

  “You’ve got to do this, Anna. I know you’re miserable at that old fleabag motel. This is your big chance. It’s like fate. But to be there in time for the interview, you have to fly out on Friday. Are you in or not?”

  “I’d love to go to New York and get the job, but—”

>   “Great. I’ll send you the ticket information as soon as I have time to book it. But now I gotta go.”

  Before Anna could get in another word, Marley hung up. Feeling slightly dizzy, not to mention dazed and confused, Anna sank down on the sofa and attempted to sort out her jumbled thoughts. In the end all she could do was sit there and slowly shake her head. What was she getting herself into?

  Grandma was barely through the door before Anna began telling her the whole story of getting fired from the Value Lodge. Sparing no details, she unloaded the whole thing, and then she apologized. “I know you’re good friends with the Morgans, and I’m really sorry if I’ve put you in a bad position. But Sharon is determined to believe Mickey over me. He’s her nephew, and she’s got a giant blind spot where he is concerned.”

  Grandma waved her hand. “Oh, I’m not that good of friends with Sharon. Rich and your grandpa used to play golf together. But the truth is, I always thought Sharon was a little snooty. As if she’s superior to the rest of us just because she owns that silly motel. Trust me, there’s nothing Sharon can do to make me feel one way or another, Anna.” She patted Anna’s cheek. “I’m just sorry you got caught in the crossfire. From what you’ve told me, that no-good nephew of theirs deserved to be fired. You were just doing your job.”

  “Thanks, Grandma.”

  “What difference does it make?” Grandma set her handbag on the bench by the door. “You wanted to get that job in New York anyway.”

  Anna bit her lip, wondering if she should mention Sharon’s statement about not giving her a recommendation. Perhaps this was something that was better left unsaid.

  “Maybe it’s just a divine intervention.” Grandma grinned. “God’s way of pointing you in a new and better direction.”

  Anna told Grandma about her phone call from Marley.

  “Well, there you have it. It’s like they say, when life shuts a window, God opens a door.” She chuckled. “Or something like that.”

  Just then, Anna’s phone rang again. “It’s Marley,” she told Grandma. “She’s helping to arrange things. I need to take this.”