Fake It ‘Till You Make It

The Dining Room was serving dinner.  This was the perfect time of day. Gaby had just taken over the front desk, and Jody could end her day with a hot meal.  Evergreen Grove didn’t have a pub or bar; hence the Inn became that meeting place. People often came here to enjoy food, friends, and family.  When

she entered the warm room,

Jody found

several familiar faces. 

She found a few places to sit, even with the snowstorm.

She sat near the kitchen door.

Jody ordered her meal off the Yule Menu. She loved the food at this time of year.

They celebrated Yule instead of Christmas.  

They celebrated Yule from December twenty-first to January first, and

it was a perfect holiday for modern tourism.

The town took part now for years. They regularly decked out

the entire town for the entire season. With bonfires held nightly, and the coffee shop sold cider and ginger tea.  The local gift market even sported a display of little presents

for daily gift-giving.  The guests at the Blue Moon often received

similar things each evening in their rooms. 

He wasn’t in a hurry to get back to his creation. 

And Jody knew that was never good.  

It was clearly a table that could fit a large grouping than a single person, and he was definitely not comfortable.  He had a smudge of blue paint on his neck near his hairline.  He must have missed it when he was washing. Daniel appeared stressed.  

April entered, she looked over the Dining Room. Her eyes flitted from one table to the next, dismissing them and their occupants with a serene smile for each grouping.  Until she came to Daniel sitting alone at a dining table. She confidently stepped to his table and spoke to him in that mild manner people do to frightened animals. He was fast to return her smile. Daniel

even offered her a seat after what looked to be quick introductions. 

This was new, and it was great.  April had always appeared bored when she visited.

Now she appeared to have lost it.  She’d found something of interest in the artist. 

Jody felt she enjoyed helping bring these people together. She hoped it was

possible for a greater purpose too. They ate and talked for a time. April looked intrigued. And when they finished, they left together. Daniel appeared animated for the first time.  

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April rarely ate in public anymore.

She’d felt a draw to the Dining Room tonight. It’d been years since she’d felt

such a draw.   Her experience told her to follow it.  She stood at the dining room entrance and watched the crowd.

April

knew there was an artist, and she wanted to meet him.

A start of an exciting stage in her life. The verge of a new endeavour. Love and art were her two passions.

Considering every table and every person, it wasn’t until she reached a man sitting there looking so self-conscious and out of place at a table suited more for a crowd. That’s when the urge to help him and come to his rescue. 

“Hi. I’m April. May I sit with you? There seem to be no available tables left.” He looked like a sweet and honest man.  He would go far if what she knew about him was true.  She had seen his last art showing a few years ago.

“Yes, yes, of course. I’m Dan. Please let me help you with your seat.” Aww… the poor man was desperate to make a good impression.  April saw this often when she went out into the world.  But what she didn’t often see is someone doing it without personal gain or a way to improve their lot in life by who they knew.  For April, that was a welcome relief and one of the reasons she returned here year after year. 

It was nice just talking about world events, and eventually, the food came. The conversation didn’t end. 

It changed and quickly turned to why they both came to the Blue Moon.  It was so easy to talk to him. He just blossomed before her, and when she showed an interest in knowing more about him and his work, they forgot dessert. He invited her to see what he was working on, and she felt honoured. 

So, they moved off to the Sun Room and his paintings. Her excitement was off the charts. It was evening now and dark out, but they turned the lights on to

reveal an artist’s domain with tubes of paints scattered close by, a covered canvas and a mug of paintbrushes.

“Oh, Heaven.” That was all she could say about the unfinished art piece.