Welcome to the Blue Moon

Chapter One—Welcome to the Blue Moon

Jody settled down with a large hot chocolate and smiled at the snowfall from the Blue Moon’s front doors.  Snow would not stop the people coming to the Blue Moon.  Even without the skiing and other winter activities, they would be full.  Here was where people came when they needed to escape their lives. They always found something at the Blue Moon that they needed.

Smiling, she listened to Gabriella, the owner, flutter almost down the hall, humming a tune as she freshened the rooms for the morning. 

Donny was Gabriella’s husband, and he could be heard puttering between the kitchen and dining room. He was serving a buffet breakfast to the guests and employees.

Here at the Blue Moon Inn everyone was family, and if someone needed help, it would practically appear out of nowhere. 

The Inn was decked out in the beautiful scent of pine and holly.

Red bows, berries and baubles were artfully hidden in the greenery. Golden lights and a fire in every hearth.

She couldn’t imagine working anywhere else.

A couple was coming down the stairs. “Good morning, Mister and Misses Germain.  It’s a beautiful morning, and there’s a hot breakfast laid out in the dining room. If you there’s something you can’t find, please just ask.” Jody set her mug down and stood before she said this to the unhappy couple.

His name was Benjamin, and his nose never left his phone.  Jody wondered how he didn’t trip and fall like that. Technology never worked long here. Many joked that it only worked ‘Once in the Blue Moon.’

Denise Germain was impeccably dressed and yet neither spouse looked at each other. She smiled at Jody to acknowledge her words, but her husband only grunted before they entered the dining room.  Jody believed she heard Denise scold Ben for being rude to the help.

Jody sighed and settled back into her chair; her mood was too good to worry about that insult. Technically, she was the help. She just didn’t feel the need to be offended. Jody had the perk of getting paid to be here all year.

Peaking at the schedule for today, there were four more check-ins.   They would be full for at least the week.

Daniel Davis, a painter whose career was at a high two years ago was coming. He was probably here looking for something to help him reach the next step in his career.

April Klein was going to be here soon, and she was a curious creature.  She came looking for something every year. Jody didn’t know what April was searched for. Many peopled believed she didn’t either.  Ms. Klein was an enigma but a personal friend of Gabriella’s, and so she was family.

Eric Devlin was another first-timer here, and he was a rather sudden booking.  Gabriella wasn’t sure about his personal character. He had a story, and he would need help from the Blue Moon’s magic with that story. 

Jody had long ago learnt just to accept Gabriella’s hunches and stories.  She always seemed to know what people needed and how the magic would have its way with a guest.

Finally, but not least, there was a Greta Johansen coming.  She was a ghost hunter and wanted to come to explore the hauntings of Evergreen Grove’s little hamlet.

With the snow falling now, Jody had the chance to drink her hot chocolate while it was still warm.  Then she’d get on to tidying the already neat lobby and assist with the dining room’s clean up.  There was always something different to do around the Blue Moon, so no one got bored.

She artistically dropped a couple of brochures of local attractions on the front desk with a satisfied sigh.  Shopping in the hamlet and skiing should cover the unhappy couple for the morning and afternoon.  If not, there was skiing.

Those checking-in would be later in the morning because of travel being slowed for safety.  Eddie was working on fixing the pantry door again.  Jody could hear him cursing the door and the boggart he insisted lived in the pantry.  Eddie was the handyman around the Blue Moon and the hamlet.  He’d been here forever, and he looked like it too—a big bushy beard which was just like his hair, whiter than the snow outside. Eddie could pass for Santa on vacation around here.  He was a cheerful person mostly, unless he was fixing something that wouldn’t stay fixed, like the pantry door. 

Donny slipped in through the entrance behind the front desk and gave Jody a smile. “Morning, little one.  Everything ready for those checking in today?”

“Gabby is just finishing up the rooms, and I’ve got the front desk ready.  Are the hot chocolate and mulled cider ready?  I’m sure they are going to be cold when the new guests get here. The snow doesn’t look like it’s going to stop soon.”

“I even put the kettle on and have coffee made too.  Breakfast is all out and will be for another hour or so.”

“I swear if I didn’t know any better, but I think this place could almost run itself.”

“No, that’s the magic of this place, making it feel that way.  But you didn’t hear that from me.” Donny chuckled and gave a wave before returning to the kitchen to tell Eddie to keep the volume down. No one wanted to hear his salty mouth.  The relation between Eddie and Donny was obvious, but Jody never figured out how.

            Jody fiddled with a few pine bows behind the front desk as she enjoyed the quiet time of the morning.  She found herself picking up the tune Gabby was humming before she heard arguing coming from the dining room.

            The Germains were arguing about what they were going to do today.  Mister Germain wanted to hit the slopes and Misses Germain wanted to look at the town.  Neither wanted to compromise, and that was Jody’s queue to step into action. She picked up a few brochures, and with a smile, before she entered the dining room.

            “Good morning, Mister and Misses Germain.  I just got these in, and I thought you would find them interesting.  Mister Germain, the ski shop in Evergreen, has just received a new snowboard.  I’ve heard the board has some new technology, and this brochure has a discount coupon if you purchase two snowboards. Misses Germain, I really recommend the women’s ski pants. They have vastly improved from last years.  They are also using a new technology that increased their warmth without the bulk, and they are figure-hugging too. When you hit the slopes, the ski lodge gave us this brochure for a discount to use on the snowboarding hills.  Now, if you hit the shops in…oh…an hour from now…you’ll still be able to get in a full day on the slopes, and you’ll even be able to enjoy your breakfast.  Don’t forget to mention at the chalet you are staying here when you get your lunch, all our guests get a ten percent discount.”

            Jody feared she’d overstepped her bounds with Misses Germain, but the two seemed surprised by her compromise for their argument. In the end, though, she looked at her husband and saw him reading up on the new snowboards and nodding.  She would get her shopping in with her husband in tow willingly, and he would get his time on the slopes with a new toy he could share with her, all at a discount.

            That’s when Jody first saw a smile creep onto Misses Germain’s face, and it transformed her.  Sadly, her husband didn’t see it.