Page 51 of High Side
She closed her laptop after saving, then grabbed her phone. Kylie was on with the insurance guy, so she had time.
“Hello? Could this be my long-lost child calling me?”
“Ha. Hey, Mom. How’s it going?”
“Good. Good. Just plugging along. How are you?”
“I’m—I’m sort of great, Mom. Like for real.” And that was surprising.
“Yeah? Tell me all about it. I was just sitting down to a burrito.”
She laughed. Her mom loved frozen burritos. “So… I have a girlfriend. I moved in with her. Kylie. She’s amazing.”
“Wow. You moved in? They’re not kidding when they talk about the U-Haul on the first date.”
“Mo-oom. We were dating for over a month!” She couldn’t help but laugh, though, because it was so cliché and so true.
“Well, how should I know? You don’t write, you don’t call…”
“I know. I suck. But I do text.”
“Daily.” Her mom laughed. “I liked the picture of the big bear carving.”
“There’s a shop here that does them. The lady carver is fierce. Not at all like the one in thatBravemovie…”
Her mom chortled. “Oh, bummer. I like a good witch story.”
“You are a good witch story, Mom.”
“Listen to you! So what are you going to do over the winter?” Mom had radar. She swore it.
“I’m going to try to stay on. Grab a job at a local place. Sadly, I can’t work at the outfitters I’m at now. So I’m looking at the ski mountain, the hotel, or the winery.”
“Try to get the hotel. That gives you a wider range of experience, and the turnover is intense, so if you stay on, you move up. Wineries do better in the summer and fall, and the ski mountain is just like what you’re doing.”
“See? I knew you would know.” She grabbed a pen. “I need help with my resume.”
“Baby, you have a hospitality degree. That’s all the help you’re going to need.”
“Really? Even though the focus was outdoor?”
“They still taught you how to deal with service industry clients. Don’t do it if they just offer you maid work. Go for front desk or even concierge stuff.”
“I’m not sure they even have a concierge.”
“Well, then if the ski area has one at their lodge, go for that.”
“Actually, they do. I mean, they have a bunch of gift shops, right? I keep thinking they’re small, but that’s just compared to Telluride or whatever.”
Her mom madehmmmsound. “See? I mean, if the townie hotel has something like that it would be better, because you wouldn’t have to drive up in the snow.”
“I’ll look into both.”
“I have faith in you. You’re a smart lady. I want to meet your girlfriend.”
Of course she did.
“Well, do you want to come to Summit Springs? I mean, we can come see you, but we’ll have to wrangle days off or wait until the gap season.” She would totally introduce Kylie and her mom. Nervously, as she’d never done that before.
