Page 48 of Summer Ever After
“Go for Rosie.”I clicked the button on the radio.
“I need you two to stay a little later tonight.”
Tara shook her head. “I knew it,” she mouthed.
“Of course. We were expecting that,” I replied. “What do you need us to do next?” The room looked impeccable, but there were so many moving parts to the ball, that there were things I was likely overlooking.
“I’m on my way down. I need to have a quick meeting with you. Get Tara to polish the fixtures in the bathroom. I want to be able to see my face in the toilet handles”
Tara rolled her eyes. “She’s on it.”
By the time Mrs. Graham arrived on the floating ballroom, Tara had left, her polishing chamois in hand. “Look at this place.” My boss’s eyes were wide behind her round glasses. She scanned the room and then finished her three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn looking at me.
“It sure is something. I would love to see it when all the candles are burning.”
“You might have the chance. I was talking to Florence, the sous chef, and the catering staff is short on people to clear the tables, what do they call that, bussing? I thought that you might be interested in working as part of the catering staff tomorrow night.”
“I’ve never worked as a waitress—”
Mrs. Graham held up her finger. “I wasn’t finished. It pays double your cleaning rate, and I’ll need you to stay here overnight to prepare. It’s going to be a lot of overtime in a short amount of time.”
“How do I say no to that?” My stomach was full of butterflies. A huge paycheck and the opportunity to work at one of the most exclusive events in the country was thrilling, clearing plates away from my stepmom and Chloe – not so much. But I’d been cleaning up after them for years, what was one more night?
“Good. Go talk to the catering manager. He’ll get you set up with your uniform for tomorrow. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be folding all of these napkins into loon shapes all night.” She dragged her finger along one of the tablecloths and nodded approvingly. “You girls did a good job here today.”
“Thank you.” Even though it was a menial job, I liked to put one hundred percent into everything I did. “The steaming was quite meditative.”
“I’m sure it was, dear. Now, where is Tara?”
I directed Mrs. Graham to the bathrooms and waited at the table for the catering manager. Christina had been so cruel on the phone, I had been dreading going back to the trailer all day. Now that I was staying on the island, I felt my shoulders relax. Work was a safe place for me, I’d rather scrub toilets than walk into the trailer on Sunflower Lane. At least I knew what to expect when it came to toilets, when it came to my stepmother, I wasn’t so lucky. Dealing with Christina was a total crap shoot.
THIRTEEN
DAISY
The bunkhouse mattresswas ten times better than the one in the garden shed. To my surprise, I was the only staff member staying the night. The caterers were all being housed at the hotel on the mainland, and the rest of the island staff went home on the last pontoon boat ride with Trey.
Mrs. Graham had her own private bedroom, so I had the place to myself. The wind rustled the leaves on the trees outside my window, and loons called from down the lake. I was so exhausted from setting up the tent and learning the protocol for clearing the tables – always from the right – that I dropped onto the twin bed and curled up under the quilt – and had the best sleep I’d had in months, maybe even years.
When I woke up, the sky was pink, the sun just peeking over the tops of the jagged mountain peaks in the distance. In my dreams, Max had been a guest at the masquerade, but the dream turned into a nightmare, as he was there with another woman. As I brushed my teeth, the dream replayed in my mind. I had been walking towards him, and a beautiful woman with a giant engagement ring stepped in front of me and wrapped her arms around him. Of course, he was in love with someone else. I was a blip on his radar a year ago. I had spent the entire year thinking about him, there was no way he had done the same.
I showered and started the day in my Starling Estate uniform, the all-black catering uniform, complete with a black bowtie folded on one of the spare bunks, ready for action that evening.
The harvest table was covered in trays of pastries, croissants, and strips of bacon. I smiled, imagining what Trey would have to say about the breakfast spread. My feet ached from working fifteen hours the day before, but I felt invigorated. Mrs. Graham had no idea how much peace she had brought to my life by ordering me to stay on Starling Island for the night.
The screen door creaked open. The clock above the sign-in sheet read six thirty. Who the hell was at work two hours early? I ripped a chunk off a croissant, popped it in my mouth, and chased it with coffee.
“Rosie?”
Jessica stuck her head in the door. “What are you doing here so early?”
I swallowed the pastry. “I stayed here last night. I’m moonlighting with the catering crew.”
“Of course you are.” Jessica smiled. “Do you ever sleep?”
“I did last week,” I laughed. “At least twice. What are you doing here?”
We hadn’t spoken since karaoke night, but rumor had it that Jessica was staying at the neighboring island, far away from all the action. “I’m looking for Faye. Is she here?”
