Page 57 of Wishing for Christmas
“They failed.”
“How could the backup generators fail? What’s the purpose of them, if not to work in times like these?”
Lucy shrugged.
Clara rubbed her hands together for warmth. The obvious question hung between them:What do we do now?
Clara was at a complete loss. She was only a sales manager. Her expertise was attracting new clients and booking room blocks. She knew how to entertain clients, set up their meetingrooms, and market the event space. What did she know about handling a massive power outage?
Clara looked toward the front desk. Staff were slowly beginning to file in behind it. They huddled together, looking as confused about what to do as Clara felt. She gave them all an apologetic smile. They looked back at her with blank stares, waiting for her direction.
Clara felt the panic rising in her chest. She could feel the heavy pull of tears beginning to form. No, she would not give in to the fear. Not this time. She would not even allow herself to cry. She would not run off to collect herself. She was the general manager of the Darlington Hotel, and she had much more important things to do than to get emotional. Despite her insecurity and her inexperience, she needed to keep an air of authority.
She glanced at the fireplace again. There seemed to be an argument brewing. A small group of women were bickering. It appeared they’d been helping themselves to the free wine that had been set out at the bar to keep the guests happy. They were edging each other out with their elbows, all vying for a spot near the warmth. The volume of their voices intensified.
Lucy turned toward her with a sympathetic tilt of her head. The fear must have been written all over Clara’s face. Her voice was soft, a hint of defeat lying underneath. “Do you want me to call Matthew?”
Clara nodded as if in a daze as she tried to assess the situation. Everything around her was going wrong. Guests were starting to come out of their rooms, seeking any source of heat they could find. They all seemed to be growing more concerned and angrier by the minute. Meanwhile, the air felt as if it was getting colder by the second. She was surrounded by total darkness, except for a couple flashlights held by the staff.The Darlington lobby—normally warm and bustling with life—appeared now to be in the dead of winter.
She knew nobody around her could truly understand what the real problem was—whatherproblem was. For all they knew, she had spent the past year training with Matthew for exactly this situation.
Clara looked at the floor, the shame making her head too heavy to hold up. She had let so many people down over the past few weeks. She was constantly screwing up, and things only continued to get worse each day.
She didn’t want to be in charge anymore. She didn’t want to be in this situation anymore at all. She just wanted to snap her fingers and have everything around her disappear. Clara couldn’t see how she was going to get herself out of this mess. She closed her eyes and blew out her breath with a sad realization: She simply couldn’t do this.
She thought about her history with the hotel. She’d loved coming there ever since she was a child. There was something magical about the Darlington—especially at this time of year. Splurging on an overnight stay at the hotel was a special holiday tradition for locals and tourists alike.
Clara thought about the qualities of the hotel that she loved the most. Years of sales pitches loomed in the back of her mind as she thought about the Darlington’s stately rooms that provided beautiful, upscale amenities. The expansive views of the town green—frosted in a thick layer of white this time of year. The on-site restaurant, offering fine dining on its heated front porch facing the sights of Main Street. She would tell her clients that indulging in a cocktail in the ritzy lounge or partaking in the restaurant’s famous hot-cocoa service were special experiences that only added to the town’s undeniable charm during the holidays. All of it was true. It was all a part of what made the place so special.
Yes, the Darlington had a reputation to uphold, an experience to deliver. And right now, she was the one responsible for doing it. She was suddenly overcome with a sense of pride for her hotel. It wasn’t only because she was the general manager. No, Clara realized at that moment that she played a minor role in something far more grand. Everyone who worked there did too. They were part of the traditions of that hotel, of Cranberry Pines. Together, they all contributed to something bigger than each of them could individually. Whether she liked it or not, Clara was a part of the legacy of this hotel. What she did here today mattered. It would define, in some small way, the hotel’s history.
Clara felt her phone buzz in her coat pocket. She took it out to see a text come in from Janie. It was a picture—the selfie she had taken with Laura and Ava at the squadron the other day. The four of them, all in their matching aprons, had huge smiles, aside from Clara, who appeared bewildered. She looked at the picture and couldn’t help but smile now.
Her thoughts suddenly turned to those military spouses she had met the other day. She thought about everything she’d learned from them. When things went wrong during a deployment, which they inevitably would, they simply handled it. On their own. These ladies were so incredibly independent because they had to be. They had no choice but to be the ones responsible for fixing things and solving problems. Even if they didn’t want to.
And in the end—once they got to the other side—they were left with a feeling of accomplishment, a sense of independence, and confidence in knowing they could handle the next thing that would come their way.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.Shecould do it too. She could get control of this. What other choice did she have?
“No!” she yelled to Lucy before she could pick up the phone. “Donotcall Matthew.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
She realized that in the midst of total darkness, it was easy to feel overwhelmed. What she needed now was to push through the fear of the unknown and get to the other side of things. There would always be light at the end of a dark tunnel. Sometimes, one simply didn’t know how to get to it or how long it might be before they would see it.
Clara understood at that moment that she had no other choice but to get through this as best she could. A huge smile spread across her face as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She reallycouldhandle this. She didn’t simply tell herself it; she believed it. For the first time in her life, Clara seemed to realize something about herself that she’d never truly known: She could do enormously hard things. She didn’t need to try to avoid them all the time. Sometimes, the best way to deal with a challenge was to face the struggle head-on—whether you wanted to or not.
The realization was so simple, but also seemed so massive.
Clara shook off her insecurity with a poised nod. “Okay, everybody, let’s get to work.”
An attitude of confidence began to quickly replace the panic. Clara rallied the staff behind the desk. She thought about Brent, with his checklists and his constant well-thought-out plans. She had always thought that approach to life seemed like more work than it was worth. When it came to solving problems, her approach had always been to hope they’d go away. She laughed now at the absurdity of that philosophy.
Maybe snapping her fingers—or making a wish—wasn’t actually the best way to tackle a tough situation. Magic may be easy, but nothing could replace hard work.
She looked at the staff, all knowledgeable in their individual departments, and for the first time wondered whatshewas actually capable of. Did she really have what it took to lead this hotel out of darkness? Well, the time had come to find out. She needed to come up with a plan. Then, she needed to see it through. Clara made a quick checklist in her head of the most pressing problems and quickly reviewed everything she’d learned by working with the staff over the past few weeks. They all looked back at her, ready to receive her direction.
