Happy Thursday-before-Thanksgiving everyone!
Having just passed the election, I thought I would highlight a slightly older book of mine that is oddly apropos of the moment. I wrote it in 2017-18, but it is set during President Trump’s first run for office. I didn’t expect it to ever be as relevant as it was at first, but circumstances have come closer than I expected. Enjoy this short excerpt!
Setting: William Darcy, as well as Caroline and Ben Leigh, a state representative, are staying at a vacation cabin in Spear Lake, California. Thurfield Cabin is one of the houses that the Benitez family maintains for the owner, handling cleaning, repairs, etc. Elisa is home for the summer, and she is helping out her dad while he recovers from foot surgery. There are some issues with the rental, and Elisa goes over to smooth things over with the guests…
Chapter 5, p. 37:
The next morning, a Saturday, Elisa’s mother woke her early. Elisa was curled up in the bottom of the bunk bed—she’d forced her younger sister Leticia to move to the top—and Elisa’s suitcase lay halfway under the bed, still almost fully packed.
She’d asked Leticia to empty out a drawer in her long dresser, but it hadn’t happened yet.
Leticia’s drum set took up one corner of the room, and a music stand with one missing leg was propped against it. A glockenspiel—or was it a xylophone?—took up the other corner. Leticia was in the high school band and played in the percussion section. Two years ago, she’d gotten to march in the Rose Parade, and she’d gotten serious about music. For about six months.
Now the instruments were covered with dust, dangling bras, and slightly worn, but not dirty-enough-to-wash, shirts.
“Elisa,” her mother said again. “Lo siento, but that girl in Thurfield is texting like a crazy woman. They can’t get the stove working, which makes no sense… And she says the hot water is spotty. Maybe you could turn up the water heater? I know it’s not the gas. We had Terry go over all the cabins in April.”
“Mm-hmm.” Elisa took it in slowly. “Right. Okay.”
“I could call Noa. Carla should be home to watch the boys now.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s Saturday. Let her sleep.” Elisa heaved herself upright. She was sore from scrubbing and her arms burned as she stretched down to touch her toes. “Shoot. Did you say the oven?”
Had she finished putting the burner caps back on when she rushed to finish cleaning yesterday? Elisa thought so, but maybe not.
She pulled some real clothes on, with a sweatshirt for the cool morning air. Soon she was parking up at the cabin again. A second car was in the garage; presumably, Marta, their cook or housekeeper, had made it.
Elisa knocked on the door. She could legally enter after giving them notice she was coming in, but that always felt a little weird to her.
She knocked again after two minutes. If they didn’t answer this time, she’d let herself in…
But no, now the door was opening. It was their friend, William Darcy. He had on wool pajama pants and a black T-shirt and… she could sort of see why Leticia and her friends were so excited about him.
“Good morning,” Elisa said. “I understand there’s a problem with the stove?”
He pushed the door wider to let her in, hesitated, and then walked away.
Wow. Not even a Good morning? Thanks for coming by before seven in the morning? Caroline’s in the kitchen?
Elisa felt severely snubbed.
Usually the most awkward guests were those who weren’t used to “help” and didn’t know how to act. They tended to be overly apologetic or else weirdly aggressive as if they had to assert their right to what they’d paid for.
Generally, people like Darcy, people who had money and were accustomed to maids and housekeepers, were perfectly comfortable.
Maybe he was selectively mute.
After examining the stove, Elisa groaned in frustration. It was her fault it wasn’t working. She’d set two of the caps in the nearby cupboard while she scrubbed the stovetop and counter, and she’d forgotten to put them back. The last guests in the house had had a graduation party and something sticky had gotten burnt onto the stove. Without the caps to direct the gas nothing worked, because the oven had a safety feature that prevented gas leaks.
Elisa fitted the ceramic caps back in place and tested each of the six burners. “There we go, all set. I am terribly sorry I forgot about those.”
Caroline was wearing a short nightgown and a silky bathrobe. She had managed to make coffee (or perhaps Marta had done that), and a full pot sat on the counter.
Caroline’s nostrils flared. “Well, if you’ll try to remember any other things you forgot, I’d appreciate it. I don’t feel like a working oven is too much to ask.”
“It’s not, of course,” Elisa said. “I apologize again. There’s also also a hot water problem?”
Caroline shrugged. “We finally saw the note about not using two showers at once. I don’t want to be rude, but if you want to attract a good clientele, you have to fix that. I mean, I’ve lost track of the notes around here about what works and what doesn’t. It’s very unprofessional.”
Elisa’s mouth grew tight. It wasn’t that Caroline was wrong, but Elisa couldn’t any of that. Her dad had been trying to get the owner to pay for some much needed fixes, but until he agreed, their hands were tied.
But it would definitely be unprofessional to whine and give Caroline a sob story about her father, so Elisa just said, “Absolutely! I apologize and I appreciate your feedback.”
It sounded stupid as she said it, but in the hospitality business, “feedback” was almost a magic word. You could use it to reframe any type of horrible comment, as if the customer was doing you a favor. And if they felt like they were doing you a favor, they usually felt good about themselves. And if they felt good about themselves, that put them in a better mood…
“Good. It’s not that I don’t sympathize. A struggling family business can be difficult. I always try to buy local to support the economy. But, like, if the quality is terrible, that doesn’t help anyone, you know? You have to meet us halfway.”
Who was “us” in this scenario? People with money? Condescending people?
Elisa took a deep breath. “Well, you have our number. Just text us again if we can do anything to help. You’ve requested twice-a-week cleaning. That’ll happen Monday and Thursday morning, unless you’d prefer a different time?”
Caroline was fine with that, and Elisa almost thought she’d escaped when Ben caught her at the door. He also still had pajamas on, and a sleepy smile. She could see his appeal to her sister Noa.
“Elisa, thanks for coming by so early. Caroline freaks out if she doesn’t get a hot shower.”
Elisa still felt prickly and defensive, but it was almost impossible not to respond to his genuine goodwill. It was certainly easier to apologize to him. “I’m so sorry. And the oven was completely my fault. I was in a rush, but I should have double-checked.”
“No worries. We’re doing fine. And hey, since you’re up this early on a Saturday, would you like to come out on the lake with us? You and Noa? Not to babysit us, just to start the summer?”
“Oh. No, thank you. But I hope you have a great time. If you aim for the north-eastern edge of the lake, there’s a great spot for picnics.”
“But how am I going to find that on my own? You ought to come with us. Locals always know the best spots.”
“Except I’ve just told you where it is.”
He grinned at her. “My sense of direction is terrible.”
Darcy’s voice resonated from the dining room. “Mine’s not. We’re good.”
Elisa angrily sucked back the second polite refusal she’d been about to utter. “You know what, I have a few things to do, but I’ll text Noa and see if she’s free.”
“I appreciate it. Let me give you my number.”
Elisa handed Ben her phone and he typed it in. “I hope you both can come.”
Elisa gave him points for continuing to invite her, though Noa was clearly the motivating factor. And more points for not asking her for Noa’s number. It was much classier to leave the ball in Noa’s court.
If only his friend and his sister were as nice as him. If only Noa didn’t have to worry about her status.
…
Darcy appreciated that neither Elisa nor Noa tried to engage him in conversation and that they dropped him alone at a coffee shop while they took Ben to a shopping center that evening. He could only assume the girls didn’t know who he was, or who his sister was. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been as easy to slip away. Darcy himself wasn’t that well-known, except in political circles, but in Southern California people often recognized him as Giana Darcy’s brother. Thankfully, Noa and Elisa were too old to be part of the teen craze over his sister, or perhaps they just didn’t like her music.
That thought made him feel rather defensive of Gigi, who was an excellent musician in addition to being a Disney-made star, but then he laughed at his own stubbornness. He disliked Gigi’s celebrity status, but then he also wanted everyone to love her.
They came back for him sooner than he expected, but Darcy was already feeling better. He could even appreciate that both Noa and Elisa sat in the back of Ben’s car, not trying to pair themselves up with the guys. He realized, with a flash of embarrassment, that this might be more awkward for them than for him.
But then, of course, they were with Ben, and no one could feel awkward with him. Darcy sometimes wished he had a bit more of Ben’s social powers.
“Thanks for the help,” Darcy said, glancing in the back seat. “This probably isn’t how you would choose to start your Saturday night.”
Noa immediately exclaimed how happy they were to help, but Elisa just shrugged. Her hair was in a messy bun, and he kept accidentally meeting her dark eyes in the rearview mirror. Why was he even looking?
“Saturday night,” Ben repeated, as if realizing the day for the first time. “Do you both have plans for tonight? How does somebody have a good time in Spear Lake?”
Noa laughed—did she do anything without laughing?—and shook her head. “I’m watching my cousin’s little boys tonight. But if you’re looking for something to do, lots of people love to walk on the boardwalk.”
“I can find you a brochure when we get back to the cabin,” Elisa finished in a business-like tone of voice. Was Darcy wrong or was there a bit of a warning in it also? He wasn’t sure if she was warning her sister or Ben, but either way, she gained a few more points in Darcy’s eyes.
“That’d be great.” Ben took the conversational turn easily. “Did you two grow up here?”
There was a brief silence before Elisa answered, “Yes. For the most part.”
The road wound up the mountain, and the sun was setting on the other side, causing mottled shadows and an orange glow on the lake. “You’re lucky, it’s a beautiful place.”
“So lucky,” Elisa repeated, a bit dryly. “I heard you extended your stay to two weeks.”
“That’s right. I wish I could make it a month.”
“And you, Mr. Darcy?”
“You can call me Darcy,” he said. “And yes, I’m staying the extra week also. My sister’s schedule freed up so she’s joining us,” he added recklessly.
He waited for a big reaction, but Elisa just nodded.
Maybe this would be a good vacation after all.
###
If you enjoyed the excerpt, you should check out the book! I would describe it as a sweet romance, but it does have some political content and discussion of celebrity culture (with Darcy’s sister), so fair warning if that’s not your cup of tea. If you’re wondering what kind of politics, you can get the gist of it from the book description.
Happy Thursday and happy reading to all!
Corrie
Leave a Reply to cindie snyderCancel reply