Together As One
Chapter 6 
Giving him one of her toothy grins, Daphne greeted Justin as he walked out of the airport, and after throwing his suitcase in the backseat of the car, he warmly embraced his friend.

“Hey Jus, it’s good to have you home.”

“Thanks for picking me up a Daph; it’s good to be home,” he sighed as he slipped into the front seat of her car.

“You look tired. How’d things go?”

Closing his eyes he leaned back against the headrest, letting the events of the past week pass through his mind. “It was hectic but at least everything is over with.”

“Everything go okay with your mom?”

“Yeah, it’s as good as it can be for now. At least we had a chance to talk about things. It’s kind of hard to be upset with her when she just lost dad, but it will take a while to heal everything.”

“I expected to see your grandparents. What happened to them?” 

“They stayed back to help mom run the inn until she could hire someone to manage the place. Mom doesn’t think she can handle it on her own.”

Glancing at her friend she could tell there was something he wasn’t telling her. “Jus, what’s going on?”

A look of guilt spread over his features, sighing loudly he said, “She wants me to move back home and run the inn.”

“Wow, how do you feel about that?” A hint of surprise tinged her voice.

“Conflicted. Before I moved here, it was something I thought I’d be doing after graduation anyway, but things changed. I’ve changed and I like the life I’ve started to make here. It’s fun being on my own, sharing an apartment with you, my job at the gallery, and the friends I’ve made. There was a time when I thought the chances of me ever moving back were slim and I had kind of resigned myself into believing that. Now, Mom tells me she wants me to come back and I’m not sure I want too. But I feel so guilty; it’s as if I’m abandoning her the same way she did me,” he explained as he let out a loud breath. 

“What did you tell her you were going to do?”

“I told her I didn’t want to give up what I have here. But I feel bad about it Daph. Part of the reason she wanted me home was to give us the opportunity to get reacquainted. She realizes that she has missed out on a lot with me and wants to be able to make up for that. I’ll just have to see how things go.” 

Daphne smiled sadly at her friend. She knew how hard all this must be for him, and deep down she knew it was only a matter of time and she would be losing her best friend. He’ll soon realize where he belongs, she thought. His sense of loyalty is one of the things I admire most about him.

They drove the rest of the way in silence; each of them thinking of what the future might hold. Finally reaching their apartment, Justin retrieved his bag and headed upstairs. Too tired to do much of anything, he threw his bag off to the side of the room saving his unpacking for later, and stretched his lithe frame on the sofa. 

Daphne headed for her room too, so that she could give Justin some much needed time to rest and to absorb all that he’d gone through in the past week. She was pretty sure her friend was pushing aside his own feelings to take care of everyone else. She had noticed how exhausted he looked when she picked him up; eyes that had lost their sparkle and dark circles under them that stood out boldly against his fair skin. 

Out in the living room, Justin had no sooner laid his head down on the sofa, than he gave into his exhaustion and was asleep within minutes. He hadn’t realized just how tired he had been until he until he awoke and noticed darkness had already fallen. He could smell the aroma of food being prepared and suddenly his growling stomach reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he ran his hands over his face to wipe away the residual sleepiness and headed for the kitchen.

“Hey Daph, I’m sorry I fell asleep on you.”

“That’s okay, I could tell you were exhausted, so I left you alone. Dinner will be ready in a minute.”

“Smells good. What can I do?”

“Pour us something to drink and then go relax; I’ve got everything just about ready.” 

After the drinks were poured and the food served, the two friends sat down to eat in companionable silence. Daphne realized that Justin had a lot to think about and wanted to give him all of the space he needed. 

“The meal was great, Daphne,” Justin complimented. “Thanks.”

“Hey, no problem. Since it was your first night back, I wanted to have a nice meal.”

After cleaning up, Justin picked up the bag he had tossed aside earlier and headed for his room to unpack. He told Daphne that he was going to call it an early night since he wanted to be back at work in the morning. He had already taken enough time off and needed to get back to the art gallery. 

As the sun rose, it’s orange glow filtered through the window and caused Justin to groan and hide under his covers; wishing that he didn’t have to get up. Not having much of a choice, he pulled himself out of bed and headed for the shower, hoping that the warm water as it cascaded over his sleep-filled body would revive him enough to get him through the day.

When he entered the gallery, he was greeted by his boss, Lindsay, “Hey Justin, it’s good to have you back.”

“Thanks Lindsay, it’s nice to be back. Thanks for giving me the time off.”

“Not a problem, it was a family emergency. I would do it for anyone.” 

“Well, I know you didn’t have to since I haven’t been working here that long. It was a relief to know I had my job to come back to, especially when I know you didn’t have to hold my job open for me; so I appreciate everything you did.”

“You okay?” She noticed that Justin wasn’t his usual gregarious self. He appeared to have something on his mind, but she let it go. When he wanted to talk he would seek her out. In the meantime she would just let him settle back into his routine. 

As the months passed, Justin spoke with his mother frequently as he wanted to make sure she was getting along okay. His grandparents returned home once the manager they hired to help his mother was situated. She decided to take a more active part than she had before, and he was pleased with the progress she was making. Each time he talked with her, however, he could hear the loneliness and frustration in her voice even though she tried to hide it, and each time he felt guilty for not being their for her and Molly. It also didn’t help matters any that Molly kept begging him to come home. He kept trying to rationalize his feelings, by telling himself that he had made a new life, and he deserved to be on his own. Each time, however, it got harder and it was tearing him apart; the strain was getting to him. He was having difficulty sleeping and the dark circles that often appeared under his eyes were proof of that; as was his short temper. Several times he snapped at his roommate for no reason; Daphne would ask a simple question and he’d bite her head off then, he realized what he had done, he would apologize but it was too late. He hurt his best friend’s feelings when she didn’t deserve it. 

After a particularly hectic week between work and dealing with his mother, he knew things couldn’t keep going on like they were. It was tearing him apart, and worst of all, his work and friendship with Daphne were suffering. On numerous occasions he had overslept and had been late for work; he had forgotten to complete several assignments Lindsay asked him to do, he had been short tempered with Daphne, and once too often, he caught himself wanting to snap at some of the picky clientele that walked into the gallery. 

Both Daphne and Lindsay understood what Justin was dealing with and, for the most part, they allowed him the time and space he needed to deal with everything. But Lindsay finally sat him down and pointed out that she couldn’t allow him to let his personal feelings affect the gallery’s customers and that he had to decide what he really wanted to do. It was on this note that his week ended.

After much difficulty, he finally decided what needed to be done, and once his mind was made up, the heavy burden he’d been carrying was lifted and he started to breath easier. He wasn’t sure if it was the best decision, but he knew in his heart it was the right one. He would miss working at the gallery and with Lindsay. During the time he spent there she had taught him so much and he was grateful that she had taken the chance when she hired him right out of PIFA. As for Daphne, he would miss her terribly; they had come to mean a great deal to one another. But she had once promised that should he ever go back to Bennington she would visit often.

One Saturday when the roommates were off work and spending time together, Justin took Daphne to breakfast to tell her of his decision. Instead of going to the diner, he opted for a quiet café down the block. The two found a table outdoors under the shade of an umbrella, where they could watch people strolling by as well as the steady flow of the early–morning, weekend traffic. Once they were seated, the waiter placed menus and glasses of water in front of them and sauntered away giving them time to look things over before taking their order. Daphne opened her menu immediately and began browsing through it. When she looked up, she saw that Justin was staring off into the distance. She knew that he had been preoccupied lately, but assumed it was work or concern for his mother. She also knew her friend had been struggling with the idea of returning home and that he didn’t want give up the life he had worked so hard to build in Pittsburgh. 

“Hellooooo, Justin,” Daphne called out as she leaned over the table and waved her hand in front of his face to draw his attention back to her.

Shaking his head to pull out of his reverie, Justin blinked several times and focused on his friend. “Huh, oh sorry Daph, I was just thinking. I guess I’m a little preoccupied,” he said smiling guiltily.

“Yeah, it seems so. You haven’t been your chatty little self this morning,” she pointed out. “So what gives? I know you have something on your mind, so spill it already; I’m dying of suspense here. Have you met some hot guy and forgotten to mention it to me?” she giggled.

“Well…um…” he hesitated before blurting out. “I’mgoingtomovebacktoBennington.” He strung the sentence together, afraid if he didn’t say it all at once he wouldn’t be able to get it out. 

Daphne’s jaw dropped, she shook her head to make sure she heard the last statement clearly. 

“Did you just say you’re moving back to Bennington?” she questioned her eyes wide with shock. 

“Yes, you heard right,” he sighed.

“But I thought your mom was doing okay.”
“She is, but every time I speak with her I come away feeling guilty for not being there. The guy they hired seems to being doing okay too, but mom is having difficulty dealing with him. I think he feels she isn’t capable of running the Inn and at times undermines her decisions. Also, there is new competition moving into the area, which has lead to a decline in business. She doesn’t want to mention the problems to my grandfather because she told him that she could handle things on her own, and besides, she doesn’t want to disrupt their life anymore than she already has.” 

He paused for a moment and watched the traffic go by before he looked up at his friend, a hint of sadness reflected in his blues eyes, “As much as I love my life here, my heart has always belonged in Bennington. Deep down I knew, eventually, I’d find my way back. It’s just that I thought I would have more time here to get things out of my system before I did. It’s kind of ironic I never wanted to leave in the first place, but wasn’t given a choice. But against it all, I was able to carve out a new life for myself and now I’m being forced to make a decision between picking up where I left off, or being where I have worked so hard to be, and it’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.”

Daphne reached across the table and placed her hand over Justin’s and gently squeezed it. She looked into the depths of his blue eyes and knew that she was about to lose her best friend. Tears pooled in her mocha-colored eyes, and smiling sadly she whispered, “I’m going to miss you terribly, Justin. I hope you know that I love you and will always be here for you.” 

“Thanks Daphne, I love you too and will miss you…a lot. I don’t know how I would have made it if I hadn’t met you that first day at St. James. You made moving to Pitts a lot more enjoyable. It’s going to be so strange not seeing you every day; even though our schedules have kept us from spending very much time together, just knowing you were there…” he stopped as his voice became husky with emotion.

“Justin, you’ve made the right decision. Your mother and sister need you, and besides, there’s always email. We can IM each other, and of course we’re only a phone call away. We just have to make a promise to keep in touch,” she stated firmly. 

“That’s true; I’ll try to call at least once a week or email you.” Hoping to change the gray mood that had settled over the two friends, Justin called the waiter over to place their order.

Once the food arrived, they unconsciously changed the topic of conversation so they could get their minds off Justin’s impending move. They reminisced about St. James; laughing and poking fun at the students and teachers they had encountered in their final year there.

After breakfast, the two friends strolled down Liberty Avenue, window shopping and soaking up the atmosphere that pervaded the street. It was still as unique a place as when Justin had made his first trip here. How at ease he felt now…it was just another place he was going to miss when he left. Today seemed to be a day of reflection and reminiscing; both he and Daphne enjoyed themselves immensely.

Three weeks later, Justin had packed and boxed what had been his life in Pittsburgh. He had already sent some things ahead and was packing the few remaining items of clothing and art supplies into his suitcase. He was leaving first thing in the morning and wanted to make sure he had everything ready. 

He had already gone to the diner to say his goodbyes to Debbie, and just as he expected, it was a loud and tearful farewell. Debbie had embraced him so tightly that he had feared that she was going to crack some of his ribs. Tears flowed freely from her heavily mascara’d eyes; leaving black streaks running down her cheek. As she wiped her tears with the back of her hands, she sniffled loudly. Then she placed her hands on either side of Justin’s face, looked deeply in the eyes of the boy she had come to love like a son, and softly spoke in tones meant only for him, “Sunshine, you take good care of yourself and if you ever need anything all you have to do is call. Always remember I love you.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left her infamous red lipstick staining his fair skin. 

Justin returned the embrace and after feeling the warmth and comfort she exuded from her ample bosom, he didn’t want to let go. His own voice choked with emotion until he was only able to whisper, “I’m going to miss you too Debbie. Thanks for being there for me.” One last kiss and he quickly strode out of the diner before his tears flowed. Once outside the diner he took a deep cleansing breath to regain his composure.

The sun, seeping through the opening in his bedroom curtains, awakened Justin. Glancing at the clock, he groaned and burrowed deeper into the covers. It was much to early, he thought for him to be awake; I’ve got at least another hour before I have to get up and leave for the airport. Then he remembered that he and Daphne were supposed to have breakfast with his grandparents. Sighing loudly, he pulled the covers back and sat at the edge of the bed and ran his fingers through his sleep- tousled hair before heading off to get ready.
As they walked into Justin’s grandparent’s house the two friends inhaled the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen.

“Grams,” Justin called out as they headed in the direction of the kitchen.

“Good morning. I hope the two of you brought your appetites,” the older woman greeted.

“Need you even ask, Mrs. Bryant?” Daphne giggled. “You know we love your cooking and always have our appetites,” she smiled at the woman that had become like a grandmother to her.

“Hey, I thought I heard some young voices in here, “ boomed the deep voice of Mr. Bryant.

“Good morning,” the two young people replied in unison.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s sit down and eat,” the old man stated. “Besides, I’m hungry and I’m sure these two young ones are.”

Justin smiled at his grandfather, confirming his and Daphne’s hunger.

As the food was passed around, everyone filled their plates. They had just started to eat when Justin’s grandmother happened to look up and noticed her grandson holding his fork and gazing around the people at the table.

“Justin is everything alright?” his grandmother questioned as she noticed the sad look in his eyes.

“Yes Grams, everything is fine. I was just thinking that this will be my last meal with all of you for a long time as it could be quite a while before I see you all again. It’s hard leaving; you’ve been my support system for the last several years, and I’m really going to miss all of you,” his voice choked with emotion.

Daphne reached over and held his hand, her own eyes moist with unshed tears. “Hey, you can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m going to come and visit you the first chance I get; and like we promised, I’ll email and call you,” she gently reminded her friend.

Grasping her grandson’s shoulder to get his attention, the older man looked into the eyes of the boy who had become like a son to him, “Daphne’s right ! Just because you’re moving back to Vermont doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of us that easily. Your grandmother and I will have more of a reason to come up there now that you’ll be running the place. Even though we cared for your father, we never felt very comfortable visiting; that’s why when you were growing up you always came Pittsburgh to see us.”

“That’s true Justin. I’ll make sure we come and visit more often,” his grandmother confirmed. “Okay everyone, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

Silently, they all picked up their forks and began eating. Conversation was kept lively as each wanted to dispel the sadness they felt, but still foremost in everyone’s private thoughts were the facts that the grandparents were losing their grandson; Daphne was losing her best friend and roommate; and Justin was leaving behind the new life he had built.

Finally the meal was over and the table cleared. Now all that remained was saying their good-byes before Daphne and Justin headed for the airport.

Standing at the front door, Daphne hugged the older couple, thanking them for the breakfast.” Looking at Justin she said, “I’ll meet you by the car, and don’t rush, we still have plenty of time.” Then she walked away to give her friend a few minutes alone with his grandparents.

“Thanks, Daphne. I won’t be long.” 

As he turned to look at the couple, his eyes shifted to the ground below, then back up, to focus on their faces; his mind was a jumble of thoughts. He opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t come, instead tears clouded his vision. Finally he stepped in to embrace his grandmother and wrapped his arms around her; holding her tightly and not wanting to let go. His voice filled with emotion, he softly whispered, “I love you, Grandma. I will never be able to thank you enough for watching over me…for caring for me when I needed someone. I am going to miss you.” Justin pulled back, his tears flowed as he looked once again into the eyes of his grandmother; her own tears flowing freely down cheeks comfortably lined with age. 

As she held Justin by the shoulders, her own voice betrayed her emotion, “I love you too, Sweetie, and I’ll miss you too. Remember you always have a home with us.”

Turning to face his grandfather, Justin suddenly found himself in a vice like hug. In a husky voice, the older man said, “Justin, your grandmother is right, you will always have a home with us and if you ever need us for anything…anything at all…we’re just a phone call away. Always remember that we love you.”

Hearing the older man’s declaration and seeing his display of emotion, Justin was nearly overcome as his grandfather was not one who often gave in to emotional scenes. His declaration made it even more difficult for Justin to say good-bye. 

Finally, Daphne returned to his side to gently remind him that it was getting late and they needed to leave. One last hug to his grandparents and he and Daphne headed to the car, waving as the car pulled out of the driveway.

Arriving at the airport, Daphne pulled alongside the curb and parked the car. After helping Justin remove his luggage, the two friends stood facing each other; a myriad of emotions playing across their features. Blue eyes glistened with tears as he looked into the dark, brown, misty eyes of the girl who befriended him on the first day of school and stood by him through most of the good and bad times of his life. He was truly going to miss this special person. 

“Daph…” Justin voice choked with tears. “I’m going to miss you so much. How can I thank you for always being there for me,” he whispered huskily. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, not wanting to let go.

“Oh, Jus…I’m going to miss you too,” she whispered holding back a sob. “Who am I going to tell my boy troubles too?” Giving him a weak smile, she hugged him back. “I love you bunches,” she said softly as she gently kissed him on the cheek.

“I love you too, Daph.” Finally giving up, he let the tears run slowly down his face as he returned the kiss. “Take care of yourself.”

“I will. You better go or you’ll miss your flight. ‘Bye Justin.” She turned quickly and got into the car.

“Bye Daph,” Justin called out as he watched his friend pull away from the curb. He stood on the sidewalk for a few minutes until he could no longer see her car, then turned and entered the airport.

The commuter flight to Bennington seemed to take no time at all and before he realized it, the flight attendant was telling the passengers to put their seats in an upright position and fasten their seatbelts.

As he stepped off the plane he went directly to the baggage claim area to retrieve his belongings. After he gathered his suitcases and walked out of the terminal, he spotted Molly who was frantically waving to attract his attention. Once she was noticed, she started running towards him. His eyes lit up and he broke out a big smile as he saw the excited look on his sister’s face as she ran at full speed to greet him. He noticed his mother standing patiently by the car and he waved to her. 

“Jus, I’m so glad you finally came home,” Molly excitedly greeted her brother as he leaned down to give her a hug. “I really missed you, Jussy.”

“I’ve missed you too, Mollusk,” he replied as he smiled warmly. “Come on, grab a bag and help me get my things to the car.” 

“Gosh Jus, you’re home two seconds and you’re already bossing me around,” she hrrumphed.

“Yeah, this is going to be great,” he said seriously but his eyes twinkled, betraying his tone. “I’ve missed being able to boss someone around…now I’ll be able to do it all the time,” he gently teased.

“Yeah, right. I bet you just couldn’t wait,” Molly grumbled.

The siblings bantered back and forth until they reached the car enjoying the camaraderie they had missed while Justin was away.

“Hi Mom,” Justin hesitantly greeted as he approached the car and saw his mother standing there.

Stepping over to her son, she gently embraced him and breathed an inward sigh of relief as she felt his arms wrap around her. “Hi, Sweetie welcome home. We’re so happy you decided to move back. We’ve missed you terribly.” She realized her son still harbored feelings of abandonment and betrayal, but she hoped that in time she could rebuild what had been lost. She knew she had asked a lot by wanting him to move home, but she wanted her son back and this was her chance. 

“I’ve missed you too,” he said quietly.

It wasn’t easy to accept everything his mother said. Subconsciously he knew it would take a long time to get over what had happened, but he wanted his family back and to be where he always dreamed of living… on the mountain. He saw this as his chance to get back most of what he had lost.
The drive home certainly had a different atmosphere; Molly chatted away filling Justin in on what’s been going on in her life. When Justin had come home for his father’s funeral there hadn’t been much time for catching up, so she took this opportunity to do just that. This time no one ignored her as she happily regaled her brother with stories of her friends and all the goings on at the Inn. Smiling, Justin sat back and indulged his sister’s behavior.

Justin’s ears tuned into her ramblings, but his eyes focused on the passing scenery and he absorbed the landscape as the car sped along. He sighed happily as the black ribbon of highway, with it’s stream of metal guardrails, turned into majestic pine trees and mountainous slopes.

After they reached the Inn and the car stopped, Justin stood a moment taking in his surroundings, then he took a deep breath, inhaled the fresh sweetness of mountain air. Closing his eyes, he turned his face upward to catch the afternoon sunlight, and enjoyed the feel of warmth permeating his fair skin. Ah…it felt good to be back, he thought

“Come on Jus, let’s go.” Justin was suddenly aroused from his musings as Molly tugged on his hand drawing his attention back from its wanderings. 

“Oh, alright, Mol, I’m coming. Let’s grab my things from the car.”

Once inside the house, Justin threw his bags on the bed, and immediately went over to his favorite spot in the room. Gazing out the window, he looked out at the horizon as if to reassure himself that not everything had changed. He sighed happily and his fingers itched. He wished he had his sketchpad handy so that he could capture his feelings on paper at the exact moment he had finally returned home. 

The bright sunlight streamed in through the window, but this time, it was to signal the dawn of his new life. He threw his blanket over his head to block out the light and mentally kicked himself for not drawing his curtains before going to bed. But he remembered not wanting to miss the last thing he saw… the beautiful landscape that he missed so much while living in Pittsburgh. Well, I’ll make sure from now on that the curtain is closed at night, he grumbled to himself. Burrowing farther under the covers, he tried to grab a few more minutes of sleep before his day started.

After breakfast, Justin walked around familiarizing himself with his home once again. He and his mother had stayed up late the night before discussing what needed to be done. What lay ahead was daunting and he silently prayed that he wouldn’t fail and let anyone down. Basically he would be running the Inn, overseeing all aspects of it like his father did, but with one minor difference…his mother wanted to be more visible. She now wanted to work with the guests, a concierge of sorts, handling the reservations and working side by side with her son. She had always loved being around people, but while Craig ran the place she was shuffled to the background and only filled in when a staff member was sick. It was something that had occurred rarely, as her husband was ruthless when an employee missed their shift. 

Jennifer was excited at the prospect of working alongside Justin even if he expressed concerns about his ability to handle the job. She, however, had no doubt that he would be able to do it and reassured him that together they could handle anything. Justin smiled indulgently, wishing he had as much confidence as she felt.

When Jennifer and Craig were first married, they worked side-by-side and it was one of the happiest times of her life. She enjoyed working beside her husband and helping the business expand and grow. As the years passed, however, and the children were born, he always had one reason or another why she wasn’t needed. It was as if he were keeping things from her and after a while it just became easier to stay away than to argue with him. But now her son was back and she would once again able to take an active part…maybe things wouldn’t seem so bleak now. 

Before he went about his day, Jennifer introduced Justin to Sam, the man his grandfather had hired to assist in running the Inn.

“Justin, I want you to meet Samuel McAdams. He’s been helping me run the place,” his mother politely introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you Sam,” Justin extended his hand towards him.

“Nice to meet you,” Samuel replied. A look passed between Justin and Jennifer as they noticed a definite coolness in his tone. 

“I look forward to working with you,” Justin smiled wanting to put the man at ease. He had no intention of usurping the man’s position; in fact, he had hoped Sam would be able to help shed some light on the current state of the Inn. But from the initial look of things that wasn’t likely to happen.

Smiling stiffly, stating in a no-nonsense tone, “If that’s it, I better get to work.” Sam turned and walked away without even a backward glance.

Justin looked at his mom and shrugged, “That went well. He didn’t seem to be too pleased to meet me.”

“He’ll warm up, give him sometime. He probably feels threatened now that you’re here,” she gently reassured. 

Walking around, Justin introduced himself to the employees he hadn’t met before and reacquainted himself with the old staff. It was through these conversations he discovered that he would have to make one of his primary goals bringing business into the Inn. The various staff members made him realize that the opening of the new Bennington Imperial Hotel, which offered all the upscale amenities such as an in-door, heated pool, a spa like atmosphere with massages and seaweed wraps, and fine dining had caused competition to get heated. Now, the Inn could no longer get by solely on its reputation; that was no longer going to work and if they wanted to remain in business the Inn would have to do some serious promotion. 

One area where the Inn excelled, however, was that it had the finest ski runs in Vermont. His great grandfather had acquired a substantial amount of real estate in the surrounding area; land that included the best slopes in Vermont. Rumor had it that he won a chunk of it in a card game, but no one ever knew for sure. The story did, however, make good fodder for the gossip mill. Justin also knew from conversations with his dad and grandfather that a major player had tried to buy a portion of the land, but his family had always held tight to their holdings. His grandfather had warned Justin, before he left Pittsburgh to never sell any of their holdings, because that would destroy the pristine beauty of the Inn; something the family held dearly. 

After reviewing many different areas within the Inn, Justin began to make notes on repairs that needed to be done, and inventory that had to be replaced. What puzzled him as he looked things over was the neglect that seemed to be obvious throughout the property. He recalled that the Inn had always been in tip-top shape, but since he’d been away, his father appeared to have let things slip by. He was also made aware that the various repairs had been brought to Craig’s attention, but he ignored the employees concerns. Sighing to himself, Justin realized it was just another facet of running the Inn that needed looking into. 

After spending a long day looking over the property and making lists of all the things that needed to be accomplished, Justin headed home exhausted. He wondered if he was capable of managing the Inn, as there were so many things that needed to be done and so much to learn that he felt drained just thinking about it. All he wanted to do when he got home was to have dinner, crawl into bed, and forget about all the things that needed to be done, but he knew he had a couple more hours of work to put in before he could even consider sleep. First and foremost was to sit down with his mother and go over some of the things he discovered on his walk around.

“Mom, I’m home,” Justin called out as he entered the house.

“We’re in the kitchen getting dinner ready. Why don’t you go wash up and join us; it’ll be on the table in five minutes.”

His task completed, Justin headed for the kitchen. His rumbling stomach reminded him that he had skipped lunch and was now starving. “Hey, what smells so good,” he asked as he headed for the stove, to lift pot covers to see what they contained. “I can’t wait to eat, I’ve starved.”

“You’re always starved,” came his sister’s sarcastic retort.

“Well, you would be too if you skipped lunch, Brat.”

“Wow Jus, you actually skipped a meal.”

“Okay you two, quit picking on each other. Molly come put this on the table,” Jennifer ordered wanting to head off any arguing that might ensue between brother and sister. Secretly, she was actually happy to hear them squabble, but she would never let them know it.

“So, Justin how did your first day go?” Jennifer inquired as she passed the food around.

“It was hectic. I’ve talked with a number of employees trying to get a feel of the things that need to be done, and now I realize that I will need to set some priorities,” he sighed. “Mom after dinner we have to sit down and go over some things I’ve uncovered, but, let’s just have a nice meal before we have to get into all of it. Also I want to give Daphne a call before it gets too late.”

After the meal was done, and while the dishes were being washed, Justin headed for the study to call Daphne.

He was about to hang up after letting the phone ring several times when an out of breath Daphne finally picked up. 

“Hello.”

“Daph, it’s me.” 

“Justin?” she asked.

“Yeah, did I disturb you? You sound a bit out of breath. You aren’t with someone are you?” He chuckled wondering if there was a guy with her.

“No, you dork, no one is here. I was in the shower when I heard the phone ring and the answering machine is broken. I was expecting a call that I didn’t want to miss,” she explained. “So how are you? Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

“The answers are, I’m fine; yes; well…I’m not sure,” he laughed as he tried to respond to all of her questions.

“What do you mean you’re not sure? What’s going on?”

“I walked around the area today and talked with the employees and made some discoveries I’m not sure how to respond to, so I’m going to sit down with mom and discuss them. I’m not sure she knows everything; Dad kept her pretty much in the dark about running the business. Oh yeah, and I met Sam, the guy my grandfather hired to help mom. He wasn’t pleased to see me.”

“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you, but I have faith in you Justin; you’ll be able to get to the bottom of things,” Daphne stated encouragingly.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope I can handle things. There’s so much to do and one of the things I need to do first is advertise. It seems a major hotel moved into the area and they’ve been drawing a lot of business away from us,” he sighed heavily. “I sure miss you. How is everything back there?”

Laughing at the drama queen antics of her friend, she reassured him that he was more than capable of running the Inn. All he had to do was take things one step at a time. Besides she reminded him, “You’ve only been there a day.”

“That’s all? It feels like a year,” he gently teased her.

They chatted for a while longer and Daphne filled him in on what’s been going on in her life. 

“Well I better go,” Justin said reluctantly. “I need to discuss those things with Mom before I go to bed. I’m beat and I have to get up early,” he sighed wearily.

“Take care of yourself, Jus. Anytime you need to talk just call me.”

“Thanks for listening Daph. You take care too. I’ll call again soon…bye.”

“Bye, Jus,” she heard the phone disconnect and placed the receiver back in it’s cradle.

Justin looked up from his notes as he heard his mother enter the study. He was going over some of the concerns that were plaguing his mind, and as he discussed them with her, he concluded she was unaware of most of the things he had pointed out something he already suspected.

When they were through, Jennifer was very concerned with the disturbing things her son had brought up. She agreed that there was cause for concern and that he should spend some time examining the accounts to determine their real condition. She also agreed that they should look into hiring someone to advertise and promote the Inn.

“Justin, we’ll get to the bottom of this,” she said. It may take some time, but let’s try not to worry too much. Get a good nights sleep.” His mom stood and kissed him on the cheek.

“You’re right, Mom; we’ll work it out. Good night.” Justin stayed a while longer making notes to himself. Tomorrow is another day, he thought to as headed toward his room.

As tired as he was when he finally got into bed, Justin ‘s night started off restless, with him tossing and turning; unable to keep worry from invading his thoughts. He needed to get to the bottom things and soon. There was something that wasn’t right and he had sensed it as he walked around. There had been more neglect than anticipated and he had listened to implications from employees who had been told that the money needed for repairs were being diverted to other projects. These promised projects, that never seemed to materialize, were the reason things weren’t being repaired or maintained properly. Finally, he fell into a troubled sleep hoping that their problems could be resolved easily.

Before he thought it possible, soft glow of the morning sun cast its rays throughout the room and the annoying beep of the alarm clock sounded its 6:00AM reveille. 

Reaching out toward the annoying sound, Justin hit the snooze button; all he wanted was a few more minutes to himself before he had to face the day. But when the second buzzer sounded, he slowly made his way to the edge of the bed and sat up. His eyes felt like sandpaper from lack of sleep, but the smell of coffee wafting up from downstairs motivated him to get moving, so he hurriedly got dressed and headed toward the gentle aroma.

“Gosh, Jus you look like crap,” Molly called out in her cheerily, irritating voice when she noticed her brother enter the kitchen.

“Good morning to you too, Brat,” came the grumpy retort. “Morning, Mom.”

Jennifer turned away from the stove when she heard her daughter greet her son. She quickly noticed the bloodshot eyes and the slightly disheveled appearance. “Morning, Honey,” she greeted. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I just didn’t get much sleep last night. It’s nothing to worry about; I just kept thinking about all the things that need to be accomplished. Once I get things squared away I’ll sleep better,” Justin sighed wearily.

“Sweetie; all we can do is take things one step at a time. Every thing will be fine.”

“I know it will Mom.”

As soon as breakfast was over, Justin went upstairs to finish getting ready before heading out for the day. He planned to make it his routine to check out the Inn’s working spaces first thing every morning to make sure the different assignments were started and to verify those that were suppose to be completed.

Reaching the maintenance shed, he paused, closed his eyes, and remembered the scene that had taken place inside that had forced him to be sent away. He shuddered slightly as he entered the darkness, his eyes drawn to the corner where he and Hobbs had been caught by his father. He still could see the disappointment and anger etched on the older man’s face when he saw his only son with another guy, and a sense of sadness washed over him at the loss of that relationship. It was too bad he couldn’t simply accept me for who I am, he thought. At least there had been some good that came out of what happened; acceptance for who he was by his grandparents, meeting Daphne, and having his first sexual experience with a man who was caring enough to make that first time something very special…Brian.

Brian…where did that thought come from? The man had never been far from his mind, ever since the day he had seen him in the diner. Even though he had been with Ethan, there had been times when they were together that his mind would drift to visions of those intense hazel eyes. It sadden him that Brian thought he was just another trick.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Justin sighed. He knew that he should quit ruminating over his past; daydreaming, wasn’t going to change things. Besides, there were too many other things to do to stand around lost in what might have been. 

When he flicked on the switch, the harsh glow of light filled the shed. He went about organizing things until the employees started to drift in for the start of their shift. Handing out the assignments, Justin designated Todd to oversee the tasks and asked him to report directly to him with any problems that came up.

Later, he asked Todd to accompany him as he looked over the area. He pointed out different things that would eventually need to be repaired and told Todd that he wanted to make sure the ski runs were in top shape for the heavy season that was about to start. Checking out the various runs, the two men made notes of things that needed work, then Justin left and headed back to the office to begin the task of going through the financial accounts. 

When he entered the office, Justin noticed Sam sorting through the mail and stacking it in several piles. He assumed most were bills to pay and Sam was arranging them accordingly.

“Good morning, Sam.”

Engrossed in what he was doing Sam hadn’t noticed Justin enter the office and was startled by the sudden intrusion of his space. “Oh, good morning. I didn’t hear you come in.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you; I just want the accounts so I can familiarize myself with how we stand financially,” Justin stated.

“What do you need to do that for? Don’t you think if there was something wrong I would have said something?” Sam declared, offended that Justin wanted to go over the accounts; he felt as if he wasn’t trusted.

“Look, Sam I’m not questioning what you do or how you do it. You’ve only been here a short while, and I grew up in this place. I’ve been inspecting the condition of the Inn over the last several days and I’ve noticed some things that have changed, and I want to look into them.”

“Like what? The employees never told me anything.”

“Have you gotten out and walked around and talked with the employees and looked over the place?” Justin asked. 

“Well…ah…no,” Sam stammered. “I really haven’t had a chance. I kind of left that part to the supervisor, John.”

“Well, John will no longer be overseeing the maintenance department. I’ve designated Todd Masters.” 

“Why Todd? What’s wrong with John?” Sam was surprised at the change. He thought John had been doing a good job.

“ I don’t believe John has been doing a very good job of keeping up with things. You can’t expect employees to come running to you to tell you things; you have to get out from behind the desk and take an active part. Look Sam, my Mother wanted me to come back and run the place and so did my grandparents, and I’m not about to let them down. I’d like to keep working with you because I know I’ll need the help, but if you can’t work with me then I think you need to re-evaluate your position.” 

Justin had no intention of coming down hard on Sam, but he couldn’t have him questioning things he did. It was going to be hard enough learning about the business, keeping it going, and trying to sort though everything. He didn’t need someone second guessing him. 

Shaken by what Justin said, Sam simply nodded. Maybe he did need to rethink his current position he thought. With his skills, he knew he could get hired somewhere else very easily. He needed to give it some serious thought. With the new hotel opening they were looking for experienced people, maybe he should look into it. 

Finally handing over the files, Sam continued on with his original task of sorting the mail and mulling over the fact that he may have to look for another job. The Bennington Imperial is looking for a Manager he thought. There, I wouldn’t have to deal with this damn kid and his know nothing mother. 

Turning away from what he felt was a brewing confrontation, Justin decided the best place to go over the files would be at the house. There, I will be away from prying eyes, and, besides, it has the peace and quiet I’ll need to concentrate, he thought

In examining the files, Justin planned to go back at least a full year. That, he thought, should be sufficient enough to give me an accurate picture of the Inn’s condition. It was a tedious task and he wasn’t looking forward to it, but he knew that it was something that needed to be done if he was to get his hands around what was going on. 

Several hours later, he sat heavily in his father’s former study chair, now his by default, and rubbed his temples. Feeling a headache coming on from staring and numbers and entries all day, he decided to take a break and call Daphne.

Dialing the number from memory he let it ring until she finally picked up. “Hey, what took you so long to answer?” Justin chuckled as he heard the grumpy voice of his ex-roommate.

“What do you mean I took so long?” she hrrmphed. “I do have more things to do then stand beside my phone wait for someone to call me.”

Justin’s laughter filtered over the line as he teased his friend. “What can be better than waiting for me to call?’

“Well, at the moment I am in the process of baking cookies.”

“You… baking?” he chided.

“Yeah, well I had a craving for your grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies, so I thought I’d make a batch; not sure if they’ll taste the same,” she laughed. “So how are things?”

“Slow,” he said with a sigh. “ I needed to take a break from going over the financials and I thought I give you a call.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. By the way, I’ve got a couple of names of some top advertising agencies you might want to look into. Do you want them?”

Justin had no idea that Daphne had run into Emmett and that he had told her that Brian had opened his own advertising agency. During their conversation, she remembered her last phone call from Justin and his need to look for an ad agency. A thought started to formulate in her mind and she probed Emmett for information that she could pass along to Justin. She decided not to reveal that to him, however, that it was Brian who owned Kinnetik. She knew the suave executive had never been far from Justin’s thoughts; no matter what he claimed. Emmett also revealed, much to Daphne’s delight, that Brian, “Mr. No regrets, no apologies” actually had deep regrets about letting the blond go. Well now, she thought, I just might be able to do something to change the situation.

“Sure, who do you have?” Justin replied.

“There’s Vangard, Elite, and a fairly new one called Kinnetik. I heard that this new one is progressive and up and coming. The other two have been around a while, and I think with Kinnetik just starting out you might get a better deal with them.” She knew better than to be too obvious and push for Kinnetik; otherwise Justin who was both incredibly intelligent and sensitive, might question her motives and she didn’t want to have to lie to him.

“Maybe I should have Mom give them a call and make arrangements to have them meet with us,” he said thoughtfully. A progressive and new agency might be the way for us to go.”

Daphne couldn’t have been more pleased; Justin’s mention of giving Kinnetik a call tickled the pixie in her and she laughed to herself. “I think that’s a good idea, Justin,” she said hiding her pleasure. “Oh, I have to go,” she rushed, “ I think I smell my first batch of cookies burning. Bye Justin, call me soon; take care.”

“Thanks for the info, Daph. I’ll call soon….bye.” He hung up the phone and made a note to have his mother contact Kinnetik as soon as possible and set something up.

Daphne’s talk of freshly-baked cookies made Justin realize he was hungry, so he decided to grab some lunch before heading back to the accounts. He needed a break before tackling the large amount of information he needed to absorb, and he knew it was going to take a long time to get through it all.

After several hours passed and he had only completed the first few months of the financials, he had already noticed some discrepancies that had to be clarified, and that meant he might have to go back further than anticipated. The extra work might mean that it could be weeks before any hard conclusions could be drawn. Fortunately, his father had kept detailed expense reports and income statements so he knew the information he would get would provide the answers he needed.

Towards the end of the day, Justin put the accounts aside realizing that he needed some fresh air, so he decided to pass through the Inn once again to see how the day had gone. He spotted Todd behind the Inn speaking with the employees.

“Hey Todd,” he called out. “How did the day go? Any problems I can help with?”

“Hi Justin. Yes, there are a few things, I put the guys to work doing some repairs on the veranda, some of the flooring and several steps needed fixing. I also put another crew to work on the heating and cooling system; that also appeared as if it hasn’t been worked on in quite a while. I think we may have some significant problems there since it hasn’t been maintained properly.”

“I thought as much. I noticed some of those things when I was checking on my own. But it’s strange; when I went through the maintenance records, they show that everything was maintained on a regular basis. In fact, they show John signing off on every repair action.”

“Well the records might show that but the equipment surely doesn’t.”

“Those are major items; nothing we can afford to neglect. It could affect the entire Inn if they were to go out on us,” Justin sighed heavily. “What about the different ski lifts, and the other pieces of major equipment? Have you had a chance to look them over?”

“Not yet,” Todd replied. “We got stuck on the heating system and haven’t had a chance to get up the mountain yet.”

“Look Todd, we only have a few weeks before snow starts to fall and our busiest part of the season begins …..to get this place in order. I don’t want any reservations cancelled because we had to shut things down for repairs; we can’t afford to lose any business.”

“We’ll do the best we can; It might mean we have to put some of the staff on overtime to complete all that needs to be done, but I’ll make sure to keep you posted; especially if we have to adjust everyone’s schedule,” Todd stated noticing the concern written on Justin’s face.

“Okay Todd, I appreciate your help. Let’s plan on getting together first thing every morning to plan out the day and touching base again every evening.” 

Sighing inwardly, Justin headed home. He needed to get his Mother on board and have her take over the responsibility of overseeing the daily operations of the Inn. That would help him a great deal while he focused on the critical issues brought up by Todd, and the many other things he had noticed.

“Hey Mom, dinner ready yet?” Justin called out as he entered the house.

“In about a half an hour,” replied Jennifer.

Once the meal was served, conversation turned to the subject of business. Feeling left out, Molly sighed to herself. Another boring dinner, she thought as she picked up her fork and began poking at the broccoli on her plate. Tuning out the conversation going on between her mother and Justin, she began to think of ways to convince her mom to get her a dog. Then maybe I could feed him my broccoli, she thought, giggling to herself at the idea. It would be nice have a pet around since everyone else is always too busy to pay any attention to her. 

Noticing the weariness and signs of worry etched on her son’s face, Jennifer inquired as to what was wrong.

“Justin, is everything okay?” she asked, her voice tinged with concern.

“I don’t know Mom. I started going through the financials today and it seems that I will have to go back a lot further than I wanted too. Also, I need to ask you to oversee operations until I can manage to get a handle on the maintenance end of things. It appears that too many things have been neglected and it’s going to take a while before we can bring everything up to standards. If we don’t do it now there could be a problems down the road.”

“Sure Sweetie, I can do that. But why do you think there are so many problems with maintenance? Your father always seemed so meticulous about those things.”

“Mom, it may have seemed that way, but I think Dad only made it appear like he was maintaining things. His records show that the maintenance was done and that money was spent to do it, but when you actually look at the equipment there are no signs that it has been worked on. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m determined to get to the bottom of it. That’s why I now have Todd supervising the work now instead of John; I never trusted him. He told me he personally had worked on the heating system not more than a few days ago, but when I looked at it, I noticed it hadn’t been touched in a long time. My plan is to watch very closely now and keep going through the financials,” he ended with a heavy sigh.

“Justin I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“One of the first things you can do is help us get some advertising. My friend Daphne gave me some names of ad agencies to call, and suggested that we call one in particular…I believe its name was Kinnetik . She said they are an up and coming agency and have done some good work for some major companies. So can you call and set something up?”

“Sure. First think in the morning and I’ll get back to you when I have all the information. Now if we’re done with dinner, I’ll clean up. Why don’t you head into the study and relax a bit; Molly will help me in the kitchen.

Settling into a large Victorian winged chair and letting his mind drift, Justin found himself thinking of Brian again. It must be the loneliness I’ve felt since moving back home, he thought. There hasn’t been time for a personal life and I want someone to share my day with, and confide my problems to; but most of all someone I can hold onto against all of my fears…someone to let me know that everything will be alright.

Finally, he succumbed to his weariness, and allowed sleep to take over; as his eyes closed, his last thoughts were of those piercing hazel eye.

on to # 7