5. Frankie
FIVE
Frankie
The harsh blue glow of my laptop screen reflected in my tired eyes as I scanned the qualifications of yet another job listing. Spending all this time hunched over a computer, absorbing all this artificial light would surely cause long-term damage, but I wasn’t about to let that slow me down.
I had arrived in Key Ridge exactly one week ago, and I’d already applied to at least fifteen jobs. Unfortunately, the market was a bit underwhelming. There had been quite a few rounds of layoffs in my industry last year. That, mixed with a lackluster economy, meant there were plenty of qualified candidates and not a lot of open positions.
Pickings were slim, but I still hadn’t expected it to be quite this lean. It didn’t help that the job listing site had a banner across each job posting letting me know the exact number of applicants that had already applied. The one I had just submitted for said over one thousand . Confidence could only get me so far, and even I knew that was a longshot. Landing a job I was qualified for felt a lot like buying lottery tickets and hoping for a miracle .
“Knock. Knock.”
I tore my headphones out of my ears and found Mattie hovering at the bottom of the basement stairs.
“You know it’s not knocking if you’re already in the room,” I said.
“Still in a bad mood?” she asked.
Mattie had been busy working at the lodge for the past two days, so I’d hardly seen her. Apparently, even though it was toward the end of the season, they had gotten record snow this year and it would be bustling for the next few weeks until closing day.
“I’m not in a bad mood,” I insisted before throwing my head back against the plush couch. “It just feels so hopeless. I’m sure there are people with a decade more experience than I have applying to these jobs. I’ll never find something.”
Mattie had the nerve to chuckle. “Considering you’ve been unemployed for all of thirty seconds, I think you should try being a little more optimistic than that.”
“It’s hopeless.” I tipped sideways, collapsing onto a pillow nestled against the sofa.
Mattie came over and sat next to me before gently patting my back. “You’ve hardly left this cave in days. I think what you really need is a break.”
“I can’t slow down.”
Mattie shook my shoulders. “Come on. Come to dinner with me. It’s wine and cheese night at Marie’s. Giles said he would meet me after he wraps up on the ski hill.”
Marie’s was the restaurant inside the lodge owned by Giles and his family, where Mattie had held their intimate rehearsal dinner. And now that they were married, I supposed Mattie owned it too.
“Fine,” I huffed, taking my laptop off my flannel-clad legs and standing up to stretch .
“And you can’t wear that,” she said, taking in the pajamas I’d never bothered to change out of.
“I’m unemployed, not a slob,” I said defensively. Did she really think I was so far gone I’d forgotten how to put on a pair of jeans and run a brush through my hair?
A phone ringing caught her attention and she pulled hers out. “It’s Mom,” she said.
“Don’t answer?—”
“Hello,” she said, pressing the speaker button and holding it between the two of us. I glared down at her. Telling my parents about the abrupt change my life had taken was not on my priority list today. They’d stress and worry and ask me a million questions.
“Hi, honey.” My mom’s cheery voice rang through the room. “We’re about to board our cruise and I wanted to call you before we got on. We’ll probably be hard to reach for the next couple of weeks.”
They were always going on some cruise with their friends. They had retired completely last year and were taking full advantage of all their newfound free time.
“I hope you have so much fun.” Mattie waved at me before pointing at the phone. Say something , she mouthed.
I shook my head stubbornly.
“Have you heard from your sister?” Mom asked. “I’ve tried texting her a few times the past week and I haven’t heard from her.”
Mattie glared at me. “You know what, Mom? She’s actually right here. Why don’t you say hi?”
“What? She’s there? In Key Ridge?”
“Frankie’s in Key Ridge?” I heard my dad say in the background of the call.
Mattie pressed the mute button. “Tell them. Just get it over with. ”
“Fine. Whatever.” I waved my hand in defeat. It wasn’t like she’d given me much of a choice. They knew I wouldn’t fly here on a whim and that something must be up.
“Mattie? Are you still there?”
I took the phone from my sister and unmuted the call. “Hi, it’s Frankie.”
“Frankie, what are you doing in Colorado?” I could hear the shock in my mom’s tone.
“She’s really there?” my dad asked, his voice muffled.
“Yep, I’m here.” I caught Mattie’s eye. It almost felt like she was enjoying this.
“Did you take time off of work?” my mom asked. The way she said it made it seem like the most far-fetched possibility. And it was. I only took vacations around the holidays and never within the first few months of a new year. That was our busy season.
“You could say that,” I mumbled.
Mattie shoved my leg with her foot.
“Okay, you know what?” I sighed and drug a hand over my face. “Mom. Dad. I was laid off last week. That’s why I’m here.”
“Laid off?” Mom exclaimed.
“Laid off?” My dad repeated the question. He sounded a lot clearer now, like my mom had put the call on speaker and he was now hovered over the phone with her.
“That’s right. I’m currently unemployed, and I needed to get away.” Would saying those words ever get easier? They made me feel like a failure every single time. Even after a week, the wound still felt fresh.
“I can’t believe they did that to you. You were the best that company had,” my dad said gruffly.
My heart swelled a little at his words. He didn’t even really understand what I did, but I appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.
“They said it was a reduction in workforce. It wasn’t just me. Almost everyone on my team got cut.” Almost everyone. They’d kept on two people who were more senior than me and then another guy who’d started the same time as me. That bothered me to no end. He wasn’t a hard worker, but he was a kiss-ass. The pitying way he’d said, “Stay in touch,” while I packed my stuff made me want to wring his neck.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.” I could picture my mom’s face—eyebrows wrinkled together, a look of concern in her eyes.
“It’s alright. I’m already applying to other jobs. I’ll find something soon.” The confident statement wasn’t quite how I felt, but fake it ‘til you make it, right?
“Are you okay on money?” my dad asked. Of course that would be his first concern. Ever the responsible one.
“I’m fine. They gave me one month’s severance, plus I have savings.”
“I hate the idea of you digging into your savings,” my dad said.
I rolled my eyes at Mattie, but she shrugged.
“And she can help out at the lodge while she’s here,” Mattie piped in.
“I’m not that desperate,” I said, hating the idea of a handout.
“We’re busy and we really could use the help.” Mattie shot me a pleading look. I still couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or if she just wanted me to do something other than wallow in her basement.
“Well, I think that sounds great, Frankie.” My mom had switched her tone to one of encouragement instead of concern. “I’m glad you girls are spending time together. You’ve got a good plan, and everything will work out, right, Ron?”
My dad grumbled something under his breath. I could practically picture my mom elbowing him in the ribs. “Right. Right,” he finally said.
“We have to go, but we’ll catch up soon,” my mom said. “You two enjoy each other.”
“Love you,” Mattie said, leaning over to speak into the phone.
“Love you,” I said, before hanging up.
“See, was that so bad?”
“You didn’t have to ambush me like that.” I tossed her phone at her and she scrambled to catch it.
“You would have put it off for way too long. Now it’s over.”
I had to give her that. I did tend to put off uncomfortable conversations. But she did the same thing. Truly two birds of a feather.
My parents had always been supportive without crossing into overbearing territory. They’d handled the news about as well as I’d expected them to. Still, I loathed the concern that rang through their voices. I’d always had my shit together, and floundering like this had me completely off balance.
I needed a drink. More importantly, I needed to get far away from my laptop and job applications, which were basically taunting me at this point.
“Weren’t you saying something about wine and cheese?” I asked.
“And if you could move the Smith reservation to room five and add a snowboarding lesson to their folio.” Mattie pointed to the screen, but I pushed her finger away.
“I got it, I got it.” I typed a few things in and dragged the reservation to a different section of the screen. This software was a breeze, especially considering Mattie had been making me work on reorganizing and finalizing reservations for the past hour.
“Wine and cheese night, my ass,” I grumbled.
As soon as we’d arrived at the lodge, Mattie had conveniently remembered she needed to get some things done. And I had been conveniently dragged along to be her little helper.
Truth was, I could moan and complain all I wanted, but it was nice feeling useful after the past few days of being a recluse, stuck in that basement guest room with no real obligations. On top of that, the lodge was beautiful and cozy, just as I’d remembered it from my stay here for Mattie’s wedding. The high-pitched ceilings. The massive wood-burning fireplace in the center of the lobby. The endless natural light spilling in from the windows during golden hour. It wasn’t a bad place to spend time. It was easy to see how my sister had taken a few steps into this place and never left.
Mattie pulled a few pieces of paper off the printer; her eyes scanned them over before she stapled them together. “I told you, I’ve got a table saved for us. I just needed to finish up a few things first.”
“And get free labor out of your sister.”
She eyed me guiltily. “I wasn’t lying when I said we were short-staffed. Besides, if you work more than twenty hours, I can add you to the payroll.”
“I will not be working more than twenty hours.” But even as the words left my mouth, they held little resolve. Mattie was right. Other than job searching, I didn’t have a whole lot going on right now. If she wanted me to help out at the lodge, was I really going to say no in favor of wasting away all day in my shabbiest pajamas?
“Am I seeing double?” An older woman with graying hair swept into a bun wearing a worn cable-knit sweater stood at the reservation desk.
“Bev!” Mattie greeted her cheerily. “You remember my sister, Frankie. Frankie, you remember Giles’s Aunt Bev.”
“Of course.” I smiled up at the woman.
“Your sister putting you to work already, huh?” Bev pulled down her oval-framed glasses.
I pouted and shot Mattie a look. “I was lured here under the false pretense of wine and cheese.”
Bev made a tsking noise. “And now she’s got you working like a dog. Sounds like Mattie.”
“I’m finishing up a few things,” she insisted again, placing the papers she’d printed into a folder. “Besides, Frankie wanted to help.”
Bev and I exchanged a knowing look.
“Regardless if that’s true or not, we’re happy to have any help we can get. It’s been a real challenge getting seasonal workers this year.”
Even though I knew Bev had no reason to lie to me, this all still felt like some elaborate scheme my sister had concocted to make sure I didn’t feel disoriented and restless with my current state.
“I’m here if you need me,” I offered.
Bev tipped her head in acknowledgment. “I’m sorry about your job. That’s tough,” she said.
Even though I hadn’t expected her to bring that up, I took the stray comment like a champ and forced myself to appear unshaken. “It’s alright. Life happens.”
Bev shifted her weight and the kindness in her eyes almost made me waver. “Just because life happens doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. You feel what you need to feel, okay?”
Her words instantly brought heat to my eyes. It was like she knew I had fallen asleep the past two nights crying my eyes out. Change was hard for me. But change out of my control? This was really throwing me for a loop.
“Thanks, Bev.”
Mattie looked between the two of us, her eyes softening before Bev gave a curt nod toward the entrance into the restaurant, Marie’s. Beyond the giant fireplace at the center of the lobby, there was a floor-to-ceiling opening that led into the bustling lounge. The murmur of distant conversations and the clink of wine glasses floated all the way to the reception desk.
“If you’re really serious about working here temporarily, Marie’s has been absolutely slammed lately. We’re getting more visitors than normal this time of year, and we just had three people quit on us to work at a new brewery in the next town over. My daughter-in-law, Erin, used to help out a lot, but with her gone, too, we’re really struggling. Hell, I’ve even taken over running the bar most nights.”
Me, a bartender? Now that was something I’d never pictured for myself. But since I wasn’t in a position to say no, I said, “I’m at your service.”
“Marie’s? Really?” Mattie sounded nervous. “The only thing you know about bars and restaurants is how to order takeout.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said dryly. “Weren’t you the one who wanted me to help out?”
“I thought you’d be behind the desk.” Mattie gestured to where I was currently sitting.
Bev threw a hand up. “Please. Frankie will be fine, and we need the help. I didn’t know how to make a basic cocktail, and now I’m back there every night slinging drinks. It’s exciting. Plus, a great way to get your mind off things.”
She gave me a small wink and I smiled gratefully. Mattie was right. I had absolutely zero experience with bartending or customer service, but I could learn, right? Besides, I could only stress about job applications for so many hours of the day. I needed something else to keep me busy before I suffered from a complete mental breakdown.
“Sounds perfect,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Mattie asked.
Something about the way my sister insisted I couldn’t do this made me want the job that much more.
“When should I start?” I asked.