The B and B
The Warm Chill
Written By Joshua King
"The supply truck's here!" Kanrik yelled from the back of the bed and breakfast. It was Friday and, as usual, the supply truck was coming just in time to save them from not having food for their customers. And, as usual, Kanrik and Armin would be doing all of the heavy lifting and moving while Hannah and Ferny moved their pens to make sure that they had gotten everything they ordered.
Their suppliers, on the contrary, were anything but usual. Former enemies of Neopia turned into honest businessmen, Captain Scarblade and Balthazar had formed Scarzar Supply Co. from the ground up using only themselves and some seed money from Ferny. Six months later, they were the sole suppliers for Hannah and Ferny's Bed and Breakfast, Kelp, and Hubert's Hot Dogs.
As Hannah and Ferny came downstairs to check on the unloading of the supplies, Scarblade sprinted from the truck and showed them something which brought a big smile to their faces.
"You're trading stocks at 245 neopoints a share? It looks like our seed money is coming back as a harvest." Ferny said with exhilaration as Scarblade sat down to get a breather.
"That's not all, Ferny. We've also been able to get a contract with the Igloo Garage Mega-Mart. We'll be their chief supplier now that most of the competition has abandoned them due to the chaotic weather up there."
Ferny nodded pleasantly as she looked over the inventory sheet and checked everything. It was then that she caught something unpleasant from the television in the main hall. The sad and distraught commotion she heard from her customers soon after confirmed her dread: a huge snowstorm was coming down from Happy Valley towards their chunk of Meridell. The weatherman was reporting that it would hit them with twelve to fifteen inches of snow and ice within the next two hours.
Thankfully, Kanrik and Armin had finished getting the food and items inside the bed and breakfast by this time. Unfortunately, they didn't have much of a chance to catch their breath. Within seconds of them putting the last box on the floor, they were nearly stampeded by Scarblade's hefty form as he took his clipboard and ran outside. He could already see snow falling and starting to cover the hood of the truck.
"I'm going to go ahead and go before it gets much worse. I'll be on channel 11 on the CB if you can get through. Keep me posted on how you guys are doing, okay?" Scarblade said quickly as he hopped into his truck and drove away.
With their own waves goodbye, all of the customers who had vehicles left for their homes. Those who were left tried to settle in as best they could, knowing that it was going to be a rough night. Ferny did her part by making hot cappuccino for everyone and getting dinner ready. Armin and Kanrik finished putting the supplies away and hurried to the shed in the back. Pulling out a large generator, they carefully carried it inside and laid it in the back corner of the kitchen.
"Good thinking, guys. Now we won't have to worry about having power even if the lines get knocked down." Hannah said with a big smile as Armin and Kanrik nodded.
"And we won't be in danger of our inventory going bad before we can start using it." Armin added with a devilish smirk.
Strangely, the next few hours in the bed and breakfast were as serene as a nativity scene. Most of the customers were looking out the windows to view the snow falling down or sitting by the fireplace peacefully. But then the weather decided that a change was needed. The sound of crashing tree limbs, unable to hold the massive weight of accumulated snow, was the first of many interruptions to the peace inside. And then, the bed and breakfast became dark, very dark. Thankfully, Hannah and her friends had prepared for the worst.
"Okay everyone, settle down now. We've got a good supply of candles, so we should be able to get light in here within a few minutes. As soon as the snowfall stops, we'll get the generator set up outside and power will be back on." Ferny encouraged as she placed a large candle in the center of the dining room table and lighted it with a match. Armin and Kanrik did the same to the tables in the lobby. This, along with the already lighted fireplace, soon had the bed and breakfast as illuminated as before the blackout. It was then that they heard the crackle of their CB radio and the familiar voice of Scarblade.
"Hannah and Ferny come in. This is Big Poppa Pirate hollering at you from the sand bowl."
"You've got Hannah here from the Eat and Sleep. We've lost power, but we're using candles to get light back in here. What are you doing in the Lost Desert, good buddy?"
"I was just trying to get as far south as possible. That and I hadn't seen Jazan and Nabile in a piece. They're getting the word out about the storm and they want to know if you guys can handle doing some relief." Scarblade said as he got Jazan on the radio.
"We've got reports from the Neopian Weather Bureau that all of Meridell and Brightvale are blanketed. King Skarl and his brother have filled both of their castles to capacity and there are still people out of their homes or trying to make it without heat."
After thinking about it a minute and getting the okay from Ferny, she got back on the radio while Ferny ordered Armin and Kanrik to prepare for more guests.
"We've got room for about sixty more people, but that's all we can house without violating our restaurant health codes." Hannah replied as Scarblade got back on the radio.
"I'll be coming over there in a few hours with some food and medical supplies from here in Qasala and also from Sakhmet. Hopefully it will be enough to get you guys through this disaster."
"Tell King Jazan and Princess Amira thank you before you leave, okay. We owe you guys a lot."
"King Jazan says that if you give him, his wife, and Princess Amira free food and board next time they're in the area, he'll call it even." Scarblade said with a laugh.
"Consider it done, Big Poppa Pirate. 10-4, over and out!" Hannah replied as she joined Armin and Kanrik in getting things ready for their new arrivals.
Late that night…
"Hannah…wake up…" Kanrik said as he rubbed her shoulder gently. Scarblade had finally arrived with the food, medicine, and people needing a place to stay. But, for Hannah, her body didn't care. It needed rest and nothing or nobody would deny it that requirement.
In the kitchen, Ferny was in a state of busyness that she had never endured before. With ninety mouths to feed and clothe and warm, she almost felt a kind of euphoria that she'd not experienced since she was a child. She was doing something good; she was making a difference in the lives of people who were in need.
For the next few days, even though the power was back on thanks to their generator, things at the bed and breakfast remained very much the same. Because of the massive amount of snow still lying on the frozen ground, few of the ninety people who had initially came to the restaurant for shelter could return to their homes and families.
Strangely though, nobody really wanted to leave. It was as if they had found paradise and they knew that the world they had left would soon call for them to return. A sort of joyous panic rose up as the patrons of the bed and breakfast waited for the snow crews and the massive army of workers to clear the roads and haul away the remnants of stripped trees.
That panic met its fulfillment exactly two weeks after the storm that had birthed it. The ninety people in the bed and breakfast who had weathered the difficulties before them together were finally able to walk back to their homes. Starting as one massive army and soon splitting off, like roots that begin a heap and end reaching out to soil and rock unknown, these ninety people carried themselves out of the bed and breakfast.
Back at that same bed and breakfast, the feelings of rapture were lost on Armin and Kanrik who took one look at the kitchen, dining hall, and main area and only saw hours of sweaty, intense labor. But for Hannah and Ferny, they saw something else. They saw memories, fulfillment, togetherness…and a handsome pile of neopoints from those customers coming back voluntarily to enjoy paradise once again…if only for a short while.
