Author's Note: The third chapter. Thank you, Courtesy, for reviewing. You seem the only one who likes my story. And for you, I shall persevere! In this chapter, I have a rather irked Sarah Hawkins. I am not certain whether or not I got her character down adequately, so whatever you think, tell me, okay? There is no poem in this chapter! Lucky all of you! Please, if you are reading this, review. Let me know there are people here. Oh, yes, and Constructive Criticism is more than welcomed! It is very much wanted! I would like to become better at this art! READ AND REVIEW!
"A love letter?" Isaac Granger blinked at Sarah Hawkins, obviously surprised by the news that she had just relayed. "You got a love letter?"
Sarah nodded wearily, running a hand over her head. "I found one yesterday," she told him. She dusted off one of the chairs in the dining area, where a few lingering crumbs had found a temporary berth from dinner last night.
It was morning now, a tad earlier than when most that lodged in the Benbow Inn would awaken, and Sarah and her crew were tidying up whatever they had missed in cleaning the night before. Isaac stood at the walls of the area, extinguishing the few lights that they had left on previously. Sarah stood at the tables, cleaning off any remaining particles that had been ignored. Anthony went from place to place, fixing floral arrangements, straightening chairs, and doing several other small things that might add to the pleasant ambiance that the Inn exuded. Different crew members passed in and out of the area, dusting and wiping.
Anthony's ears twitched upon hearing Isaac's question, and he turned from his place at a nearby table. "Unbelievable," he said, putting a hand to his face. "You received another one?"
"You knew about this?" Isaac asked, turning to Anthony indignantly.
The Canid cast the assistant manager a look that seemed somewhat unfriendly. "Yes," he answered at length, the politeness in his voice sounding slightly strained. "I was there when Mrs. Hawkins received her first."
Isaac seemed shocked at this news. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" He glanced at Sarah for an answer, but received nothing but a worn-out stare.
"Perhaps Mrs. Hawkins didn't want anyone who wasn't close to her to know about it," Anthony suggested, guiding a chair into a more aesthetic position. He did it in such a way that it seemed he wasn't at the moment concerned with what he was doing, but with something else.
Isaac grimaced at the idea. "That doesn't make any sense," he replied, brow furrowed in a piqued expression. "I'm her assistant manager; as far as rank is concerned, and even if it wasn't, I'm closer to Sarah than you are."
"What does it matter?" Anthony mumbled audibly, turning to straighten out a simple array of flowers that sat on the table beside him. "You're so loud, the whole world would've known weeks ago."
Isaac jumped into a belligerent stance, an angry growl escaping his large mouth. "Why you—"
Anthony faced the Terran coolly, a cold expression on his pale face. "Why I what?"
"Look here, you son of a--"
"Will you two stop it!" Sarah exclaimed suddenly, her voice so frighteningly irked it made the two workers jump. Once the two had her attention, she took a seat at the table she had just finished preparing and placed her head tiredly onto the palm of one hand. "Right now, you are both giving me an incredible headache."
"Well, I—" Anthony started, only to be interrupted by Sarah yet again.
"Drop it, Bronson," she snapped brusquely, glancing up from her place in irritation. "The only reason that you know about the love note is because you happened to walk by my bedroom when I found it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have told anyone. It's my own business, and it was my choice to tell Isaac just now, so don't act as if he isn't trusted."
Anthony seemed rather taken aback by Sarah's snappish attitude that morning, and seemed to want to respond. But, he thought better of it, it seemed, and he bowed his head in apologetic resignation.
Isaac almost got a smug grin in before Sarah suddenly put the spotlight on his annoyances.
"And, you, Isaac," she began, "have not right to talk to Anthony as if he wasn't anything but an underling to you. You might have a higher position, but we are all part of one crew, and running this Inn is not fully one person's shoulders. You can't say who I'm closer to; you have no idea! I have no favorites, so don't consider yourself somewhere near that position! And, because of that, you shouldn't use my first name without my permission! Why do you two have to act as if you're enemies!" She sighed at length, then rested her head on the table.
Isaac was quiet for a while, letting the pointed words sink in. It was strange for him to hear Sar— Mrs. Hawkins talk so harshly. But, he thought almost ashamedly, she was correct on most points. He let out an acquiescent breath. "You're right," he muttered. "I'm sorry."
"I am too," Anthony said. His feelings were virtually the exact same as Isaac's had been. "What you said was true; I feel shame at thinking otherwise."
Sarah looked up for a moment, perusing the sad expressions on her worker's faces, then shook her head, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Look," she began. The two flinched, as if expecting some other sort of chastising, but Sarah disappointed this anticipation. "I'm sorry," the woman said, lifting herself up. "I'm just a bit stressed right now... What with the Benbow getting busier by the minute, I need as much help as I can get... and four love notes falling into my lap in the past month—"
"You got four love letters?" Isaac interrupted, that familiar shocked expression falling onto his large face. He glanced at Anthony, who caught the look, but only returned it with a shrug.
"I was never informed," he admitted. "The last I knew about was the first she had received."
"So, we were both in the dark," Isaac pointed out, a friendly chuckle exploding from his lips. "Guess I shouldn't have made such a fuss about it. Sorry, buddy."
Anthony was silent for a moment after the apology. It seemed that he was wondering whether or not this man had been serious upon saying it, and if he should return it as well. But, before his quiet became too awkward, he uttered an apology of his own, and gave Isaac his familiar smile.
"But really, Mrs. Hawkins, four love letters?" Isaac crossed his arms before his chest. "And this is the first you told me about them?"
"It didn't bother me as much the first two times," Sarah confessed. "I thought it was just some prankster trying to be as annoying as possible."
"And now...?" Isaac asked.
"Now?" Sarah repeated, shaking her head. "I don't know, now. But I'm getting a lot more uncomfortable about this."
Isaac nodded his head, understanding the discomfort that Sarah felt about the whole situation. It was, after all, an unusual one, at least, for her.
"Maybe you should alert the constabulary," Anthony suggested, a worried look taking his face. "The worst that we have to face in this predicament is a stalker... and I don't think you'd want one of those any time soon."
"Of course not," Sarah acceded. She stood up. "But, I don't think I'm going to call the police just yet..."
"If you're feeling uncomfortable about it, Mrs. Hawkins," Anthony began, approaching her slowly, "I suppose it would be best to tell them... perhaps they can have a small patrol about the Benbow at night to ensure that no danger comes to you."
"Yeah," Isaac agreed, nodding his head vigorously. "And, if they see the guy coming, they can catch him!'
"Seeing police hanging around the Benbow like that would make a lot of my customers uncomfortable," Sarah said, yet again shaking her head. "No, I think I'll do a little bit more investigating before I let that happen."
"You sure, Mrs. Hawkins?" Isaac asked, biting his bottom lip unsurely. "I think you should do what Anthony said, but, hey, it's your call."
"No," Sarah said quickly, her mind made up. "I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable here at the Benbow."
Anthony took her hand for a moment, looking down at its long fingers, feeling the calluses caused by years of hard work and heated endeavors. He frowned. "But," he began quietly, "doesn't this make you uncomfortable, Mrs. Hawkins? Doesn't it bother you?"
Sarah stopped, staring at Anthony, her eyes glimmering suddenly with uncertainty.
"That's right," Isaac said, putting a large, concerned hand upon her shoulder. "What about you?"
Sarah turned to look at Isaac, noting the obvious worry that took his features, and wondered whether or not her decision was right or not. It seemed that if she didn't alert the authorities, they would be more uncomfortable about the situation than she would. And, did she want that? But, she didn't want to concern her customers, the rest of her crew, or the constabulary about such a trifle of a problem...
"I'm sorry guys," she said at last. "But, I can't do that. Not yet, at least. If I feel any worse next time, I'll be sure to do it, but right now... I can't."
She shook her head.
"After all," she said, looking up at the flight of stairs that led to the Benbow's rooms, "the customer always comes first."
Isaac lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head doubtfully. "Well," he began, "If you say so, Mrs. Hawkins."
"Come on," she said, beckoning them toward the kitchen, a masking smile taking her face. "The guest's will be waking up soon. We'll have to be ready for them."
A/N: I hope that the story was appreciated! Silver shall be coming into the story after... two or three more chapter, I estimate. I'm not quite certain, and changes can come about, can't they? Well, good people, REVIEW!