B&B OF LOVE AND FUN-27
Hello everyone. Nice to be with you again. Thanks for all the reviews after last chapter. We had a Beryl wedding and now she and Mr Mason are on their honeymoon, which leaves Charles, Elsie and Katie in charge of the B&B. This is going to be quite a ride ;-) Hope you will like it.
Thanks to Elsie, Katie and everyone else, who were involved in the preparation of Beryl's wedding, everything was a huge success and the happily married newlyweds left for their honeymoon, leaving Charles, Elsie and Katie in charge of the B&B.
For the moment of Beryl's wedding and few days before, they didn't accept any guest reservations, but they had a phone call from Mr Dickens, who was planning to invest in some properties in the village, along with his business partner Mr Sullivan and they asked to stay in the B&B.
Elsie reluctantly agreed, asking them to come two days after the wedding, hoping, that by then, they will be able to have some rest and that she and Katie can manage kitchen stuff somehow, in spite of Beryl's absence.
Elsie would rather prefer to not have guests when Beryl was not around, but since it was ten days, she knew, that it was highly unlikely, given how popular they were these days.
She and Charles were talking about it, the night before their arrival...
"Good times are over for us...Time to get back to work, starting from tomorrow..."-Charles sighed heavily, he began to enjoy this relaxing time...
"Everything that's good is ending quite fast, doesn't it Charlie?"
"I guess so, but the thing that is best, keeps on lasting..."
"What's that?"
"Having a nice time with my beloved wife...And that is something that I never want to end..."-Charles cuddled Elsie closely, inhaling the scent of her hair...He rocked her, kissing her temples...
"You are right my love..This is the best thing that happened to us...I'm loving every minute of it..."
"So do I...I'm glad, that we have that wedding commotion behind us..."
"Me too Charles...I wonder how is Beryl?"
"I'm guessing, that she is doing the exact same thing that we are doing right now..."
"Yes, that is certain...I'm sure that they both couldn't wait for that moment to arrive..."
"You know what Els?"
"What sweetie?"
"I'm happy, that they did not spend their first night in the B&B, that instead, they came to their honeymoon, straight from the reception..."
"Why is that?"
"Because it would feel awkward, being under the same roof and knowing, that they are doing you know what..."
Elsie laughed with a pearly laugh, that Charles simply adored...
"Charlie, you are so sweet..."-She kissed the tip of his nose..."You know that they are coming back and that they will live with us under the same roof and do you know what..."
"I know that, but still...The first night is so awkward and..."
"I know and full of surprises...Of a different kind..."
"How am I suppose to understand that?!"
"Relax Charles...You remember our first night, don't you?"
"Of course I do, with every little detail..."
"So do I honey, so do I...I remember all the details, the little ones and even the ones, that were not so little..."-Elsie smiled cheekily...
"I love when you talk like that Elsie...In that case, let me remind you, how all the details look like. The little and not so little ones..."
Charles hovered over Elsie's body, wanting to show her how happy she made him...
The next day...
They were drinking coffee, trying to get their eyes opened, after a night, which was not so full of sleep, but rather full of different kind of emotions...Charles squeezed Elsie's hand, as they were nibbling their breakfast...
"Elsie, sweetheart, are you sure, that you will manage in the kitchen while Beryl is gone? I'm beginning to think, that maybe it wasn't such a good idea of those two gentlemen coming here at this time..."
"I know Charles, but they really insisted...They are going to buy some properties here and they needed a place to stay for few days...Besides, Katie knows how to manage the kitchen. She will take care of it, while you and me will do our usual duties..."
"Speaking of Katie, shouldn't she be here by now? Usually, she is the first one in the kitchen for breakfast..."
"I'm a little surprised that she is not here yet...Once I will finish eating, I will knock her door...Maybe she overslept, poor baby...She was exhausted, after all those wedding preparations..."
As soon as they finished their breakfast, Elsie headed towards Katie's room and she knocked on her door. Intrigued with a lack of reply, she decided to come inside, wanting to know, what was going on with Katie and what was the reason, why she was absent at the breakfast table...
When she entered the room, she found out, that Katie was lying on the bed, sweated on her face, pale as the ghost...
It turned out that she had a flu...With high temperature, being so weak, that she wasn't able to get up...
Elsie was terrified and she called the doctor immediately. Soon it was certain, that Katie indeed had a flu, which made it impossible for her to serve guests. She wasn't even able to get up.
Elsie received this news with calmness, but she was terrified. She took all the doctor's orders and went to the pharmacy, to buy all the medications, which the doctor prescribed.
It was now obvious, that they will have to manage on their own, with the guests coming later this afternoon.
Elsie tried to stay calm about the situation, which is more that could be said about Charles... Ever since he found out about that, he was terrfied...He realized, that the guests will have to eat Elsie's dishes and that was not a good thing in his opinion, which he didn't hesitate to express loudly.
As much as Elsie loved her husband, she was beginning to be a little upset about his behavior... The situation was difficult already and the last thing that she needed, was Charles's negativity.
She chose to ignore him and focus on the day tasks-which were to prepare two rooms for the guests and taking care of Katie in her illness..
As skilled as Elsie was, everything was going according to the plan, for a while...The rooms were prepared, Elsie made sure, that Katie ate something, even though she was really lacking appetite, but she needed to eat something, before taking her medications.
By the end of the day, Elsie alread felt exhausted, but the worst part was still ahead of her. Preparing dinner. She was hoping, that Charles will help her, the best way he can-by serving it and that once again, they will be a perfectly functioning mechanism, just like in their Downton years.
Unfortunately, she couldn't have been more wrong. Charles was terrified with the situation, convinced that it will be a one, big failure and he wasn't able to hide those feelings.
As usual, in those kind of situations, he used a well know tactic- being unkind and nasty, as a way of hiding his fears and uncertainty...
"Elsie, this should be ready by now...Those gentelmen are awaiting their dinner, they've come a long way and they are probably very hungry..."
"I know that Charles...I'm doing the best I can in those circumstances, believe me..You know that the kitchen is not my natural enviroment..."
"I think that by now everyone are very aware of that Elsie...But you need to focus tonight...This is about our B&B repuatation, so chop, chop!"
Elsie bravely tried to hold the thought, that at this moment, she would gladly hit Charles on the head with the frying pan...
"Charles, do not distract me, otherwise this dinner will be a disaster!"
Charles went back to the dining room, to ask his guests about the wine they prefer and Elsie sighed with relief, knowing, that she doesn't have to take his awful remarks anymore...
She soon served the soup and the main course, running around the kitchen like crazy...
When Charles brought back the dishes, she already knew, by looking at his face, that he didn't have the good news...
"So...Did the guests enjoyed it?"
"I would love to think that they did, but I'm afraid not...You should have seen their faces, when they were eating the soup...Are you sure, that you gave enough spices?"
"I used the same amount as in Mrs Patmore's recipe...It couldn't have been that bad Charles..."
"It was Elsie, it really was...See the dishes? They've almost not touched the main course...You must have done something wrong...I told you so many times, to learn something from Beryl...Why didn't you?"
"Because Charles Edward Carson, in case you haven't noticed, I have plenty of other duties here to do! If you are so keen for our cooking to be a succes, while Beryl is absent, why don't you try to cook for yourself?"
"Do not be ridiculous Elsie!"
"I'm being ridiculous?! I'm exausted, working hard all evening, trying to make a delicious meal and what do you do? Coming here and criticizing everything!"
"Stop shouting Elsie, they might hear you...This is not the right time, to discuss your kitchen incompetence! We need to get them dessert!"
"My incompetence you say? Well, if I'm so incompetent, then you are more than welcome, to prepare and serve dessert yourself, because I'm out of here right now!"
"Elsie, this is not a time to joke..Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here! I rather disappear right now, before some of those tasteless dishes will land on your head! Time for your own performance! Good luck Charles Carson!"
Elsie stormed off the room, grabbing her coat in a hurry, leaving Charles all alone in the battle field...
That's all for today's chapter...Oh my, Elsie was really pissed off at Charles...and who can blame her? We all know what kind of an ass...e he can be sometimes. At least now, he has a real chance of proving himself in the kitchen, again ;-) Hope that you had a good time reading this. See you soon!