Friday
The bus jolted as it rolled over patches of ice in the road. Lincoln watched as they passed by elaborately decorated houses. The bus turned down Franklin Avenue before coming to a complete stop. Lincoln tightened his jacket against the cold before stepping off the bus with Lynn, Lucy, the Twins and Lisa.
They walked up the porch, shook the snow and ice off their boots and stepped inside. Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch with Lily being cradled in Moms arms. Leni, Luna and Luan were standing between the fireplace and the TV.
"Hey, what's going on?" Lynn asked.
"Me and Mom wanted to call a family meeting," Dad answered.
"Is Mommy having another baby?" Lola asked.
"No, not a chance," Dad said. Mom stamped her foot down on Dad's shoe causing him to wince before continuing.
"I got the job as caretaker of the Royal Woods Spa!"
Silence. "So?" Lola asked.
"While Dad looks over the hotel we have the entire place to ourselves," Mom explained.
The kids erupted into excited chatter about this new development. Christmas at the resort? And all to themselves? A dream come true!
"When are we leaving?" Lincoln asked
"Today," Dad answered. "Oh by the way, the inside pool is heated so bring your swim clothes!"
The kids rushed upstairs to their rooms to pack their bags, leaving Mom and Dad alone with Lily.
"I'll go get Lily's things packed," Mom said as she stood up from the couch.
"I'll go get some Christmas decorations for the hotel. We'll meet up in twenty minutes."
Leni pulled her suitcase out of the closet and placed it on the bed. She flipped off the latch and let the other fall over. She then began to fit her dresses, nightwear and swim suit inside. After that she looked around for something else to bring to the resort.
She picked up some holiday themed issues of 16 and ½ off her dresser and slid them into one of the pockets on the side of the suitcase. She also packed her small camera in case there were any stunning shots of the snow capped mountains.
She then got an idea; she could make a new christmas dress at the hotel. She went over to her sewing station, unplugged the machine and placed it in her suitcase. Feeling that she had packed everything she needed she closed the suitcase and reset the latch before rolling it out of her room.
Luan lifted up her pillow and pulled out her Christmas joke book, a masterpiece of humor she had spent the greater part of the year developing just for this season. She placed it on top of her already stacked clothes in her suitcase.
"What's that?" Luna asked as she placed her guitar in its travel case.
"It's my Christmas joke book. I've spent day and night working on it."
"For how long?"
"Since the beginning of the year."
"Shouldn't you have been doing, I don't know, school work with that time?"
"No, it's all good. After all, the chance to use this only comes once a year!"
"Is that why it's so thick?"
"It also doubles as a prank guide book. Now that we've got the whole hotel and the surrounding area to ourselves, the possibilities are endless!"
Luna used the toe of her boot to pull her suitcase closer to her. "You're not going to go on a pranking trip are you?"
"What? Me? Never. I'll more likely have to use this stuff on Lynn if there's a packing day."
"Yeah, you've got a point. At least we can hide in our rooms if that happens."
Luan looked around to see what Luna was packing. "What are you bringing?"
"On top of my clothes and guitar I'm also bringing some piano music. There's a grand piano on the ground floor and I haven't played on one in a while."
"Then you might want to take a vacation to the Florida Keys instead," Luan punned. Luna chuckled a bit. "Ok, that was funny."
Lynn crammed her clothes as far into the suitcase as possible before she stuffed it full of sports gear. Lucy, who had already finished packing, watched her stick more things into the case before forcing it shut. She sat on the bed next to her suitcase and looked over to Lucy.
"You're already finished packing?"
"Yes."
"What'd you bring besides clothes?"
"Books and my poem book."
"What are you going to do, write about winter? Winter is just snow to play in and cold temperatures."
"Actually, no. I can write about how it symbolizes the literal end of things. How the warmth of the summer is replaced by darkness and the cold. About how everything that lived and thrived before met its inevitable demise."
Lynn looked at her funny. "You're a real ray of sunshine, you know that?"
Lucy smirked. "I try my best."
Lynn tugged the suitcase off the bed and onto the floor. "Last one downstairs is a rotten egg," she said as she ran away with the suitcase rolling after her. Lucy watched her disappear around the corner before walking out herself.
Lincoln debated to himself whether he should bring his walkie-talkie with him. It would be nice having someone to talk to but he wasn't sure he would be in range. He decided to bring it anyway in case he needed the batteries. He tossed it into his suitcase and sifted through his desk for his stash of quarters to use in the game room at the hotel. He pulled out the jar and gingerly placed it on top of the clothes.
Lincoln closed the suitcase and rolled it out of his room. He carried it downstairs and outside to Vanzilla. He threw open the back and slid his suitcase inside. Now he had to get his sled for the snow mounds at the resort. He walked into the garage and saw Dad pulling down boxes of Christmas decorations from the shelves.
"Hey Dad," Lincoln said.
"Hey Lincoln. What're you doing here?"
"Looking for my snowboard. Have you seen it anywhere?"
"Should be somewhere around here." He removed a box labeled Candy Canes before saying, "Found it." He handed it over to Lincoln. "Thanks Dad." He started for the door before looking back at the stack of boxes that had accumulated at Dad's feet.
"Hey Dad, why don't we just stack the boxes on my sled and pull it over to Vanzilla?"
"Why thank you Lincoln. You really are the man with the plan." They both stacked the boxes onto the sled and Lincoln tugged it over to Vanzilla. Dad began putting the boxes into the back. "Thanks Lincoln. Just head back inside and I'll get you when it's time to leave."
"Okay Dad." Lincoln turned back to wait in the warmth and comfort of the house.
"You've seen my shovel?"
"Under your bed." Lana stuck her foot under the bed and slid out her trusty shovel. She put in her suitcase along with the numerous tonka trucks already there.
"Have you seen the jump rope?"
"Already packed it," Lana answered. She looked over to Lola who had her suitcase stuffed to the brim with her stuffed animals.
"What are you most excited for?"
"Being out in all that snow. And the woods! Maybe I'll get a new pet for Christmas, or finally catch one of Santa's reindeer!"
"I'm excited to decorate the hotel. The whole place to my-, ourselves. I'll be queen of the castle!"
"You being queen sounds scary, where were you two months ago?"
"Say that again and I'll lock you away in the basement when we get there."
"Sounds good enough to me. All those pipes and rats to play with!"
Lola made a retching noise. Lana giggled at her twin's disgust. "Cheer up Lol's, if you don't lock me up we can build snow castles out front!"
Lola cleared her throat. "Okay, okay. Just don't bring up rats again and we'll be fine."
Lisa emptied her closet of items that could be used for scientific endeavors at the hotel. With them being miles away from civilization nothing would interfere with the forest's natural environment, a perfect place to study natural phenomena.
She slid a thermometer and a notebook into her suitcase as Mom came in holding Lily. She set Lily down in her crib before beginning to pack her things. As she began packing Lily's building blocks and other toys Lily began pointing at her tricycle saying, "Tricycle!"
"What's that sweetie, you want to bring your tricycle?"
"Yes!" she said.
"Okay. But before we leave you need to stay nice and warm." Mom pulled out Lily's lavender parka and stuffed her inside putting on her boots and gloves. She carried Lily's suitcase and tricycle out of her room, downstairs and out the door, followed by Lisa and Lily.
Mom opened the door to Vanzilla where the rest of the family was waiting. She placed Lily in her seat and sat down in the passenger seat. Dad turned on the engine and pulled out of the driveway and onto the street, heading for Royal Woods Spa.
They arrived at the resort as the sun began to dip behind the snow dusted hills to the west. Lynn Sr. pulled Vanzilla up to the hotel under the cement awning at the front. A few cars remained on the sides of the roundabout pulling away one by one.
Lynn Sr. put the car in stop and stepped out. The rest of the family followed suit, pulling out their luggage and wheeling it inside. Mr. Jeffery was waiting at the reception desk.
"Hello Mr. Loud, Mrs. Loud." He looked past his shoulder to the mass of kids heading towards the elevator bank. "They all yours?"
"Each and every one of them."
"Well then, on to business. Me and the rest of the staff will be gone in about an hour's time, you wouldn't know we were here at all." He pulled out a keychain. "And here are the keys to the kingdom. Open everything in this hotel, which will come in handy." He handed the keys over to Lynn Sr. who put them in his pockets.
"Now, I believe now is the time to give you an in depth tour of the Spa before we depart." He stepped out from behind the counter and walked down the hallway. Lynn Sr. and Rita trailed after him. They passed by the doorway to the bar where one lone employee was shining the tables.
"I'd thought to let you know that during the off season we remove adult beverages from the premises during the offseason to lower the cost of insurance," Mr. Jeffery stated as they passed by. A short while later they had reached the back of the hotel to the large kitchen that served the diner.
"And here is where we cook the food for our guests. I'm sure you could appreciate the kitchen's abilities," he said to Lynn Sr.
"Oh, I am," he replied, eying the meat slicer on one of the counters. They walked over to a hallway on the far side of the kitchen with large steel doors. "These are our food supplies. There is a wide enough variety of meat, fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy for a unique meal every day while you are here. We left you a Christmas ham, eggnog, and the whole traditional Christmas meal in one of these storage units."
They walked back up to the lobby. Rita excused her to go check on the kids before leaving Lynn Sr. alone with Mr. Jeffery.
"Ah, Mr. Loud, could you come outside so I could show you one last thing?"
"Yeah," Lynn Sr. answered. They both walked outside passing Vanzilla. "You can keep your van parked here. The underground parking is going to be sealed to keep snow from falling in. You've just got to clear up the area around it."
"Got it."
"Well, that should be all. I'll be seeing you when the vacation ends." Lynn Sr. turned to walk back inside the hotel. "Oh wait, one last thing."
Lynn Sr. turned to face him. "Yeah?"
"It gets awfully cold up, especially during the night. Keep an eye on the weather and try to keep your kids inside after dark. One of our previous caretakers, Jack Fox and his family, froze to death outside."
"Oh. Well, I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. Very good." Mr. Jeffery stepped into his car and pulled out onto the street before driving away.
Lynn Sr. stepped off from the elevator onto the carpeted floor of the hallway. He walked a short distance before getting to the room he and Rita would be sharing. He opened the door and saw everybody lounging about the suite.
"Okay. Let's give you your own rooms just like at home." He pulled out nine keys. The first two he handed to Luna and Luan, the next set to Lynn and Lucy, the next to Lincoln and the next two to Lana and Lola. That left Leni, Lisa and Lily.
"Leni, Lisa? I know this is different from what you're used to, but we'll be pairing you up together."
"But," Lisa spluttered for a second before composing herself. "May I ask about the reasoning behind this decision?"
"Well, Lily might not be accustomed to the hotel and we thought it'd be best to have her be around us if she needs anything." He handed the keys to Leni.
"But, but I need by speci-, sibling," Lisa started to say before being scooped up by Leni. "Do you hear that Lisa, we get to be roommates!"
"Put me down Leni, I'm perfectly capable of walking," Lisa protested as she was carried out the door. Lynn Sr. turned his attention to Lily. "Well Lily, we're going to be spending a lot of time together. How's that sound?"
Lily giggled as he placed her in her crib. He and Rita began unpacking their things. When they were done Lynn Sr. laid down on the bed and picked up the phone on the nightstand. He dialed Lori's number and waited for her to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Hey Lori."
"Oh hi Dad. Sorry I didn't recognize you, it isn't showing your number."
"That's because I'm calling you from the Spa."
"Is Mom also there?"
"And the rest of your siblings. I got the job as caretaker of the resort over break!"
"That's good to hear! How'd you get the job?"
"The manager just showed up at the restaurant and offered me the job," Lynn Sr. said as he wrapped the coiled wire around with his other hand. "I took the job seeing what an opportunity it would be. I was calling to ask if you'd like to join us up here."
"I'd love to but I have other things planned. I'll be staying at the Bodega with Bobby for the coming week. The earliest I can come would be on Christmas day."
"Alright Lori. See you then."
"Bye," she said before hanging up on her end. Lynn Sr. placed the phone back down. The hotel was theirs, a plethora of Christmas traditions awaited and the whole family would be together in a week's time.
"Well Rita, I believe this is the beginning of a wonderful Christmas."