Once Upon a Summertime (6 page)

“Excuse me,” she said in a formal tone. “Am I interrupting you?”

“That's okay.” Shawna smiled as she extinguished her cigarette. “But good news—Mickey and I are back together again. We ironed things out.”

“I'm so happy for you,” she said in a chilly tone. “If you don't mind, I need to have a word with Mickey.”

“Nothing you can say to me that Shawna can't hear,” Mickey said with a defiant look in his eye.

“Okay then.” Anna nodded. “Mickey, you are fired.” She waited.

“You can't fire me.” Mickey stood up and glared at her.

“I'm the manager,” she pointed out. “I can fire you.”

“On what grounds?” he demanded.

“You are not doing your job.” She held up her fingers and listed the things he had failed to do.

“But I was about to do that,” he argued.

“That's what you always say.” She frowned. “Or else you lie to me and tell me you have already done it—when you know you haven't.”

“You're not being fair,” he protested.

“It's not fair for you to pretend you're an employee here, Mickey, when you clearly have no intention of actually working.”

“You can't talk to me like that.” Mickey turned to Shawna. “You heard her, didn't you? You'll back me in this, won't you?”

Anna pointed at Shawna. “You're already on probation, Shawna. And I just caught you smoking on motel property too.”

“Are you firing Shawna too?” Mickey demanded.

Anna shrugged. “Sure. Why not just get it over with?”

“You can't do—”

“I just did,” Anna told them. “Please get your things and leave the premises immediately.” She turned and walked away, feeling a bit like an evil employer. As she entered the building, she could feel her hands shaking. She hurried back to the reception area, starting to question herself. She felt worried that she had handled it all wrong. Worse than that, she felt worried that she wasn't cut out for management. Because really, if she couldn't handle this kind of stress at the Value Lodge, how could she expect to handle it in New York?

Not long after the registration hour ended,
the motel owners showed up. “Rich will watch the reception area,” Sharon briskly told Anna. “You will come with me.”

Anna simply nodded. She had been expecting this. Mickey had obviously gone whining to his aunt, complaining about how Anna had been unfair. Now Sharon was here to force Anna to take him back. She would make excuses and promise that he would do better. Just like she'd done before.

Sharon closed the door to the staff room, then turned to look at Anna. “Mickey told me what happened.”

“I'm sure he told you
his
version of what happened.”

“Not only his version,” Sharon corrected, “but Shawna's as well.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, they both claim that you have been too hard on all the staff. They say that you are always complaining about the motel and how cheap it is and how no one works hard enough. It sounds as if you have created a very hostile work
environment for everyone. It sounds as if the guests have even mentioned it.”

Anna blinked. “You're kidding.”

“No, I am not.” Sharon firmly shook her head. “I've tried to overlook it in the past when you and Mickey locked horns. But I'm afraid the time has come to let you go, Anna.”

“Let
me
go?”

“Yes. I know your grandmother and I are old friends, but I'm sure she'll understand. We gave it a good try. Some people just aren't cut out for management.”

“But I—”

“I'll admit that I was taken in by your fancy college degree and your pretty face, but it's been a mistake from the get-go. I can see that now.”

“But I never—”

“I didn't come here to argue with you.” Sharon held up her hand like a stop sign. “Rich is cutting you a check for two weeks' pay. He said it's in your contract. If I had my way I'd—”

“I can't believe this.” Anna was pacing back and forth in the small room. “You are firing
me
? Because I expected employees to care enough to do their best here? Simply because I've tried to make this motel a better place for—”

“Make this a
better
place?” Sharon looked offended. “There is nothing wrong with the Value Lodge, Anna. We serve thousands of happy customers each year. You obviously don't understand how an establishment like this is best operated.”

“Obviously not.”

“Blame it on your youth and inexperience.” Sharon slowly shook her head in a dismal way, as if Anna was beyond help.
“For the time being, Rich will return to managing, until we find your replacement. Someone who understands the way a motel like this should be run.”

Anna forced a stiff smile. “I wish you good luck with that.”

Sharon narrowed her eyes. “I'm sorry I won't be able to offer you a letter of recommendation.”

Anna felt a chill run down her spine. “But I've done my job to the best of my ability, and I've never had—”

“You've been fired, Anna. Do you not get it?”

Anna felt angry tears filling her eyes, but she was determined to keep Sharon from witnessing her cry. “You don't have all the facts,” Anna told her. “If you did, you wouldn't do this.” She turned and walked out of the room. Rushing past one of the maids that she'd just put on probation, she went straight to the reception area, grabbed up her purse and a few belongings, and without saying a word to anyone, she left.

As she hurried home, Anna felt certain she had never been so humiliated in her life. To be falsely accused and treated like she'd been in the wrong, and then to be fired with no recommendation for her next job? It was just too much! With tears of frustration streaming down her cheeks, Anna didn't want to be seen by anyone as she walked down Main Street. She took a side street instead, but as she got closer to her grandmother's apartment complex, she wished she had someplace else to go—a private place where she could have a good cry.

Thankfully, Grandma wasn't home. Anna went straight to her little powder room bathroom, and after closing the door, she sat down on the toilet seat and proceeded to sob. Using toilet paper to blow her nose and wipe her tears, she allowed herself to just cry it all out. This was all so unfair,
so wrong. Two years of her life—and for what? Why had it happened like this? What could she have done differently? What would she do next?

Finally, she felt cried out. She tossed a big ball of toilet paper into the wastebasket and splashed cold water on her face. It was time to put on her pragmatic hat. She had to figure this thing out. There must be a way to fight the unjustness of her situation. She imagined going back to the motel and gathering up accounts from other employees—not the disgruntled ones but the ones who liked and respected her. At least she thought they did; she hoped they did. She could present their testimonies to Sharon and Rich, pleading her case. Not to get her job back but simply to garner a recommendation for her future.

Yet she knew it would still come down to her word against Mickey's, and Mickey was family, whereas she was not. Besides, was it really fair to drag the other employees into this? To put their jobs and livelihoods on the spot for her sake? Most of the dependable employees needed their income just to put food on their tables and a roof over their heads. No, she couldn't do that.

Feeling like it was useless, she finally emerged from the powder room and sat down on the sofa, attempting to think. What should she do? Where should she go? Without references from her last two years of work, it seemed unlikely she could get a job—certainly not a good one—in the hospitality industry. But one thing she knew for sure: as much as she loved her grandmother, she did not want to remain here in Springville. Whether she liked the circumstances or not, it was clearly time to move on. The question was, where should she go?

She was just taking off her work clothes when she heard her iPhone ringing in her purse. Wondering if it might possibly be Sharon—perhaps someone had spoken out in Anna's defense—she grabbed it up to see. To her surprise, it was Marley.

“Sorry to call you while you're at work,” Marley said quickly. “But Max just got back to me, and it sounds like he's arranged for you to meet with Vincent Newman.”

“The owner of the SoHo hotel?” Anna asked eagerly. “Seriously?”

“Yes. Max wants to know if you can get to New York by Saturday morning at ten.”

“You're kidding! Mr. Newman wants to meet with me in person?”

“It's the only way he'll hire anyone. He has to see them face-to-face.”

“I, uh, I don't know if I can—”

“Anna, if you want a chance at this job, you have to go there and see him in person,” Marley insisted.

“I'd love a chance at a job, it's just that—”

“I can probably get you a reduced airfare rate, but I need to do it ASAP,” Marley told her. “You can stay in my room, since I'll still be here.”

“That's very generous—”

“So tell me you'll do it,” Marley said. “I'll arrange for your flight and everything, but you have to want it.”

“I do want it. But I—”

“No buts. And sorry I can't talk. Two of our waitresses are out with some kind of bug today and we're short-staffed.”

Anna considered offering to lend a hand at the café. After all, she was jobless now.

“You've got to do this, Anna. I know you're miserable at that old fleabag motel. This is your big chance. It's like fate. But to be there in time for the interview, you have to fly out on Friday. Are you in or not?”

“I'd love to go to New York and get the job, but—”

“Great. I'll send you the ticket information as soon as I have time to book it. But now I gotta go.”

Before Anna could get in another word, Marley hung up. Feeling slightly dizzy, not to mention dazed and confused, Anna sank down on the sofa and attempted to sort out her jumbled thoughts. In the end all she could do was sit there and slowly shake her head. What was she getting herself into?

Grandma was barely through the door before Anna began telling her the whole story of getting fired from the Value Lodge. Sparing no details, she unloaded the whole thing, and then she apologized. “I know you're good friends with the Morgans, and I'm really sorry if I've put you in a bad position. But Sharon is determined to believe Mickey over me. He's her nephew, and she's got a giant blind spot where he is concerned.”

Grandma waved her hand. “Oh, I'm not that good of friends with Sharon. Rich and your grandpa used to play golf together. But the truth is, I always thought Sharon was a little snooty. As if she's superior to the rest of us just because she owns that silly motel. Trust me, there's nothing Sharon can do to make me feel one way or another, Anna.” She patted Anna's cheek. “I'm just sorry you got caught in the crossfire. From what you've told me, that no-good nephew of theirs deserved to be fired. You were just doing your job.”

“Thanks, Grandma.”

“What difference does it make?” Grandma set her handbag on the bench by the door. “You wanted to get that job in New York anyway.”

Anna bit her lip, wondering if she should mention Sharon's statement about not giving her a recommendation. Perhaps this was something that was better left unsaid.

“Maybe it's just a divine intervention.” Grandma grinned. “God's way of pointing you in a new and better direction.”

Anna told Grandma about her phone call from Marley.

“Well, there you have it. It's like they say, when life shuts a window, God opens a door.” She chuckled. “Or something like that.”

Just then, Anna's phone rang again. “It's Marley,” she told Grandma. “She's helping to arrange things. I need to take this.”

Anna never had a chance to tell Marley about getting fired from the Value Lodge or that she would have no recommendation from the Morgans. She convinced herself it was simply because there hadn't been time. Marley had monopolized most of their conversations by telling Anna how to print out her boarding pass, how to get around in New York, what she should wear for her interview, and directions to the apartment Marley shared with the other flight attendants.

Anna told herself that she'd tell Marley the whole truth about her job situation eventually, but for now they were both just too focused on getting Anna set to go. She wanted to believe that was true, but a part of her knew she was keeping her mouth shut simply because she was ashamed.
It stung to think she'd been fired. It hurt to think of how unfair it had been. How it might have ruined her chances at succeeding in New York.

Even so, she told herself as Grandma drove her to Indianapolis on Friday morning, even if Vincent Newman was disappointed in her references—or lack of them—she still wanted to do this. She wanted to see New York. She would use her week there to look around and possibly find another job. Even an entry-level job at a chain hotel would be better than being stuck in Springville and the Value Lodge. And as signs for the Indianapolis airport came into view, Anna reminded herself,
This is
an adventure!

“You really don't mind flying?” Grandma looked worried as she pulled up to the passenger drop-off curb.

“It's not my favorite thing,” Anna admitted. “But it will be worth it. I know it will.”

Grandma leaned over to kiss Anna's cheek. “I'll trust God for your safety. But you call me when you get there, okay?”

Anna kissed her back. “I will.”

Grandma let out a sigh. “You're a brave girl, Anna. And a smart girl.” She smiled. “I always knew you'd go far.”

“Beyond Springville?”

Grandma laughed. “Yes. Beyond Springville.”

Anna thanked her again as she gathered her carry-on and purse, and then, waving good-bye, she turned toward the terminal. It felt so surreal being here like this. Just days ago she'd been on her way to the Value Lodge, feeling like her life was stuck on a dead-end street. Now she was on her way to New York City. However, as she took her place at the end of a long security line, she was fully aware that she was
probably on a fool's errand. Interviewing for a high-level job with no references? What was she thinking? Still, she decided, it was better than being stuck in Springville, moping around and feeling sorry for herself. At least she would get to see the Big Apple.