Episode 24: Wake Up Call

Previously:

Baby Jolie got a second chance at life.

Patrick pondered his future at the winery.

Cody Stiles came to Claypool to pay his respects.

Episode 24
Wake Up Call

    As Louisa and Suzanne bade goodbye to their last guest, Natalie began to pick up trash that had accumulated on the floor.  She looked at the leftover cake and tea sandwiches and sighed.

    “What are we going to do with all this food?”  Suzanne asked.

    “I’ll take some home,” Natalie replied. “If nothing else, I can feed some to my cat.”

    “Nothing doing!  You’re not going to feed any cats with this! Do you know how long Blaine and I slaved over these sandwiches?”

    Natalie looked dumbfounded.  “Well, uh...no...”

    “Can’t let any of these go to waste, anyway,” Suzanne said.  “I’ll fix a bag for you. Would you like some tea bags, also?”

    Natalie shook her head. “Not unless you have chai.”

    “Oh, we have chai,”  Suzanne replied. “And a few other teas.”

    “OK. I’ll have some tea bags, then.”

*****

    Cody sat on the love seat in the parlor, mind drifting to the portraits of the Carroll family lining the walls.  His eyes focused on the little girl in dark brown pigtails taking the wheel of a sailboat.

    I wonder who that is, he thought. Was it Louisa as a little girl?

    Louisa walked in with a pillow and pillowcase in hand. She was about ready to fluff it up to take upstairs when Cody approached her.

    “I’m in town for a few days and wondered if you could provide me with a place to stay,” he said.

    “Well, I’m afraid we’ve been booked for the funeral,”  she replied. “Unless--”

    “Unless what?”

    “Oh, nothing,” she said. “Give me a few minutes to think of something.”

*****

    “I’ve given it some thought,” Noelle told Ryan, “and I’d really like to try out for Canada’s Talent Showcase.” 

    “Have you thought about what you’re going to sing?”  Ryan asked.

    “I think I’d like to sing ‘Still the One’ by Shania Twain.”

    “What? No Ave Maria?”

    “That’s for church,” Noelle replied. “I thought the show wanted something more, you know, popular.”

    “That Shania song is all wrong for you!  You can’t sing country!”

    “Well, let’s hear your suggestions if you think you’re so smart!”

    “I was thinking more along the lines of Celine Dion.  Wasn’t that what the producer told you at the funeral?”

    “Celine?”

    “Maybe something in French.”

    Noelle pondered for a moment.  “OK. One of Celine’s French songs, then.”

*****


    Jeff tossed around in bed for a little while. The alarm clock next to his bed read 2:45.  In an hour and fifteen minutes, he would have to be at the studio, all dressed and ready to go.  He still wasn’t used to it yet, though he had been on the job at Breakfast in Canada for all of three weeks.  He was also still getting used to driving to work rather than walking or taking the subway since the subway didn’t start its daily run until five-thirty.

    What was he dreaming?  That he would call another victorious game for the Cannons?  Or that he would go to Hollywood to find a different kind of fame?  Or that he would flub the interview with Patrick MacPherson later this morning?  Whatever he was dreaming, it wouldn’t keep him asleep for much longer.

    As the alarm beeped, he mutttered a few choice words under his breath and slammed the snooze button.  Just fifteen more minutes--please? Just fifteen more.

    Fifteen minutes later, he bolted for the shower.