Love in Unexpected Places

The wind lacked its normal chill on that morning. It was the day after after Christmas, and even though the sun had not yet begun to peak the over the eastern Washington mountains, it was evident it was going to be the warmest day in the weeks. The sky had cleared of clouds and fog,  the stars were brightly visible along with the full moon.

            In the tinny one room cabin that Evelin lived in was quit. Her bed was covered in mounds of blankets.  Her cat Dante, a half Siamese lay curled next to one of the space heaters that heated the room. There had been a fire when Evelin drifted to sleep but the fire had burned its self out and took the majority of the room's heat with it out the chimney.

            On the other side of the room the wall phone began to ring shrilly. Evelin moaned in annoyance for being woken up. She scurried out of bed to get the phone nearly falling on the floor in the process, still clutching onto some of the blankets. She groped at the phone picking it up as it rung for the last time.

            “Hello,” she croaked.

            “Evelin, honey, I know it’s early, but Cara's car has a flat tire. I need to you come waitress for a few hours,” said Evelin’s mother Dominique.

            Evelin sighed, “Yeah, Mom I'll be there before we start serving breakfast.” Her mom thanked her, than the line was dead. The old grandfather clock that hung on the wall in the cabins kitchen, donged as it pronounced that it was a quarter after five.           

            She dressed to waitress The Mountain Berry Inn and Café, her family’s inn. She pulled her chocolate brown hair back in a twisted bun, pulled on her thermal hiking boots and a parka coat, and left her cabin to walk to the inn.

            The walk was a little less than a mile. Trudging through the snow at sunrise, in temperatures that tended to be bellow freezing was not Evelin's favorite activity, but she could deny the beauty of the mountains as the sun rose.

            Evelin had lived at the inn up until the previous summer. When her Mom had moved her to the cabin, it had been built by her grandparents before they had taken over running the inn. Her cabin had sat empty for years, but her mother had wanted to be able to rent out another room, so she moved Evelin out to the cabin. It nice for Evelin got to have her own space. The cabin had needed some fixing up. They had electricity run to it and it had running water.   

            Evelin's walk finished as she arrived at the inn. The down stairs lights were mostly lit. Evelin walked in through the back door, removed her parka and hiking boots, and entered the lobby it was empty except for her mother. The lobby like the rest of the inn was wooden built from the large trees that grew locally.  The lobby consisted of servile couches and chairs with a large fire place at the opposite end of the room.  

            Evelin had beat the other waitress Mandy, breakfast wouldn't be served for another half hour she walked over to her Mom.

            Dominique squeezed her oldest daughters shoulders, running the inn alone for the last three years had runs its toll on her. She looked tired her haired had become a wavy grayish black; she stood only about five foot four, and had a heavy build. She really looked nothing like Evelin who took completely after her father. she missed her husband, the father of there two children, greatly his heart attack had been a tragedy.

            There oldest daughter had filled in every way she could, and  even though they fought constantly Dominique was proud of Evelin and equally protective . She thought Evelin was more like her father everyday they both shared a mutual love of the mountains and hiking as well as matching chocolate brown eyes and hair.