Spreading Sunshine

Chapter 5

"Come on, please let me do it."

"No, ma'am. I cannot allow you to do that."

"Pretty, pretty please," I begged, putting on the most innocent puppy dog face I could muster. "I promise I won't tell."

She looked physically pained to turn me down. She shook her head and said sorrowfully, "I'm sorry. You're a guest here and it won't be right."

"If I can't do it by myself, can I at least help?" I asked hopefully.

Genevieve smiled broadly. "That can certainly be arranged," she said, handing me a bowl to mix the batter.

"Yay!" I jumped up and down on the spot. "So how long have you been working here?"

She paused from squeezing fresh oranges to scratch her head. "Wow. Um, a little over twenty five years, I believe."

I let out a low whistle. "Wowie! That's a long time. You must really love it here to stay for so long." Opening the fridge, I scanned the shelves for all the necessary ingredients to make my special omelet. I grabbed some tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, sausage and of course, lots of cheese.

"I do. The Carters have always been lovely to me and now they're like family. I couldn't have asked for a better job." She effortlessly poured the pancake mixture on the griddle in a perfect circle. "I even had the privilege of watching Vincent grow up right before my eyes which was a blessing by itself since I don't have any children."

I nodded, the wheels turning in my head as I realized Genevieve would be the perfect source of information to answer all my Vincent-related questions. I contemplated bombarding her with my curiosity and wondered if she would even be willing to disclose any first-hand information.

There was only one way to find out.

"Genevieve...I would like to ask you something but I'm afraid you won't answer." I whisked the eggs while waiting for the pan to heat up.

"That's never stopped you before." She laughed. "Go on. Ask away."

"Well, um... I was wondering if..." Why was this so difficult? The great scholarship winner could not even form a simple question, I chided myself.

"Spit it out, honey. I'm not getting any younger," she joked, while flipping the pancakes.

"What does Vincent like?" I mentally cursed myself for how stupid that sounded. Her head shot up and she faced me with a raised brow. I quickly added, "I mean, what does he like to do or what makes him happy." I rambled on when Genevieve said nothing but simply smiled. "Because I'm sure you've noticed his glum state since you've obviously been here longer than I have and I was wondering what would be a good idea to uh...cheer him up?"

She smiled and I felt as if she knew something I didn't. "That's so sweet of you," she said, pinching my cheek lightly.

"The beach. He loved to visit the beach. Mr. Daniel and Mr. Vincent would often take many trips, each to a different place and everywhere he went, he'd collect some sand as a token." After plating the food, she leaned against the counter with a wistful look. "But now...ever since his father's death, he refuses to even drive near one. It gets him so upset.

"I remember how excited he would be when he came home. Eager to show me the new addition to his collection." She shook her head. "I know you have good intentions but be careful. Mr. Vincent is a good man but he dislikes when others think he's some sort of charity case that requires 'fixing'. So choose your words wisely and beware of his dreadful temper."