Free Laura's Big Win by Michelle Tschantre'

settle in for the night. Laura
opened the duffle and extracted their night clothes, such as they
were. Limited though their wardrobe was at that point, she did
intend to maintain some semblance of civil living, as least as much
as she could, but her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by
childish squeals of delight. Afraid this dream could somehow be in
jeopardy, Laura flew to the kitchenette to find her children
staring into an open refrigerator full of snacks, including ice
cream bars.
    “Can we have one, can we have one,
pleeeese?” came the plea. Laura thought about it for a moment, and
decided ‘What the heck? If this is what it takes to ruin a dream,
it isn’t much of a dream’ “Yes, one and only one. Remember, we’re
guests here (wherever this may be, she thought), and then it’s off
to bed with you.”
    Within minutes they had devoured the
treat, went horizontal without protest, and quickly fell asleep in
comfort for the first time in days. Kids asleep, Laura explored the
large marble tiled shower, washing away the days accumulation, and
a lot of stress in the process. It took a bit of doing to learn the
shower operation, but with a little luck she figured out the three
heads operated independently and could be adjusted in about every
possible way from stream to mist, pulsate to major flood. Shower
complete, she dried off with one of the towels provided; the sheer
size and thick texture of the towels did not go unnoticed, and the
terry robe that matched the towels swathed her in comfort until she
could climb into one corner of the bed. Her next thought was left
incomplete, so fast did sleep overtake her. Somehow, 9:30 PM seemed
rather late.

Chapter 6 – The Morning
After
     
    Awakened by streaming sunlight, Jack
helped Mandy dress and led her in a very limited version of tooth
brushing and face wiping; then, curiosity overcame them and they
decided to open the door just a little bit to peek out. At that
moment, Dennis was heading to the kitchen for a morning booster
shot of caffeine and caught sight of the two peering out. “Anyone
hungry?” he repeated his question of the night before, knowing the
kids always seemed to be hungry. “Yes” again came the chorus, but
subdued enough that their mother, still sleeping soundly in the
bedroom, didn’t awaken. Dennis shushed them with a finger to the
lips, then took them in tow to the kitchen. ‘This’ he thought to
himself ‘should be a change for Doris. No sense letting her get
bored.’
    Doris Cook had worked in some really
exclusive hotels and restaurants in her career, some of the best,
places recognized for their gourmet menu and ambience. She was a
rarity, a female in charge in a male dominated profession. Her
husband, Louis, was almost equally adept in the kitchen, and at one
point had worked under his wife’s direction. Their lifelong dream
was to operate their own high end restaurant, but the means to do
so had eluded them. Louis became critically ill during one point in
their marriage, and their funds were seriously depleted. So it came
to pass that when Doris’ aged mother needed assistance, and the
money was tight, they relocated to Conyerville to care for her.
Doris hired on where she could find work, which provided needed
revenue but little in the way of a culinary challenge.
    In the early days of Ryan’s ownership
of Windmere, since there was no real kitchen staff, Ryan and Mary
occasionally took their meals at one of the assortment of
restaurants in town. Recalling their original foray to Conyerville,
Ryan found the restaurant they had formulated their offer in, and
became acquainted with the unassuming, but hugely qualified, Doris
Cook. At that point in her life, she had resigned herself more to
the hamburger end than to Chateau Briand, but it was a living. Ryan
changed all that. With Windmere, Inc. becoming a reality, he needed
expert advise on food service and an expert in the kitchen; Doris
Cook filled both needs. Wanting to