Once Upon a Summertime Read Free

couldn’t bear to part with such luxurious accommodations.
    Eventually the guests began checking out. She didn’t feel too surprised when the dad from room 212 complained about the disruptive noise from the rowdies last night. She had expected this. Smiling, she pointed to his receipt—the one she’d already reprinted and adjusted earlier.
    â€œI’m so sorry for your inconvenience, Mr. Ramsay,” she said with a look of sincere concern. “As you can see, I’ve discounted your bill by twenty percent and included a discount coupon for your next visit with us. I hope that will help.” She pointed to his kids, who were waiting with his wife. “Count your blessings that your children aren’t teenagers yet.” She smiled. “I’m sure they’d never be like that anyway.” She slid the papers to him, and just as she expected, he simply nodded and thanked her. Preemptive , she thought as she told them all to have a great day. Now if she could only be preemptive when it came to her own life. Was there no action to take, nothing she could do, no way to change this dead-end route her life had taken?

2
    Anna always took her lunch break at 1: 0 0 because it was the last lull before check-in time at 3:00. Not that it would be particularly busy today since it was only Thursday. But since she’d promised to meet Marley, she promptly left at 1:00 and headed straight for Lou’s Café. Despite her earlier embarrassment, she was looking forward to catching up with her old friend. They had known each other since eighth grade, and although they’d never been best friends, they had always been good friends. Anna hadn’t actually talked to Marley since their five-year high school reunion several years ago, but as far as Anna knew, Marley was still living out her childhood dream by teaching foreign languages in an Indianapolis middle school.
    â€œI reserved us a table,” Marley said as she led Anna through the noisy café. “Right back there.”
    Soon they were seated in a corner booth that looked out the window onto Main Street. “Just like old times,” Anna said as she set her purse on the seat next to her. “It’s so great to see you, Marley.”
    â€œI know.” Marley pushed a strand of short blonde hair behind an ear. “I was so shocked to see you in town. I’d envisioned you managing some posh hotel in Dubai or Martinique . . . not the Value Lodge. I’m surprised my mom didn’t mention it to me.”
    Anna shrugged. “No offense, but I don’t really come in here much.”
    Marley laughed. “What? You’re not still into cheeseburgers and fries?”
    â€œNot so much.” Anna picked up the laminated menu. “But tell me about you, Marley. How do you like teaching? Is it everything you hoped it would be?” Anna had come prepared with a short list of questions for Marley, hoping to divert the conversation from herself and onto her loquacious friend for as long as possible. The last thing Anna wanted to do right now was to talk about her own dismal career.
    â€œI’m not teaching anymore.” Marley’s eyes twinkled. “Those middle-school monsters drove me absolutely bonkers.”
    â€œSeriously? You quit teaching?”
    â€œThat’s right.” She nodded. “And you’ll never guess what I’ve been doing the past couple years.” She waited as if she expected Anna to figure this out.
    Anna tried to think of a clever response, but for as long as she’d known her, Marley had always wanted to be a schoolteacher. “I give up.”
    â€œI’m a flight attendant.”
    â€œNo way.” Anna shook her head in disbelief. The image of her slightly intellectual friend serving ill-tempered travelers soft drinks and peanuts was just too weird. This was the sort of job that someone like Marley would’ve made fun of back in their