Page 26 - The Letter By Ann Newhouse

‘You can contact me at the Penny Hill B&B’, I advised Mr. Harris.
I stepped into the bar to be greeted heartily by Penny.
‘Good day Amber, how are you? I hope this means you are staying in Puddleville?’ ‘I have just agreed on purchasing a beautiful cottage not far from here’ I announced with joy.
Paul appeared from the back kitchen ‘Did I hear you say you just bought a cottage?’ , he asked.
‘Yes! It’s called Brook Cottage’.
‘Brook Cottage?’, Penny repeated.
‘Do you know it?’, I asked.
‘I do’, Penny replied then made an excuse to go on the floor to attend a table. Paul pretended not to notice his mother’s quick exit from the conversation.
‘Sit by the fire Amber I’ll serve you there’, he smiled and motioned toward an empty table, ‘I have a break coming, I’ll join you in a moment’.
I nodded and waited for Paul to join me.
‘I hope you can give me the room indefinitely, I don’t know how long the builders will take, it could be about three weeks or so’, I informed him when he sat down a little later.
‘Of course,’ he said giving me a beaming smile.
I began excitably telling him all about the cottage and the work that needed to be done.
Penny replaced Paul when he left to go back to work as she was taking her break. ‘Congratulations Amber, this means you will be here in the B&B for Christmas!’
I must have looked shocked because Penny touched my arm and said ‘you don’t have to, but we would love to have you join us for Christmas dinner’.