Martha loved the early hours of the morning. The world was only just waking up as she prepared a simple breakfast, humming in the tranquil silence. Now and then she heard birds stirring and starting a song of their own.
She was eager to get a start on the day. The vandalism had truly rattled poor Miriam, and she was coming down with a cold. Jonas had suggested she sleep in, to help her immune system cope. The timing was not good, as the newly completed Buttercup Room was to have its first guests. They were a nice couple celebrating the woman’s birthday with a nice trip out to see the local Amish community. A ‘return to the good days,’ as Miriam explained it.
This was just the thing Eden needed to boost morale. Martha figured that Miriam’s spirits needed lifting after the recent destruction of the door. Nevertheless, the renovations were still on schedule.
Martha was still saddened by such a senseless act. She could not understand why someone would enact such destruction. She was also worried that Sheriff Dobbs had reported that the red truck was stolen. Luckily it was undamaged and returned to its rightful owner, but why had someone stolen it and parked it just down the lane from the B&B? To scare them, maybe?
Hopefully that was the last of the issues this place would see. Martha was determined to make sure that the new guests would have the best experience any B&B could ever hope to provide. She planned to make sure the room was flawless. The menner had done a wonderful job on the renovating, so it should only be a matter opening the window to let in the country air, and a little dusting. Oh, and she needed to get fresh towels in there too.
Martha adjusted her bonnet as she headed out the door. She was going to make sure everything went well today. Rivals and vandals were no match for good service.
The morning was so pleasant, that it was tempting to take care of the garden first thing after breakfast. But today was way too important. The Buttercup Room needed that final check over before everything got busy.
She was relieved to see the temporary replacement door was intact when she got there. All the windows looked good too. Everything looked nice, peaceful and blessedly normal.
Martha dug out her key and unlocked the door. She normally entered by the back door, but ever since the antique door had been damaged, Martha checked on the temporary replacement door first thing every morning.
Almost immediately, she caught wind of a familiar scent that set her into a wave of alarm. Instead of orange oil she smelled something quite earthy, a rich, earthy smell that was certainly not supposed to be in the house. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes in the dark room as she fumbled for the light switch.
A cry of alarm escaped her lips as light flooded the room to reveal a nightmare. The lobby was covered in dirt – rather, not just dirt. Manure.
Martha covered her mouth with her hand in horror as she looked over the damage. The freshly polished table, the chairs, the floor – and then she spied the empty bag by the living room doorway. She immediately recognized the logo. It was the very fertilizer that Miriam kept for the garden.
The young woman stepped carefully, tip-toeing around the worst of the mess to try to avoid grinding it into the floor. She blinked back tears as she saw even worse chaos all over the living room. The couches, the ottomans – nothing had escaped.
Martha removed her shoes to avoid carrying the mess with her, and rushed through the rest of the B&B. To her relief everything else was untouched. She did find an open window in the living room looking out over the garden, which she figured was likely where the vandal had come in. It appeared to have been pried open.
I must call Sheriff Dobbs, Martha thought. She rushed toward the B&B phone in a panic. Who would do something like this? It was beyond her comprehension.
Martha grabbed the receiver and balanced it against her ear as she started to dial the sheriff’s number, and then froze in thought. She thought back to how the sheriff had acted the last time. And what did he do about the broken door beside make promises to look into it?
If the police get involved, they will still be here when the guests arrive, she thought.
Martha felt a wave of anxiety over the idea. What if the guests showed up to this mess and police everywhere? Miriam would be heart-broken.
She slowly put the phone down and bit her bottom lip as she studied the mess. It was horrible, but it was also dry. At the very least there was that. Wet manure would take days to clean.
There was only one thing to do. She rolled up her sleeves and took in a slow breath. It was just dirt. Very messy, smelly dirt. The sheriff would be useless. Miriam would be devastated. And the rival B&B would love nothing more than to hear about Eden having yet another problem. And they certainly didn’t need any reporters printing pictures.
The only option was to get this mess cleaned up fast. It had to look - and smell - like it never even happened before the guests arrived. And she had to make sure the mess was as minimized as possible before Miriam came in. She had been devastated over the door. She couldn’t imagine how broken she would be over this.
Martha rushed outside and found the wheelbarrow. Sure enough, the door to the supply area was open. On a quick check she found two bags missing. Well, technically they aren’t missing at all, she thought.
She started off shoveling and sweeping up the largest piles. She’d swept up the stalls at home many times, so she knew how to collect discarded fertilizer efficiently from a floor at least. That was a blessing in disguise. She was grateful with how the size of the chaos dwindled swiftly as she worked. She carefully used dry brushes and rags to clean off the tables.
Martha had to completely strip the furniture down to get all the nooks and crannies the manure had seeped into, and soak the fabrics in cleaning fluids. She hoped the guests would not find the smell too overwhelming, but then again it was far better than the alternative.
She looked at the time and felt her heart sink. While it was starting to look quite a bit better, there was no way for her to finish everything in time. There was just too much.
Martha sent up a silent prayer. “Gott, I know you do not put trials in a person’s path more than they can cope with. Please, I need your help.” Martha wiped at her eyes in frustration with a clean part of her sleeve and squared her shoulders. What it boiled down to was she needed to get this done. No excuses. She had to have it done and get cleaned up herself before the guests came anywhere near this place.
Martha set into a determined rhythm of sweeping, scrubbing, and polishing the mess, inch by smelly, dirty, stubborn inch. She wondered what could have made someone do such a terrible thing to another person’s property, to their home. A theft could be explained as a dire need. A desperate mistake. Broken mail boxes and toilet paper in the trees were pranks by misguided youths. But this?
She pondered who would possibly do such a thing. Could it have been the rival B&B owners? Would they really stoop this low? She really had no way to say.
Martha sighed and turned to start in another corner of the living room. She about jumped out of her skin as she saw someone else already there.
James. She felt her face redden as he looked over the room, hiding her soiled and stained hands behind her. Why was he here? She knew that Jonas, James, and Amos were working today, but why was James in the house?
James frowned, and Martha saw his eyes travel over her soiled dress, the stacked bags, and the doorway where the barrow of recovered fertilizer peeked out. His mouth was pierced into a thin, disapproving line. Without a word he picked up the nearest rag and started scrubbing at the more stubborn stains.
Martha wanted to thank him, but she couldn’t find the words. She felt her lip tremble at how easily he fell into helping her with this disaster. Instead, she offered up a silent and heartfelt prayer thanks to Gott as she knelt down and got back to work.
They didn’t say anything as they worked, but oddly enough it felt comfortable. The morning grew brighter as time passed without a word. There wasn’t really a need for explanations or complaints as they polished and scrubbed the room.
The room came together quickly, much more quickly than she ever could have hoped. They made a competent team as they erased all trace of the manure. Before long, they were both scrubbing down the floors to erase the last traces of dirt and smell.
It was almost too good to be true, given the impossible nightmare she had come into. Martha was so grateful to James for helping her like this. She had to smile as she scrubbed down the floor with determined strokes. He was truly a gut mann. He always worked hard, and went out of his way to help on more than one occasion. She felt her face color faintly as she remembered their encounter the other night - his smile, the way his brow creased when he was deep in thought.
Martha gasped softly as she stopped backward and collided straight into him. She raised her head quickly to offer an apology for her carelessness, but she froze as she found herself staring straight into his eyes.
She let out a soft breath. She couldn’t tell which of them was more surprised as they regarded one another. They were so close their noses were practically touching. She could even make out very light golden flecks that speckled his eyes. She felt a tingle tremble through her spine as she stared into his eyes.
“Sorry,” she whispered as she felt her stomach flutter. It felt like every nerve was tingling with electricity. Martha had never felt this way in another person’s presence before.
She felt her heart thud in her chest as he gave a small, shy smile. Somewhere in the back of her head, she realized that they hadn’t moved an inch. She could feel his breath against her cheek. The scent of wood smoke and orange oil clung to his skin. She could even make out the very faint traces of freckles dotting the bridge of his nose.
“Not a problem,” he mumbled quietly in the silence of the room, causing her heart to flutter all over again.
Martha jumped in alarm at a noise, jolting out of her trance and leaning quickly away as she searched out the source of the noise. She immediately spied the broom lying haphazardly on the hardwood floor. She let out a long breath as she felt her face heat up in mortification. She gave James a nervous glance. He looked as awkward as she did as he rubbed at his chin.
“I better get that mess of dirt out of sight and tend to the yard,” James said with a cough. “I can come right back in and help finish if you need?”
“Nee, nee,” Martha said as she smoothed the wrinkles in her dress. “You truly saved us today. Thank you so much. James.”
“Why isn’t Miss Miriam here helping?”
“I haven’t told her yet,” she admitted reluctantly. Seeing his expression at the revelation, she quickly added, “I’m going to tell her. She’s coming down with a cold; she’s been through a lot lately. I thought it would be better if she didn’t actually see it.”
James gave her a warm smile. “You’ve a kind heart. Trying to take on a mess like this to spare someone some heartache.”
She felt her stomach flutter at the praise, at a loss for words.
He gazed at her a long moment in that morning light, making her blush all the more. She wished she knew what went on in that mind of his. As if reading her thoughts, he gave a nervous cough as he started for the door. “I’ll come back in and help you carry out the laundry after I hide the rest of the evidence. You go ahead and do what you need to do, and Martha?”
“Yes?”
He moved his mouth as he seemed to try to gather the courage to say something, and his shoulders slumped as he apparently thought the better of it. “Don’t you work yourself too hard today.”
“No promises,” she answered, giving him a shy smile before they parted ways.
Martha shook her head at herself for acting in such a manner, as she tried to shake off the tingling, warm sensation the memory of being so close to James had brought on. She had a crisis to fix and a room to prepare. This was no time to be acting like this.
Still, as she whirled through her tasks, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling the whole time.