Chapter 10: Ten
The inn continued to be a mad house of activity over the following days, and then weeks. Guests were constantly coming and going, the restaurant was growing more and more, to the point of where people who weren't even guests at the inn stopped by for dinner of breakfast.
The week before Christmas, Sarah and Haven started spending the early mornings in the kitchen doing some holiday baking. Apparently Christmas time were just an excuse to eat extra delicacies, Haven decided. The decorations, festive music, and delicious new kinds of desserts and dishes she had never heard of, let alone tasted all proved to be exceptionally enjoyable.
Clementine alternated between napping in the spare cradle, parked in the corner of the room, and being toted around by Haven in her makeshift wrap. Much to Haven's delight, Clementine was starting to be much more active during the day. Her eyes were always wandering around, she was much more vocal in her squeals and gurgles, and she kept raising her arms at things that caught her attention.
"She's getting so attentive," Sarah said, as she walked into the kitchen.
Haven smiled over her shoulder at Clementine, snuggled wrapped in Haven's make-shift carrier. "I know!"
Sarah smiled.
"What do the Holiday's look like? Christmas… New Years Eve? New Years day?"
"Well, I close the inn Christmas Eve and Christmas day to give everyone a holiday. People usually spend those days with their family."
Haven bit her lip, nodding slowly as she turned back to rolling out dough on the counter. "What do you do?"
Sarah scoffed. "I usually have a quiet night in on Christmas Eve, and sometimes I'll spend Christmas morning baking some things for the children's shelter. Roll that out thinner, if you can."
Haven nodded, pressing down harder on the rolling pin as she pushed it back and forth.
"Perfect."
Haven grinned.
"Kind of a quiet time of year for me," Sarah continued. "This year I'll certainly be glad to have someone to spend the holiday with."
Haven stopped. Her eyes darted up to Sarah. "Really? You'll let me—I can be with you?"
"Yes, of course! If you want to."
Haven smiled, grinning so broadly it hurt. She nodded eagerly.
"You sure? You're not sick of me yet?" Sarah asked playfully, nudging Haven in her ribs.
Haven shook her head. "No. Never," she replied solemnly. She turned back to rolling out the dough and then laying it gently in the pie pan, pressing it down, and trimming the edges.
"How does this look?" she asked, taking a step back and letting Sarah look at her work. In all, she had four pie pans lined.
"Perfect. Go ahead and set those in the fridge, and we can start on the fillings."
Haven nodded, obeying. Sarah then showed her how to peel and slice the apples and while Haven was doing that, Sarah started on the cookies and scones. Haven tried to match her speed.
At some point Clementine started to get fussy and Haven, engrossed and rather enjoying her task, half-heartedly tried to get her to settle down.
"Does she need to eat?" Sarah asked, glancing at the clock.
Haven nodded. "Let me just finish these."
"Here, I'll finish those so you can feed her."
Haven hesitated.
"Unless you'd rather do it yourself."
Haven chewed her lip. It wasn't that she didn't trust Sarah, it just made her nervous to not have Clementine with her. She swallowed, managing a smile. "No, no. You can feed her. Thanks." She turned around so Sarah could help her untie Clementine, watching as she settled at the kitchen table. Clementine looked around entire time she ate, drinking a full bottle plus an additional half.
"You can put her back when she's finished," Haven murmured, awkwardly fidgeting with the rolling pin.
"Okay, will do."
Something about Sarah's tone made Haven pause. She watched Sarah make faces at Clementine, her heart twisting with the memory of Sarah's daughter dying. Sarah never got to be a mother. Never got to hold her daughter or snuggle with her or watch her get so excited she drooled all over herself.
"You doing okay over there, kiddo?"
Haven blinked. Nodded. "Yeah, sorry, just daydreaming."
When Sarah finally put Clementine back in Haven's sling, she showed Haven how to make all the traditional holiday dishes and they spent the rest of the morning together, cooking and baking. By early afternoon, all of their dishes were complete, set out along the counters and table to cool.
"I can't wait to taste everything," Haven grinned.
"Mm, me either."
"Alright, I've got some bookkeeping to do, if you wanna go rest for a bit."
"I thought you said you had a cleaning shift."
"Are you up for that? We've been going all morning."
Haven nodded. "Yeah, I wanna do it," she said emphatically. She had been begging Sarah to give her more work, and though she tried to insist she do the additional shifts without getting paid Sarah wouldn't hear of it.
As Haven started to get down on the ground to polish the wood, Clementine strapped to her front, she hesitated. She couldn't work effectively with Clementine on her like that and was about to move on to do something else—dust and polish the furniture, sweep and mop, or setting the tables—but hesitated. She bit her lip, glancing back towards the directions of Sarah's office. She slowly stood up and meandered inside.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but um… could I maybe leave her with you while I'm cleaning?" Haven asked timidly.
Sarah smiled, studying Haven quizzically. "Yeah, you sure?"
Haven nodded.
"Of course," Sarah said. She pushed away from her desk and reached her arms for Clementine.
Haven, trying to keep her hands from trembling, gently handed Clementine over to Sarah. She told herself again and again Clementine was fine with Sarah. Besides, Haven wanted Sarah to love Clementine and feel included.
"Just come get her when you want her back, okay? Or just to say hi."
Haven nodded. Turning, she walked back out into the dining room. She was physically so much lighter without Clementine in her arms and it was certainly easier to move around, but she missed her and it felt weird not having her. Haven worked quickly, spurred on by the desire to get Clementine back.
After cleaning and scrubbing the dining room until it shone, she moved to the foyer and hallway. She started at the top, dusting the sconces and chandeliers, wiping down the tops of pictures frames, buffets and counter tops, shinning the deep mahogany pieces, and finally mopping and polishing the floor.
Haven abruptly stopped short, her ears picking up Clementine just down the hall who had started crying. Partially standing, Haven hesitated. She could hear Sarah speaking softly, getting Clementine to settle down. Haven's heart felt like it would shatter. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. Clementine grew quiet after only a few minutes, her grunt and squeals turning cheerful again.
Swallowing, Haven forced herself to get back to work, her vision blurred from the tears that gathered in her eyes. She hummed her little tune to herself, adding that they were both safe. Away from Damien.
The chore of cleaning out of the way, Haven started to straighten the decorations, rearranging the ones she had to move and making sure everything looked as perfect as it could.
Sarah emerged from her office an hour or so later, about the same time Haven was finishing in the foyer. Sarah stopped short, casting a glance around. Her jaw dropped. "Oh my—it looks beautiful in here, Haven!"
Haven grinned. She finished tying a crimson red bow on a wreath before standing up and glancing around.
Clementine let out a shriek of giggles at seeing Haven.
"How is she?" Haven asked. She nervously played with a stand of hair, twirling it around her fingers.
"Fantastic. I think she misses her mommy, though."
Haven smiled.
"Here, go put her down for a nap; take the rest of the day off and relax for a bit, okay?"
"I still need to do the upstairs hallway."
"I'll have someone else care of it. You've been going all day; go spend some time with Clementine and rest."
Haven nodded. "Thanks." Taking Clementine, she trudged upstairs and shut her door. She gently laid Clementine on her bed and changed her, only then realizing her jumper was almost to small already.
After she had put her down in her crib to go to sleep she pulled out a small wooden box from beneath her bed where she had been keeping the money she'd been earning. So far the only things she'd bought was a canvas bag she could put all Clementine's things around in, and a few pairs of lounge pants, shirts, and undergarments for herself. Somehow her diaper and wipe supply never ran out, which meant Sarah had been keeping her freshly stocked.
A smile crept onto Haven's face as she added it up and realized just how much she had saved so far. She could easily afford new baby clothes.
Rolling the cradle into the bathroom so she could take a bath, Haven filled the tub with steaming hot water and poured in some of the delicious, sugar-cookie smelling bath soap.
Twenty minutes later, feeling thoroughly refreshed and warm, she dressed in some sweats and pulled a hoodie over her head. She moved Clementine's cradle closer to her bed so she could keep an eye on her. As she sank down on the soft mattress, glad to have the rest of the evening to herself, Haven gazed admiringly at her daughter. Her hands, raised over her head as she slept, were curled into loose fists and her lips were partly open in a small O. Her peaceful breathing was almost rhythmic.
Gently reaching her hand in, Haven stroked her soft face. The little one exhaled. Watching her for a few minutes in silence, Haven finally reached in and smoothly picked her up. Carefully supporting her, she snuggled under her thick blanket and propped herself up against the headboard.
Clementine took a deep breath. Stretching, her eyes fluttered open. Haven smiled.
"I'm sorry I woke you," she whispered gently.
Clementine grinned, her head bobbing up and down as she tried to keep it upright. Her eyes closed again a short time later and her head fell back against Haven as she drifted back to sleep.
Haven smiled, resting her cheek on the top of Clementine's head.
Weekly Power Status
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