Valentine's at the Inn, Part 1

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Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone,

Speaker 1 in which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good.

Speaker 1 And then

Speaker 1 you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read everything you hear on Nothing Much Happens.

Speaker 1 Audio Engineering is by Bob Wittersheim.

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Speaker 1 who aim to provide access to life-changing eye surgeries. Through Operation Sight, we strive to restore vision and transform lives.
Learn more in our show notes.

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Speaker 1 When your mind has something to focus on,

Speaker 1 We can shift you out of default mode

Speaker 1 and into task positive mode and the task is just listening. It's why you can fall asleep while reading but then close the book and you feel wide awake.

Speaker 1 You need that little task and why not make that task pleasant and cozy and affirming, right?

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice and I'll go a little bit slower the second time through.

Speaker 1 If you wake later in the night and feel your brain begin to gear up, just put on another episode. You'll drop right back off.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Valentine's at the Inn, Part 1.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about guests arriving on a sunny, cold day to the warmth and charm of the village inn.

Speaker 1 It's also about breakfast served on freshly ironed tablecloths in the drawing room, socks with hearts on them, a black cat and a feather duster,

Speaker 1 and a little mystery that begins to unwind.

Speaker 1 Okay,

Speaker 1 time to turn off the lights. Put away anything you are looking at or working on.

Speaker 1 You are safe, and I will be here, watching over you with my voice. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose

Speaker 1 and sigh.

Speaker 1 Do that again, fill it up,

Speaker 1 and let it out.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 Valentine's at the Inn.

Speaker 1 Part 1.

Speaker 1 During the summer, we serve breakfast on our back porch.

Speaker 1 It is such a lovely spot.

Speaker 1 The porch wraps around the whole back of the house

Speaker 1 with tables and chairs.

Speaker 1 And at the far end, a swing is suspended from the ceiling.

Speaker 1 There are screens to keep the mosquitoes out,

Speaker 1 and rolling blinds that we lower in the afternoon when the sun begins to drop.

Speaker 1 And of course, the open view down to the lake.

Speaker 1 Like I said, lovely.

Speaker 1 But in February,

Speaker 1 breakfast on the porch just doesn't work out.

Speaker 1 The lake was frozen over, and several inches of snow lay on the ground.

Speaker 1 Our summer cafe tables were neatly stacked against the wall,

Speaker 1 and a few dun brown leaves tumbled across the porch boards.

Speaker 1 Luckily, the inn is not short of rooms.

Speaker 1 So a few weeks ago, when I'd begun readying for our first visitors in months,

Speaker 1 I'd opened the pocket doors between the formal dining room and the drawing room.

Speaker 1 These two spaces, when combined, would be perfect for our breakfast service.

Speaker 1 I'd spent a few days dusting, ironing the creamy white tablecloths, and putting together vases of roses that had been delivered from the greenhouse outside of town.

Speaker 1 The fireplaces were laid with seasoned logs.

Speaker 1 And when Chef arrived and had gone straight down into the kitchens,

Speaker 1 The place began to fill with good smells.

Speaker 1 Sycamore, my cat, and the inn's chief welcoming officer had been sitting on windowsills and fireplace mantles as I went room to room,

Speaker 1 batting the feather duster around

Speaker 1 and swatting at the curtain pull cords.

Speaker 1 Today I dressed in my my neat corduroy trousers and comfortable shoes,

Speaker 1 since I'd be going up and down the many stairs countless times,

Speaker 1 helping guests with their bags and delivering extra towels on request.

Speaker 1 But I'd added my favorite pale pink sweater

Speaker 1 and some part-dotted socks,

Speaker 1 since it was Valentine's Day, after all.

Speaker 1 Around noon, the first cars had made it down the long drive to the inn,

Speaker 1 and Sycamore had been overcome with excitement.

Speaker 1 He raced from window to window,

Speaker 1 watching couples climbing from their vehicles.

Speaker 1 meeting them as they came through the door into the large entryway

Speaker 1 For guests who had already had the pleasure of meeting Sycamore,

Speaker 1 there was a reunion of purrs.

Speaker 1 Dare I say, an expectation of treats,

Speaker 1 and in any case, lots of ear scratches.

Speaker 1 We weren't quite full up.

Speaker 1 The vacancy sign still hung on the gate at the road,

Speaker 1 but only by a room or two.

Speaker 1 And we found we definitely had our hands full.

Speaker 1 That first evening, Chef prepared beautiful trays of small bites that we set out in the cozy library where our guests could serve themselves at their leisure.

Speaker 1 The fire was crackling and popping in the grate, and I walked among the couples with bottles of sparkling juice and champagne.

Speaker 1 Besides the crudetes and dips, the voulevants and fruit, crackers and baguettes, Cheff had made a beautiful squash soup with cocoanut milk and ginger.

Speaker 1 And though I thought a few folks might find the pull of the restaurants in the village irresistible.

Speaker 1 No one had left.

Speaker 1 Everyone seemed content to sip and snack,

Speaker 1 to listen to the music playing from the record player and relax by the fire.

Speaker 1 This morning We were all up early.

Speaker 1 Sycamore and I were in the butler's pantry, starting the coffee and getting out the sugar bowls and creamers for each table,

Speaker 1 when Chef paused in the doorway on their way down to the kitchens.

Speaker 1 We smiled at each other as I filled a cup and passed it over.

Speaker 1 It was good to see them in their apron, a neat bandanna tied over their hair, and a pocket full of sharpies.

Speaker 1 I love my quiet time here, alone but for Sycamore.

Speaker 1 But having an inn full of guests and chef packed by my side

Speaker 1 made me feel

Speaker 1 so happy and like everything was as it should be.

Speaker 1 First round of coffee cakes will be ready in a half hour, they said over the brim of the coffee cup.

Speaker 1 The smell of fresh coffee mixed with the old wood and the not quite nameable smell of the inn itself.

Speaker 1 They gave me a wink and turned back to the hall,

Speaker 1 took a few steps to the kitchen stairs

Speaker 1 and stopped.

Speaker 1 By the way, they said in a low voice from the hall,

Speaker 1 you mentioned something

Speaker 1 in one of your letters right after I left in November

Speaker 1 about something you found the night of the Halloween party.

Speaker 1 I've been curious about it ever since.

Speaker 1 Are you going to let me in on it?

Speaker 1 I stuck my head out into the hall, and we eyeballed each other for a moment.

Speaker 1 There was a secret I was carrying around,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 besides Sycamore and apparently a loose-lipped moment of my own in a missive to chef,

Speaker 1 I hadn't shared it with anyone

Speaker 1 and wasn't sure I wanted to yet.

Speaker 1 I bit my lip and tilted my head.

Speaker 1 I opened my mouth, though I wasn't sure what I was going to say

Speaker 1 when Chef stopped me.

Speaker 1 Listen, it's your business,

Speaker 1 but I just want to suggest that there might be secrets I've stumbled upon in my time down in the kitchens that you might be interested in.

Speaker 1 So think about it.

Speaker 1 But

Speaker 1 swap sees are available.

Speaker 1 They turned back toward the kitchens,

Speaker 1 and I looked down to where Sycamore was sitting on my foot.

Speaker 1 My mouth was hanging open.

Speaker 1 Could Chef know things about the inn that I didn't?

Speaker 1 Sycamore's tail twitched with interest

Speaker 1 and we both wandered back to the trays of coffee cups and sugar bowls

Speaker 1 I took one and made my way to our winter breakfast room

Speaker 1 where the fire was already burning bright

Speaker 1 as I laid out cups and bowls

Speaker 1 the sun began to rise over the snowy landscape.

Speaker 1 The weekend had just begun,

Speaker 1 but it was promising to be an exciting one.

Speaker 1 Valentine's

Speaker 1 at the Inn.

Speaker 1 Part 1

Speaker 1 During the summer,

Speaker 1 we serve breakfast on our back porch.

Speaker 1 It is such a lovely spot.

Speaker 1 The porch wraps around the whole back of the house

Speaker 1 with tables and chairs.

Speaker 1 And at the far end,

Speaker 1 a swing suspended from the ceiling.

Speaker 1 There are screens to keep the mosquitoes out

Speaker 1 and rolling blinds

Speaker 1 that we lower in the afternoon

Speaker 1 when the sun begins to drop.

Speaker 1 And of course,

Speaker 1 the open view

Speaker 1 down to the lake.

Speaker 1 Like I said,

Speaker 1 lovely.

Speaker 1 But in February,

Speaker 1 breakfast on the porch

Speaker 1 just doesn't work out.

Speaker 1 The lake was frozen over,

Speaker 1 and several inches of snow lay on the ground.

Speaker 1 Our summer cafe tables

Speaker 1 were neatly stacked against the wall

Speaker 1 and a few dun brown leaves tumbled across the floorboards.

Speaker 1 Luckily,

Speaker 1 the inn is not short of rooms.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 1 A few weeks ago,

Speaker 1 when I'd begun readying for our first visitors in months,

Speaker 1 I'd opened the pocket doors

Speaker 1 between the formal dining room

Speaker 1 and the drawing room.

Speaker 1 These two spaces,

Speaker 1 when combined,

Speaker 1 would be perfect

Speaker 1 for our breakfast service.

Speaker 1 I'd spent a few days dusting,

Speaker 1 ironing the creamy white tablecloths,

Speaker 1 and putting together vases of roses

Speaker 1 that had been delivered from the greenhouse outside of town.

Speaker 1 The fireplaces were laid with seasoned logs,

Speaker 1 and when Chef arrived

Speaker 1 and had gone straight down into the kitchens,

Speaker 1 the place began to fill with good smells.

Speaker 1 Sycamore,

Speaker 1 my cat,

Speaker 1 and the inn's chief welcoming officer

Speaker 1 had been sitting on windowsills

Speaker 1 and fireplace mantles

Speaker 1 as I went

Speaker 1 room to room,

Speaker 1 batting the feather duster around

Speaker 1 and swatting at the curtain pull cords.

Speaker 1 Today,

Speaker 1 I dressed in my neat corduroy trousers

Speaker 1 and comfortable shoes

Speaker 1 since I'd be going up and down the many stairs countless times

Speaker 1 helping guests with their bags

Speaker 1 and delivering extra towels on request

Speaker 1 But I'd added my favorite pale pink sweater

Speaker 1 and some heart-dotted socks

Speaker 1 since it was Valentine's Day

Speaker 1 after all.

Speaker 1 Around noon,

Speaker 1 the first cars

Speaker 1 had made it down the long drive

Speaker 1 to the inn.

Speaker 1 And Sycamore

Speaker 1 had been overcome with excitement.

Speaker 1 He raced from window to window,

Speaker 1 watching couples climbing from their vehicles,

Speaker 1 meeting them

Speaker 1 as they came through the door

Speaker 1 into the large entryway

Speaker 1 For guests

Speaker 1 who had already had

Speaker 1 the pleasure of meeting Sycamore,

Speaker 1 there was a reunion of purrs.

Speaker 1 Dare I say,

Speaker 1 an expectation of treats,

Speaker 1 and in any case,

Speaker 1 lots of ear scratches.

Speaker 1 We weren't quite full up.

Speaker 1 The vacancy sign

Speaker 1 still hung on the gate at the road.

Speaker 1 But only by a room or two.

Speaker 1 And we found that we definitely had our hands full. full.

Speaker 1 That first evening,

Speaker 1 Chef prepared beautiful trays of small bites

Speaker 1 that we set out in the cozy library

Speaker 1 where our guests

Speaker 1 could serve themselves at their leisure.

Speaker 1 The fire was crackling and popping in the grate

Speaker 1 and I walked among the couples

Speaker 1 with bottles of sparkling juice

Speaker 1 and champagne

Speaker 1 besides the crude's and dips

Speaker 1 the vous levants

Speaker 1 and fruit

Speaker 1 crackers and baguettes

Speaker 1 Chef had made

Speaker 1 a beautiful squash soup

Speaker 1 with coconut milk and ginger.

Speaker 1 And though I'd thought a few folks might find the pull

Speaker 1 of the restaurants in the village irresistible,

Speaker 1 no one left.

Speaker 1 Everyone seemed content

Speaker 1 to sip and snack,

Speaker 1 to listen to the music playing from the record player,

Speaker 1 and to relax

Speaker 1 by the fire.

Speaker 1 This morning we were all up early.

Speaker 1 Sycamore and I

Speaker 1 were in the butler's pantry,

Speaker 1 starting the coffee

Speaker 1 and getting out the sugar bowls and creamers for each table

Speaker 1 when Chef

Speaker 1 paused in the doorway

Speaker 1 on their way down to the kitchens.

Speaker 1 We smiled at each other

Speaker 1 as I filled a cup

Speaker 1 and passed it over,

Speaker 1 it was good to see them in their apron,

Speaker 1 a neat bandana tied over their hair,

Speaker 1 and a pocket full of sharpies.

Speaker 1 I love my quiet time here,

Speaker 1 alone but for Sycamore.

Speaker 1 But having an inn full of guests

Speaker 1 and chef

Speaker 1 back by my side

Speaker 1 made me feel so happy

Speaker 1 and like

Speaker 1 everything

Speaker 1 was

Speaker 1 as it should be.

Speaker 1 First round of coffee cakes

Speaker 1 will be ready

Speaker 1 in a half hour, they said

Speaker 1 over the brim of the coffee cup.

Speaker 1 The smell of fresh coffee

Speaker 1 mixed with the old wood

Speaker 1 and the not quite nameable scent

Speaker 1 of the inn itself.

Speaker 1 They gave me a wink

Speaker 1 and turned back to the hall,

Speaker 1 took a few steps toward the kitchen stairs

Speaker 1 and stopped.

Speaker 1 By the way,

Speaker 1 they said in a low voice from the hall,

Speaker 1 you mentioned something

Speaker 1 in one of your letters

Speaker 1 right after I left in November

Speaker 1 about something you found the night of the Halloween party.

Speaker 1 I've been curious about it

Speaker 1 ever since.

Speaker 1 Are you

Speaker 1 going to let me in on it?

Speaker 1 I stuck my head

Speaker 1 out

Speaker 1 into the hall

Speaker 1 and we eyeballed each other for a moment.

Speaker 1 There was a secret I was carrying around

Speaker 1 but besides Sycamore

Speaker 1 and apparently

Speaker 1 a loose-lipped moment of my own

Speaker 1 in a missive to chef

Speaker 1 I hadn't shared it with anyone

Speaker 1 and wasn't sure I wanted to yet.

Speaker 1 I bit my lip,

Speaker 1 tilted my head.

Speaker 1 I opened my mouth,

Speaker 1 though I wasn't sure

Speaker 1 what I was going to say

Speaker 1 when Chef stopped me.

Speaker 1 listen,

Speaker 1 it's your business,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 I just want to suggest

Speaker 1 that

Speaker 1 there might be secrets I've stumbled upon

Speaker 1 in my time down in the kitchens

Speaker 1 that you could be interested in.

Speaker 1 So

Speaker 1 think about it.

Speaker 1 Swapsies

Speaker 1 are available.

Speaker 1 They turned back toward the kitchens

Speaker 1 and I looked down

Speaker 1 to where Sycamore was sitting on my foot.

Speaker 1 My mouth was hanging open.

Speaker 1 Could Chef

Speaker 1 know

Speaker 1 things about the inn

Speaker 1 that I didn't?

Speaker 1 Sycamore's tail twitched with interest

Speaker 1 and we both wandered back

Speaker 1 to the trays of coffee cups and sugar bowls.

Speaker 1 I took one

Speaker 1 and made my way

Speaker 1 to our winter breakfast room,

Speaker 1 where the fire

Speaker 1 was already burning bright.

Speaker 1 As I laid out cups and bowls,

Speaker 1 the sun began to rise

Speaker 1 over the snowy landscape.

Speaker 1 The weekend had just begun,

Speaker 1 but

Speaker 1 it was promising

Speaker 1 to be an exciting one.

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams.