10
There were a lot of skiers these days.
She asked the volunteer, “Can you hold onto
this bracelet? I’m worried that I will lose it while
I’m skiing.”
Her friend said, “It’s a family heirloom! Super
important!”
“You seem nice, you will say yes, right?”
Before the volunteer could accept it, I stood up,
“Wait!”
“Don’t touch it!” I said, and the volunteer
stopped, shocked.
<
“Ma’am, I’m sorry, we can’t hold onto that.
Please keep it.”
The nice guest immediately changed her
attitude, “Why not? We’re paying a lot for the
stay! You should hold onto this for me.”
She reached out to grab the volunteer. “Here!
Take it!”
I pulled the volunteer behind me. “Don’t touch
me!” I shouted. “I’ll call the cops!”
The guest looked shocked. Her friend paled. “If
you call the cops, we will give you a bad review! We filmed the whole thing!”
“Fine,” I said.
They left angrily.
“They were scary!” The volunteer said, “Why
didn’t you want me to hold onto it?”
Г
I smiled, “We can’t put ourselves in that
position. Who knows what happened in that
box? If it’s damaged, they could blame it on us and that’s going to cost us.‘
The volunteer said, “My boss said not to, but I didn’t think anything bad would happen.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
I didn’t always know this.
It was Mark that told me when we were looking
at jewelry.
He had said something like “That saleswoman
is screwed” after she’d touched a bracelet
without a tray. “Never touch a customer’s stone
with your bare hands.”
“Watch,” he had said.
Then it shattered
<
Then, it shattered.
The guest yelled, “What the hell?”
I looked up to Mark. Now, I just realize that he
could have stopped it.
He didn’t.
We’ve never been the same.
11
I thought that the guests were just angry, but
they left a bad review, and the video went viral.
“Do Not Go to the [Inn Name] Inn” became a
meme.
My mom had never seen anything like that. The
inn was empty.
She had sores on her mouth.
<
I edited the video and called my old friends
from my old job.
After a sleepless night, I posted the video.
I stretched, and I looked out at the snow. And
that’s when I saw a person outside.
It was Mark.
He was thin, and he had grey hair.
He saw me and smiled. “Thank god, it’s you.
Sarah, you’re alive.”
Then he passed out.
I was confused. Mike came over to help and he
took Mark to the hospital.
On the way, his phone rang, it was Tom.
“You idiot! They said she was snowed in. Why
<
are you going there?!”
“You knew she was alive! Why did you have to
walk miles?!”
I took the phone, “It’s me. He passed out, we are taking him to the hospital.”
The drive gave Tom a chance to tell me what
happened.
He thought I was the body in the river. He had
gone gray overnight.
I felt bad.
Then I thought about the homeless woman, and
I started to cry.
Mark woke up three days later. He smiled
weakly, “I must be dreaming. I’m so glad to see
you.”
<
I said, “You’re not dreaming, it’s me.”
He started to cry, “Is it really you? Oh my god, you’re really alive.”
The nurse left. “I’ll be back later.”
Tom said, “He really loves you. Even if he is a
moron sometimes. Maybe you guys should talk it out.”
Mark had changed. He was like a child. He
wouldn’t talk about serious things.
Until Mike came to see him.
He acted polite in front of Mike, but then when
Mike left, he threw a fit.
He wouldn’t answer when I asked him about
food.
I took my phone and stood up. He grabbed my
<
wrist, and blood started coming from the IV.
“Don’t go!” He was pleading. “I’ll give you the
award every year! I’ll give you anything you
want!”
“I can’t take you leaving again. Please don’t go.
Sarah…”
I stopped and looked at him. “Why are you
upset?”
He wouldn’t look at me. “It’s Mike…”
“So, I can’t have a man in my life? I need to get
rid of every guy you see? Mark,” I said, “You
don’t understand why we aren’t working.”
“I think it’s better if we split up.”
Mark wouldn’t agree.
He wouldn’t leave.
My video made our inn busy again.
Mark was still here, and he brought Liz.
She went pale when she saw me.
She said that she used Mark’s phone to get me
to quit, and the gossip.
I couldn’t believe she was the same kind girl I
had met. When I was a normal woman, she was
kind.
But when I was Mark’s girlfriend, she tried to
destroy me.
Just for a man.
It made me feel sick.
く
When I told Mark all this, he looked like he’d
seen a ghost.
“Is there no hope?”
I shook my head.
Mark looked at Mike talking to my mom. “Is it
because of him?”
“Do I need to choose? Why do I need to
choose?” I was getting angry.
Mark’s company needed him, and he left.
He was crying, “I won’t give up.”
I didn’t answer.
When his plane took off, I was signing the
contract for my second inn.
The winter sun was warm.
When his plane took off, I was signing the
contract for my second inn.
The winter sun was warm.
The End
