At the Inn, Part I

“Ida, Ida! She’s comin’ round!”

I heard the chatter and mumble of many voices as I opened my eyes and tried to focus. I was in a large room with sunlight pouring through bay windows, and I could see Duwamish Bay Harbor, boats gleaming in the morning sunlight.

I was seated at a wooden table next to a large stone fireplace with a crackling fire. A crowd of strangers surrounded me. I closed my eyes again and tried to remember the night before. I could not recall anything beyond the grey figures marching towards me and my lighting the candle. I felt my wounded leg throb.

“Get out of my way!” A matronly woman dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and dungarees pushed through the crowd.

“Sit down, all of you. Let the poor girl breathe.” The strangers returned to their respective tables, but they continued to stare at me and whisper to each other.

“You gave us quite a scare. We found you this morning curled up on the front porch, clutching a cold candle. We couldn’t wake you up. Were you out there all night?”

I nodded.

“Good heavens, girl, why didn’t you knock? Earl is our night clerk. He’s always here, aren’t you, Earl?”

“That’s right, Ida. Dinna hear a thing all night.”

I found my voice, “But I did knock. I pounded and yelled, then those people….”

Ida and Earl exchanged glances, then Ida said, “Earl, get the girl some breakfast, will you, dear?”

“Coming right up.” Earl hobbled through a swinging door into the kitchen.

“Well, dear, tell me your name.”

“Lori.”

“Well, Lori, I’ll get you fixed up in a room right quick before I take the next ferry across to the Island.”

“You’re a ferry woman?”

“Indeed, I am. Nigh on thirty-seven years, this winter.”

“I have a message for you.”

“Really? From whom, dear?”

“Dr. von Saxonberg.”

As I suspected, everyone in the room had still been listening; their conversation and movements came to a complete stop and all heads turned to me.

“She does, does she?” Ida frowned.

I was immediately sorry I had said anything. “It’s nothing—she just sends her regards, that’s all.” My leg was still throbbing and beginning to feel hot.

Ida stared straight into my eyes as if searching for something. Then she said, “Have you been injured in anyway?”

“Well, as a matter of fact….” I pulled away the rip on my trousers to reveal the wound. Blood has soaked through the layers of gauze. “I think I may need some stitches and a tetanus shot.”

“Good heavens, girl! Mimi!” She called to a serving girl standing at the counter. “Get a bed ready right now!

Before the girl could scurry up the stairs, a low rumbling filled the room. The bottles behind the counter shimmied and the glass in the bay windows rattled in their frames. The patrons’ tables and chairs vibrated, and silverware and china danced across the tops. The dining room’s huge wrought-iron chandelier swayed overhead

Somewhere in the crowded room a voice called out, “Earthquake!”

“Here we go again!”

The room rocked from side to side. A number of voices rang out “Get under the tables!”

Ida grabbed my shoulder and pushed down. “Quick, sweetie, get down!” As we both dove under the table, I heard the sound of cracking wood followed by a deafening crash.

 

To be continued……..

 

Lori Gloyd © 2007