A Holiday Snowdown

Part 3

"Someone ate Christmas and threw it back up," you breathe, staring at the main lodge.

Tonja, the Inn's interior decorator, has truly outdone herself. Holiday décor has been steadily appearing over the past weeks, but last night she put on the finishing touches and today, well – a winter wonderland.

Plush, cozy chairs are pushed around a roaring fireplace, draped with white throws she assured you were imitation fur. Fake snow dusts the mantle, and garland has been draped, hung, or placed across all available surfaces. Everything surrounds a gigantic evergreen which nearly scrapes the ceiling.

It's what people traveling for the holidays expect, and therefore worth every penny sent to Tonja's bank account. Lifting your clipboard, you check off review decorations. Satisfied, you resume the Inn's inspection and immediately slip.

Catching yourself, you glance down in alarm. The snow mats you ordered are nowhere to be found, and your expression shifts into a scowl.

"Where are the snow mats?" you call as you turn.

No one answers, either too busy or being one of the guests. A nearby couple glances up from their snowshoes; you offer them an apologetic smile before hustling away. Yoongi is checking in a large party at the counter.

Realizing he has no time to get mats, you exhale and set your clipboard down on the counter.

Jungkook is scheduled to arrive in fifteen minutes, and you're supposed to be the one greeting him. Having your guest of honor slip on wet floor and fracture a gold medal-winning ankle sounds like a terrible first impression.

Leaving the lobby, you head for the supply closet. Tugging open its door, you bang your knee on a mop and – swearing – hop around it to locate the mats. Lugging a box down the hall, you place them as neatly as possible before the main entrance.

Stepping away, you take a photo for Namjoon. You're returning your phone to your pocket when you glance up and realize the tree's star is crooked.

It wasn't obvious from where you stood before but from here, the error is clear as day.

Swearing again, you check the front desk and find Yoongi's still busy. Another look at your watch says you have five minutes to go before Jungkook's arrival.

You blame your dad for your can-do attitude.

After your birth, your parents kept trying, but a second child just wasn't in the cards. Your dad made up for it by joking you had the energy of three children, anyways – always ensuring you felt you were enough. Everything was possible, and nothing was ever off the table. After he died, you were the one who took care of your mom and now, at the Inn, you do the same.

Retreating to the supply closet, you grab the stepladder and return to the lobby. Kicking open its frame, you place this before the tree and start to climb. Halfway up the ladder, you begin to regret your decision. While you're more than capable of fixing an ornament, you're currently wearing heels. It makes everything more difficult and when your foot slips, you recoil and cling to the rungs.

A moment passes while you slow your racing heartbeat, and then you grip the rungs tighter and continue to climb. On the next step, you make the mistake of looking down.

"Oh, fuck," you mutter.

You're not exactly scared of heights, but neither do you enjoy them. Especially not while balancing precariously on ladders while wearing pumps.

There's nothing to do but continue and so, gritting your teeth, you force yourself to climb. Reaching the top, you exhale and lean over, adjusting the star.