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“You ready?” Scott asks.
“This is our chance,” I say, more to myself than to Scott. I step out of the car.
The office exterior could use some maintenance, I notice, like scraping the chipping paint from the intricate carvings on the doorframe and replacing the missing tiles in the mosaic walkway. They must be planning to replace it all, that’s why they haven’t bothered fixing these things. It’s a shame, though, because the character really is worth preserving.
The girl behind the front desk looks up and smiles when we step in. “Hi there!” she calls out.
“They’re with me.” Ray says, stepping into view. “Come on back.”
We walk around the side of the desk, and Ray launches immediately into a long complaint about the last managers, who did a terrible job running this place. He describes their customer service, or lack thereof, and how they actually yelled at one of the guests, “can you believe it?” Scott and I shake our heads.
“It’ll be good to get you on board and start getting these numbers up,” he tells me. “This resort used to make a lot of money.”
“I’m sure it did.” I smile and put my arm on Scott’s shoulder. “Ray, this is Scott.”
Ray nods in Scott’s direction and launches into a description of how successful the resort is going to be. With Kayla on board as his business partner, along with a silent partner who we’ll never meet, this will soon be a great place. The three of them are clearing out the run-down cabins and building luxury ones in their place to attract a better clientele.
“It’s great that you’ll be here for back-up to help during the summer,” he says to Scott.
He must have the wrong idea. “You’re just hiring me, right?” I ask. “The position is for one person?”
“Oh, yeah. Well, whatever it takes,” he says. “I want this place to run in the black, and I don’t care if it takes one person or ten people as long as it’s meeting its potential.” He pauses to give me the first smile I’ve seen from him. “Kayla’s confident that you’re the person to make this place profitable,” he tells me. “Your charm and your American experience.”
As though on cue, Kayla glides through the front door and announces her presence. We follow her out to the parking lot and agree to head down the hill to tour the cabins and boathouse.
“Shall we walk?” I suggest.
“Naw, we’ll drive down,” Ray says, “there’s room for all of us.”
We can see the beach house from where we’re standing. It’s a three minute walk, at most. “Seriously?” I ask.
He nods and opens the door to his shiny diesel truck, motioning for us to hop in.
“We’re going to walk,” I tell him. “We want to get a feel for the place. We’ll meet you down there.”
They take off, and Scott and I make our way down the dirt road that leads to a steep hill lined with cabins. The view takes our breath away. We stop for a moment to take it in, simply appreciating the beauty displayed before us. The trees, beach, and water beyond make a perfect postcard scene. I picture all the family vacations that have taken place here, with kids running around and playing in the water, and parents sitting back and relaxing. I imagine all the families like mine, coming here for a taste of the peace and balance that Salt Spring offers. I can almost hear the echoes of all the people this place has touched over the years.
Next to the beach sits the pool and beach house, with Ray’s truck parked outside. Ray and Kayla are in the beach house, looking at the walls that need to be re-painted. They inform me that the painter is coming next week, and there will be new flooring installed by the time I start. This is the perfect location for weddings and family reunions, and I can book it for special functions, they say.
Ray leads us to several empty cabins. He walks up, opens the door, and stands aside so Scott and I can step in. They’re all new and plush, with stone countertops and stainless steel appliances. We take a quick walk around each one, nodding our heads and offering polite comments: “beautiful,” and “oh, nice.”
There are fourteen cabins in all, and we view seven of them. “That should give you a good sense of what you’ll be selling here,” Ray says. “The rest of the cabins will be updated by next summer.” He and Kayla walk back to the truck. “Come on, get in so we can speed this up,” Ray says. This time we oblige.
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