[color=f7941d]CELESTE BROWN[/color] -- Salem Diner

"I'm closing up soon," Ace had announced. Frieda had escorted what looked like a sloppy Brandy from the establishment, and soon, many others paid their tabs and left.

"Thanks for dinner, Ace!  I'll see ya soon, I hope!" she chimed, a genuine smile on her face, before she slipped off her stool and left as well.  She thought she heard a gun go off, and nearby, when suddenly Brandy's voice could be heard declaring "I'M OKAY!!!"

"Jeepers," Celeste giggled.  She walked back into the inn, closing the door behind her.

"Ah, Manager Celeste!  Welcome back.  Did you enjoy your time in town?"

"Yes, it was fine.  I met some more settlers over at the diner."  Celeste yawned and stretched.  "Well, we're open for business, but we don't have any boarders."

"I will manage the innkeeping overnight while you rest, manager," the bot replied.

"Oh," she yawned again, "fantastic."  Celeste padded her way past the desk and into the hallway.  "Oh, and in the morning, you need a proper name, okay?  Remind me to think of something great."

"I certainly will.  Oh, by the way, what's our nightly rate?"

Celeste paused, tapping her nose as she thought.  "Gosh, I hadn't thought about that.  Ummm...what about...eight caps?"

"Eight caps it is, Manager.  Rest well!"


[color=fff200]MORNING[/color]

Celeste woke feeling rested, though momentarily confused as to where she was.  For a split second, she was looking for her bedroom walls in Niagara Falls, but instead of panicking, she reminded herself she was waking up in the inn.  In [i]her[/i] inn.  She smiled to herself, wiping some rebel curls off her forehead, before getting out of bed.

She dressed herself in a short green dress with ruffled sleeves and a pair of comfortable, strappy brown sandals, and went out to the front desk.  The smell of coffee greeted her, much to her surprise.  "Good morning!" she chimed to the robot.

"Ah, Manager Celeste!  I took the liberty of preparing some coffee, I hope that was quite all right.  I realized I didn't even think to ask your preference before you went to bed."

"Coffee is wonderful," Celeste purred, sauntering into the kitchen and pouring herself some of the fresh brew into a mug.  She hugged it with both hands and inhaled its aroma blissfully, before coming back out to the front counter.  "Any customers overnight?"

"Sadly not, Manager.  If you like, I can return to tidying up the dining hall?  I found some spare paint in the basement and thought the walls could use a bit of a touch up."

Celeste blinked.  "Wow, yes!  Sure!"

"Most excellent!  Well, just ring if you need me, hmm?"  The robot floated off into the kitchen.

"Huh!  Well aren't you helpful."  Suddenly, she gasped, slamming her hands on the counter.  "That's it!"

The robot turned.  "What's that, Manager?"

"Archie!  Your name is Archie!"

It paused.  "That's most creative, Manager Celeste!  'Archie' it is, then."

Celeste perched herself on the stool behind the counter, sipping on her coffee, glancing around for something to do or organize and came up short.  She pulled open all the drawers, being nosy as she was curious, and found an old Boston Bugle with an incomplete word search.

An hour later, she'd consumed three cups of coffee and found herself stuck trying to find PERILOUS.  It simply seemed to be missing from the puzzle part.  The smell of paint had overtaken the inn as the robot hummed and painted the dining hall.

She was bored.

A more intelligent person would likely be fretting for the viability of her business, or even, attempting to think of ways of drawing in more folks, but not Celeste.  She was content to sit there, behind the counter, staring at the ancient word search, and simply hope someone walked in.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked Brandy, followed by Frieda.  The latter was nearly unrecognizable with her hair down and in such soft colours.  “Good morning Celeste,” Brandy greeted her cheerfully as she looked around, “This place is amazing.” 

Celeste straightened and smiled.  "It [i]is[/i] a good morning!" she replied.  Frieda merely smiled.  Just then, the robot entered the reception area from the kitchen.

Brandy's eyes widened. “That is fantastic and this place is HUGE!!”

"Visitors!  Welcome, welcome!" the robot chimed.  "We do hope you enjoy your stay here at Sandy Coves."

"They're not here to stay, Archie," Celeste corrected.  "These are some people I met just last night, Brandy, and Frieda."

"Ah, I see.  Well, do take care not to loiter about too much, hmm?  Please excuse me, I must retrieve some more paint from the basement.  One of those cans had the bones of a dead animal in it and was totally dried out."

The colour drained from Celeste's face.  "The paint, or the bones?"

Archie seemed to hesitate.  "Both, I suppose.  In any case, lovely meeting you all!"  It floated out from behind the receptionist area, back down the hall, and completely out of sight.

She came out from around the desk and put her hands on her hips, having to look up at both the other two women in her presence.  "Well, why don't I take you both on a tour, huh?  Then you can at least tell people you've seen it and it's fantastic," she winked.

Celeste began by leading them up the stairwell immediately sprouting off the foyer.  She pointed out the different rooms, gushing about how each of them have their own bathrooms with [i]real, working plumbing[/i].  "They're all just so unique, you know?  One was decorated all pre-war military style, another was full of boats, then there was one covered in paintings...just such a fascinating place!"

She led them onto the balcony that overlooked the dining hall.  "Now this is one of my favourite things: the big ol' dining hall.  Ace runs a fine diner, and I'm not about to try and compete with that, but just look at that big room!  The robot fixed up a bunch of the tables and chairs, so there's lots of places to sit.  Maybe I should try an' collect some books and magazines, maybe just turn it into a coffee shop?  I do make a decent scone..."

"Anyways," she shrugged, "it seems like a big waste of space if I don't do something cool with it, you know?"  Celeste motioned for the women to continue following her.

"That's my room," she pointed to her quarters.  CELESTES RUME had been written onto the door in permanent marker.  "This is the kitchen -- it's not as big as the one in the diner, I'd imagine, but it will get the job done!  There's a little coffee left, if either of you are interested?  Just help yourself!"

Finally, Celeste led them back into the foyer.  "That's that!  The whole place.  It's only eight caps a night.  Not too steep for a place with clean linens, huh?"  She grinned, looking between both women.  "What do you think?"