Natalia Takes the Lead
Chapter Two
At school, Natalia and Caitlin are getting ready for math class. Natalia tells Caitlin about the opportunity to take care of the dogs. Caitlin says it’d be fun, but she’s got an agenda. She needs to study hard to try to get back to the top of the class, since Emma came, and she wants to audition for Glinda in The Wizard of Oz. Natalia has been thinking of auditioning for the part of Wicked Witch of the West, so maybe they can all be in the show together.
As class began, Natalia found herself daydreaming. She thought about being in the show. She could get long, fake nails, green makeup, and wear all black. Maybe one of the dogs she’ll sit for would be perfect to be Toto. And if Zoe was Dorothy, then she and the dog could bond well together. Natalia wanted to do the show, and dog sit, and she wanted to get good grades in school.
She is brought back to reality by her teacher, who makes a point that if she doesn’t know how to do the equations on the board, Natalia may not do well in the midterm. She’ll have to get busy studying later.
After school, Natalia goes to Seaview House to see what Aunt Amy and her mom are up to. They are busy drying flowers to make bouquets to put in the guest rooms. Just then, the phone rings. When Aunt Amy comes back from answering the phone, she announces that an inn in town had a fire, and the fire damaged the patio and dining room. A couple that is planning on having their wedding there in three weeks is searching for a new venue.
The wedding is to be small, thirty people, and they do have enough bedrooms to accommodate that many guests. For the wedding itself, the only things Seaview House would need to provide would be the food and the venue. The only catch is that the couple is bringing two dogs down, and they’d need help taking care of the dogs on the big day, and dog walking the days surrounding the wedding.
Grandma Stephenson says it’s a wonderful idea. Weddings are always happy events, and this provides a great opportunity for Seaview House to get their name out as a B&B and venue for large parties. Natalia assures the adults that she, Emma, and Zoe can handle four dogs, just as they could handle two. After all, how much work could four dogs be?