Oceanbank - 4. OB Chapter 4

When I informed Andrew of the email, we looked at the booking system and confirmed the booking, and we discussed the issues with having additional beds for one of the cottages to accommodate my brothers. “How about we use our former home for them, that way they have three bedrooms and additional living space all to themselves?” Andrew suggested after a few moments of thinking about it. “Brilliant, that way we can still have the cottages for other guests since it will be a busy time of the year, according to previous booking records going back a few years, which I was looking at last week,” I replied.

With just five weeks until the school holidays, we got busy with getting the house ready for our family guests, with a few additional furniture and household items ordered from the mainland, which would be shipped over, as we decided to make the house a permanent additional accommodation for guests. When all the additional supplies arrived two weeks later, we got busy with getting everything in place, and we managed to have the house and surroundings professionally photographed, thanks to one of our guests and his wife, who helped to make a few adjustments to the furnishings to make it more homely.

Once that was all done, we added the “Home Cottage” as additional accommodation, which would be available the week after the school holidays, which includes the Easter long weekend, onto the website, and it only took a few hours before the expected phone call came from my parents. “Hello son, we were just checking our booking online, and we noticed the additional accommodation available at your business, but it isn’t available until after we are there,” Dad said when I answered the call.

“That would have been ideal for our large family to stay in, especially with your cousins joining us,” Mum added, and I chuckled at these comments. The cottage is not available until after the long weekend, because you and the family will be the first people staying at the Home Cottage,” I responded, and there was total silence on the line for a few moments, until my folks realised what I was saying. “You did that for us?” Mum asked. “Yes, Mum, we decided that having two cottages would be too disjointing for the family, and since Andrew and I have moved to our new home off-site recently, we decided that it would be ideal for larger families,” I replied.

“That is wonderful news, son, thank you for doing that for us. Is your new place very far from the accommodation?” Dad asked me, “No, just two kilometres down the road, so not that far away. I will also have our second vehicle available for you and the family to use while staying here on the island, so you won’t need to book a hire car for your stay here, and either Andrew or I will pick you up from the airport when you arrive,” I added.

When the day arrived for when the family would be coming over from Western Australia, Andrew and I both drove to the airport in two vehicles, with the flight due to land at 1545 hours, and we arrived half an hour early to be sure that we had plenty of time. Most of the other accommodation places on the island also provide courtesy transport to the hotels and villas, and we had started to get to know some of them, and surprisingly, there was never any hostility amongst them as business competitors.

When the flight finally arrived, just ten minutes behind the scheduled time, we saw smiling, relaxed faces as the family appeared, and Mum pulled Andrew and me into a big, warm hug, which Dad joined in moments later and moments after my brothers and cousins joined in, which made me laugh. “Can we have some air, please?” Andrew said shortly afterwards, and we all laughed at this as we separated. “Ok, most of the luggage plus three in the vehicle with Andrew, and the remaining four are with me,” I announced to the family.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at the accommodation, and we dropped off the cousins at one of the smaller cabins first, and pointed out to them where the Home Cottage was located, so they knew where to find the rest of the family. Once everyone and their luggage were unloaded, we let them settle in. At the same time, we returned to our home for a brief while, as that is where we have set up our business office now. With three part-time housekeepers and two casual housekeepers, and a full-time groundsman, we coordinated everything from our new office location.

Once back at my office, I checked the restaurant booking that I had made a few days earlier, before sending a text message to Mum, to her know that we were all having dinner at a restaurant in the village, with the booking set for 7 pm, and that we would pick everyone up at 6.45 pm, and I soon received a thumbs up text in return. Dinner was a wonderful family reunion celebration, with everyone having a great time, and I insisted to pay the entire meal bill, which Mum and Dad were not too pleased about but eventually accepted, and Andrew and I drove them back to the accommodation for their first night on the island, leaving one vehicle behind, while Andrew and I headed to our off-site home to rest and relax, before heading to bed.

The following morning, we received a text message from Dad, “Good morning, do you have plans set for us today?” and I showed the message to Andrew before sending a response. “Yes, we have a few things planned for today, including a picnic lunch on the highest peak on the island,” I sent in response. For the whole time that my parents and siblings were on the island, I was kept busy keeping them busy with tours, recreation activities and nice meals at various restaurants, while Andrew took over some of my daily duties to keep the business running smoothly.

The time of their stay had passed very quickly, and on the day of their departure had finally arrived, and sadly, Andrew and I gathered with the family at the airport terminal to wish them farewell. Once the family had passed through the secure area, Andrew and I remained at the viewing area until the aircraft, which would transport the family back to the Australian mainland and onwards back to Perth, left the terminal and taxied towards the main runway, where it paused for a short moment before rushing down the runway, lifting into the air.

That evening, we received a text message from Dad, “Settling into our hotel accommodation in Sydney, we are spending two days here before flying home. Thank you for a wonderful holiday. Love Mum, Dad and siblings.” I showed the message to Andrew, who smiled and nodded his head, before we settled in bed, as we had another busy day and week ahead of us tomorrow. For the next few days, we kept busy with our daily chores, and as we settled down for a short lunch break three days after our family had left, I received another text message from my parents,

“Hello sons, we have arrived home safely. Once again, thank you for the wonderful holiday. Take care, and we hope to see you here at home soon, with lots of love, the family.” I showed the message to Andrew, who grinned broadly and continued to eat, as we had a busy afternoon ahead of us. Later that day, when we had a moment to rest for a few minutes, “What do you think about us heading home when things quieten down a little?” Andrew asked me. “Yes, that would be nice, but we will have to wait for a few months until we have everything running smoothly, and we get a reliable manager in place to run things while we are away,” I responded.

The End