Natalia Nabatov was in her room unpacking her second suitcase.   She had arrived at The Point two days ago.   The area surrounding the hotel contained beautiful walking trails, sparkling ponds, and even a few mountain peaks.   The people she had met from the resort were very friendly and helpful.   Natalia felt her stomach jump with excitement.   She had never been on an adventure before; it both thrilled and scared her.  She heard someone knock at her door.

“Just a minute!”

A voice on the other side called out before she reached the door.

“It’s Tina.”

“Good morning!” Natalia beamed.

“Hey!  How are you doing?  Is everything to your liking?   Anything you need?”

“No, everything is perfect!  I was unpacking my other suitcase and deciding what I wanted to do.  Any suggestions?”

Of course, Tina had a suggestion.   She knew Bud went for a walk along the beach most mornings.  This was almost too easy.

“You know the beach is beautiful this time of day,” she said enthusiastically.

“Oh, I’m not much of a swimmer.   And I don’t care to sit on hot sand under a hot sun.”

“Didn’t see that coming,” Tina thought.

“Don’t you like to walk in the sand?   Many people find it relaxing.”

“No, I’m not fond of sand in my shoes.”

“Really?  Now what?”  Tina wondered.

“Thanks, though.   I think I will check out the tennis court.”

“Oh, you like tennis?” Tina asked weakly.

“I LOVE the game!”

Tina was at a loss.  Tennis certainly wasn’t Bud’s game.   She backed towards the door, a smile on her face.

“You have a great time then.   Let us know if you need something.”

“I will.  And thank you for stopping by!”

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By the time Tina was back at the front desk, she was muttering loud enough for John to hear her in the office.  He poked his head around the corner and watched the curls on the back of her head bounce.

“Now what’s got you so agitated?   Your head looks like it’s on spin dry!”

“I went to visit Natalia this morning.”

John frowned.

“I know what you’re going to say.   But I thought I had this all sewn up!   She didn’t know what to do, and asked me for suggestions.”

“And, being the helpful person you are, you suggested the beach because Bud usually walks it.”

“Yes!” Tina said, gesturing with her hands.   “You understand!”

“I understand that you can’t always manipulate events to suit your purpose.   Even if you mean well.”

“Natalia doesn’t like the beach.”  Tina gave him her best pouty face.

John smiled.

“Didn’t matter anyway, darlin’, Bud’s not at the beach.”

“What?  He’s supposed to be at the beach!”

John laughed.

“He’s not ‘supposed’ to be anywhere.  He was looking for something to do, so I sent him over to Andy.   He’s running behind on some repairs.   I figured Andy’d find something for Bud to fix.”

Tina sighed and shrugged.

“Tina, the best thing is to let nature take it’s course.”

“And with a little push from me, it will,”  she thought.