by Yirak, Laura
“Shhhhhhhhhhhhh! Oh yes, I go there on Friday nights and get fried pizza,” Judy said. “Patrick you’re putting me in the mood for that. You mentioned stables. Are there horses then?”
“No, no. Alesta never talks about that, a sensitive subject. I’m not sure when there was or what happened?”
“I see,” Judy said as she stood up craving some gossip on her new boss.
Patrick followed, “Oh, I should ask you now while it’s slow. I know it’s your first day Judy, but are you okay to cover me tonight if I go out? Claire is handling the food. All you have to do is answer the phones if the guests want anything.”
“Um…..well…..” she hesitated, “Sure, Patrick. Then I can get more acquainted with the place. Are you sure about leaving me alone? Will Alesta be okay with it?” Judy asked in a concerned tone.
“Yes, well, the truth is she wants me to go out with her. She thinks I need a break, from this place and I’ve been studying too much.” Patrick rubbed his hand over his sore head. “But I’ll wait to see how I feel later. My headache isn’t too bad, but I might not want to be out in a noisy bar or something. We shouldn’t be long.”
“Yes, even so, if you stay here, I’ll cover you so you can rest. Anyways it wasn’t too hard to figure out, when you were gone. I’m a real pro,” Judy giggled.
“Yes, thank you for that. I am very impressed,” Patrick said. “Let’s go into the Great Hall next.”
The hall was empty. The sun lit the room, but it wouldn’t be for long as dusk set in.
Patrick explained, “We serve most meals in here unless the couple wants room service and some do their entire trip. We hire Claire in when it’s busy, but if it’s not it will be up to us to take care of the meals and serving. We keep record of what each guest consumes and after meals I enter it all into the computer. Breakfast is included of course. They sign for the final bill upon checkout. There is occasion when the guests invite others to meet them for dinner and in those cases they might pay separate from their room bill, if that happens I will show you how to ring them up. It’s very simple.”
They left the room and Patrick showed Judy how to log in to the computer and how to check people in and out and how to add in other expenses as well as ringing up separate transactions. Judy took it all in. She had had experience with this sort of thing at the church. She felt relieved to see that it was easy to do. Before that however Judy had been completely computer illiterate, it was always the mouse that bothered her, having control of it as she moved the arrow around the computer screen, but she figured it out with practice.
“The only time you will feel stressed is when everything happens at once. Like one guest wants to check out and the others want room service at the same time. What do you think you would do in that situation Judy?”
Judy thought a minute. “I would check the guest out first and then take care of the food request.”
“Right,” Patrick said, “It would be silly to make them wait to check out when that only takes a couple of minutes. I will let you formally check in that couple that is already here in the computer and did they have anything upon arrival?”
“Oh yes they did, two coffees,” Judy said. “And I took the other gentleman, tea and lunch,” Judy remembered.
“Okay so enter all that in as I showed you and I will be back in a minute to see if you did it correctly.” Patrick left and went to check on Claire.
Judy went through the program and slowly, to make sure she entered everything correctly. There was set prices for drinks and lunch items that she just clicked on under each room file.
“There!” she was done. Judy sat patiently and waited for Patrick to return.
Patrick made some tea while watching Claire fiddle about in the kitchen.
“Smells wonderful!” Patrick said as he smelled the soup that Claire was making. Steam billowed into the air from the large metal pot carrying the aroma of onions and garlic.
“Thanks, it’s a starter. A nice fresh veggie soup.” Claire stirred the soup.
“I might have to try a bit later, if there is any left.” Patrick poured water on his tea bag and let it sit.
“So….. Judy Worth?” Claire inquired.
“Yes, she’s a very nice woman and is catching on very quickly.” Patrick poured milk in his tea and added two sugars.
“I used to go to school with her daughter Cara, but I have not seen her around in a very long time. We were not friends or anything like that. I just knew of her.” Claire moved around the kitchen quickly and pulled out some steaks. She made a quick season rub and prepped them.
Patrick changed the subject; he wasn’t into gossip and he knew that Claire could.
“Well I better get back. Smells great Claire.” Patrick drank down his tea.
With a sigh Claire continued on with her cooking. It had been a while since she had worked at the manor. She mostly worked in town, but she loved the atmosphere the place held and she made great money there. She had asked Alesta about hiring on full time to cook, but Alesta had declined saying that they didn’t need it. Maybe Alesta would change her mind this summer, Claire hoped.
Claire put the meat into the fridge and text messaged her boyfriend on her cell phone: At the manor, come by later. He replied a few minutes later and Claire smiled to herself.
After close inspection, Patrick, noticed that Judy had only made one small billing error, but he corrected it and explained it to her. She was surprisingly receptive. As they were chatting the door bell jingled and an older couple came in the door. All Judy noticed was that they were laughing, talking very loudly and dressed to impress.
Patrick whispered to Judy. “Just observe for now.”
Patrick stood up straight. “Welcome to McKenzie Manor, How may I help you?” he asked attentively.
“Yes, we have a reservation,” the older grey haired man said in a rather snooty English accent.
“And what is your last name?” Patrick asked nicely. Judy watched as they looked Patrick up and down and the woman sighed.
“Daugherty. Could we hurry this up please?”
“Yes, certainly. The Gold room is our deluxe suite with balcony. I have a note in here that you wish to have champagne delivered to your room upon arrival. We will bring that up promptly. Let me carry your bags and this way Sir.” Patrick handed them their keys and picked up their belongings, Judy followed.
All was quiet as they went up the stairs. The Gold room was at the top of the stairs and the center balcony gave way to the best view of the manor. Patrick dropped off the couple, accepted a tip and hurried back down the stairs with Judy behind him.
“The trick to this type of guest, Judy, is to treat them like they were the only people who ever existed and be very proper and timely. Alesta always loves this sort. They seem to worship her eventually. I don’t know how she pulls it off. Anyways, into the kitchen and I will show you our wine selection. Alesta has a bit of everything.”
They both passed Claire who was busily chopping and next to the pantry was another walk-in mini wine cellar, even though it wasn’t a cellar. Hundreds of bottles lined the walls and Patrick squeezed his way in. Sometimes everything was a tight fit for Patrick, too much muscle.
“The left rack has the most expensive, so be kind when you dust in here or moving around.” He pulled out the specified bottle of champagne. “Now it’s all in the presentation Judy,” he continued.
Judy watched Patrick as he gathered two crystal champagne glasses, on a silver platter and placed several strawberries on a silver plate next to the glasses. He put some brown sugar and fresh cream into a small dish, and balanced the entire setup on his hand.
“Practice is important with this stuff Judy, but when you have time, don’t use the expensive ware, some of the sets are irreplaceable,” Patrick said and Judy nodded.
They hurried back up the stairs and delivered the champagne. Patrick offered to open the bottle and pour the champagne but the couple declined and closed the door.
“I’ll let you check them into the computer and add in the champagne Judy,” Patrick directed her. “I am going to check on the Great Hall and start setting it up for dinner. One couple hasn’t checked in yet. I wonder where they are?” he said as his voice got quieter the further away he got from her.
The sound of footsteps carried above Judy, she watched Allister as he came down the stairs. He was wearing a neatly pressed dark grey slacks and a light blue button up shirt. He looked good she thought, compared to when she had first met him earlier.
“Hello there. That sandwich earlier was scrumptious,” Allister said.
“Why thank you,” Judy replied.
“Did you find the young man you were looking for?” he asked.
“Yes I did. Thank you for your help and sorry I disturbed you,” she said.
“Ah yes, well I was a bit tired, but I have finally caught up on my sleep and I’m ready for the evening,” Allister said. “But I’m off for a walk before dinner. Cheerio!”
Judy watched Allister as he exited the front door. She thought back to her earlier days and to the man she once loved, her daughter’s father. He would be about Allister’s age now. Judy sighed, and quickly pushed those thoughts away. Sometimes it was better to forget, she thought.
“Are you all finished then?” Patrick asked, suddenly behind her.
Judy surprised that she hadn’t noticed his presence earlier paused and said, “Oh, yes, now what?”
“Well Claire is taking care of dinner and serving and everything like that so why don’t you take some time off, before I go out for the evening, and get a bite to eat. Help yourself in the kitchen. I’ll take care of the place till we all leave later. You’re probably overloaded anyways.”
“Sure, thanks Patrick, I was feeling hungry. So you’re feeling better then, your head I mean?” Judy inquired.
“Yes, the pain killer worked great! Right, off you go,” Patrick insisted.
Patrick smiled at Judy as she left. He was tired of teaching for the moment. He hadn’t really trained anyone before. But he thought he was doing a good job and tried to push away the feelings of guilt for leaving Judy alone on her first day. It wasn’t his fault that he had fallen down into that place of darkness.
A chill ran over his body as he remembered his dream. It had been so real to him, the eyes. He felt like he was being watched there as he sat at the front desk. He decided to surf the internet to distract the looming feeling that disturbed him. It was the head injury he thought. Yes, it was the head injury.
Chapter 4
The sun set, Alesta awoke. She stretched inside her black cradle and the lid slid open with an echoing thud. The vampire stepped out, elegant death. The solid gold coffin closed behind her and she stood quietly listening. She heard nothing. There was peace in her world.
Alesta was in the mood for a bath before her planned night out. Across the hall from her dressing room was a large bathing room. There was a very large glass walk-in shower that could hold six and the big jet tub accommodated the same. She of course, had not had that much company over lately and thought it wasteful to use all that water, but she hadn’t had one in a long time and drew herself a bath.
The lights stayed out and vampire eyes revealed a dark blue hue lightly outlining the details of the room. The water and steam from the bath a brighter blue indicating heat. Alesta undressed from her silk garbs and stepped into the fluorescent blue water. She laid her head back and turned on the jets. Bright blue bubbles engulfed her, tickling every inch of her vampire skin.
Thoughts of work and the manor, circled in her mind. She brushed them away and tried to envision nothing. Clearing the mind was a hard thing to do but she tried to do it at least once a week. Modern times were busy times, not like it was when she was mortal all those years ago. After realizing almost perfect clarity, Alesta held on and took slow deep breaths, exhaling through pursed lips. The vampire mind was a vast dark realm, empty, and never quite satisfied, but she tried none the less.
As the clarity came, the Count’s face appeared. He was always there. She would never be able to envision nothingness and its vast perfection. Maybe he was perfection to her. He was her maker after all. His glowing hazel eyes smiled at her, with nice lips following. He never showed his fangs to her. A vampire smile with no fangs, gave him a mortal appearance, yet he was not, just pure and utter male beauty.
“I see you,” the Count whispered. “I miss you.”
Alesta replied in her mind without uttering a single word, “I love you.”
“Meine liebe!” the Count replied.
Alesta reached out and carefully touched his soft brown locks of hair that sat on his shoulders. The Count leaned his chiseled chin upon her hand and then softly kissed it. He held her there in the emptiness, their hearts beating as one. Each knowing that they would always be connected.
“I need you,” Alesta said.
“I know,” the Count replied.
“Come and see me?” she asked.
“When?”
“My birthday.”
“You’re immortal Birthday?”
“Yes.”
“I will be there, meine liebe,” he said. “It has been too long.”
“Yes.”
The Count held Alesta tight, time stood still as it always did when they were together. It was bliss. Alesta heard a noise in the room with her and as she did his face vanished. She was left hanging on and her heart sank. As she opened her eyes, Mitsy flashed her bright blue topaz eyes at her against the dark blue background.
“Meow!”
“Mitsy, you silly kitty!” Alesta protested. “Ah! What are you hungry?”
“Meow.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. I’m almost finished. I’ll be out in a minute.”
The Siamese cat had made its demands and then left.
“Sometimes that cat!” Alesta said and then stood up dismayed. “You’d think it was human.”
The lavender scented water dripped off her, she wrapped herself up in her favorite plush white robe made for her and snuck up out of her dungeon and up to her house above. It was a bit cold, but she was quick. After turning up the heat and fixing Mitsy a nice tuna bowl, she went up to her bedroom that she never slept in. It was time to get ready for a night on the town!
Dinner was finally ready to be served. All the guests sat at the big table as well as a few extra people that some of the guests had invited. Indistinct chatter echoed off the walls of the Great Hall. Patrick peeked his head in and watched Claire serve the freshly made soup as an appetizer and refill the wine glasses as she went. She was quick, not spilling a single drop making it all look effortless. Everyone looked happy and well taken care of. He quietly sighed with relief. The first busy weekend always made him a little nervous.
The kitchen was a disaster however as Patrick discovered a few seconds later, but realized that it was the organized work of a perfectionist. There were plates, knives and food scraps everywhere. Claire looked a bit frazzled when she reentered the stuffy kitchen.
“They say, that the better the chef, the messier the kitchen,” Patrick said.
“Patrick, I haven’t served this many in a while,” Claire said as she prepared the dinner plates.
“Claire, you are doing fine. I just checked on them and they all look very happy. Don’t worry. Do you need any help?” Patrick asked.
“No. I will feel better once I serve out the main course.” She carefully picked up the plates and put them on a big serving tray and whisked them out the swinging door.
Patrick snuck a quick bowl of soup, added some salt and pepper and disappeared out to the front. He ate quickly and as he finished looked up to see Alesta. Patrick jumped.
“Alesta, you surprised me again.” Patrick smiled at her, he couldn’t help it.
Alesta could smell his dried blood, “Well looking at the state of you, I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“The state of me, what do you mean?”
&nb
sp; “Patrick, what happened to your head?”
“Oh that. I had forgotten about it. I fell earlier.” Patrick looked away quickly.
“Oh, how? Are you okay? Do you want me to look at it?” Alesta asked in a concerned tone.
Secretly pleased Patrick kept his eyes on his empty bowl, “You can look at it….. Judy wanted me to go to the hospital but you know how I feel about that.”
“Well let me at least have look at it.” Alesta stood beside him and lifted up his smooth brown hair.
The wound was all coagulated and crusted over with dark dried blood. There was red bruising that was beginning to creep down the side of Patrick’s face.
“This needed stitches.” Alesta paused.
“I don’t need stitches,” he denied.
“Hmmm, let me think….. You really do need them. I can reopen the wound and do it for you if you want? Otherwise you’ll have a big scar there and it will take a lot longer to heal.”
“Will it hurt if you do that?” Patrick cringed inside, hiding it from Alesta.
“I won’t lie, it might. Are you on anything right now?” she asked.
“Yes, aspirin.”
“Well if you went to the ER, they would numb the site, but I don’t carry anything like that. Maybe we should go there.” Alesta knew what his answer would be.
“No, no.” Patrick started to act tough. “I’ll be fine. Do it.”
“Okay?” she said uncertainly, giving him a chance to change his mind. He looked at her and said nothing.
“Well, follow me to my house. I have all the supplies there. Oh, are you okay to leave? I totally forgot. Where’s Judy?”
“She’s fine, and Claire is feeding the guests. Everything is covered,” he said.
“Right then, this way.” Alesta led the way and Patrick followed like a puppy.
Patrick sat at the kitchen table facing the window and watched the night sky fill with clouds. Alesta’s kitchen was so empty he thought. He had only been there twice before. She was so immaculate. It was like no one lived there. And to think about it, he had never seen her eat, no wonder she was thin, maybe she was anorexic or something. He pondered this but put the thought aside, she wasn’t horribly thin. Mitsy brushed up against his knee high socks and purred.