Queen Victoria Inn

Bryan was an electrician by trade, and today he found himself working at the Vic, adding in light fixtures and electrical plugs to an old storeroom that was being converted into a Bedroom Suite. He was having a devil of a time trying to isolate all the old circuits he was working with. The Vic was an old building which has had its electrical bones worked and reworked over the years. He was no stranger to the Vic, being an old friend of the proprietor Valerie. Hell, he even did a couple of jobs here back when he was a 17 year old intern journeyman working for Bert, the original owner of B&B Electrical. Back in those days the 'Queen Victoria' was the place to see and be seen. The elite came from all over to stay in her ornate rooms and visit the quaint little town. Bryan's mind drifted back to those days. He remembered how Bert always jumped at the chance to see Valerie at the Vic. No matter what seemed to be the problem, he was at the door with bells on whenever Valerie called. It didn't take long for the young journeyman to realize that Bert and Valerie were an item, even though Bert had a little woman at home. Bryan quickly learned to mind his own business.

Bryan shook his head, trying to remove the cobwebs of the past that he had just drifted into. He was much older now, 49 to be exact, and the sole owner/employee of B&B Electrical. The quaint little town of Hanover had fallen on hard times. With many of the manufacturing plants in neighboring cities and towns closing up and moving overseas. Although he had somehow managed to hang on to the little town for whatever reason, much of his family and friends had gotten out, or 'escaped', as many of them liked to say. Not much in the town existed as it had back then and the Queen Vic was no exception. The ornate decorations were old and worn. Much needed repairs were put off, and although the Vic still housed "residents", it wasn't an Inn anymore. Nope, these residents were, to use an old term from the Vic's hay day, of 'ill repute'.

Valerie had somehow managed to evolve from Innkeeper to Madam during this time, although Bryan often wondered how blurred that line was even back then. It sure would explain a lot of the shenanigans he witnessed over the years, especially with Bert and many other of the area tradesmen. It didn't matter to him though, a friend was a friend, and she was a paying customer. He shook his head again, these cobwebs in his mind just weren't giving up on their own. Not a good thing because a distracted Electrician could get...

"Ouch...SHIT!" Some sparks flew and Bryan was knocked off the short step ladder. He was only one step up, but the fall was clumsy and he was flat on his back. "SON OF A BITCH" he yelled. He had no one to blame but himself, and of course the old Vic, which always had a few surprises for him.

At that moment, Valerie opened the door into the room and hearing the cursing she said, "Bryan are you OK? Oh my God." She wasn't able to stop the motion of opening the door before she hit him in the head with it.

"Ow...Jeez". This day was just getting better. Bryan rolled over in pain.

Valerie and the other woman who she was with both rushed to his side. "Are you OK?" they both yelled in unison.

"Yeah...I guess," said Bryan. The head bump was no big deal. He was always accused of having a hard head. "Just got a shocking little present from her majesty" and he raised his arm to get his first look at the injury. "Damn" he said. "That's a decent sized burn mark".

"Let me see", said Valerie. "Oh my God, Bryan! Let me go get some ice. Liz, stay with him until I get back".

Bryan was still in a daze, whether it was the nasty little shock, the fall, the door bashing into his skull, or a combination of the 3, he wasn't going to be able to get back up for a bit. He laid there staring at his arm.

Liz kneeled next to him and took a look at his arm. "Oh my", she said. "I think I have some lotion that will help soothe that burn". She dove into her handbag and pulled out the small bottle. She poured a few drops into her own hand and began to carefully rub the lotion into his burn.

Bryan soon realized that the lotion was soothing the pain. Still dealing with the fog in his brain, he looked up from his arm to view the angel that was attending to his wound. From this close up Bryan was looking directly into her face and a smile quickly came back to his. "Wow.." his voice trailed off.

"What? Is that OK? Am I hurting you?" said Liz.

"It's just...Wow", he stammered. You see, Bryan wasn't feeling the electrical burn, the sore back, or the lump on his head. The only thing he felt was lost. Lost in the beautiful green eyes of this woman rendering aid.

"Sorry...I'm a little dazed". He said. He sat quietly as he tried to form some coherent thoughts. Where was he? Oh yeah, the Vic. What happened? Oh yeah, got my butt thrown from the ladder. Who is she? Oh yeah, I don't know.

"Oh, that does feel better. Thanks." he said. "Sorry, where are my manners...my name is Bryan."

"I figured as much", she said. "From all the yelling that Valerie was doing, I kind of figured that was your name." She set his arm down next to him. "My name is..."

Valerie burst into the room with the ice, and of course, banged the door back into Bryan.

"Ow...crap!" said Bryan. "Valerie, if this is your way of helping me, I wish you would stop!" Liz couldn't stifle a little giggle.

"Well, I never! See if I protect you from the girls next time they set their sights on you", said Valerie as she handed Bryan the bag of ice.

"Which one of my injuries is this for?" said Bryan. "My arm, my back or the TWO lumps on my head?"

"Put it on your head I guess, there's no chance of you freezing that tortured brain of yours!" huffed Valerie.

"I'm Sorry" said Bryan. "Just a little mad at my predicament".

Valerie quickly softened her gaze at him. Valerie was in her 70s now, and had known Bryan most of his life. She still looked at him as Bert's apprentice, but that hadn't been true in years. Somehow looking at Bryan always reminded her of Bert, even though it's been 15 years since he had passed. "Well, you're forgiven," she said.

"You won't be saying that when you get my bill!" said Bryan.

"Watch it, or there will be a third lump on that noggin of yours!" said Valerie. Liz giggled again.

"Val, are you going to introduce us or do I just have to guess who you've brought in here with you?" said Bryan.

"Oh right. Well, this is..." and then, what seemed like all hell, broke loose.

"Bryan, Bryan are you OK? I heard you were injured! Oh! You poor man!" shouted Lorna. She and 3 of her comrades in arms rushed to Bryan's side, pushing Valerie out of the way and literally knocking Liz back onto her rear. Lorna was the most popular 'lady of the evening' working at the Vic. Behind her Lily, Bethany and Bonnie also made their way to Bryan's side.

"Where does it hurt? Don't worry. Lorna will make you feel ALL better", and with that, Lorna picked up Bryan by the head and shoulders and crushed him into her ample bosom.

"Ah...Um...Ugh" was all Bryan could say. He was being completely smothered by her breasts. "Isn't that ALL better now?" said Lorna.

Bethany tried to get into the act. She grabbed Bryan and attempted the same maneuver. All Bryan could do was gasp for breath as he left Lorna's chest before he bounced into Bethany's. "Don't worry Bryan, I will make sure you are FULLY healed," announced Bethany.

Valerie was going to immediately protest this charade by Lorna and Bethany, but then decided to let Bryan 'dangle in the wind' so to speak, punishing him for the teasing he gave her earlier. Lorna pushed Bethany back and again slammed Bryan's head back into her boobs. "No, I will be his nurse! Won't I, Bryan?" Bryan let out a weak "Ow" as Lorna managed to grab his head right where the initial door bump was.

Finally, Valerie spoke up. "Ladies, leave him alone! You're not helping, you know the rules! And you two...that display is going to cost you another ten each." They all looked up at Valerie and slowly each one made her way out the door. Bryan could swear he heard a 'Pop' when Lorna pulled his head out of her cleavage.

"Thanks Val...I guess", Bryan said after he was able to get a few gulps of air. Other than the salve from the green eyed woman, every other attempt at helping him had been a fiasco. Bryan made it back to his feet and shook his head one more time.

"You're looking like you're doing OK...we'll let you get back to work. We need this room as soon as you can finish! Come on, Liz, I'll introduce you to the rest of the ladies here", said Valerie. And with that Valerie helped Liz off the floor and pulled her toward the door. All Liz could muster was a quick "bye" before she was ushered out. The door slammed shut.

Bryan was left alone in a now quiet room. As he looked back toward the work he was doing, he couldn't help but think "What the hell just happened?" He remembered the flash, the pain in his back from falling, his head getting banged by the door, a pair of beautiful green eyes, another head strike, and then being almost smothered to death. That was a hell of a lot to happen in an afternoon in this run down old town, much less than in just the last 30 minutes. Then he remembered something else. "Her name was Liz".

--

Liz was beginning to think this wasn't a good idea as she walked up the steps of the Queen Victoria. She wasn't even sure she would go in. She had sat in her run down old car for fully 20 minutes before taking a deep breath and making her way to the front door. She thought about how she really didn't know what to expect and how she had run out of options. A friend of hers who had also been down on her luck gave her Valerie's number and said she was nice. Her friend also said that most of the customers were nice. Most of them. That unnerved Liz. Just as she thought about turning around, the door opened.

"You must be Liz, I was expecting you a little earlier" said Valerie. Before Liz could muster a response, Valerie said "No matter, come in, I have some tea on. Let's have a chat".

"Thanks" said Liz. She looked over the furnishings in the Queen Victoria as they headed toward the kitchen. This place had definitely seen better days, but it looked and smelled clean.

It was a quick walk to the kitchen. Valerie pointed to a chair across the table from her, then set down two cups. Tea bags, sugar and a stack of paperwork were already on the table. Liz took the seat as Valerie returned with the kettle. "Well, I guess a quick introduction. I'm Valerie, Valerie Hutchens, and I run everything here at the Queen Victoria."

Liz responded with "Hi, I'm Liz Marshall and yes, I'm looking for work. I was referred to you by my friend Jane."

"Oh, I remember Jane. She was a sweet girl. Didn't last too long here though." said Valerie.

Liz swallowed hard. She was wondering if having Jane as a reference was now going to work against her. "Oh, I didn't know that. I hope it was an amicable split?" she said.

"Some big wig swept through town and snatched her up. Hell, I hear she's doing just fine now so yeah, no worries," said Val. Liz quickly wished that her fate would be the same, at least the part of not having to be here too long. "Well Liz, most folks don't aspire to come work here, so let me hear your story."

Liz sighed. It wasn't a story she'd like to repeat. She figured she'd just give Val the Cliff Notes. "I'm 32 and pretty much at the end of my rope. A series of bad luck and worse relationships have left me with very little to show for my name."

"Are you currently with anyone? This kind of job isn't real good for relationships." said Val.

"No," replied Liz. "The last one was over 5 months ago. He wrecked my car while on a bender. Cost me plenty. I can really pick'em. Seems like every time I thought I finally had a decent boyfriend he'd up and do something to break me." Valerie reached out and put a hand on Liz's shoulder.

"Any family around?" asked Val.

"No, they've all passed. And no kids either, thank God, I wouldn't wish my life onto another soul." Liz said as she began to feel tears fill her eyes.

Val had heard these types of stories before, but they still broke her heart. After all, Val's family at this point were all the girls that worked for her and some of her good friends around town. Val always seemed to feel the need to provide comfort where she could. "So, do you really want to do this, Liz?" asked Val.

"I...I...I guess," Liz stammered.

"Hmm, not the most convincing of answers," said Val. "Especially since I'm going through the trouble of adding an extra suite for you. The house is full at the moment."

"I'm sorry...I'm just scared" said Liz, "I didn't know you were full up. I don't want to impose."

"Well, let's just take this one step at a time." Val reassured her. "These forms here are for you to fill out. Take a quick read through, you don't need to do them now, but you'll need to have them completed before your first appointment. Ask me any questions you may have, and then we'll go take a look at how your suite is coming along."

Liz paged through the forms. Most looked like standard employment forms, personal information and background checks. Things she had filled out before without much issue. But, it was the last form that confused her. "What's this Menu form?" asked Liz.

"Oh, the Menu," explained Val. "This is the list of things you are willing to perform with your clients, along with the price you expect. We have to be very clear with our clientele up front, that way there are no misunderstandings and no arguments when it comes to the final bill."

A little wave of nausea washed over Liz. Val thought she could see her turn a little green. "I've never even thought about that," Liz said. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. I...I'm not sure I'm up for this."

"Well, don't worry too much right now," said Val. "Tell you what. Let's go see how your room is coming along and then afterward we can meet the other girls. I'm sure they can give you some good pointers on what to expect and how much you can charge. They'll make it a lot easier for you to fill out your Menu."

Liz took a quick sip of her tea to try to settle her stomach. At least she didn't need to do anything right away, and it would be good to hear from the others how they handled things. Besides that, she had more immediate issues. She had just been evicted from the crappy little apartment she was renting and had nowhere else to go. She needed a place desperately, and didn't want to end up homeless.

They both stood up and Liz quietly followed Valerie out of the kitchen and through the house to the back hallway. "I'm having an old storeroom that happens to have an attached bathroom converted back into a suite for you," said Val. It's right back this way. It was when they reached the second door on the left of the hallway that they heard a crash, and some slightly muffled cursing.

--

Once back in the hallway, Liz looked over at Valerie and said, "Why in the world were they doing that to him and what did you mean 'it would cost them ten bucks?"

"Oh, that's a bit of a story," said Val. "But since you're going to start working here, you might as well be in on it. First off, that fellow in there is Bryan Thompson. He's been a longtime resident of Hanover and a great friend. We've been through thick and thin in this town, but he's always been there to lend me a hand. He's done a number of jobs at the Queen Victoria over the years. Gosh, it's been decades at this point."

"OK, but that doesn't explain all the commotion back there," said Liz.

"Well," Valerie continued. "Whenever we need work done on the place we've been able to work out kind of a barter system with the local contractors. The handyman will get the job done for the cost of materials and well, one of the girls will take care of the handyman, if you catch my drift. It's definitely been a favorable arrangement for us. The girls don't mind since it keeps the house going and well, I don't think I'd have been able to afford all the repairs to this old place otherwise."

"Oh," Liz said as she thought she was catching on. "So they were just setting up to take care of Bryan after the job was through?" Liz felt a little tinge of pain in her heart at this revelation. She really didn't know why.

"Oh, No. Exactly the opposite," Val continued. "You see, Bryan's the only one who had never taken advantage of this bartering arrangement. He insists he be paid and has never once set foot in here without being on the job. And he's been helping me with repairs for decades like I said."

"OK, Now I'm more confused," said Liz.

"Well, it's been going on for a long time, but back when Bryan was a young buck and just starting to work, the girls back then were quite taken with him. They wanted to get the bartering arrangement with him started, but they just couldn't seem to convince him. One day, the girls came up with a plan...an on-going bet. The first one to get him in bed with them would win and collect the pool of money that they all put into. They never expected that he would be able to resist their charms."

"Oh Jeez, I think I'm starting to understand now," said Liz.

"It gets worse," said Val. "You see, as things started to drag on, more rules were put in place on the bet. Whenever a girl would make an obvious pass at him and fail, she'd have to kick into the kitty. Over time the total pool has grown. It's been so long it's practically a legend now."

"Oh no. So you mean that poor man has a bounty on his head?" asked Liz.

"Ha, more like on his balls!" laughed Valerie. Liz raised her hand to her mouth but, again, couldn't stifle her giggle.

"It's been going on for so many years," said Val. "New ladies would come and go, learn of the bounty and do their darndest to try to win it. It started to get so big so quickly I couldn't keep it all at the house anymore and literally had to put it into the bank. It's been earning interest all this time. Lorna is just the latest who seems set to try to win that prize."

"Wow," said Liz. "How much is in the bounty?"

"I'm not allowed to tell," explained Valerie. "One of the rules! The girls just know it's big, and well, everytime the story gets passed on I'm sure they inflate the prize."

"OK...I get it now," said Liz with a chuckle. "They certainly weren't too subtle about it in there were they?"

"Ha, nothing's subtle about Lorna." replied Val. "But under that painted up veneer of hers is a golden heart. She'll eventually stop seeing dollar signs every time Bryan walks in, they all do. Here, let me introduce you to the rest of the girls living here. And when you're done talking with them, come back to the kitchen and we'll see about some of those forms."

--

Bryan reluctantly returned to his work, being very careful to avoid the wires that began the last chain of events. He couldn't understand what went wrong. He'd followed all the precautions, turned off the juice to the wires he was working on, and even locked the breaker box so no one could turn it back on. He'd have to look further into what was amiss because some of the wires in this room that should not be electrified sure as hell were, as evidenced by the burn mark on his arm.

It took a few hours and a significant amount of scratching his head, but Bryan finally determined that there must be numerous shorts between the breaker box and the lines he was working on. Not good. It was going to take a lot more time, materials and work to get this fixed. He couldn't, in good conscience, justify patching it up. It needed a whole rework. The fact of the matter was that the only thing that probably kept this circuit from causing an electrical fire was that the room wasn't being used. That kind of accident was something Bryan wouldn't chance in a million years. He had a soft spot in his heart for the Queen Victoria, even if it sometimes bit back. He closed up his toolbox and headed back to tell Valerie the bad news.