| Mandm |
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| Part 30.010 ‑ Change of direction |
This story is a complete work of fiction. Whilst some research effort has been made, nothing should be taken as factual, in particular anything to do with medical, legal, technical, political, social, educational or religious issues. Any opinions expressed are those of the characters, not necessarily the author's.
One Friday, after all the members had left, the clean‑up finished and they'd eaten lunch, Kitty announced over the building's public address that they wanted everyone, including security, on the top floor for an important announcement. Meanwhile Chloe was phoning first Roy, asking him and Jane to come, then Doc and Emma. They decided to let Lillian and Dee know separately what they were going to announce, since they had Kyle and Milly with them.
Some fifteen minutes later, Midge and Molly were standing by the settees, Kitty and Chloe either side of them. The rest of the girls were seated on mats, Jack and Jenny were on one settee, Doc and Emma on another, Roy and Jane on a third. Pete was standing to one side.
The four girls standing all had quite serious faces, the girls on the mats had picked up on this, there was none of the usual teasing and horseplay going on, all were looking anxiously at the twins.
When they'd checked everyone was there, and all were settled, Midge began speaking.
"You may be aware that we have stopped taking bookings, you probably won't be aware that yesterday's was our last performance. We have been a little underhand with you by not giving you advance notice, for which I apologise, but as you must realise, none of us can be at our best knowing we were on a countdown to the end of the shows. Chloe, Kitty, Molly and I have tried to maintain our standards, it hasn't been easy."
By this time there were worried looks on all the girls' faces.
Midge continued "When we started the club, we all knew it could only run for a limited number of years. The work we all do is physically demanding, also our bodies inevitably show signs that we are no longer as young as we once were.
"You have probably noticed that the members we've been seeing over the past year or so are almost all repeats, it's rare we see anyone new. In itself, nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that they've all seen the show, mostly several times, with all of the variations that we might do. More concerning is that we have also seen a gradual reduction in waiting times for bookings. This projects to insufficient numbers to fill our current capacity of five spaces, twice a week, within a week or so. Remembering this is a commercial business, it would be unsustainable with reducing numbers.
"Possible options we've considered are putting up the price, but self‑defeating, that would reduce the numbers wanting to come. Cutting down the number of shows is, again, unsustainable, our costs would be essentially unchanged. Finding new acts that would attract more custom, well, we've tried to think of anything else we could do that we think would help, we can't.
"Before I say any more, let me reassure all of you that we can, if necessary, continue to to run the building and pay you your salaries with no business income at all, we can do this from funds that we have from inheritances. But we see this as the wrong way to use monies entrusted to us by our relatives, so, as a sort of promise to ourselves and to them, we want to continue to be a sustainable business.
"Any questions so far?"
Most of the girls were in tears, hugging those near them. Kitty and Chloe both walked over to the mats, went to the little groups of girls, knelt down, put their arms round them and talked quietly to them. Gradually their crying stopped, by the time Kitty and Chloe were back with the twins, all the girls were looking up again.
A hand went up. "Yes, Xanthe?" "Can we help in some way? Maybe take a cut in pay?" There were murmurs of agreement. Midge replied, "That is a possibility, but it's not one we're comfortable with. While it would help sustain the business for a few months, longer term we think it would inevitably be insufficient. It is also something we really, really don't want to do. We know you are all saving for your futures, we have to respect that, we can't accept that as a way forward, but thank you for suggesting it."
"Yes, Hermione?" Hermione said "I'm sure you have ideas for where we go from here, or you wouldn't have stopped taking bookings."
Midge nodded. "Yes, some possibilities, I'll try to put them to you, but be aware, nothing is decided, and nothing will be decided until all of us have thought about it and agreed on what might be best for all of us.
"We could sell up and throw ourselves onto the job market. That is a non‑starter as far as the four of us are concerned, for all sorts of reasons. However, we have had thoughts about finding jobs for some of you from among our friends and acquaintances. I'll maybe come on to that in a little while.
"We did consider working as a sort of escort agency, where we could go out to clients. But we really don't like that idea, it could be dangerous.
"The most promising suggestion, typically one of Kitty's, is that we turn the building into a specialist hotel. We see our clientele as honeymoon couples, or other couples seeking a romantic stay, maybe reawakening their marriages or wanting to spice them up a bit. Perhaps we'd offer to give them something of an education, like we did for Lillian and Dee, which would give us some of the play that we currently enjoy. Maybe interact with them just for fun."
For the first time since they'd gathered, there were some smiles.
"As a hotel, we wouldn't need the number of you that we currently have, but we certainly don't want to be understaffed, we see ourselves as giving a good quality of service. We would probably want to start with all of you, see how we get on. Yes, Macy?" "How many guest rooms are you thinking of?" "Certainly six, that's the present bedrooms we have for guests. We have the small dormitory on floor two, that could easily be a seventh guest bedroom. We could add more, either on the ground floor, though we have thoughts on other uses for it, I may touch on that later. Maybe, and I emphasise maybe, if some of you move out for any reason, we could add another one, possibly two, by reworking one of the larger dormitories. We are reluctant to plan for that though."
Midge paused, then "Any more questions, though we may not have answers? Yes, Josie?" "Would we stick to the present couples rule?" Midge glanced at the other three girls, "We've thought about this. Our present thinking is that we would want at least one man and one lady. But we may not be able to insist on the makeup of the guests, in the limit we would have to accept whoever turns up. A booking is a contract."
Another hand went up. "Yes, Fern?" "What about a dining room, maybe a guest lounge?" "Yes. Dining is always an important part of a successful hotel business. We would use some of the ground floor as a dining room. Waitressing I'm sure we can do, we would want to train maybe two of us as chefs." She was interrupted from the mats, "Kitty would be a lost cause" which caused a little laughter. Kitty went to the mats, gave Layla a (quite gentle) punch, a bit more laughter as Kitty went back to the other three. Midge smiled, then continued "Maybe a lounge on the ground floor as well, we want to avoid messing with the top floor, we see that as our private space, for us and special friends."
After a brief pause, Chloe said "Planning permission." Midge nodded, "Thank you, Chloe. Yes, if we are going to be a hotel, we would need planning permission for the change of use of the building. This may not be granted, but we will get the best brains on the job." "Daniel?" someone called from the mats. "Yes" from a grinning Midge, "Best legal mind around."
"Yes, Paula?" "You said you have thoughts about finding jobs for some of us. Oh, not that I want to leave or anything, but …" Midge frowned briefly, "Yes. There are possibly some people we know who either are already short‑staffed or in any case might like to take on someone. We've made no approaches to anyone, so it's just a possibility, well, a probability in a couple of cases. But I don't want to expand further. If it becomes appropriate we will certainly sound them out.
"Yes, Hottie?" "What about privacy between the guests? Same as present?" Midge shook her head. "No, the guests would be treated as in a normal hotel, common dining area, no restriction on their mingling.
"One other thing, we would stick with no alcohol. I'm not sure how that might affect bookings. Maybe use the local hotel if guests wanted a bar." She glanced at Pete, "We'd hope to use Pete to do any fetching or carrying." Pete nodded.
Kitty, a frown on her face, "Why don't we reserve places at George's for lunches and evening meals? We wouldn't need a proper chef then, we certainly have good enough skills for breakfast. All right, Layla, I won't volunteer." Some more laughter. Midge, after a pause, "Yes, that would probably work, thank you, Kitty."
Another pause, then Midge said "Right, there's a great deal for you all to take in. If any of you have any questions or suggestions, please do come to see any of us at any time. Nothing is yet set in stone, we could still go back to as we were if nothing else seemed viable, but we do feel now is the right time to change, before we are forced into doing something.
"If there are no more immediate questions? We know it's a massive change, so, as I said, come to any of us at any time with anything you want. Oh, Jack, Jenny, Roy, Jane, Doc, Emma, Ann and Pete, perhaps we can see you all in the downstairs lounge after we've finished here, this affects you all in different ways."
Some minutes later, they were seated in the lounge. Midge started "So, the same apology to all of you, I hope you understand why we've done this."
Jenny, through tears, said "In a way it's something of a relief, we knew we couldn't keep doing this for ever." Jack said "And we'll miss seeing you all, let alone doing our little piece. But, like Jenny, it's a bit of a relief. And I'm glad you did it this way, I'm sure our disappointment would have affected what we could do."
Then Molly said "Unfortunately for you, we can't …" Jack interrupted her, "You can't continue to pay us, of course not, don't worry about that at all." Jenny managed a smile, "We never did it for the money." Midge nodded, "We knew that, but we had to have you as employees for insurance reasons. As for not seeing us, you are always welcome to visit us whenever you like, and you will certainly get invited whenever we have any sort of a do. We would always find somewhere for you to sleep." Jenny and Jack both nodded, Jack saying "Thank you."
Midge: "Roy, Jane, if our hotel idea goes ahead, we'd want our guests to have the run of the grounds. Firstly, would that be a problem for either of you? I'd maybe suggest you'd need to think about the security of your home, I know you normally leave your door open or at least unlocked." Jane answered "I expect that will be all right."
Midge continued "Roy, we might also consider using the lake, swimming, maybe set up some boats or something, might that work?" Roy replied "You'd have to take professional advice on safety, also insurance. Maybe assign some sort of lifeguard, life jackets and so on. Quite a lot to consider. The lake itself is pretty much ideal, though it is very deep, which might affect requirements. Sort of goes for swimming, though maybe just the lifeguard and a couple of floats to throw in. Again, you'd have to get professional advice."
Midge nodded, "Thank you. Now, Doc, Emma, we'd like you to stay with us. There'll still be the occasional injuries and illnesses that would need medical attention, possibly even for guests." Doc and Emma glanced at each other, then Doc said "I can't see either of us wanting to go, we would never find anywhere to suit us as much as this place does. In a way, it's preferable for us, we've been idle during the shows since you stopped your nasty acts ‑ sorry, that's how we saw them." Emma added "But we always liked watching the shows, even though it was on our screen." "Thank you" from Midge.
Turning to Pete, Midge said "You can see where this puts you, less likely to be required for security reasons, and something of a guests' taxi service, possibly quite late at night. Are you all right with that?" Pete nodded, "Yes. Life will be a little less exciting, perhaps, but that's fine."
"Now, Ann. If you're happy to do it, we'd like you to go round all the girls, talk to them casually as possible, no pressure to just agree with what we've been saying. Maybe sound them out for any who might want a life away from us, but again, we want their true feelings. Do you think you could do that for us?" Ann half smiled, "I can give it a go. To do it as you want will take several days, maybe a week." Midge nodded, "Yes, understood. Oh, in a way, this goes for any of you, I'm not asking you to spy or anything, and if someone says something to you in confidence, please respect that. But anything that might show how any of the girls are feeling would be very useful.
"Any comments from any of you?" Jenny, frowning slightly, "Just a moment. Jack …" Jenny whispered something in his ear. He turned to her, "Sure?" She nodded. He said "Well, I could do with one." He turned to Midge, "Jenny has suggested that I could use a secretary. I'm not asking you to find one, but if any of your girls do want such a job, we could at least talk it over. Thinking about it, she could live in our granny‑flat." Jenny nodded, adding "It would take two or possibly even three girls if others had jobs nearby." Jack grinned, "Don't put too much temptation in my way." He got a poke in his ribs.
Chloe asked "What about the security cameras? Surely we shouldn't have them operating in the guest bedrooms?" Midge and Molly glanced at each other, then Midge said "Kitty's rubbing off on you, a good question. Yes, I think we would have to at least disable the cameras, maybe remove them from the bedrooms altogether. We'd certainly keep them in all other areas."
A little later, Midge and Molly took Kitty and Chloe with them to Lillian and Dee's. Arriving at the cottage, as usual the front door was open. Lillian must have seen them coming, she was opening the hall door as they arrived. She gave all four a hug, then led them into the sitting room. "Nice to see you all, but something's wrong." Molly replied "Not really wrong, but something you need to know."
Midge took over, "We are completely changing our setup."
"Just a moment, let me fetch Dee, he's in the study." A few moments later, Lillian brought Dee into the living room. "What's happening?"
Midge told them that the club had stopped operating, she explained why. She said "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I know you chat to the girls all the time, I didn't want any hint of it getting to them ‑ oh, that's not being secretive as such, but it would inevitably affect them, not fair on them or our members." Lillian nodded, "Yes. No, that's quite all right. It shouldn't affect us particularly, should it?" Midge shook her head, "Not really. But there'll be no restrictions on your coming and going, in fact that's from now."
Midge went on to explain they were seriously considering becoming a hotel, what sort of guests they would want to attract. After a little more discussion, Midge said "Pete would be being used as a guests' taxi service, but he would still be going into town a fair bit."
After a moment's silence, Kitty asked "Where are Milly and Kyle?" Lillian replied "Playing outside somewhere." "Aren't you worried they might wander away, or fall in the lake or something?" Dee grinned, he said "Their mum threatened she'd tell Aunty Molly if they didn't stay close. They won't stray."
Molly couldn't help but smile.
Dee glanced at Lillian, then "Something to tell you, we're thinking of getting a car. We've saved up enough, we're hoping to do a search for one in the next week or so, hopefully we won't be relying on Pete as much anyway." Kitty said "Get Pete to give you advice, I'm sure he is quite knowledgable." Midge added "And take us before you finally decide, we can usually tell if the salesman is being honest." "If you don't mind, we'd like that."
Chloe "Back to Milly and Kyle, if you don't mind me asking, are you trying for another brother or sister for them?" Lillian shook her head, "No." She looked at Dee, who, perhaps slightly embarrassed, said "I've had an operation." A pause, then he added "A vasectomy." Lillian said "We didn't say anything to you, we decided this should be our decision and ours alone, I hope you don't feel slighted in any way."
Kitty sat down on the settee, she looked as if she might cry. Lillian said "Oh, sorry, Kitty, I never thought, that must be upsetting for you." Kitty managed a smile, "No, don't worry, I'm all right. This is for you, nothing to do with me." Chloe, always concerned about Kitty, sat beside of her on the settee, put her arm round her. Midge asked "Do you think we could have some tea? Always helps."
While Lillian went into the kitchen, Dee sat in an armchair, Midge and Molly squeezed themselves outside of Kitty and Chloe. Midge asked, perhaps to change the subject, "So, how's the work going?" Dee replied "It's doing all right. Jack's been giving me more and more responsibility, which is fine by me. I think he's much busier than he was before I started, he's got many more clients. I am so glad we have the study here though, it means I can work as if I was in an office somewhere."
"Oh, sorry" from Midge, "We're interrupting you." "No, that's all right, I try to have the odd break during the day, it's not good being sat in front of a computer for eight hours solid. Lill normally makes sure I do stop for a cup of tea occasionally and for lunch. She's very good, she does look after me." "Someone has to" from Lillian as she brought in a tray, also with her were Kyle and Milly. The two went to Kitty, she leant forward to kiss them both. They did the same with Midge and Chloe, then tentatively went towards Molly. First Milly, then Kyle darted forward to Molly, got a kiss from her, then rapidly stepped back.
Molly grinned, "It's all right, I had a good lunch, I'm not very hungry at the moment." Milly and Kyle ran screaming from the room. Kitty, fully recovered, laughed. "You're rotten." Lillian was smiling, "They love it. After you've gone they'll be asking when you'll be back again."
Chloe, expressionless, asked "Would you have a couple of pieces of paper and a pencil?" Dee went out of the room, returned with several sheets of computer paper, meanwhile Lillian went out, came back with a pencil ‑ "I use it for shopping lists."
Chloe briefly smiled her thanks, then knelt down in front of the coffee table, squared the paper in front of her and started drawing. After a minute, Milly and Kyle's smiling faces were looking out from the paper. Signed and dated, she started on a second. This turned out to be Milly and Kyle, holding hands, running, screaming. They were being chased by Molly, somehow a hungry look on her face, hands held high, one holding a knife, the other a fork.
With the second sketch signed and dated, Chloe sat back on the settee, where she got a hug from Kitty. Kitty asked Chloe "For them?" Chloe looked puzzled for a moment, saw her sketches as if for the first time, she said "I think so" followed shortly by "Yes, that's if they want them."
Molly, sitting the other side of Chloe, kissed Chloe's cheek. Midge asked "Is this how she was sketching in Australia?" Kitty replied "She's somewhere else altogether while she's drawing." Chloe smiled, "Yes, but I'm back here now. Lill, Dee, would you like them? Oh, Kitty will want to photograph them." Kitty, smiling, got her phone out. When she'd taken the photos, Dee picked up the sketches, "They're marvellous, thank you." Lillian came and gave Chloe a kiss, "Yes, thank you."
Dee put the sketches on a side table, Dee and Lillian returned to their seats.
After sipping tea for a few minutes, Lillian, a little more seriously, "What we were talking about before, we did have some sperm frozen, so there is a chance for another baby if we decide we want to for any reason." Midge: "Good idea."
Molly: "I'd ask that you didn't mention anything about this to anyone else, there are some who would find it extremely distressing." Midge nodded, "Kitty isn't the only one that would be upset, so please, no one else."
Kitty and Chloe were both looking a little puzzled, but the twins clearly weren't going to say who they were referring to, at least when they were with Lillian and Dee.
Lillian: "We have told Doc, but we asked her to keep it confidential." Midge nodded. "Yes, telling Doc was the right thing to do."
Moments later, two heads appeared at the door, "Aunty Kitty and Aunty Chloe go swimming?" Lillian smiled, "Can we all come?" Two grins gave her the answer. Dee told them he'd got to get back to work. Kitty suggested meeting by the boathouse, "We want to go to the building to get our cossies."
Twenty minutes later, all the girls (Pete had told the two in security that he would stay there, they could join the others) were in the lake except for Isha, she remained sitting on the shore just watching. As she often did, Kitty had gone to Isha, asked if she'd like to come even for just a paddle. Isha, as always, just shook her head and backed a little further from the shore.
Milly and Kyle were swimming around playing amongst the girls, sometimes being picked up and thrown in the air, landing in the water and swimming to someone else to get thrown again. Lillian, Midge and Molly were staying near the playing children, Molly because she was just watching Lillian, Midge perhaps to make sure Molly didn't try to do anything to Lillian, not that she'd hurt her. Kitty and Chloe were racing each other, swimming to and fro further out in the lake and back towards the boathouse.
Inevitably, there was a lot of yelling and screaming, so it took a minute or two before anyone noticed Isha shouting out. Chloe was the one who saw Isha, who was yelling "HELP, HELP …", waving one arm while pointing to the boathouse slipway with the other, running towards the slipway then backing off, clearly distraught. Chloe grabbed at Kitty, pointed to Isha. Kitty shouted "Get the twins" as she set off for the slipway. Lillian, realising someone was in trouble, got Milly and Kyle out of the water, wrapped them in the towels that she'd brought, and carried them towards her cottage.
When Kitty reached the slipway, she found Zoe half unconscious, one hand on the slipway, mouth barely above the water level. Kitty immediately helped her back to the shore where Ann pulled her up out of the water. Isha ran towards Kitty, stopping a yard from the water's edge, still pointing out into the lake, "Xanthe, Xanthe, can't see her!" Kitty immediately was swimming out, Chloe and the twins had also heard Isha and they, too, started searching. After several minutes Kitty found Xanthe, but had to come up for air. She saw Chloe, also just surfaced, Kitty yelled "Here ‑ legs ‑ weeds ‑ can't free ‑ twins!"
Chloe had to wait for the twins to resurface, they could stay under for several minutes. Eventually they emerged, Chloe yelled to them "Kitty's found her, she can't get her up." The twins powered their way to where Chloe was indicating, they dived down. Some seconds later they brought Xanthe up, they got her on her back and swam either side of her to get her to the shore, being careful to make sure no water went over her face. Chloe and Kitty dragged her out of the water, where she lay, no sign of life. Kitty immediately started working on her. She tipped Xanthe's head right back, then started chest compressions, she could just be heard counting, "One ‑ two ‑ three -". When she got to thirty, she stopped the compressions, pinched Xanthe's nose, placed her mouth over Xanthe's, and breathed hard into Xanthe, then she returned to the chest compressions.
Isha all this while was wailing, running towards Xanthe and Kitty where she'd just touch Xanthe's face with a finger, then to Zoe and do the same, Isha was clearly in a lot of distress. Chloe grabbed Isha's shoulders stopping her mid‑run, she said "Isha" quite loudly, Isha stopped her wailing, looked up at Chloe. Chloe said to her "Go to Pete, get him to ring Doc, then organise some girls to bring out two mats, some towels, and a couple of quilts. Can you do that?" Isha nodded, and, racing towards the building, she yelled "Volunteers". Many of the girls followed her.
Meanwhile the twins had gone to where Zoe was still lying, holding her head and groaning. Midge asked her "What happened?" Zoe told them "We were racing doing backstroke and bumped into the slipway. God, it hurts. Where's Xanthe?" Midge answered "She's on the grass, Kitty's working on her." Zoe started to get up, but collapsed. Molly put her hand on Zoe's forehead, after a couple of seconds she said "You're concussed. Keep still, we'll get Doc to look at you in a bit."
A minute or two later, Doc arrived with Emma. Midge went to them, "They both hit their heads hard. Xanthe was under water for several minutes, Zoe is concussed, but breathing ok."
Doc went to Xanthe and Kitty, Doc asked Kitty "How is she?" "Tw‑four - tw‑five ‑ couldn't ‑ feel ‑ pulse ‑ tw‑nine ‑ thirty." Kitty stopped the compressions, breathed into Xanthe's mouth, then "One ‑ two ‑ not ‑ breathing ‑ five ‑ six ‑ seven ‑ oh …" Xanthe had just gasped, then she coughed out some water.
Having rolled Xanthe onto her side, Kitty pretty much collapsed, totally drained. Doc immediately checked that Xanthe really was breathing, then felt her pulse. "Get her warm." Chloe immediately lay down against Xanthe's back, pressing her body and legs against her.
Doc went to Zoe, she was lying on her back, Molly beside her with her hand on Zoe's forehead, both apparently asleep. Doc beckoned Midge over. "What's happening?" Midge replied "Brain's bruised, fluid leaking. Trying to help." Doc told her "Really I should get her to hospital, but it would be at least a couple of hours before she'd be treated, which could be critical. Are you sure you can get her better?" Midge answered "As sure as we can be, we'll keep going on her, but it'll be an hour or so before we know she's improving." "Well, I hope you can, there could be permanent brain damage if it swells." Then, half to herself, and as something of an afterthought, "And I'll lose my licence for not calling an ambulance."
Doc started checking on Zoe as she lay there, "Hmm. Pulse pretty high. Blood pressure?" She got out her blood pressure cuff and stethoscope from her bag that Emma was carrying, and after a minute, "Blood pressure on the low side but okay." Next she got a small torch from her bag, she carefully pulled up one of Zoe's eyelids with her thumb, then flashed the torch into Zoe's eye, repeating on Zoe's other eye. "She's in some sort of coma, strange about her heart rate." Midge, watching this, "Probably Molly doing it, she was still conscious when Molly started, though no one's ever checked up on one of our ‑ er - victims like that before." "Out of curiosity, can I check Molly?" "I think so, just don't wake her, though that's unlikely."
"Pulse? … Good god, something over two hundred. Blood pressure?" After she'd measured Molly's pressure, taking care to be very gentle with the cuff, "Normal. But that pulse! Sure she's all right?" Midge, smiling, "Yes, I think it's always a bit high when we're helping people." "Can I measure you? Again, just curiosity." A minute later, "Pulse a bare thirty, extremely low, but you obviously aren't showing symptoms of bradycardia. But we know your physiology can't possibly be normal. Blood pressure?" Two minutes later "A hundred and five over sixty‑five. Normal. I don't know whether to be surprised by that or not."
Xanthe by now had recovered some, a lot of coughing and sneezing, but she was sitting up, Chloe with her arms round her.
Isha and her 'volunteers' arrived, between them they brought two mats and three quilts. Isha was carrying a pile of folded towels on her hands, the top of the pile held under her chin. Ann was with them, she'd brought dresses for them all, "Isha thought you might want these." Minutes later, all those on the ground were dried off. Molly and Zoe, without waking them, had been carefully dragged onto a mat with a quilt under them, and another quilt over them. The other mat had Kitty, Xanthe, Chloe and Isha sitting on it, wrapped round with the third quilt.
Midge told all the other girls to go back to the building, get themselves warm, get a meal, and asked if they could bring out sandwiches and tea for those on the mats, please. Ann had to shepherd the girls to get them to move, they were all very reluctant to leave. Isha downright refused, Kitty just nodded 'Okay' to Ann.
After a while, Midge knelt by Molly and Zoe, watching them closely. Within a couple of minutes, Molly moved her hand from Zoe, rolled onto her back and was instantly asleep. Midge immediately lay down the other side of Zoe to take over, her hand on Zoe's forehead.
Meanwhile Doc was watching, every few minutes she would check on Xanthe, then on Zoe, she seemed satisfied with both of them.
After twenty minutes, Molly woke, looked at Zoe and Midge, put her hand by Midge's for a couple of seconds, then went to Doc and the group sat on the other mat. "No worse, but it'll take a while to improve her. Are those sandwiches spare?" Kitty asked Isha "Can you go and see if they'll bring tea for Midge, please?" Isha immediately hared off to the building.
As soon as she'd gone, Kitty asked Doc "Do we need to worry about Isha? She seems so strange, she never wants to go in the lake, she's so active in every other way, and her reactions to Xanthe and Zoe seem a bit extreme." Doc's reply was perhaps a little unsatisfactory, "Let's say she has a bit of a phobia. Whatever you do, don't try to make her go in, if she does show signs of wanting to don't do anything, just leave her to it. And don't question her about it."
Doc wouldn't say any more, and, maybe to change the subject, she asked Kitty "When did you take a course on resuscitation?" Kitty's reply was to shake her head, "I just read about it years ago after Chloe and I had been swimming in Australia." "You did well, you saved her life."
The day wore on into the evening, the twins continuing to take turns with Zoe. Doc and Emma went home, but frequently returned to check up on Zoe and Xanthe, though Xanthe seemed to have fully recovered.
Lillian and Dee came out once, they were carrying Kyle and Milly. "They were very frightened, they wanted to know that the girls were all right." Xanthe got up and went to them, "We're both all right. Zoe is hurt a little inside, but Aunty Midge and Aunty Molly are mending her." When the children were put down, they ran to where Midge, Molly and Zoe were, Kitty following them, "They're sleeping to help her get better, please don't wake them." With the children seemingly satisfied, Dee and Lillian carried them back home.
Around eight o'clock, Roy's Land Rover drove up. Roy and Jane got out, Roy opened the back and took out a two‑burner stove and a gas bottle, he got the stove going. Jane got out a large saucepan that she put on one side of the stove. On the other burner she put a kettle.
A few minutes later, all of them who were awake had a mug of soup and one of tea, also a hunk of home‑made bread. As each girl finished theirs, they went to Jane, hugged her, and each commented on how good it was. Chloe added "Normally I'd say something like 'It saved us from from Kitty's soup', but not this time."
Jane kept some of the soup warm for each twin as she awoke from her sleeping session, she made fresh tea for each (and for anyone else who wanted more), using lake water to refill the kettle, seeing a slight frown on Kitty's face, Roy told them "The lake water is periodically checked to make sure it's potable. It's always been our cottage water supply."
At one stage Pete came out to them, he and Roy walked over to the slipway. When they got back to the girls they said they were discussing putting some sort of padding to prevent anyone getting hurt like that again. Kitty suggested looking in ship's chandlers' web sites, they were bound to deal with this sort of thing, "Though probably for boats rather than heads." Kitty added "And do find the best solution you can, we'll pay whatever it costs."
Doc and Emma continued to come out every couple of hours, by midnight they found Kitty, Xanthe, Chloe and Isha sleeping on one mat, Midge with her hand on Zoe's forehead, Molly asleep by them. Doc checked some pulses, then went back home.
Their next visit was at three o'clock, this time she found Midge and Molly asleep, Zoe was sitting by them. When Zoe noticed Doc and Emma approaching, she stood up and walked over to them. "Maybe just a very slight headache, otherwise I feel fine." Doc nodded, "Good. Just let me check you over."
She shone a torch in each of Zoe's eyes, then took Zoe's pulse and blood pressure. "All good, wouldn't know you've been in the wars. I'll just check on Midge and Molly." She went to them, both were fast asleep. She took the pulse of one of them (no clue as to which was which with them asleep), "A little high, but not worrying." She went to the other twin, then, half to herself and half to Emma, "Hmm. Over a hundred. Probably all right, I expect she was the last one to work on Zoe, so normal for her. I won't do blood pressures, I don't want to risk waking them."
With that, a glance at Kitty, Xanthe, Chloe and Isha (all asleep), and, to Zoe, "We'll check you over tomorrow. Keep warm and see if you can sleep." Doc and Emma walked back towards their cottage.
Xanthe and Zoe both fine the next day, though Doc checks up on them for the next few days.
A few days later, the four girls were at Daniel and Audrey's, as were Samuel and Natalie. They'd told Daniel and Samuel that this was business, but that they thought Audrey and Natalie would want to hear at least some of what they wanted to talk about. Audrey naturally wanted them all round for a meal.
They decided to leave their business discussions until after they'd eaten, so, afterwards, when they were all in the sitting room with their coffees, Midge started.
"We've stopped our business as it has been running." This caused various reactions. Well, Daniel managed to show no reaction, his professionalism working. Audrey immediately had tears running down her cheeks. Natalie at first looked surprised, very shortly followed by a big smile. Samuel also looked surprised, this turned to something nearer worry.
Midge continued, "Samuel, I see you are concerned, presumably because you know our income will have stopped." Samuel nodded. Midge told him "This is one of the things we want you to be aware of and to release money from our investments to cover our outgoings …" Kitty interrupted, "Half from each of ours." "… this for as long as is necessary until what we hope will be a new revenue stream. Daniel, we will need your expertise on this." Daniel said "First of all, thank you, we will be happier about you now, unless …" his voice trailed off, then "What will this new stream of income be from?" Midge looked at Kitty, "You tell."
"All right" from Kitty. "We are thinking of turning the building into a hotel." She paused, Audrey was looking at her suspiciously, she said "What are you reluctant to tell us?" Kitty smiled, "Yes, I should have remembered, you can always tell what we're thinking. No, much tamer than what we have been doing, let's say it will be for honeymooners." Audrey just nodded.
Kitty started again, "Yes, club. Daniel, we would need to get planning permission for change of use from club to hotel." Chloe muttered "Without that we would have to go back to our club." Daniel grinned, "It's all right, I'll do my job without the added incentive." "Sorry" from Chloe, "Didn't mean it to sound like that." Daniel smiled to her, he just nodded.
Kitty continued, "On top of that we are considering allowing guests to use the lake recreationally, certainly swimming, maybe rowing boats or similar, but we think it's something of a minefield in terms of safety requirements, insurance, all that sort of thing. And, I suppose, we have to deal with whatever the building needs as a hotel in terms of safety requirements and insurance."
Daniel nodded, "I can certainly look into that, it will take a few days. The planning permission will take a bit longer, at least a couple of months. Samuel, can they run with no income for that sort of time?" Samuel nodded, "Yes, they could last almost indefinitely, but it will inevitably eat into their capital. And I suppose you'll need to do some modifications to the building?" Midge answered this, "Yes, some, but nothing very expensive, mostly adjustments and décor, certainly nothing really structural." Chloe quietly said "Dining area and lounge." "Oh, thank you Chloe, yes, maybe modify the ground floor a little to create a dining area and a lounge for guests. Possibly some sort of reception as well, though I think we want to keep it as informal as possible. Furniture, too."
Daniel and Samuel looked at each other, then Daniel said "Right. I think we have a feel for what you are trying to do. What we need is something in writing, with as much detail as possible. We need this both as an instruction for what you want from us professionally, also as a basis for me applying for planning. Don't worry, I'll turn your English into the appropriate legalese."
Silence for a minute or so, then Natalie asked "What about eating? Guests would expect a good dining experience." A glance from the twins to Kitty, who said "We've not decided yet. Our first thought is to use George for lunches and dinners, but we would do breakfasts, we do breakfasts already. But we've not spoken to George yet. Oh, he's shut Mondays. We'll have to sort that somehow."
A bit more silence, until Samuel asked "What about a bar? You've not mentioned a drinks licence." Kitty replied "No, we'll stick with no alcohol in the building. We would use Pete to ferry our guests to the hotel if guests want to go to a bar, use him for the restaurant as well."
Audrey had been quiet for a while, Midge asked "Audrey, what are you thinking?" Audrey smiled, "I'm not the only one who can read minds. Yes, your building, it's very industrial looking. First impressions are very important, you really need to make it look welcoming from outside." Chloe muttered "Bart." "You see?" said Kitty. "Chloe's not just a pretty face."
Midge took it up, "Yes, thank you Audrey, you're right. And, yes Chloe, perhaps we can use Bart to shape the ground floor as well as suggest what we can do to improve the looks of the building. Now, Kitty, what are you thinking?" Kitty replied "Well, we're not having some of the facilities of a normal hotel. Perhaps we should call it a guest house instead?" Midge and Molly glanced at each other, but Chloe replied first. "I always did say Kitty has good ideas, even if most of them are a bit warped." Midge also said "Yes, that does sound more appropriate. Daniel, would calling it a guest house change anything?" Daniel replied "Probably would make no difference legally, but it might help with getting the change of use approved."
"Right" from Midge, "It's to be a guest house, not a hotel."
They talked a little more about their requirements, but no one suggested anything significant beyond what they'd already discussed. The evening ended without tears for once, everyone seemed very happy with what they were thinking of. Daniel drove the four girls back to the building, once again giving each of them a hug, also a thankyou.
The next day Midge phoned George, they arranged to meet at the restaurant on the Monday, when George could talk to them without any time pressure.
Pete drove them there, he went in with them. The girls were all much more subdued than usual when they went in, George looked a little puzzled, "What's the matter? Molly didn't attack me." Molly smiled, "Sorry, I'll make up for it next time."
They were soon sat at one of the dining tables, with coffee that Charlotte had made, she sat down with them. Midge started "We've stopped the club, now seems the right time for a couple of reasons." George looked questioningly, Charlotte said "But you are doing something else." Midge smiled, "Yes, quite right. Well, going to do something else if we think it can work. Kitty, please?"
So Kitty explained that they were very seriously considering turning the building into a guest house, but that they felt they couldn't offer high enough quality in‑house dining, and no alcoholic drinks. She said "We are thinking that, for eating, we would use you for lunches and evening meals." She paused.
George, after a moment and with a slight frown, "You know we are fully booked usually a few weeks in advance. We couldn't …" Midge held up her hand, "Yes, we are well aware of that. Kitty?"
Once again, Kitty took it up. "Yes. What we are thinking of is having a block booking with you, you would be paid normally for whatever the guests might order, we would insist you didn't discount it for us as you usually do." She glanced at the twins, "We've not actually talked about this, but I think that if we didn't fill our bookings, it would only be fair to pay you anyway, we'd have to agree an amount." She paused again, thinking, then "But we would say any drinks other than water, tea and coffee, they'd have to pay you directly. No, run a tab, pass it to us with their room number, they pay us at the end." Midge nodded, "Yes, Kitty, we think that sounds right. Chloe?" "Oh, yes, as usual." She muttered "Bloomin' annoying, she's always right."
Smiling at Chloe's remark, Midge asked George and Charlotte, "Any immediate thoughts? If you don't want to do it, we would find another way of feeding our guests, but you are the best food around by far, and we want our guests to have the best possible experience."
"Numbers?" asked Charlotte. Kitty replied "At least six couples, or more probably seven, so most likely fourteen covers. I can't see us wanting any more, and I think we'll need that many to be viable financially." Midge added "But we might ask for different table arrangements. Our first thought is that they would all be separate couples, but they may want to share tables, possibly changing their minds without notice." George nodded, "Different table arrangements isn't a problem, though we don't like to move tables around whilst people are eating. I'm thinking out loud here, maybe we would ask you to decide on tables an hour or so before to give us time before any arrivals. We'd only be prepared to move tables round with other diners here if your guests would be really upset."
There was silence for a while, which Kitty broke. "Sorry Chloe, another thought. We've not talked about this, so I'll just throw it out. Could we use George instead of going to the hotel for a bar? Maybe take over the lounge?" Chloe grinned, "Sounds good to me. Twins?" Midge replied "Sounds good to us as well. George? Charlotte?"
George looked at Charlotte. "Any thoughts? That's about any of their proposals?" Charlotte replied "Well, the dining part sounds fine, it'll make no difference to us other than the bill being split between eats and drinks, which I don't think is a problem. The lounge, well, if it's couples, and if I read you right, we'd need more settees in there, we've only got the four. We'd want one for each of your six or seven couples." George added "And we sometimes use the lounge for functions, not very often, but we would still want to do it, it's part of our normal operation."
Chloe immediately said, with a smile, "Before Kitty can say it, we are going to need settees and chairs for our own lounge area. Could we get two or three two‑seaters for George? There's plenty of space in the lounge here. Don't know about the times when we couldn't use it, though."
"That's easy" from Kitty, "we use the hotel as an alternative." Chloe punched Kitty, "I hate you", then gave the grinning Kitty a kiss.
Charlotte then said "Thinking about it, there aren't enough waitresses to have one in the lounge for you, I think we'd need that to provide the service you would want." Chloe, once again grinning at Kitty, "We could leave one or two of our girls here, at least to take any orders. That should cover it." Kitty gave Chloe a (gentle) punch, "Sounds good to me." Midge and Molly both nodded, then alternated "Good training" "for the girls for" "when they have to" "go into the" "real world" ‑ the last two words spoken by them together.
Kitty said "Mondays." Midge: "Oh, yes, we know you want to keep Mondays as your day off, we won't ask you to change that. But we'd welcome any suggestions you might have as an alternative." George looked at Charlotte, "Any thoughts?" Charlotte, after a moment, "Well, we could suggest a buffet that you could do in house. I might be able to come up with some meals that you could heat up, you collect them maybe on the Sunday, keep them cool or possibly frozen, serve them for lunch and dinner? Shouldn't be a problem, just a limited choice for them. Talking of choice, perhaps we could suggest options and they could choose on the previous day what they would like."
Midge nodded, "That sounds very good." After another minute of silence, George said "About you not always filling your booking, we often get people ringing up to see if we've had a cancellation. Maybe we could extend that, build up a waiting list of potential short‑notice customers. That would save you some money and keep us full, it doesn't look good to have empty tables."
Midge nodded, "That sounds perfect from our point of view, thank you.
"Right, I think we all need to think things over. We do really want to use you, George, but if you have any doubts, please don't feel you can't refuse us for any reason."
George grinned, "I'm going to miss your occasional parties in the lounge." Molly, also grinning, "Well, you never know, our guests might like a party."
Shortly afterwards they left, George and Charlotte seeing them out. In the foyer, George did get his kiss from Molly. As she released him she said "Just to let you know, I still love you." She gave a smiling Charlotte one as well, both of them also got kisses from the other three girls, Pete merely shook their hands.
Two days later found them sitting with the hotel manager in the hotel's function room, his office wasn't big enough for all of them. After the usual greetings, the manager said "This looks serious, what's the matter?" Midge once again said "Kitty?"
Kitty said "Look, this may be a problem, we don't know, but we don't want to put you out. We are seriously thinking of converting our building into a guest house, the sort of guests we want are couples, honeymooners or similar. We don't want to take your customers away from you, but …" she tailed off as the manager held up his hand.
"No", he said, "on the contrary, I think we would welcome it. Firstly, our usual customers are business types, we aren't really into the leisure side of things, though, yes, we do get some. But we are pretty much always full, we could possibly steer couples in your direction, what do you think?" Without hesitation, Molly gave him a full on kiss. Midge said "Oh, thank you, you've been good to us in the past, we didn't want to upset you."
Recovering from Molly, "No, as I said, pleased." Chloe said "We might put some business to your bar, probably only on Monday evenings, but that's a bit in the air at the moment." He nodded, "That would be good for us, Mondays are usually fairly quiet."
Molly said "We were dreading you fighting our planning application, so that's something of a relief." "As I said, we'd welcome you. We will have no objection at all."
Chloe asked "What about dining on Mondays? Might that work?" He smiled. "I can guess why you are concerned with Mondays, it sounds like you normally want to use George's, I don't blame you at all, best restaurant for miles." Kitty nodded. "Yes, so, if we needed it, could you do up to twelve or more likely fourteen for lunch and/or dinner? Probably use your bar as well? We could give you good notice." She was looking at Midge and Molly for this last, they both nodded. He replied "Shouldn't be a problem, unless we are busy, then our own guests would have to take precedence. And we might not know until the Sunday, depending when they book."
Midge answered "Yes, we understand that.'
Silence for a short while, then from Chloe, "Look, we are new to the hotel game, might you be able to give us some advice if we needed it? Your finding Ernie for us was really useful." Kitty added "We still use his algorithms for our present operation."
The manager smiled, "Probably, but just verbal advice this time round. One piece of advice I'll give you now, you will need a web site. The first thing anyone does when choosing a hotel is to look at their web site." Midge asked Kitty "Can you do that?" Kitty replied "I can set one up, but it would need designing properly, needs someone with a bit of artistic flair." The manager said "You'd get a good idea just by looking at any of them, thousands out there."
After a little more talk, and with thanks from the four, they took their leave, Pete drove them back.
Midge phoned Bart, told him briefly what they wanted. The next day saw them talking with him in the twins' office, he had said he would want to see the building in person, much better for him to visualise what was required. The other girls in the building were banned from the ground floor while he was there.
Between them, the girls explained about their ideas, the sort of cliental they were after, what they wanted in terms of dining facilities, even if only for breakfast. Also a nice lounge area, and an informal reception. Midge added they wanted a small theatre for putting on shows for their guests. He smiled when he heard that last bit, "I've heard some rumours about your present setup, maybe don't go into any details about what sort of shows." All four girls managed to remain expressionless.
"Right", he said, "let's take a look round, I'll jot down some measurements of what you have at the moment. I know the main dimensions and so on from when you did the school here. Which, by the way, was excellent for the kids from what I heard. Unfortunately, this time I'll have to charge you my normal rates, though in all honesty, it won't take more than a few hours, I think it will be straightforward."
Midge nodded, "We would certainly expect to pay you, this is a pure business proposition. Yes, Kitty?" "What about the entrance, maybe even the approach to the building, Bart, might you have ideas to make it all a bit less of an industrial look, more like a holiday place?" Bart answered "I can certainly come up with some suggestions for you, though if you wanted to landscape it, you'd be better going to a landscape gardener. But I think your outside approach is perfectly all right, maybe just a few tweaks, somehow change the look of the building itself. I'll think about it."
They spent the next hour going all round the ground floor, Bart writing copious notes in a small notebook. He was using a laser distance meter to measure every room and asked many questions, such as "Do you want to retain the passage behind the stage area?" A glance between Midge and Molly, "No, we can see no use for it, better to have a larger space."
"How about the shower and first aid room?" "Keep the first aid room, put in a changing room with a shower and cleaning facilities in it between the first aid room and the stage."
"Toilets as they are? You could manage with two." "No, keep three, plus the private bathroom. Minimum of two urinals and a stall for the gents, at least two stalls for the ladies, more if you can get them in. Proper washing facilities and nice mirror and so on. Leave the third as it is, adapt it for disabled use? But keep the dual toilets." Bart nodded, and other than a momentarily raised eyebrow, no comment on having two toilets there.
"I think the dining room will be fine for a breakfast room, with its kitchen. Keep the office, lounge and waiting room?" "Yes, that sounds perfect." "Good, that end will remain pretty much unchanged."
"The staff sitting room?" "No, lose it, all the booths and the little room on the end of them, but keep the security, services and supply rooms."
"Reception. A counter, or, I think probably better for the informality you want, a desk setup?" "Definitely a desk." "Right, but it would need to be fixed for your computer supply. And, what about this somewhat peculiar kitchen area?" "Not needed."
Back in the office, with some coffee that Kitty made, Bart said that he was pretty sure in his mind how it would be. It would take him a little while to put it into his computer and detail everything, and he thought he could come up with ideas for the approach and entrance.
A little more discussion, then he said "I think it would be better for you to have a proper sign that can easily be seen from the road, help people find you." Chloe muttered "Broom, stick, black." This had Midge and Molly laughing, they and Chloe each got a punch from Kitty, though she was laughing as well. To Bart, Kitty said "Please excuse us, an in joke." "All right" he said. "Think about it, I can help you design one if you like. What will you call it?" Midge glanced at the others, she said "We've not come up with a name."
Chloe immediately said "em‑and‑em guest house." Midge and Molly glanced at each other, Midge turned to Kitty, "All right by you?" "Sounds good to me. Anyway, I wouldn't want to go against Chloe's suggestion, she'd probability not speak to me for ages. Hmm. On second thoughts …" she was interrupted by Chloe punching her. Midge said to Bart, "Don't mind them, they still act like three‑year‑olds a lot of the time." Kitty, more seriously, did add "We'll have to get Daniel to see if the name is available to register."
After a little more discussion, Bart said he'd get something to them in a couple of days, at least for his suggestion for a floor plan, "It's all sorted in my mind, needs detailing. You'd like a paper copy, as we did for the school? Small additional fee." "Yes please" from Midge, "Much easier to envisage and to show others." Kitty suggested "Maybe three copies? I'm thinking one to pin up on the wall upstairs and one for Benny to have." Midge nodded, "Yes, three copies, please."
When Bart left, the four went up to the top floor, Molly called out "All right, the building's clear, you're free to roam." There was little reaction, the girls were not themselves at all. Isha did come up, gave Molly a kiss, she said "Thank you. Would you like some tea or something?" Molly replied "That would be nice, thank you. So you, at least, don't hate us." Isha frowned,"No, no one hates you, it's just that we haven't got the performances to look forward to." She gave all four of them a kiss in turn, she walked to the kitchen.
"They are all really upset about it" from Kitty. "Can we do anything to cheer them up?" Chloe answered "Tell them what we are doing. Keep them in the loop, to use that horrible expression." Kitty nodded, "She's right. Call a gathering, tell everyone where we are."
Midge immediately nodded, "Kitty, broadcast announcement, for what, seven this evening? Get Roy and Doc here, Pete of course, maybe even Lill and Dee, they can bring Milly and Kyle since the girls aren't playing around. Seeing the kids will help cheer them up."
A little later, when Chloe had gone away from them to chat with some of the girls, Kitty quietly asked the twins "Is it Jack and Jenny?" Midge and Molly glanced at each other, then "We can't" "tell you who" "it is, we" "promised" "not to," the last two words spoken together. But the way in which their reply was spoken gave Kitty her answer. She nodded, and said "I understand. I won't mention it to anyone."
A little before seven, all the girls were seated on mats except the four who were standing, Doc and Emma were on a settee, Pete was standing to one side. Lillian and Dee were on another settee, they were holding Milly and Kyle. Midge went to Lillian, she quietly said "Let the little ones run around, we think they'll help cheer the girls up, we're not saying anything that will matter if the girls are distracted."
Lillian smiled, "Yes, they do all seem low. All right, Kyle, Milly, off you go, but don't go near the stairs or Aunty Molly will be after you." The two got off Lillian and Dee, promptly ran to Molly, each gave her a quick prod on her knee, then they ran, laughing, to the mats where the girls were sitting. There were soon lots of smiles as the two ran among them, dodging outstretched arms as the girls tried to catch them.
Midge started by saying "Lill, Dee, Roy, Jane, Doc and Emma, what I'm about to tell the girls doesn't affect any of you directly, but I think it's right to let you know what we're doing. Next time, if any of you prefer, we'll talk to you separately." She got nods from them.
Then to the girls, "This is just to let you all know what is happening, where we are. So far, everything is pretty much as we'd hoped. Right, we'll start with what you already know, then move on to how things are developing, how things are panning out.
"Firstly, our ideas on our customer base remain as we suggested before, newlyweds, couples wanting to renew their bond with each other, maybe threes or fours, always with at least one man and one girl, and if not honeymooners, then in a long term relationship. That, at least, is our aim. I'm not sure if we'll be able to filter our customers as we have been, but anyway, we'll aim for that.
"Numbers would be six or seven couples, probably never more than fourteen people at any one time, there are limits to numbers because we have to plan well in advance for them, it's not just the rooms. I'll expand on that in a minute.
"Right, progress. We've talked with Daniel, asked him to look into planning permission for change in use of the building, without that we are stymied. Our only option if we don't get it would be to pick up where we left off, which we know you would like, but we also know the writing is on the wall for that. As well as the change of use, we will ask him to see about registering a new name for us, Chloe's suggestion, the em‑and‑em guest house."
Before she could continue, a hand went up. "Yes, Zoe?" "Not a hotel, then?" "Yes and no. We would operate pretty much as a hotel, but we think the informality of calling it a guest house would better suit our potential customers. Also the services we would offer have limits, I'll come to that in a bit."
Midge carried on, "We are open to any other suggestions for names, but I warn you, Chloe can punch quite hard when she wants to." Some laughter from the mats.
"As we've said, we'd keep the present six guest bedrooms as they are, well, where they are, I think they will need redecorating, probably add some furniture to make them more liveable in for more than one night. I think we want to use the small dormitory as well. As it is, it's not good, its door opens towards your dormitories. We can't have that."
"Easy to separate it" from Kitty. "Wall out from the linen cupboard to line up with the bedroom wall, new wall along to the bedroom. Move the bedroom door round the corner, another door by the linen cupboard to our area, oh, that'll be an emergency exit as well. Easy access for guests from stairs or lift, almost no difference to the floor space around our dormitories. Half a day's job for Benny."
Midge nodded. She continued "One more job for Daniel, checking up on all the legalities of us as a hotel, safety requirements, insurance. Same goes for recreational use of the lake, swimming, maybe even boating, we can see that as a real attraction.
"Anyway, the next thing is eating, very important. I can't see us being able to give really nice meals to our guests, even without Kitty's help. Ouch. So we went to see George and Charlotte, we proposed doing a block booking for lunches and dinners. They seem happy with that, but we can't ask them to do Mondays. They've made a couple of suggestions for that day, one is for them to pre‑prepare meals that we could heat up. Or even cook from raw, I suppose, though they didn't actually suggest that. Another option might be a relatively easy‑to‑do buffet. These are just suggestions. Whatever, we'll have to do breakfasts every day, but I know we can do that, though we'll get advice on what to offer and so on."
Chloe interrupted, "Eating at the hotel." "Yes, thank you Chloe. We went to see the hotel manager for three reasons, one was, as Chloe has reminded me, there is the possibility of eating at the hotel on Mondays, but they can't guarantee us places. As he rightly said, they have to put their own guests first."
Kitty's turn to interrupt, "Maybe have a barbecue in the grounds?" Chloe nodded, "Loved it in Australia, though our weather isn't quite the same."
Midge and Molly both nodded, Midge said "Yes, a possible option.
"Another reason we saw the hotel manager for was to find out if he'd be put out by us opening a hotel close to them. If anything, he seemed to welcome the idea, I think he prefers business people rather than holidayers. He did say they might even pass enquiries on to us, which would help us find clientel."
Midge continued "The third thing is if guests wanted to go to a bar. We won't have alcohol here, so the hotel bar is one option, particularly on Mondays. Also at times when George has a function that uses the lounge, otherwise our guests could go in there after their meal."
After Midge had stopped speaking, Chloe said "Help for George in the lounge."
Midge smiled, "Good job Chloe's here. Yes, if our guests use the lounge, we'd want someone to make sure they get immediate service. We would probably ask one or two of you to be in there with them, probably to relay their requirements to Sophie or whoever. Either you would return to the guests with their drinks or one of George's would. Oh, either way, the guests will be paying for their own drinks, I expect George has a system for keeping tabs on who has what, maybe pass their bills on to us for them to pay at the end of their stay, I don't think we'll ask you to deal with payments directly.
"Any questions so far?" No one raised a hand or said anything, Midge added "We know it's a lot to take in, and, as always, you can talk to us any time with any questions, we would welcome comments and suggestions.
"The next person we talked to was Bart, I don't think any of you have met him, he's the architect who designed the floors for your schooling and the club. He did a pretty good job for those, and he knows the building, also he liaised very well with the builder, Benny, who we would get to do our modifications. Anyway, we've asked Bart to do a new layout for the ground floor, to make it better for our guests. He should have something for us in a few days, we'll let you all see it when it comes." Midge paused.
"Outside" from Chloe. "Once again, thank you, Chloe. Yes, we've also asked him to think of how we can make the building look a bit more welcoming. It's a bit industrial looking at the moment, and first impressions are very important.
"Anything else I've forgotten, Chloe?" Chloe replied "Something you've not expanded on to any of us, these performances you mentioned to Bart." Midge smiled, "No, sorry. We are planning for a small theatre, so that maybe we can do something for the guests along our usual lines, probably late in the evening."
Kitty: "Just a thought on the evening's entertainment, we could certainly put on a fashion show, starting with our formal suits, then dresses, down through our costumes and Lillian's creations. Sadie, if we could persuade you to be our finale, that would certainly please many people." Anyone watching Sadie's face might have seen a hint of a smile, gone within half a second.
After half a minute's silence, Midge, smiling, asked "Anything else? No? All right then, I think that's it for the moment. Maybe tea now for us all. Please, talk things over with each other or any of us, raise any thoughts with us. Have we something for Lillian's tearaways?" Kyle and Milly were chasing each other all round the floor (though keeping well away from the stairs), it seems that the girls were listening to Midge rather than keeping the two children occupied.
Ten minutes later, Pete was sat down with Dee and Lillian on their settee, Kitty, Midge, Molly and Chloe were squeezed into another. Everyone had mugs of tea, except for Kyle and Milly, who had glasses of orange juice. Kyle was sitting on Midge's lap, Milly was sitting on Molly's. Milly looked as if she was almost bursting with pride at her bravery, Molly was having a lot of trouble stopping herself laughing.
After a little while, Ann came to the four, she quietly said "I've got some feedback from the girls, but your talk will have changed things a lot. When we can, I'd suggest I give you a summary of my present findings, but I should do the rounds again, they all seem much happier than they were. So am I, for that matter." Midge nodded, "Yes, all right, find us when we are free. But you're right, they do appear a bit more themselves."
For the next hour or so, there was a lot of chattering amongst the girls, interrupted for a while when Lillian wanted to put Milly and Kyle to bed, the two insisted on going to every girl to get a good‑night kiss.
Several of the girls came to the four with odd questions, they answered where they could, talked about possible options, or said they didn't know yet. One of the girls asked about outside seating, the four looked at each other, Midge said "Something we haven't thought about, thank you, that's a very good idea."
When things had quietened down, the four and Ann went to the twins' apartment.
Ann started by saying that all the girls were upset about the club stopping, but all understood why it was happening. She did add "They all love you just the same, there's nothing in the way of blame or anything."
She said they would all miss the performances, but all the girls would cooperate fully in what was being planned, there was no question about that.
Kitty asked Ann if any wanted to move away. Ann replied that some were thinking about it, not that they particularly wanted to, more as a contingency if there wasn't enough to keep them occupied here, or even because there wasn't enough fun. But none were actively looking for anywhere else, at least as far as they would say. Ann added "None of them wanted me to tell anyone, so I can't give you names."
Bart came to see them a few days later in the afternoon. They went into the twins' office, where he could unroll the plan he'd brought in.
"Right," he said, "I think I've got things as you want them. Oh, I've taken it upon myself to go a little beyond my brief in places, I know you are inexperienced in running a hotel, I'll mention such things when we get to them.
"The end where we are remains the same. I've drawn seating in the breakfast room, I've shown seven tables and chairs, the table by the doors is for things on it for guests to help themselves. My suggestion, keep the guest tables arranged randomly rather than in neat rows.
"The toilets. I've put them in a corridor, unpleasant for people nearby to see them opening and closing. I've put in three stalls in the ladies, two in the gents with two urinals. The third I've shown for wheelchair access, the details will specify drop‑down hand rails. The precise dimensions need checking with the latest building regs, I'll do that and liaise with Benny, I think you said you'll get him to do it?" Midge nodded. "And you should think about hand‑drying, my suggestion would be to have electric hand driers and a pile of small hand towels with a basket for used ones. Much more pleasant for your guests than paper towels, they always make a mess, though it would mean a little more work for you.
"Now, further along the front, I'm suggesting you modify the entrance. I presume you'll want to keep the security door you have at the moment?" Nods. "To make it look more friendly from the outside, leave the front door wide open during the day, have an inner glass door. That will keep it looking airy. The stair fire door needs moving round the corner, also your security room door will need moving if you want an automatic sliding door. Sliding is better than swinging, much easier for your guests with suitcases. Use some suitable matting in the hall that can be easily cleaned or taken up for cleaning or replacing."
He paused, and with no comments or questions, he continued. "With the new reception area, you won't need the window into your present security room, so blank that off. Or cover it with some sort of furniture, a display cabinet, notice board or something. Anyway, I've drawn it blocked, but optional.
"Coming on to the main floor, you want a good quality carpet, proper hotel standards. Expensive, but it will save you money in the long run, it will last a long time and will stand cleaning well. Pattern is your choice, my opinion would be for a medium to light background colour with maybe small floral motifs, I think that would suit your honeymooners, though the light background would need cleaning more often than a darker one. Whether you want the carpet over your stage area or some other flooring is up to you, but whatever you do, don't skimp on it.
"The reception desk. As I said, it can't be moved much, you'll need electrical supplies in the floor for it, but you could angle it round as you saw fit. I suppose you could use a laptop on its battery, but it wouldn't give a good impression if it died whilst booking guests in or out, in any case you'll probably want a desk light.
"Now the theatre, I've lost the rear access to it as we discussed. I've suggested relative sizes for stage and seating, you should mark it out and decide, tell Benny where you want the walls and stage finally. And any lighting you might want. My drawing shows odd details like your present TV screens there, up to you of course. Changing room to the side, and I've left space the other side, give your honeymooners a bit of a semi‑private place, a quiet corner. Your first aid room will go to the rear wall, though you could just extend the side walls and turn the back part into a cupboard.
"That's pretty much all the structural stuff. I've used a bit of artistic license to show some furnishings, including a couple of stands for some large houseplants or something like that, breaks up the space, looks a bit more friendly.
"So, does that seem right for you? I realise there's a lot to take in."
The four girls had all been studying the drawing closely. Midge, after a momentary glance at Molly, spoke, "Kitty? Chloe?" Chloe nodded, "As far as I can see, that looks fine. Kitty? You're the one who sees problems if there are any."
Kitty, looking a bit thoughtful, "No, it looks good. One thing, to get to the breakfast room, the guests would come from the stairs, may walk straight through the toilet corridor and through the door opposite the office. They'd then have to walk past the waiting room. On the plan it looks a bit narrow, not very inviting."
Bart said "It's about five feet wide there, if the décor is good and it's well lit, I don't think that will worry anyone. Taking it out wouldn't be a problem, of course, then you'd be left with a corridor that's over fourteen feet wide. In any case, with the doors for the toilet corridor, guests would probably go through the lounge door. Personally I think it would be fine as it is, but it's entirely up to you, doesn't affect anything else."
Chloe: "We could think about it, leave it to the last before decorating."
"Right" from Midge. "I think that answers that, leave it for the time being, all right Kitty? Anything else?" She was looking at Kitty, who said "Another thought, if the front door is to be left open during the day, we would be getting weather blowing into the entrance hall. Maybe some sort of awning or porch to reduce that? Which might help with the looks from outside?"
Bart nodded, "That's a good idea. I've not mentioned the outside. I think you should have the walls painted something like a yellowy‑beige, then attach trellises or something to it in several places all round to break the aspect up. You could consider different colours on different walls or different floor levels, but to me that would look a bit, well, naff.
"Maybe consider flower beds along the drive, some colourful shrubs, but that would give your gardener more work to maintain them. But I'm not an expert in décor and such, just a personal opinion rather than professional."
Kitty went to make them all some coffee. When she came back with a tray, Midge passed her a piece of paper. "Bart's invoice, can you do it now?" Kitty nodded, took her phone out, started tapping. "You bank details?" He found a card with them on, another couple of minutes, "Right, that's on its way to your bank." "Thank you, not many are that prompt." Midge smiled, "We never like being in debt." Bart added "That will cover the detailed electronic plans and the normal discussions that I have with the builder, but if you need further design work, I will have to charge."
Bart left the building twenty minutes later, leaving three copies of his plan. The four took one of them up to the top floor. A hand clap from Molly, the girls gathered round. Midge asked "Any not here?" Someone answered "I think everyone except a couple in security." Midge got her phone out, when it was answered she said "We're going to show everyone the guest house plans, put it in auto, come on up." She phoned Pete as well.
Two minutes later, they were crowded round one of the dining tables, Bart's plan held unrolled on it. Midge asked Kitty to tell them about it, Chloe, Midge and Molly moved away to reduce the crowding.
As Kitty was talking through it, there was a bit of pushing and shoving as the girls tried to see, sometimes being quite forceful, particularly if they wanted to point to something on the plan.
Several times Kitty had to repeat what she was saying because of how the girls were behaving, but she didn't mind, the near fights seemed to be cheering the girls up, after a little while there was quite a bit of laughter. The twins and Chloe had noticed this as well, there were nods and smiles between them.
The girls also started getting quite enthusiastic when Kitty talked about the theatre, but she did remind them that what they did there might have to be respectable.
The mood dampened down a bit when one of them said "We'll have to dress to go to Pete's." Pete immediately said "I bet that won't put you off", shortly followed by "Well, I hope not." This caused some laughter. When it died down, Midge said "Maybe we'll get you housecoats or whatever that you can slip into and out of very quickly."
From the table, Kitty asked Midge "And outside?" Midge nodded, "I'll tell them. Girls, something else that you won't like. Our guests will have the run of the grounds, I think you'll have to be dressed properly outside." Silence for a few seconds, then someone called out "How about designating an area as unsafe for the guests, maybe down by the lake opposite Jane's? Call it our nudist beach or something. Wear our nice new housecoats to go there." This caused more laughter. Midge, smiling, said "Thank you, Xanthe, that's actually not a bad suggestion at all. Now what is it, Kitty?"
Kitty said "Another downside for you girls, there will be cleaning rooms and so on every day instead of twice a week, though probably less work in each. Also some of us being on duty throughout every day to look after the guests. I suppose that gives a bit more opportunity to interact with real people, though, instead of just the other weirdos here."
Kitty was promptly set upon by the girls, shouts of "Pot calling the kettle", "At least we don't ride around on a broomstick", "Is this interaction all right for you?" After half a minute, Midge and Molly waded into the crowd surrounding Kitty, pretty much hurling the girls away from her. When they reached her, they found her curled up on the floor trying to protect herself, there were bites, scratches, bruises all over her. And she could hardly breath because she was laughing so much.
As they helped Kitty to her feet, they found that her dress had been shredded during the onslaught. She looked down at herself, managed to call out "Someone fetch me a houseco…" She couldn't finish, she would have collapsed with her laughter if Midge and Molly hadn't been holding her up.
Now the girls crowded round her again, this time they all wanted to hug her, kiss her.
Netball pitch (???) to become tennis court
Early evening, Midge phoned Roy, asked him if he and Jane would like to come to the office to see the plan. Molly phoned Lillian, asked if they'd like to see it, though it didn't affect them directly. They did want to see, so they deposited Milly and Kyle on the top floor, where Lillian said to the girls "Please don't spoil them too much", not that she expected them to take any notice of her.
In the office, once again Midge asked Kitty to run through the plan. When she'd finished, Kitty added "It shouldn't affect any of you much, but Roy, it would put more restrictions on when you could do any maintenance. I don't think our guests would like someone using a hammer to bash nails into the wall when they're in their room trying to sleep." Midge immediately said "Roy, Kitty's in a playful mood, we know that's not how you work." Roy laughed, "No, that's all right, we've all met Kitty before."
Then Kitty frowned, Midge asked "What is it?" Kitty replied "Garages. We currently have nine, two hold our car and the minibus. We only needed five before for our members, so we had two spare for visitors. Now the other seven will need to be reserved for our guests. If Dee and Lillian get a car, they'd have to leave it outside. I know Lillian would make sure it's kept clean, but it would still be something of an eyesore. And nowhere for any visitors to put theirs."
After a few seconds, Roy said "The barn with Doc's heat pump, the pump only takes a little space right at the back, there's room for a double garage in the front part. Dee could keep his car in it, your car as well. The barn is sound, Benny did it up when they installed the heat pump, it would only need a door sorting. And a bit of a drive to it as well. That would give you one spare for visitors."
Midge nodded, "Thank you Roy, that's a neat solution. And no protestations from you two, Lill and Dee, you're getting a garage. Even if you don't get a car, it's a useful addition for us.
"What are you thinking now, Kitty?" "Well, if the guests are going to go out into the grounds behind the building, how about letting them use the rear door? Do what we're doing for the front door, have an inner one to retain the heat, and allow the outer one to be left open during the day? An inner one on hinges would be all right there, though it should be glass and automatic in case people are carrying trays or anything."
Chloe muttered "That's why we put up with her. Too damned clever by half." "I'd punch you only I'm still suffering from where you all attacked me before" said Kitty. "I didn't attack you before, I kept out …" "Enough" from Midge. "These don't want to hear your petty squabbles." Kitty and Chloe promptly gave each other a kiss, when they released each other, both said "Sorry."
While Molly was trying to stop herself laughing, Midge said "Kitty, that sounds like a good idea, we'll get Benny to do it, I don't think it needs Bart to update the plan. Any other comments? Questions?" Chloe said "Flower beds." "Yes, thank you, Chloe. Roy, Bart suggested putting some beds for shrubs along the drive, make the place a bit more inviting. Could you do that? And could you look after them, or should we get a gardener in?" Roy replied "I'd be happy to do it, no problem at all."
With no other comments, Midge said "We'd better rescue our girls from Milly and Kyle, tea upstairs everyone?"
Midge made an appointment for Benny to come a few days later. In the twins' office, they explained to him what they were doing, showed him Bart's plan.
Kitty had sketched on it the additional glass door for the rear entrance, also a note that they wanted a front porch. As they were talking, Kitty picked up a pencil from a desk tidy, she wrote '& porch' by the rear entrance on the plan. The other three girls all nodded, Midge said "Still on form then, Kitty."
Midge asked Kitty to go through the plan for Benny, who took some notes as she was explaining it all. Her final words were "And a small change on the second floor, but we've not got a drawing of that." "I'll have a look in a bit."
He asked them several questions to clarify things, he also asked them if they wanted him to organise the flooring, he would get them some carpet pattern books, also samples of flooring suitable for their stage. Molly muttered "Must be able to have water spilt on it." "We can do that, I presume to look like wood? Like a dance floor?" "Perfect" from Midge, "but over the whole of the theatre floor, not just the stage area. In fact, no real designation as to what's stage and what's audience areas."
Kitty said "Phones. We should have guest phones in the rooms, Chloe and I used ours a lot to talk to room service and reception." Chloe nodded, "We'd need them on the reception desk and in the kitchen." Midge, after a moment, "In the kitchens on the ground, first and second floors." Kitty added "Security and the office. Benny, could we get a system that automatically redirects a call after, say, four rings? Security is almost always manned."
They also talked about the possible matting for the front and rear entrance halls. Chloe asked Midge "Do we need Benny to do things in the guest rooms?" "I don't think so, oh, yes, maybe wall sockets for the bedside tables for lights and chargers, maybe one or two others for the guests' convenience. And the phones, of course." Benny said "I'll have a look, the exact details don't matter for the estimate, but we'll need to know before we start work so as to get the wiring in place." Kitty said "Proper hotel locks on the guest doors." Benny nodded, "Any idea on the type? One thought for you, ones worked by a number code, but with a key for your room servicing people. Your guests would set their own number and wouldn't need to carry a key or keycard or anything."
"That sounds perfect."
Chloe: "How about a phone outside by the front door for any guests who are still out after the doors are shut for the night?" Midge shook her head, "Not necessary to have a phone, there's already a bell push there. But we should have a bell push by the back door, Benny, can you put one there?" Chloe muttered "All right then, I'll go back to sleep." Kitty gave her a (very gentle) prod, "No, don't do that, we'd never have thought of the rear door bell push until some cold and bedraggled guest was stood outside in the pouring rain." Benny, smiling, wrote another note in his notebook.
Chloe then said "Toilets." When four people looked at her, she said "Emergency bell string, in case someone is taken ill. There was one in our Australian hotel bathroom. Don't think they'd be needed in our guest bathrooms, but in the ground floor toilets." Kitty immediately muttered "Now who's got all the good ideas?" Midge said "Please don't start, you two. At least wait until business is finished."
Benny, smiling at them again, "Right, if Chloe's got no more thoughts at the moment, let me look round everywhere."
They spent the next half hour or so going round, Chloe carrying the plan, Benny writing notes in his notebook, occasionally on the plan itself.
When he'd finished, they went back to the office, there were mugs of coffee waiting for them. He had a couple more questions, then Chloe said "Garage." Midge smiled, "Chloe seems to have a better memory than any of us. Yes, and we want this doing anyway, remember the barn you put the heat pump in for Doc's cottage? We'd like the front part of it as a double garage."
Benny nodded, "Yes, no problem. I don't think planning permission will be needed for that. It'll need the drive extending to it, maybe a turn‑round by the garage. I don't need to see it, we know enough about it already. Oh, electrical sockets? Always useful in a garage. There's already electricity in there for the heat pump." He paused for a moment, "Unless you want charging points for electric cars, we'd have to run a separate cable from the building. Not a major job, though, it will just feed through the present conduit."
Kitty: "Good idea while we're at it, though that would have to come off the grid, we couldn't supply enough from our solar cells and batteries." Benny nodded, "If you do that, you might find a better electricity tariff, they do ones with cheaper rates for car charging. You'd have to sort that out with your energy supplier."
Benny suggested he did an estimate for everything, then a separate one for the garage, in case they didn't get their planning permission. "It would be a bit cheaper to do the garage while we're doing everything else. I'll get you at least preliminary estimates in a couple of days, everything is in house except your choice on flooring, but I can give you an idea on that." Kitty told him "No restrictions on when you can work for this job."
True to his word, Benny emailed Kitty with two spreadsheets attached, the first showed the breakdown on his estimate, with a range shown on the flooring. The 'garage only' estimate was included. The second spreadsheet showed timescales and payments, obviously just elapsed times, since they had no idea when planning might be granted. Also the final payment would depend on flooring options.
Having got Benny's estimates, Midge phoned Samuel to warn him of the amounts they would need for the building modifications, Kitty would forward him Benny's estimate, and that they'd need more for furniture, crockery and so on. But they wouldn't know when they might need the money, they told him that Daniel was dealing with the planning permission.
Half an hour later, Samuel phoned Midge back, he said he'd spoken to Daniel, would the four like to be fed by Audrey? Naturally Midge said "Yes, please."
That evening after they'd eaten, Midge fetched the plan that she'd left rolled up in the hall. It was too big to go on a coffee table in the living room, so the four girls helped Audrey and Natalie clear the dining room table, they sat round the table with the plan unrolled, coffee mugs being used to hold it open.
There were several appreciative comments, but when Kitty said they'd have the stage floor as if for dancing, Daniel said "If you're going to play music, you'll need a music licence and there will be royalties to pay." To which Molly replied "You just want extra work so we pay you more." Daniel smiled, "I've got plenty of work already, without you adding to my load. No, it's the law. Same if you want background music." Kitty shook her head, to the other girls she said "No, please, no. I know some places do it to help hide other people's conversations, but many really don't like it." "Including you by the sound of it" from Chloe. "All right" from Midge, "Policy decision, no background music. We don't wan't Kitty upset." "Thank you."
They said about converting the barn to a garage, Midge told then that Benny thought no planning permission was required. Daniel nodded, "No, that will be fine, barns have always been used to keep vehicles in, so no change of use1. Do keep the door in keeping with the old, I'd suggest up and over but with a finish to look like wood. That way no one can object."
Daniel continued, "Talking of planning, a little progress, the council planning people told me that they have no problem with the application. They've published it as they are obliged to do, to give anyone the opportunity to object. But, since the building is invisible from the road or any public place, they didn't expect any objection, except perhaps from the hotel."
Midge told him that they'd seen the hotel manager, that he, far from objecting, was supportive.
Samuel asked "What about your rates? And do you have ideas for attracting guests?" Kitty said "I'm working on the business plan, I'll let you see it when it's done, a few days. Midge, guests?" "Yes" said Midge, "Molly and I have been in touch with people who know people. Sorry, Kitty, Chloe, not really told you. Anyway, some of our old members have a lot of contacts, they are already getting some interest. So far, no figures, and obviously we can't even consider booking anyone until we know when we might be able to open. But, like our previous venture, we're pretty sure word of mouth recommendations will work. We don't want to advertise."
Kitty: "I am looking at creating a web site, the hotel manager suggested it, try to give people a good impression of what we will do. But I'm not going to oversell it, that would be very counterproductive if people were disappointed."
Natalie and Audrey has been very quiet during all of this, until Natalie said to Audrey, "I really hope this works out." Audrey replied "Me, too." Daniel said "We all do." Samuel nodded his agrement.
Back in the building, Kitty asked the question. "What are we all going to wear?" Midge replied "Something casual but distinct." Chloe: "With a bit of sexiness." Kitty: "Yes, but not too overt. Talk to Holly?" Chloe muttered "Another of bloody Kitty's good ideas."
The following morning they got Pete to drive them into town, they went into Rachel's. She and Holly were serving a lady, her husband sat on a chair watching. The lady looked up at them, she said "Hello, nice to see you again. I see you've calmed down a bit in the years since I last saw you." Molly, smiling, went to her and kissed her cheek. "Well", Molly said, "These three are getting old, so …" She couldn't finish, 'these three' had grabbed her and pushed her to the floor, all four were now in a heap with Molly at the bottom, all were laughing.
When they got up, the others in the shop were laughing as well. Midge said "Sorry, just ignore us, you won't notice we're here." The husband muttered "I heard you say that once before. It's still impossible."
Rachel said to Holly "Find out what they want, I'll try to continue helping my proper customers." Holly took them a little away from Rachel and her 'proper' customers. While Molly went to look at the pictures of the girls in their funeral dresses that were still on display, the other three outlined what they were doing with the building, that their girls would be staffing it, and they wanted some sort of informal uniform. "With maybe a hint of sexiness" from Chloe.
Holly thought for a moment, then "Have all your girls still got good figures? We've had a few of them in here, more daydreaming about clothes rather than buying, not that we mind that. All I've seen are very good looking, nice figures, good legs." The three looked at each other, Midge replied "Well, some size variation, but yes."
Molly came back to listen as Holly started with her ideas. "Right, this is what I'd suggest. Dresses, top figure hugging, rounded neckline showing a little cleavage, back also rounded but halfway down, sleeveless. Skirt contoured to follow hips and biggest part of your bottom. All edges, neckline, armholes and skirt hem edged with a narrow lace border. Belt halfway between waist and hips ‑ I know you like to have a phone there ‑ belt tied with a bow. Hem halfway up the thighs, skirt flared.
"Material probably a light cotton, easier to follow your shape. For the sort of clientele you've indicated, I'd suggest a pale background with a small motif of flowers." Kitty muttered "Just like the carpet." Holly picked up on this, "If the dresses match your carpet, that would really give a corporate look. Maybe corporate is the wrong word for the informality you want, but you get the idea. The match would have to be very good, or else should be distinctly different colours, though keeping the general patterns the same. Lace trim same colour as flower petals. How's that sound?"
"That sounds very good" ‑ this from Rachel who had finished with her customers. "What about fastenings?" Holly momentarily frowned, "Their usual buttons won't work well with the tight fitting I think they should have. Possibly a zip down the back like their bridesmaids dresses, but I think a front one would be better."
Kitty asked "Rachel, would you do dresses like that for us? I don't think we could make such well‑fitting dresses ourselves, particularly with the zip. We can't give you an order yet, we're not even sure we can do it at all, depends on planning approval, though we are hopeful. But we'd like an idea of costs. About thirty of us, what, three dresses each?" "Why not just two?" from Midge. "Wearing one, one in the wash, and a spare for when Molly slops something over herself." Molly muttered "She knows me so well."
Kitty frowned, Chloe muttered "She's at it again. What, Kitty?" "Well, I first thought about wearing our name chokers, but I don't think they would really suit. How about our names embroidered on the dresses? That would be nice for the guests, and help us sorting them after they've been washed."
Chloe started chuntering again, but whatever she said either wasn't heard, or maybe just ignored.
Kitty asked "Could Holly do a sketch? Help us visualise it better, and we could show it to our girls? It does sound good." Rachel and Holly both nodded, Holly said "It'll take me half an hour or so, I'll do it this evening when I won't be disturbed. We can scan it and send it to you by email tomorrow morning? Save you coming in?" Rachel added "And I'll put in the estimate as well."
Next morning, when Rachel's email came in, Kitty made several prints of the two attached sketches that Holly had drawn. They took them up to the top floor, got all the girls up, including those in security, they gathered round one of the dining tables.
Midge started, "Assuming we can go ahead, we have been thinking about what we should all wear while we are working. Yesterday we visited Rachel and Holly, Holly made a suggestion for a dress, she's drawn a sketch of what it might look like." Kitty passed copies of one of the sketches she was holding to Midge, who put them on the table. All the girls were eager to see the sketches, as usual there was a lot of pushing and shoving which created quite a bit of laughter, but after they'd managed to spread the copies around the table, all could see.
What they saw were the two views that Holly usually sketched, a three‑quarter front and a three‑quarter rear view. She'd shown it tight‑fitting from bust to hips, the belt, the flare and the high hem. There were a lot of appreciative noises, even one or two saying "Molly likes".
When Midge heard the Molly impression, she held out her hand to Kitty, who passed her the prints of the second sketch, she placed them on the table. They showed one three‑quarter front view, obviously Molly, with the zip undone to show perhaps more than it should. She seemed to be doing a twirl, the skirt's flare was well out, there was a lot of leg showing. One of the girls called out "Molly really likes", to which Molly responded "Yes, Molly really does."
Kitty said "I think Holly must have added that one to the email herself, I'm not sure Rachel would have approved."
Midge said to them all "We think that Holly's idea will suit us well, definitely sexy without looking cheap. Holly's suggested a small floral pattern, we're thinking of something similar for the carpet." Kitty interrupted, "Stair carpet should be he same, and on the upper floors where the guests have access." Chloe muttered "She's at it again, one flipping good thought after another."
For the next few minutes, Kitty and Chloe were going at each other hammer and tongs, the girls crowded round cheering them on. Eventually they collapsed, hugging each other, laughing uncontrollably. They were helped to a settee, where they continued hugging, the laughter changing to kissing, then exploring each others' bodies, until Midge went to them and said "Come on, it's still morning." This made the two start laughing again.
Editing here
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Introduction