The Lodge at Lake Tecumseh
This story is entirely fictional. The Lodge and the lake on which it sits do not exist. Any resemblance of any character to a real person is unintended and coincidental. It is my understanding that the working conditions described have improved in recent years. All characters are over 18--as should be any reader as may be required by local law. Copyright 2023, all rights reserved. BD
The sun had yet to rise above the horizon, even though Sean's cubicle window was high in the building and the window faced east across a broad lake. Sean was restless and couldn't sleep. He had arrived only yesterday from Dublin and so was jet-lagged and ready to go at only 5 a.m. He rose from the thin-mattressed twin cot and, wrapped only in a threadbare towel, headed for the communal bath he shared on that floor with a dozen other guys who had signed on as busboys and waiters at the exclusive New Hampshire summer resort.
Each year the hotel recruited three to four dozen from Ireland and, in recent years, the Balkans to help staff the dining rooms. The formal dining facilities were one of the attractions of the old shingle-style, wooden Victorian resort monstrosity that dominated the west side of Lake Tecumseh. (The lake was better known to the summer staff as Lake Cum--since it's shoreline had hosted most of the staff sexual activity for years.)
Locals from the nearby towns also worked at the Lodge, but most had cars and did not board for the summer. (Many locals, however, did laugh at the exaggerated "citified" and stratified manners of their New York and New England guests. And of course, the very name of the lake and the lodge were a secret joke: Chief Tecumseh had been born well south in the Delaware Valley and ultimately made his name in Oklahoma resisting Yankee expansion into native lands. It is doubtful that he or his people ever set foot in New Hampshire. Who the hell had decided to name a New Hampshire lake after a Delaware Shawnee Native American? Surely it was a joke.)
There were an equivalent number of young ladies--mostly chambermaids, housed in the first two floors of the same old structure. Sean thought he was lucky to be on the top floor (nicknamed sarcastically, the penthouse) with a view of the lake--but he would soon realize that the lack of air conditioning in the staff quarters made top floor spaces, particularly those just under the ill-insulated roof, much less desirable as the temperatures rose. In addition, there were no elevators and the water pressure of the tepid water in the communal showers was almost non-existent on the top floor. Each resident had a twin bed, an end table with a lamp, and a hard chair, set in a small "room"--with no wall to the interior, only eye-height side walls filled with wardrobes and chests. Thus, there was no real privacy. The first floor of the building housed the common spaces: sitting and TV rooms with old upholstered furniture left over from previous remodelings of the "luxury" hotel. Fortunately, many spent nights in the Lodge, "guests" of the guests.
With half-shut eyes, Sean wandered into the bath and noted he wasn't alone in his wakefulness. Two naked guys were at the urinals. Two others were trying out the gang shower. So much for towels. I guess it would be mostly nudity this summer. Fortunately, with three brothers and several years of sports in ancient English-style schools, nudity was neither unusual nor disturbing to him. He splashed water on his face and realized that sleep was not going to happen for the rest of that night. He might just as well clean up, dress and look around before the mandatory 6:30 a.m. orientation.
Uniforms were prescribed once anyone (male or female) was outside the main door of the dorm: dark forest green knit shorts, forest green stretch belts, white tennis sneakers, with mandatory white sox, and white logo-ed polos--until 4; long sleeve white button up shirts, green bow ties, and forest green slacks with black tennis shoes and of course black sox thereafter. Each summer employee was given two of each uniform piece, which were maintained by the hotel laundry-- replacements were expensive and at the cost of the employee. He dressed carefully noting that the clothes were close-fitting and revealing, slicked his (mandatory) short hair (carrot red of course) and closely shaved his freckled cheeks and neck.
Sean was one of the older student-staff members. He had started school late and so was already 21. His parents owned a small pub where he had worked for years, so he also qualified as "experienced" and was designated as waiter (with an hourly wage of $1.90 instead of $1.75).
Sean planned to return to Trinity College, Dublin, in September to enroll in his first year. He needed this job and this money to survive--even though Trinity tuition was very modest by American standards--at least for Irish resident-citizens. Sean spoke with a charming brogue. His dark green eyes flashed with each wide smile. He was broad shouldered and flat-bellied, tall and flawlessly polite. In short, he was every Celtic-descent mother's dream for her daughter--albeit a few years too young, perhaps with much less money, and at least one degree short. For many of the Boston patrons of the hotel, his Catholicism was a big plus. Give him another few years and a little success, and every matronly patron of the Lodge would consider him marriage material. For now, he was a cub, and in training--perhaps the target for a cougar--or a lion.
He had been hired on for twelve weeks--one day off every other week--not the same day each time--and the off-day might be forfeit toward the end of the summer as staff dwindled and the guest population did not. He was expected to work breakfast, lunch and dinner, with about one-two hours between each shift--essentially 6:45 to 9:15. The only saving grace: the Lodge provided entertainment (typical touring summer resort stuff, occasionally peppered with amateur nights provided by staff: cheap comics, has-ben sopranos, and dance bands), each night at 9--so the dining room tended to empty shortly before.
State law limited each day to 12 hours (without overtime and at the waiters' minimum wage), and therefore tips were vital. The Lodge did not charge its staff for room and board as some did. But it did charge its guests a 25% "resort fee"--in which the waiters who worked until the last day of the summer shared--or at least to the extent of three percent. Cash tips were important--and they tended to be small since the guests assumed the exorbitant resort fee covered meal tips (which it really didn't). If Sean worked the whole summer, his compensation including his share of the resort fee tip would be about $2000 after taxes and before expenses.
Sean didn't know anyone, had never traveled outside Ireland before, and he was gay--but locked securely in the closet, at least for this summer. He had had a little experience in Ireland, but had not left a regular partner behind. Liaisons among staff were expected; liaisons with guests were tolerated. So Sean would need to tread carefully so as not to seem aloof, or, God-forbid, gay, if he refrained from sex with other (female) staff. He was expecting a long, solo summer of hard work. Even finding a convenient and private place to jerk would be difficult. He just hoped that he wouldn't be placed in an impossible social situation. He was going to be on a tightrope--because he was attractive--extremely so for most young ladies (and men of a certain persuasion). He was of age (and thus fair prey), and naturally garrulous and a comedian. He was going to need to completely hide his typical persona, he thought. But, when work began he quickly had to revise his expectations. Sex was indeed going to be part of his summer job. It (he) was apparently implicitly "on offer" at the resort.
The orientation was as expected: a lot of shit, mostly designed to protect the owners of the Lodge. Two issues were identified and emphasized: any "fraternization" with co-workers was discretionary and not condoned by management (no coerced sex). Any similar interaction with guests needed to be very discrete, was outside of employment, had to be initiated by the guest, and was discouraged by the Lodge. Everyone knew that the managers were covering their asses. There was no doubt that the young, attractive flesh, hired for the summer was a significant part of the appeal of the Lodge--and its incredible all-inclusive per diem ($500 and up per person per day).
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Sean began his first day as a waiter at lunch. He was wearing his mandatory name tag, which included his age and school. (When he first saw the tag, he thought immediately that the Lodge was effectively painting targets on all of the staff over 18--they were clearly labeled as eligible prey to guests.) The resort had just moved to its "summer" routine and regular guests had been arriving all morning. Lunch was a lavish buffet--to be duplicated four times each week. The waiters were expected to "catch and deliver" overloaded plates to the tables for Lodge patrons (or fill plates to order on request), and provide soups, beverages and desserts. He did well and the meal proceeded without incident. He did feel that many eyes followed his movements, and the eyes were mostly focused on his butt and his basket. But since this was a buffet, there was little interaction with guests and tips were rare and small.
At his last dessert plate delivery, an older male guest, asked a question and, as Sean provided an answer, rolled his hand between Sean's legs up under the shorts. Then he reached up and palmed Sean's equipment. Sean smiled, backed off, and avoided further contact. Later he realized the guest had left him a twenty under the plate he removed. It was only his first day!
Did he project gayness that obviously? Is that my price this summer, he wondered? Am I on the menu for men and women?