Ah... Big sigh as it was Eleven O'clock and the end of a long twelve hour shift. I was putting my coat on and about to go home, when the door opened to the changing room, my manager's head popped round and said, "Lenard, can you please help this lady for five minutes before you go?"
We are short staffed, isn't everyone these days! I'm a porter in a hotel just on the outskirts of town. Having left school at seventeen, been here a year, don't have an academic brain, just brawn. I am renting a flat, just recently, as I could not afford one before.
I had just changed into my clothes from the hotel uniform, I wasn't going to change back just for five minutes.
Taking my coat back off I went to the front counter and asked Pete, "Where is she?"
Pete pointed to the bar, "Vanessa's in there with her husband."
I walked over to the bar and looked around, it was still busy, since I didn't have my uniform on they would not recognise me as being one of the staff. So I had to look around for a lady named Vanessa and her husband.
As I looked and walked around, it seemed like my task was to find a needle in a haystack... shit!
I wasn't going to go round shouting her name out. I just walked and looked. Then from the corner of my eye I caught a lady standing at a table looking around, I recognized her as she had been here for a couple of days, a real good looker. A man seated next to her, head down on the table. My needle had been found.
I walked over and asked, "Vanessa?"
She was very polite, "O hello love, are you here to help me, I'm so sorry, but it's my husband. He's been over doing it... again."
I looked at the man, he seemed to be asleep on the table, I asked, "How may I help you Madam?"
She prodded him on the arm and said, "He's drunk... again. Please can you help me take him up to our room?"
She lightly slapped his head and said, "I've told him a hundred times not to drink too much... just cause it's paid for by his company. But he never listens."
The man seemed to try and open his eyes and grunted, so he was not asleep or totally drunk at least. I walked around to the side of the man to see if he could at lease stand. I pulled him up into a seated position and asked him if he could stand. He looked in my direction and grunted again.
Vanessa said, "So uncouth of you dear, please see if you can stand at least for this young man."
I took one arm and he pushed on the table to stand with his other hand, he managed to do that, I put his arm around my shoulders. Then as I was about to walk him off, he resisted, stretched out his hand to grab the tumbler of whisky, he put it to his lips and as he just swallowed a little Vanessa grabbed his hand and took the tumbler from him, "You've had quite enough dear, just look at you!"
She placed the tumbler onto the table and said, "This way young man."
Vanessa led the way and I followed with her husband almost dragging his feet, he had not even the energy to lift his shoes.
We finally got into the lift, which in normal circumstances would have taken no more than thirty seconds, but took over two minutes.
Vanessa's husband was trying to say something all the time but made absolutely no sense in the drunken state he was in.
The man was dressed in a very nice business suit, tie, and very shiny shoes. Vanessa was in a long silk like floral patterned dress, with a shawl over her shoulders, looked elegant, and looked expensive.
As we were going up in the lift, Vanessa asked, "Do you work here young man?"
Not being in uniform she could not tell, I said, "Yes Madam, I was just on my way home when the desk manager asked me to help."
Vanessa looked at me, a slight smile, "Yes... I thought I had seen you around. Very kind of you, thank you."
I replied, "Just doing my job Madam, happy to help."
The door opened on the lift; as we stepped out, Vanessa said, "Please call me Vanessa young man."
We got to their room and as Vanessa opened it for us to walk through, I said, "My name is Lenard."
I was walking through and found it funny that Vanessa had hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign out and closed the door. I turned my head and asked, "Shall I put him on the bed?"
Vanessa turned and pointed, "No dear, put him on the couch over there, I don't want his drunken breath on me."
As I was placing her husband on the couch, Vanessa stood by me and asked a strange question, "Would you be missed tonight?"
I took hold of his legs and swooped them up off the floor. I began to undo his laces. I could see Vanessa's right foot, tapping the floor and then with her voice raised very slightly, "I asked if you would be missed tonight... Lenard!"
My gaze slowly travelled from Vanessa's tapping foot, along the dress to her slim waistband, further up to what seemed like pert breasts, then to her blue eyes. I said, "I live on my own."
I began to take off the shoes and put them to one side. I stood up straight and Vanessa stepped closer, I easily towered over her with my six foot four inch frame, Vanessa was at least a foot shorter.
I asked, "Shall I put a blanket over him?"
"No my dear, it's quite warm in here, and he's got alcohol running in his vein's to keep off the chill."
She looked up to me and continued, "In fact it seems to be getting... Quite hot in here, don't you agree... Lenard?"