2019-12-13 - The Tour

The Addington House is kind of a tourist attraction, and also a museum visited occasionally by elementary and middle school groups. And who is there to lead those groups on the guided tour to explain the background and history of the house? Tyrone! Which is why he's stationed at the small table near the front door of the mansion, wearing a nice, button-down shirt, tie, and black sport coat to match his slacks.

However, this early in the school year, there are no touring children to direct or answer questions of. And because nobody tours the Pacific Northwest in the cold and rainy near-winter season, there are no tourists to astonish with tales of tragedy and drama. So Tyrone is sitting there, leaning on the table, drumming his fingers and watching the clock tick by. Thankfully, he has all that time 'on watch' in the marines to have prepped him for situations like this! Which is how he manages to not be on his phone doing anything while he waits.

Park has never been to the museum despite all the years she has lived in Grey Harbor, so today she has decided to change that! 'Rugged up' in sneakers, tights, denim shorts, and puffy jacket, she bounces in all wide-eyed and excited. A satchel bag over one shoulder contains her laptop. The beanie on her head has a Pikachu perched atop it instead of a bobble. "Hello!" she grins and waves at Tyrone. "How much does it cost to get in?" Her brow furrows. "Do the Addingtons even need more money?"

Stating the tour fees, Tyrone explains, "That fee actually goes to the Gray Harbor Preservation Society, which helps keep and maintain historic sites around Gray Harbor in their original styles. And, while the Addington's did create and originally run the organization, I can assure you it is a non-profit organization that no longer employs any of the family on its board." And yes, it sounds rehearsed. "Were you interested in taking the expanded tour or just the basic introductory tour?"

"Oh, okay. Expanded please!" Park reaches into a pocket in her huge jacket to find the appropriate money. Cash is handed over. A quick look around for the rest of the tour group. "What time does the tour start? Oh! I'm Park Mee...or Mee Park if you prefer. You can call me either." If there wasn't a desk betweem them he would get a hug, so instead he gets a gloved hand thrust at him.

"Oh, there aren't any scheduled tours today. We're a little out of season, so I mostly just hang out, clean stuff and collect a check," Tyrone explains, grinning as he shakes Mee's hand. "And you can call me Tyrone," he says, pointing at the silver nametag indicating the same. He then pushes back from the table, turning in his chair and rolling more towards the main foyer. "So, if you'd like to follow me, I'll show you the history and the home of the Addington Family!" This is announced as he sweeps one arm out, palm up, gesturing towards the whole of the large entryway, which is as posh and spectacular as you'd expect a Super Rich Family's foyer to be.

"That sounds like an exciting job" Park grins sincerely as she waits for Tyrone to appear. A little tilt of her head as he proves to be in a wheelchair. "Oh no, did you hurt yourself?" Now he will get a hug. "You poor thing. Do you want me to push you or anything?" The way she nibbles on her lower lip suggests she has a whole pile of questions for him rather than the tour.

"What? No, I-," Tyrone starts to explain, but then he's suddenly hugged. It takes him by surprise, so he's slow to respond, but he does eventually give Mee's back a few pats with one arm. "I'm good. I push myself all day, every day, so this little tour isn't going to be a bother." When she straightens up, but then looks pensive, he quirks an eyebrow. "... did you have a question?" he asks, obviously still in work mode.

"Question? Gosh, no" Park grins, shaking her head quickly in that 'I'm totally innocent' way. Still, the way she stares at Tyrone suggests she has sooooo much to ask, A gesture towards the museum. "Lead the way." And then, in a sudden outpouring of words, "How did you end up in a wheelchair?" Then she is all blushing cheeks at being so rude. "Sorry."

Tyrone's brow remains skeptically raised at her response. But, she tells him to lead the way, so he shrugs and starts to turn into the foyer. And then she does ask the question and he stops, chuckles, then turns back to face her again. "I was shot while serving in Afghanistan," he explains. "And you don't have to apologize, every one is curious. You're not the first and I'm sure you won't be the last." He then lifts his hand again to gesture towards the house. "Shall we?"

"Shot while serving in Afghanistan?" Park's eyes open wide. "Wow, they're really mean to waiters there. That is so sad to hear though." He gets another hug for that. "Does everything else, you know, work?" More bright blushing as she waves a hand in the general direction of his groin while looking politely away. Tour! They're on a tour! Stop being rude to the nice man. "Yes, we shall!"

"What? ... waiter? No, I was in the marines," Tyrone says. And then he's being hugged again! Surprised once more, he again gently pats Park's back. And then she asks him /that/ question and this time both of his eyebrows shoot up. He blinks at her for a second, then his brow furrows and he frowns a little. "Miss, that's not really something I wanna discuss with a complete stranger. Plus, it has nothing to do with the tour that you paid for." Park is getting a very thorough looking, as Tyrone can't quite figure out what she's up to or what she's about.

"Oh...the Marines!" It all becomes so clear to Park now. "It would be a bit strange to shoot waiters" she giggles, "I mean, service is never that bad. Except maybe in Detroit. I hear it is pretty bad there." She looks horrified that she has upset Tyrone. "Oh, sorry, I was just curious. And we're not strsngers. I'm Mee and you're Tyrone. But, yes, let's do the tour." Abashed and ashamed, she follows him into the museum proper.

When Park tries to explain how they're not strangers, Tyrone opens his mouth to try and argue, and even goes so far as to raise his hand to being making a point. But, then he pauses, thinks better of it, and decides to start the tour. And hopefully, that will take her mind off of the other stuff.

Honestly, Tyrone isn't a terrible tour guide. He does clearly know all of the bulletin points of the househould, pointing out the chandelier in the foyer and the stairwell and the paintings. He also explains about how the gas lights had been converted to electric lights now, but how they kept the wattage very low so that it continued to resemble the lighting that would have been achieved before electricty was available. From the foyer, they move on into the kitchen, then to the dining hall, where Tyrone takes a moment to explain about all the important people that would come to dine with the Addingtons' at their huge dining room table.

Park follows along behind, listening, but the guilt is strong at upsetting Tyrone. Still, she nods when she has to, and asks the occasional important question. "They liked the dark? Are they vampires?" "Ooh...who ate hear? Did they like the food?" "Cleaning chandeliers must be pretty hard." "Do you have a girlfiend?" "This is a big house. How many people lived here?"

Tyrone isn't /upset/, per se. Just ... uncomfortable talking about his injury stuff with someone who showed up at his job and paid to have him tell them about a house. He's still perfectly amicable, he's not terse or indignant or anything. Except, when she again veers off into his personal life, he just shakes his head and looks confused. "Miss, this tour really isn't about my personal life. It's about the Addington House and the family that lived here," he explains, not sternly, just ... more like he's trying not to get in trouble.

Park nods to Tyrone's words, totally agreeing with him. "Of course...Addingtons are awesome." Her lips purse as she looks around the room. "I think you're more interesting though" she adds nonchalantly before getting back to the tour. "How come they don't live here anymore? Hey, do you want to get a coffee or something?"

Well! Now it's Tyrone's turn to blush. Except he can't, because melanin. So all he does is look sheepish and rub at the back of his neck. "I mean ... I can't right /now/," he explains. "I'm at work." Just in case that wasn't obvious. But the fact that she's asking him out has obviously gotten him quite nonplussed.

"Isn't there, like, a cafe in here or something? At the end of the tour probably. You know, next to the gift shop. You would still be at work if we talked there. I mean, you could be telling me more about the Addingtons or something. I did pay for the extended tour" Park grins. Makes sense to her. "Or, if you prefer, when do you get off." A beat. "Work I mean, not other ways of getting off."

"Uh ... no ... there's really not. We don't really sell anything here but the tours," Tyrone explains, shrugging. And then she mentions getting off and he facepalms and shakes his head, chuckling a little. "I'm off in a couple hours. There's someone else who does the evening tours," he explains. "And the extended tour means I also take you upstairs to check out the master bedroom and the antique bathroom and stuff so you can see how things worked before working plumbing and stuff."

Park can't help but giggle at mention of the master bedroom while she nods to his words. "Let's go see it then" she smiles, gesturing for him to lead the way. "Before working plumbing there was not-working plumbing? Very clever of them to put it in before they knew how it worked. These Addingtons must be psychic or something." She sounds pretty impressed; much more exciting than chandeliers.

"No, that's ... just ... no," Tyrone starts to try to explain, but then again, stops himself. Easier just to show her. And, because this house is so old, there's been a lot of modifications for ADA compliance. One of them happens to be the chair-elevator in the foyer. Tyrone points at the stairs. "I'll meet you at the top, if you just gimme a sec," he explains, opening the gate and letting himself on. And the lift is really fairly small, obviously not meant to accomodate more than a wheelchair, as it's one of those external ones that get added without making a bunch of modifications to the phsyical structure of where they're installed.

"I'll walk up with you" Park smiles, keeping pace with Tyrone as the lift rises up the track. "What do you do when you're not showing people around this place? I'm studying dentistry. My parents work in dentistry. But I'm also in an awesome band and that's what I really want to do, you know? We've been rehearsing and writing new songs and we all live in the same room like the Monkees. Gosh, so many shenanigans. Oh, and I also DJ at the Platinum Cabaret. Have you been there?"

It takes about a minute, because the lift isn't fast, but soon they're on the second level and Tyrone is letting himself OUT of the elevator. He then gestures towards the hallway towards the master bedroom, which is at the very back. And as they walk by, Park can see that the other bedrooms have been converted into offices or meeting rooms and that occasionally, people are actually working in them. "Um ... not much, really. I work out every day, but ... that's pretty much it?" And then Park is talking about the band and THAT'S when Tyrone makes the connection. "Ohhhhhhh! Are you in the band with Lyric? I know her, we're friends."

Park nods happily about the connection. "Yes, I'm in Lyric's band. She is soooo awesome. She's like one of my role models, you know? She also DJs at the Platinum Cabaret. She is numero uno and I'm numero...two-o? And the dancers are all so sweet there." A little sigh at all the wonderful people she knoes before giving a wave to those in the offices. "Hello! On you on the tour too? Working out is cool. I'm like a string bean so not sure working out would make a difference. Who wants a string bean with muscles? This door?"

The door to the master bedroom at the end of the hall is left open and Tyrone shakes his head and points at it. "No, they're not on the tour, they're working. And that's the master bedroom." He rolls in and moves to the side, folding his hands in his halp. "And yeah, Lyric's pretty great. And she likes the club, too. And it would be numero 'dos,'" he offers Park with a wink. And then he raises his hands for a sec before letting them drop. "So, this is the master bedroom. Do you want the tour recitation or do you just wanna check it out on your own?"

"Wow, this bedroom is huge" Park gasps as she looks around. "Please, keep with the recitation and I'll look around." First thing she does...jump on the bed. And jump on it. "So springy!" she giggles. "Are the sheets like silk or something? They're so smoo..." So smooth that she slips on landing and slides off onto the floor with a thud; more giggling follows. "So much fun." Park gets to her feet and rushes over to check the ensuite. "Oh my gosh! The shower is huge!"

Tyrone nods and starts explaining about how old the bed is, and how the armoire is vintage and the oak from the forest outside of Gray Harbor and ..., "Um ... try NOT to jump on the bed? There aren't springs in it, so it's liable to ...." AAAAAAAAND she's on the floor. Tyrone facepalms and shakes his head again as she chuckles. When she moves to the bathroom, he rolls a little closer, but the doorway is definitely too narrow for him to fit through. "Actually, they didn't have a shower. The tub is over there and they would have to fill it manually." Tyrone then goes on to explain how they managed to get the hot water there, and also how the commode and waste pan worked and everything else about How It Was.

"Oh...that's not a shower?" Park listens intently to the explanations aas she giddily looks around. "That sounds like an awful lot of work but hygiene is important. Make sure you brush your teeth with a soft brush twice and day and floss regularly." Her advice even comes with a serious tone...which is soon gone again. "Imagine carrying your waste around all over the place. I guess that's why you had servants. Not you...or me...but the Addingtons. I bet the servants were happy when they got indoor plumbing."

"Oh, they didn't carry it around. They threw it out the window," Tyrone explains, pointing at the window in the bathroom. "You carry it, you might spill it, and that would be even worse to clean up." He chuckles a little about the dental tips and nods. "Duly noted." And, as she looks around, he backs up into the bedroom so she can explore to her hearts content. "Well, that about wraps it up for the tour, so ... did you have any other questions?"

"Threw it out the window? And people still don't take care of their garbage responsibly. Always make it someone else's problem" Park muses before looking a little sad at the end of the tour. "Other questions?" She so wants to ask personal things again but she manages to restrain herself, even if Park has to scuff her shoes against the floor to do it. A big shrug and a clap of her hands. "Nope, guess I'll see you when you finish work then."

"Well, alright then! I'll see you out, and ... yeah. Um, tonight? ... do you just wanna meet me at Espresso Yourself or ...?" Tyrone asks as he waits next to the door for Park to lead the way.

"Sure, we can meet there. Thanks for showing me around." Park gives Tyrone another hug and a kiss on the cheek. "So nice to meet you, Tyrone! You are awesome at this job. Oh...do I give you a tip or something? Other than the dental tip."

This time, the hug is a little more expected, so she does get a little more solid of a one-armed hug. "No problem. And no, no tip for me. IF you'd like, there /is/ a tip jar on the table at the front door, but all the tour guides split the proceeds at the end of the week, so it wouldn't be just for me," Tyrone explains. He then heads back towards the elevator.