Chapter 64: Tessa: Reunion

The administration office in E1 is hectic this morning. Madame Helen should be here, but she has been busy in the Tower since first thing. I’ve been left to manage the White cat duty roster on my own. We’ve forty two White cat visitors on the island at the moment, and I must schedule the roster so each White cat can complete her twenty hours of weekly labour in the right category, while ensuring the essential services like cooking, cleaning and laundry are covered each day. Normally the roster is Madame Rebecca’s task, but she’s off duty for the next couple of weeks. I review my work so far, ensuring I haven’t allocated the heavier tasks to White cats who have selected the House worker category. They must only be allocated to indoor duties like servicing the rooms and corridors, or cooking Black cats’ meals.

I stare at the clipboard in my hands, the neat grid of names and duties that looked so sensible when I wrote it last night now looks less sensible. I made a mistake. There were seventeen booked arrivals this morning. I knew that. That meant we needed four White cats at the jetty to handle the arriving members’ luggage. I only assigned two. I don’t know how I missed it. The launch was already halfway across the bay by the time I realised my mistake.

I covered it as best I could at short notice. I quickly pulled Melissa from gardening and sent her down to the jetty to help. She didn’t complain ... she never does ... but the guilt sits heavy in my stomach. The gardens still need a lot of attention, and Melissa couldn’t really be spared from gardening.

I take a breath, straighten the papers, and step out into the corridor. It’s mid?September, normally the peak season’s last gasp, but we’ve eighty six members on the island at the moment, excluding staff. Roughly one?third of the White cats are Field workers, and two?thirds House workers. And every single one of them needs to be assigned somewhere useful so they can earn their twenty hours per week work-discount on the cost of their stay.

And then there’s the separate duty roster covering the servicing of the White cat accommodation in building E4 and the basement of the Tower. That roster is my special responsibility even when Rebecca is here. Cleaning and cooking in there doesn’t count toward the White cats’ twenty?hour labour requirement, so I have to build a separate roster for it. It’s fiddly, time?consuming, and absolutely unforgiving of mistakes.

And more mistakes are exactly what I can’t afford today.

I walk into the E1 White cat common room, formerly known as the Slave Holding Area. Two newly arrived White cats are already waiting for their assignments. They have changed out of their travel clothes, and are properly attired in a club supplied uniform with their tits exposed. They look nervous, but they relax a little when I smile.

“Morning,” I say, trying to sound confident. “Let’s get your work assignments sorted for today.”

They’ve both registered for the House worker category, and I run through their duties: one I assign to the team working in the E3 kitchen, the other to the E2 corridor and bathroom cleaning. They nod and ask questions. I answer them all, even the ones I’m not entirely sure about. I’ll check with Helen later, if she ever stops being busy.

When they leave I feel as though I’ve achieved one small victory.

I head outside to check on the two Field workers I assigned to help Beth in Melissa’s absence. Neither of them are experienced gardeners but they appeared enthusiastic enough despite the cool weather. Working outside with exposed tits is a challenge, even in the warmer days of summer.

The two?month closure has left scars throughout the grounds. If you look carefully, you’ll see overgrown hedges, patchy grass, and flowerbeds that need a thorough weeding. Beth and Melissa have been working miracles, but there’s only so much two people can do, even when supported by well meaning Field workers.