Innkeeper
You're willing to stick it out a little longer, but you really need to use a few short cuts now. The brew from the still is good enough for the miners and you won't have to deal with a middleman anymore.
Your mother isn't happy with this idea. She wasn't thrilled with it before, but realized it was necessary at the time. You argue with her for hours about the moral and legal ramifications of it all until she finally gets tired and capitulates under stress.
Over the months you manage to save tons of money, are able to pay Mr. Reynolds off larger amounts and you believe in a few more months you'll completely be free of him.
The problem now is with your mother who still insists on bitching at you day in day out despite the fact that you're basically saving her ass from the problems that her and your dumb ass dad got you involved into in the first place.
"For fuck's sake, will get off my fucking back? I've been the main one coming up with solutions on how to save this fucking place and I'm getting shit for it? Why the hell am I getting punished for something you and dad did? I was supposed to be taking classes right now to become a doctor! Y'know, like YOU all wanted me to? I'm trying to make the best of this situation and still find a damn way of achieving my goals yet all I'm getting is kicked in the fucking face for it!" you yell while throwing a potato against the wall.
Your mother shakes her head.
"I don't know what's happened to you, but the son I knew wouldn't be engaging in criminal activities and yelling at me like this. This isn't worth it; I'm not dealing with this anymore. You want to be mad at me and your father, you can go right ahead, you might even be right in some way but I'm still not going to put up with it. You think you can turn this place around and still achieve your goals? Go right ahead, but you're doing it without my help. I quit, and I'm handing this place over to you. Have fun, and I hope you make all your dreams come true."
You're a little shocked by this. You run after her asking what she's going to do and that you're sorry about the stuff you said, but she won't hear it. She just says she's leaving the deed with you and she's going to go live with your aunt Enora in Teckleville.
After some last words are exchanged she's gone. You aren't quite sure how to feel and you're still trying to wrap your head around it when your barmaids come in.
"Hey which one of you is the best cook?"
"Uh, I guess that would be me." Wendy says.
"Good, you're upgrade to cook, you'll get a small raise too."
"What seriously?"
"Yeah, mom quit and gave me this place, so we're making some changes around here."
Wendy looks a little pleased with getting a small promotion, but Rita isn't so happy.
"Hey what about us? You can't just expect us to shoulder all the extra work! You're going to have to hire someone else to help!" Rita says
"Settle down Rita, I'll be getting some new help soon don't worry about it. All I need from the rest of you is to do your jobs."
A few weeks pass and you're doing okay even if you're getting some grumbles from your staff every once in awhile. You do end up hiring a new person, but it's not another barmaid. It's a janitor so the barmaids don't need to worry about cleaning up as much anymore. The great thing is he's simple minded and you don't need to pay him since apparently his mother wanted him out of the house and dragged him by the ear to you when she saw your Help Wanted sign. You agreed to let him sleep in your cellar and he could eat all the rats he catches down there. (Though Eliza gives him real food from time to time)
Your still is perfected a bit better, but the brew from that stuff does take it's toll on your usual patrons. While none of the miners go blind, a lot of them are starting to feel several side effects from drinking the stuff on a regular basis. This causes some to stop coming in altogether, but on the "plus side" you do get a few more lowly types that don't give a shit what poison they put into their system. You end up changing the name of the place to the Bottomless Mug Inn.
Despite your decrease in clientele you still manage to cut enough corners and exploit enough drunks that you pay off Mr. Reynolds. He's a little surprised considering how run down the inn has gotten. He suspects (quite rightly) that you're probably doing something illegal and tells you if you ever need another loan in the future you know where to find him. You vow that you're not going to let that happen.
Well the inn is profitable again (barely) and you've effectively saved the place and your mother from potential danger (mainly yourself) but taking over your father's inn wasn't your dream and it wasn't your parents' dream either.
You figure you've got two choices, you could either sell this place now and hope you get enough money for it to finish your education, or you could continue to run it as a ongoing source of income and somehow manage to save enough as well as find the time to study while running this dump.
Your mother isn't happy with this idea. She wasn't thrilled with it before, but realized it was necessary at the time. You argue with her for hours about the moral and legal ramifications of it all until she finally gets tired and capitulates under stress.
Over the months you manage to save tons of money, are able to pay Mr. Reynolds off larger amounts and you believe in a few more months you'll completely be free of him.
The problem now is with your mother who still insists on bitching at you day in day out despite the fact that you're basically saving her ass from the problems that her and your dumb ass dad got you involved into in the first place.
"For fuck's sake, will get off my fucking back? I've been the main one coming up with solutions on how to save this fucking place and I'm getting shit for it? Why the hell am I getting punished for something you and dad did? I was supposed to be taking classes right now to become a doctor! Y'know, like YOU all wanted me to? I'm trying to make the best of this situation and still find a damn way of achieving my goals yet all I'm getting is kicked in the fucking face for it!" you yell while throwing a potato against the wall.
Your mother shakes her head.
"I don't know what's happened to you, but the son I knew wouldn't be engaging in criminal activities and yelling at me like this. This isn't worth it; I'm not dealing with this anymore. You want to be mad at me and your father, you can go right ahead, you might even be right in some way but I'm still not going to put up with it. You think you can turn this place around and still achieve your goals? Go right ahead, but you're doing it without my help. I quit, and I'm handing this place over to you. Have fun, and I hope you make all your dreams come true."
You're a little shocked by this. You run after her asking what she's going to do and that you're sorry about the stuff you said, but she won't hear it. She just says she's leaving the deed with you and she's going to go live with your aunt Enora in Teckleville.
After some last words are exchanged she's gone. You aren't quite sure how to feel and you're still trying to wrap your head around it when your barmaids come in.
"Hey which one of you is the best cook?"
"Uh, I guess that would be me." Wendy says.
"Good, you're upgrade to cook, you'll get a small raise too."
"What seriously?"
"Yeah, mom quit and gave me this place, so we're making some changes around here."
Wendy looks a little pleased with getting a small promotion, but Rita isn't so happy.
"Hey what about us? You can't just expect us to shoulder all the extra work! You're going to have to hire someone else to help!" Rita says
"Settle down Rita, I'll be getting some new help soon don't worry about it. All I need from the rest of you is to do your jobs."
A few weeks pass and you're doing okay even if you're getting some grumbles from your staff every once in awhile. You do end up hiring a new person, but it's not another barmaid. It's a janitor so the barmaids don't need to worry about cleaning up as much anymore. The great thing is he's simple minded and you don't need to pay him since apparently his mother wanted him out of the house and dragged him by the ear to you when she saw your Help Wanted sign. You agreed to let him sleep in your cellar and he could eat all the rats he catches down there. (Though Eliza gives him real food from time to time)
Your still is perfected a bit better, but the brew from that stuff does take it's toll on your usual patrons. While none of the miners go blind, a lot of them are starting to feel several side effects from drinking the stuff on a regular basis. This causes some to stop coming in altogether, but on the "plus side" you do get a few more lowly types that don't give a shit what poison they put into their system. You end up changing the name of the place to the Bottomless Mug Inn.
Despite your decrease in clientele you still manage to cut enough corners and exploit enough drunks that you pay off Mr. Reynolds. He's a little surprised considering how run down the inn has gotten. He suspects (quite rightly) that you're probably doing something illegal and tells you if you ever need another loan in the future you know where to find him. You vow that you're not going to let that happen.
Well the inn is profitable again (barely) and you've effectively saved the place and your mother from potential danger (mainly yourself) but taking over your father's inn wasn't your dream and it wasn't your parents' dream either.
You figure you've got two choices, you could either sell this place now and hope you get enough money for it to finish your education, or you could continue to run it as a ongoing source of income and somehow manage to save enough as well as find the time to study while running this dump.