ALISTER GLADSTONE
GRUMPY RECLUSE LANDLORD
GRUMPY RECLUSE LANDLORD
Al is a man made for hard work and as little words as possible. Bearish, and often frustrated with something or another- he's far from what one would expect to be running a family-owned B&B. He likes things done his way, and is the sole caretaker of the large home away from home for those interested in vacationing in Ashdown. He prefers his own company to the company of others and is very open about it. He tends to keep to himself and his own list of tasks, doing his best to stay busy and stopping only for the occasional smoke break.
A LIFE UNDER SIEGE
Al hasn't been able to make any sort of connection with people for a long, long time. His life has been one of solitude and repressed emotions- of loneliness and, occasionally, some bad decision-making. He doesn't socialize well and is terrible at articulating his feelings. He hasn't been in a relationship since he broke it off with a sweetheart of his about ten or so years ago. He's quickly becoming a hermit, and is too stubbornly set in his ways to do much of anything about it. He's turned to drinking in the late evenings once work at the B&B is done, and has passed out drunk on his couch more than once. The stress of ownership weighs on him more and more each day, especially when paired with his perfectionist tendencies. He refuses to admit to himself that anything's wrong with his lifestyle, and has built an impenetrable wall between himself and the rest of the world.
His family has been in Ashdown for a long, long time. His parents passed on the B&B's deed to him a few years ago, as well as a few deeds to a couple other properties that have been in their family for generations. He does pretty much everything required of him to keep things up and running. Day-to-day maintenance, cooking, gardening, landscaping, file-keeping, cleaning... etcetera. He has accepted the many responsibilities tethered to his name, and is doing his absolute best to make things at the B&B run smoothly. All of his hard work makes it even more difficult for him to find the time to connect with others.
Now that he's settled into something more or less routine after a year and a half of sticking it out on his own... he's begun a search for some new employees-- starting with a secretary to help him out at the welcoming desk. He's also doing his best to network by visiting other locally-owned Ashdown businesses and seeing what they can do for each other in order to keep things as profitable as possible. Doing this has forced him to come out of his shell a bit, but he's determined to do whatever it takes to ensure the B&B's continuous success.
What he lacks in social skills, he makes up for in extreme effort. Guests are often amazed by his willingness to go the extra mile to make sure they have everything they need and it's rare for the B&B to ever receive too bad of a review. He tends to the property meticulously, and is quite skilled at staying behind the scenes so that everyone can enjoy their vacation time in peace.
THE PERFECT BITE
Al always seems to serve only the best cooked-to-perfection cuts, regardless of how much time he's spent tending to it. Chicken, beef, fish, lamb... you name it, he'll cook it, and it'll be cooked good- regardless of how long it's been left on the heat or what way he chooses to prepare it.
ANYTHING ELSE?
- Owner of Gladstone's Bed & Breakfast.
Served time in the Navy, where he was one of his ship's best cooks.
Was a security guard in D.C. for quite some time after his years in the Navy were over.
Came back to his hometown Ashdown upon his parents request, as they "needed some help with maintenance" and then promptly forced Al into becoming the Bed & Breakfast's new owner so they could retire and move to Florida.
He's known about the Spooky s**t that goes on in Ashdown since his boyhood, but has chosen to firmly ignore it if anything like that happens to him.
5'5, somewhere in his early to mid-40s, born during the summer.
