Logan fiddled with the long chain of her necklace as she surveyed the local dive she had just found. A few rays of sunlight shone through the windows where pieces had been busted from fights. The lighting lent to the hungover, dim and dusty. The grime that had been ignored during last night’s busy hours was wiped clean—or at least smeared around. Every seat was made out of some kind of plush leather even if it was mostly worn down and patched with different materials. The bar served food—but to call it a restaurant would be like calling the Mississippi River a babbling brook. It would do in a bind, or when intoxicated, but no on really came here for the food. Its inconspicuous look on the outside intrigued her even more, she had gotten lost a few times trying to find the place. She had thought she had done her homework all those years ago, but now she was starting to wonder how prepared she really was. At least the bar was still close to her original location. She took comfort in that thought as she caught the eye of the bartender.
“Hello.” Logan leaned on the bar, her fingers drumming. “I was wondering if I could talk to your manager.”
“He’s not in right now, but Paul can see you. Paul!”
The man took his time to coming to the front. “How can I help you?”
“Yes, hi, I’m Logan. I was hoping you might have a bartending position open. I’m new to the area.”
“Do you have a resume?” Paul asked. “I can’t do any hiring, but I can talk to the people who can.”
“Actually, I don’t. But I started bartending for my mom when I was little and that quickly transferred to me bartending for my best friend and boyfriends, but officially I have only worked at two bars. I worked at both places for a long time. I know the basics plus some and I can handle big crowds.”
“And I’m just supposed to believe that?”
“I was kind of praying you would.”
Paul paused for a moment and looked around. “Lucky for you one of our waitresses just called in sick. I can’t promise pay for tonight, but it would be more like an audition. If you do well, you could be hired.”
“Good! Do I need to wear anything special?”
“Just all black is fine,” Paul answered looking Logan over. A plume of colorful feathers were tucked into the band of a black fedora under which deep auburn bangs and long curls spilled out. Logan was already dressed in mostly all black with a black vest and black shorts layered over black lace tights. The only color showing was the neon green lace that covered straight across her breasts.
“You don’t mind the green do you?” Logan sheepishly asked.
“Just this once, but lose the hat.”
Logan flashed a grin in gratitude as she removed her hat before she walked behind the bar.
“Hi, I’m John.” The bartender stuck out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, John. I’m Logan.” Logan was in the middle of tying on her apron. She shrugged her shoulders in acknowledgement to her rudeness. “Sorry.”
“Whatever,” he grunted.
“Regulars?” Logan’s head tilted in quick motions towards two men drinking along.
“Yeah, Adam at the table is drinking Guinness and the man at the bar is Billy. He’s having his daily glass of Jim.” John started cutting up a lime.
Logan filled another beer mug to deliver to Adam. She pulled her green vial from her bra and untwisted the cap. After dropping a drop into the beer, all of the extra foam disappeared even though bubbles still rose to the top.
John glanced over disapprovingly. “He hasn’t asked for that.”
“Maybe not, but he will.” She walked over to the man at the table. “Need a refill?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Lucky guess.” Logan set the beer down on the table and picked up the empty mug. “Have a nice drink.” She turned to leave.
“Wait, don’t you want to sit? You don’t have too many customers right now.”
Logan looked around the bar. “I just started, but I don’t see the harm. Just for a second.”
“That’s my girl.” The man laughed.
Logan’s jaw clenched. “I am not your girl,” her voice tense.
“I’m Adam!” the man yelled after her. Logan ignored him.
“He’s a drunk, don’t pay him any attention.” John patted her hand in reassurance. Logan snatched her hand away at his touch.
After a moment, she turned to look at John and studied his face. “Thank you?”
The rest of the night passed uneventful as Logan tried to think of nothing but work. She was thankful when things picked up pace and pleasantly surprised when her initial assumption of the food quality was proved wrong. By the end of the night all she could think about was taking off her painful heels and getting some sleep.
Labels: Scene Saturday, Stories