by Thia Finn
“I needed a job and today’s my first day. You need to let me get back to it.” His gorgeous brown eyes locked onto mine and refused to let me look away.
“What happened to your job in the office?” He finally loosened the grip but still didn’t let go.
“I… I lost it.” I finally managed to look around to see where Ford might be hiding. I didn’t need to be in trouble and lose this job too, because of Hayden.
“When?” he asked softly.
“When what?” I moved a little trying to disconnect the hold he had on me.
He bent down close enough and I breathed in the best fragrance ever. “When did you lose your other job, Timbre?” His angry look puzzled me. If anyone had a right to be mad, it was me. He’d moved on with his life, the day my life took a serious nose-dive. I’d lived on a shoestring until my shoes couldn’t stay on my feet. I’d cried until I had no more tears. I’d moved into the shelter, for God’s sake. What right did he have to speak to me this way?
“Honestly, Hayden. It’s none of your business. Just like you told your friends, I’m an adult, and I don’t need to explain myself to you or anyone else.” I jerked my arm hard this time and he let go. I spun around and stomped passed the bar and into the back room where Ford sat at his desk.
“What’s going on, Timbre?” Ford looked up from his computer but he typed on.
“I just need a minute. I’m okay.” I smoothed my hair back and looked in the little mirror hanging beside the door as I took a deep breath. “I’m all good now.”
“Did someone say or do something?”
“No, no. It’s all good. I just wanted to look at my hair and make sure I looked all right.” My lying skills lacked a lot of finesse.
“Okay, if you’re sure. You let me know if someone’s being a dick to you. I’ll take care of it.” His eyes went back to the spreadsheet on the screen.
“Right, I’ll do that, but I’m good for now.” I opened the door to see Jenna picking up the five longnecks.
“Glad to see you didn’t disappear on me. More people are coming in, and it’ll be crowded till at least midnight or later.” She scooted out from the bar area after sliding the cooler door closed. “Timbre. Wait on the customers and forget about those guys. I’ll wait on that area for the rest of the night.”
“Sure, sure. I’m on it.” I took my tray and headed out to the new section I’d been assigned to cover. I took orders and delivered them. The bar continued to have a steady stream of patrons coming and going for the rest of the night.
By the time Ford rang the bell for the last call, my feet screamed at me to stop walking. New Chucks or something better would be one of my first purchases so I could do this job. I wiped down my tables and threw empties into the recycle bins. It made me happy we only served nuts and pretzels. I hated dealing with food.
I turned and looked down at the booth where the band members sat for the first time in over an hour and found it empty. Good. I didn’t want to deal with him tonight. I finally untied my tiny apron and got my purse from behind the bar. Jenna sat on the barstool next to Ford since she finished cleaning her section before me. The two of them laughed about something making me wonder if they were an item.
Stopping at the end of the bar I turned to look at them. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah. I’m beat, but the night turned out to be decent tip wise. You made a huge mistake not taking those band guys. They left the best tip I’ve ever made.”
Ford smirked. “Those guys can afford it. They’re all millionaires ten times over, I’m sure.”
“You think so?” Jenna gave him a look as though she didn’t believe him.
“Hell, yeah, they are. Are you telling me you’ve never heard of Assured Distraction?” His surprised face mimicked mine from earlier.
“Well, yeah, I’ve heard of ‘em, but I don’t follow their music. Bright eyes over here was drooling for a good reason when she stared at them?” She stuck her thumb in my direction.
Ford looked over at me. “They had you drooling, huh?” He laughed.
“Yeah, she couldn’t form a complete sentence. That’s why we switched areas. No way could she take their order. And then one of them got up and talked to her privately.”
“Privately? Wait, was that the reason you were in the office earlier tonight?” He watched my face for a response. “Did he say something to you, Timbre? Or do you know one of them?”
“I don’t know any of Assured Distraction, but there was another guy with them that I’ve met before. He just wanted to talk to me, and it kinda freaked me out.”
“I won’t put up with bullshit from anyone harassing my staff. Just tell me if he said something wrong.”
“No, he didn’t say anything wrong. He wanted to know when I came to work here. That’s all.” Just because I refused to answer the other questions he asked me, didn’t mean he harassed me.
“Remember, Timbre, I’m not going to put up with customers giving you shit.”
“You ready to hit the road, hun?” Jenna said.
“Absolutely. I’m going to buy different shoes for tomorrow tonight. These’re old and don’t have enough cushion to stand this long.” Jenna laughed at me when she looked down.
“Girl, you need something good for this kind of work. We’ll go shopping in the morning. Surely you made enough in tips?”
I nodded my head. As we walked out I looked around the parking lot halfway expecting to see Hayden’s truck waiting for me but happily didn’t find it. He seemed like the kind who would want to continue the conversation we started. I almost felt disappointed he didn’t follow me into the office so I could let him have it for all he’d cost me. When he didn’t bother calling me back the day I tried to reach him on the phone, I knew I was on my own. His two hundred dollars didn’t last long, but I secretly thanked him for sneaking it to me.
“You doing okay here, Timbre? It’s not such a bad place if you don’t stay too long.” Jenna parked at the front door of the shelter. “Don’t hang around once you get out. It’s not all that safe here on the street.”
“Yeah, it’s not the worst place I’ve seen lately.”
“Just so you know, I’d ask you to come stay or move in with me, but I moved in with two other girls to be able to afford to get out of this place. I’m on my feet, but it’s not like I’m flying high or anything.”
“I understand completely, Jenna. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get on my feet, too. I’m also going to continue looking for a better job. I mean, damn. I pay loans on this fancy degree, so I need to be using it.” I opened the door.
“Get on in there. I’ll stay until you’re inside. I have my trusty pistol right here.” She pointed to the console.
“You carry a gun? Shit, that scares me.”
“Not me. I’m a helluva good shot. I’ll teach you sometime.” She cackled out loud. “Now get inside.”
I slammed the door behind me and walked in quickly. The attendant watched me stroll past and nodded his head.
“Hi.” I took a few steps and stopped when he spoke.
“Good night at work?” He had a slow easy way of talking that put me at ease.
“Yeah, my first night turned out pretty good.” I held my purse with my tips safely tucked away. I hadn’t had a chance to count it, but I wouldn’t pour it out tonight for all to see.
“You working at a good bar or a dive?” He eyed me closely to see my reaction.
“Well, it looks like a dive, but it’s over on South Congress. Some celebrities even showed, so I guess it’s not what you’d call a dive bar.”
“That’s good, little girl. You watch yourself, though. Even good bars can have bad people.”
“Don’t I know it.” I smiled and walked on. “Good night.”
“Night.” He went back to the book he’d put down when I walked in.
I sat on my bed and fell over on my pillow, taking a deep breath. This had to be the beginning of a new life for me. I’d never been as low a
s when I walked through the front door of this building for the first time. Now, I had a job, made instant money, and had a clean place to sleep. It can only get better. I kept telling myself that. Maybe after a while, I would start to believe it.
Caylor called me almost every day asking how things were going, and every day I lied to him. If he knew where I laid my head right now, he’d probably jump on the first plane back to Austin. That was the last thing I wanted him to do. He’d finally gotten a modeling contract in L.A. He had the chance to live the life he had been working so hard to achieve. He never needed to hear my problems.
After kicking off my shoes, I started gathering my things for a shower I desperately needed. Working in a bar, my body reeked like a brewery. All the occupied beds made me rethink leaving my purse while I showered. My money would need to go everywhere I did, so I picked my clothes, shower stuff, and put my purse strap over my shoulder. Guess it would be hanging out with me in the shower.
The warm water felt wonderful rolling down my tired body. Standing still, I let the water wash away my aches before I soaped up and down. I closed my eyes enjoying the warmth. When my mind drifted, the golden rays of Hayden’s brown eyes drifted across my mind. I wondered what he thought when he saw me standing there. Was he happy to see me or shocked at the sight of me? I knew I’d lost some weight since we parted ways, but I didn’t look that much different.
I needed to put that out of my mind. If he came to the bar some day with AD, I probably had to take a turn waiting on them. Jenna working with me didn’t mean she needed to rescue me every time a guy walked in that bothered me. Guess this is what people meant about pulling up my big-girl panties and doing my job. My dollar-store panties had a lot of extra room in them for tugging.
“Son of a bitch.” This could not be happening. I walked out of the office building where the cute receptionist told me how Timbre had only been allowed back in four months ago to get her things from her desk. The day after I’d taken her home. Why didn’t she call me? I told her if problems came up from taking the day off, I’d help her out. Because of me, she’s working in a bar. I had to make this right.
I pulled a barstool out from the island in my kitchen before I looked at my phone. Her number still held a spot in the contact list. Maybe I should try to call her, but after the complete brush off I got from her, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I needed to go back to the bar and see if I could get her to tell me what happened.
Crew’s ballgames were played on Wednesday night so I couldn’t go tonight. I didn’t miss a game for anything or anyone and certainly not for someone who made it clear she didn’t want to speak to me. Talking would have to wait unless Crew had something else going on. I looked at our weekly schedule on the fridge where everything important landed.
He didn’t have anything else the rest of the week, but I had a band coming in on Thursday evening, which meant he stayed in his room over with Tucker. We’d worked out a plan when I bought my house. He kept his room in their home, and both boys loved it when Crew stayed over. I could swing by the bar if practice didn’t run too late, so I believed I now had a date with a cute little waitress at the bar. If she’d talk to me, that is. The clock on the wall indicated it was time for practice to be over, so I headed to the field.
Crew stood by the door of the gym talking to his teammates when I arrived to pick the cousins up after practice.
“Hey, guys. Practice good today?” They piled their backpacks in and climbed in.
Tucker spoke excitedly, “I got to play tight end today. I caught a lot of passes, too.
“Good job.” I held up my hand and we high-fived.
“What about you, Crew?”
“It was okay. I got to practice a couple of minutes late, and coach made me do twenty-five bear crawls.”
“Why were you late is my question?” He didn’t answer me, but the smirking sounds I heard from the back seat told me I probably wasn’t going to like the answer.
“I was only like five minutes late into the locker room, but the coach stood at the door waiting for me.”
“Yeah, so… ” This might be bad.
“Just tell him and get it over with, Crew. He’ll find out sooner or later.” Tucker looked at me in the rearview mirror.
“I was talking to Reign and forgot what time it was. When I remembered, I knew I was already late, so I ran down there, but since the coach had the doorway blocked, I couldn’t sneak in.”
“Busted,” Tucker said with a laugh.
“Son, didn’t we talk about this before? Girls, at your age, are only going to cause you problems. They expect a lot of your time, and that’s something you don’t have a lot of extra of these days.”
“I know, Pops. The coach pulled me into the office and told me the same thing.” Crew’s eyes stared a hole through the floorboard.
“Look at me, Crew.” He raised his head, and his eyes said it all. He felt sick about how it all came down. “It’s not the end of the world. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s what you do after that. You can make good choices about managing your time and not let this kind of thing happen again, or you can make bad choices and suffer the consequences. It’s all up to you.”
Tucker piped up. “Crew, I’d ditch the girl, dude. She’s pretty and all, but she’s not worth losing your spot on the team over.”
“You need to listen to your buddy back there. He may look like he doesn’t have a lick of sense, but he’s speaking the truth.” I laughed trying to lighten the mood.
“Hey, Uncle Hayden. That’s just wrong.”
“Don’t I know it, kid. You were smarter than me at five. So keep talking to this knucklehead please.” I glanced at him in the mirror, and he smiled at me. He knew why I said it. These kids lived the life like little adults from the time they entered this world. We tried to shelter them as much as we could, but still, they knew the life.
Crew finally looked at me. “I’m sorry, dad. Really sorry. Guess I don’t need a girlfriend after all.”
“I’m not saying you can’t have a girl. I’m just saying you’ve gotta figure out if you’re willing to split your time up enough to have one. Right now school is number one followed by sports. After that, if there’s time, use some for the girls. It’s all about priorities, son.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “You’re a smart kid, too. I’m sure you and your sidekick back there will figure the girl thing out long before Peri, Ryan, and I are ready for y’all, too.” I stuck my fist out, and we bumped it.
I probably should have done some disciplining, but I felt the coach probably covered that with bear crawls. Damn, this parenting gets harder every day.
I needed to take my own advice about dividing my time. By Thursday, I had Timbre taking up all my thoughts even though I didn’t even know the girl. Leaving band practice, I pulled into the bar hoping her off day hadn’t rolled around already.
I walked through the door and looked around. The bar never invested in more than twenty-five watt bulbs so I couldn’t see a thing in this place. Two waitresses stood in the back of the bar watching some guys playing pool. On my way back there, I ordered a beer from the bar. Ford handed me the cold long neck, and I took a long pull from it.
“How ya doin’, Hayden? Where’s the rest of your gang?” he questioned. I knew he associated me with AD.
“They’re all tied up with females tonight. Just me this time.” I stared at the pool area.
“You have some interest in one of my workers?” Ford continued to wash glasses in the bar sink between us.
“Yeah, maybe. Want to talk to her. She been working here long?”
“It’s her first week. Needed a job, and I needed a waitress since they take off like damn flies. She caught on quickly, though, so I’m hoping she’s here for a while.”
“That’s good. So, she never served in a bar before?”
“No, said she hadn’t. She works hard and is easy on the eyes, which makes her more tips. I got the impression she needed money in a hurr
y, and waitressing is good for that.”
“Money in a hurry? She didn’t have another job when she went to work?”
“No, she came in with my other new hire. Guess they’re friends.” Ford finished his job and opened the cooler.
“Got shit to do, man. You need anything else, tell one of them.” He nodded in their direction.
“Yeah, thanks.” I decided to stay on the bar stool and watch. Only a few minutes went by before the girls both went back to work picking up and wiping down tables. The other girl came forward when she found me sitting at the bar. My bottle suddenly became interesting. That’s the excuse I gave myself because I wanted to watch Timbre a little longer before she discovered me.
“Can I get you another?” the other one said to me as she rounded behind the bar.
“Yeah, uh…” I read her name tag, “… Jenna. That’d be great.” I slid my empty to her side where she replaced it.
“Weren’t you in here the other night talking to Timbre?” She eyed me closely.
“Yeah, that was me. We met by accident, and it didn’t turn out too well.”
“So you’re here for a repeat performance because I get the feeling she wasn’t too happy when you tried to talk to her before.” She obviously judged me by the way she stared.
“Seeing her here surprised me. She used to work downtown.” I wanted to know what happened and Jenna might be able to tell me.
“Oh really?” She continued to stare, and I nodded my head.
“So, you want to tell me why she’s working in a bar now?”
“Not my story to tell. Ask her.” She picked up her pen and walked away.
I smirked. Well, she gave me a butt load of info. I swung around on the barstool, and there she stood.
“Hey, Timbre.” She lingered long enough for me to get a good look at her. She looked beautiful, thinner but pretty.
“What are you doing back in here? I told you I didn’t want to talk to you.” She parked her hand on her hip trying her best to look defiant.