by M. Ullrich
“No,” Berit said. The deep timbre of her voice matched that of a growl. “We have a very strict process. Customers are carded once at the door and then again upon ordering.”
“And somehow your strict system failed both times,” the female cop said. Lauren squinted to catch the name on her shiny name tag. Markey.
Berit crossed her arms. “I’ll be looking into what happened on both occasions, I can promise you that.”
Lauren took a breath and spoke up in her defense. “I didn’t realize—”
“Neither of you answered my question,” Berit said, cutting Lauren off again, like she wasn’t even there. “Were the underage drinkers sent in by law enforcement to check on us, or did you receive a call?”
The male officer, whose name tag was too weathered, smudged, and tilted for Lauren to read, made a show of ripping the paper from his pad. Lauren waited for either cop to answer, wondering why Berit felt compelled to ask the question, and then it hit her: Berit figured Mayor McCarthy was behind this. The cop lifted his head, his eyes never straying from Berit’s as he handed over the fine.
“Pay it or close your doors for good. Your choice.” He turned to his partner and nodded to the young girls standing at his back. The officer in street clothes had already left. “Round them up and let’s get out of here. I feel like I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone.”
Lauren locked her eyes on Officer Markey as she collected the two underage drinkers. Lauren was desperate for eye contact, for a glimpse into what she was feeling. She needed to know if one out of two cops were on their side. But the ruckus was out the door almost as quickly as it had come in. No more than seconds past before Berit stormed off to her office, Lou hot on her heels.
Dee shot Lauren a sympathetic shrug. “I want to talk to you about this, but…” she said with a thumb pointed in the direction of thirsty patrons who didn’t seem to care much about the police crashing their party. “It’ll be okay.”
“I appreciate that, Dee. They can’t serve themselves, can they?” Lauren’s smile was fake as she went back to pouring drinks. The moment Dee had the line under control, she rushed to the back to find Berit.
For the second time since Lauren had started at the Dollhouse, Berit had closed the door to her office. Over the music and through the door, Lauren could still make out Berit’s raised voice. She picked up the end of a conversation.
“Fired, without a doubt.” Berit’s voice was harsher than Lauren had ever heard, and her heart started to pound. She was about to be unemployed. Again.
“Just pay the fine. This happens to bars all the time.” Lou’s voice was clear, but quieter than Berit’s, making it hard to hear through the door.
“Of course I’m going to pay it. What pisses me off is having this added to my reputation. I can see the headline now: Homosexuals serving alcohol to children. This is great!”
Lauren backed away from the door just as it swung open. Lou looked at her with wide eyes. “I was waiting to talk to Berit. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Now probably isn’t a good time.”
Lauren squared her shoulders. “I’m sure a good time will be just as hard to find after tonight. Excuse me,” she said, stepping around Lou and entering Berit’s office. “Berit?”
Berit raised her head from her desk. She pierced Lauren with her worried eyes. “I’m not in the mood for this right now.”
“We have to talk, for many reasons, but most importantly because I’m the employee that just caused all of that.”
“But you’re not just my employee,” Berit said as she stood and approached Lauren. “This makes everything more complicated than it has to be.” She wiped her face roughly.
Lauren wanted to touch her, to ease Berit’s troubled mind, but she knew better.
“What am I going to do?” Berit’s rhetorical question came out low.
“I really am sorry.”
“You should’ve known better,” Berit said. Lauren bristled at her condescending tone. “You know what I went through to get this place open. I literally just told you. Did you forget? Did it slip your mind that I don’t have much of a fan club around here? That was the most idiotic error a bartender could make.” Fire danced in Berit’s eyes. “And now I’m wondering if I’m the one who’s made a mistake.”
Lauren took a step back at Berit’s words. She swallowed hard, trying to loosen her tight throat enough to speak. “I understand,” she said shakily before exiting Berit’s office. She couldn’t hear any more.
The sad truth was Lauren really did understand. She and Berit weren’t meant to last. Everything about them as a couple was too good to be true. She didn’t deserve Berit as a friend, let alone as something more. Lauren untucked the dish towel Berit had gifted her and gave it one more glance. She fingered the corner where the small American flag was stitched on. With a small smile, she folded it once and then twice before setting it on a nearby shelf. The Dollhouse and Berit had been very good to her, but just like all good things in Lauren’s life, their time had come to an end.
Lauren walked into the employee break room to collect her things and ran into Lou as she exited the bathroom. Lauren hurriedly wiped at her tears in hopes of reviving what little strength she had left.
Lou looked from Lauren’s face to her purse and back again. Her brows furrowed deeply. “Where are you off to?”
“Home,” Lauren stated simply.
“Why? What did Berit say to you?” Lou gripped Lauren’s elbow.
Lauren stared at the caring touch and smiled sadly. “I’m fired, without a doubt,” she said, repeating Berit’s earlier words with a shaky voice. “It was nice working with you. All of this has been wonderful.”
Lauren left with her head held high in spite of her wilting spirit. No one noticed her on the way out. It was a small detail, but it made the departure easier for her. She sighed as she opened the back door, just before she stepped out into the dark night.
Berit stormed out of her office moments later and looked around. She marched to the bar and got Dee’s attention. “Go work the door and send Danny back to talk to me.” She barked out her orders. “And I don’t care if you’ve already served someone, check their ID again.”
“It’s too busy to be down a bartender.”
Berit looked around. “Bellamy can come up from the tables and help Lou out.”
“That’ll leave only three waitresses with full tables.”
“Where’s Lauren?”
“I thought she was with you.” Dee took a quick order and poured two glasses of red wine, leaving Berit to look frantically through the crowds for Lauren. “No one’s seen her since she went to your office,” Dee said with a shrug.
Berit replayed her last words to Lauren in her mind. She shook her head. “I guess I’ll catch Danny later.” She walked away from the bar without another word, her feet unsteady as her focus wavered from business to personal. “Lauren?” Berit called out as soon as she stepped through the swinging door. Lauren wasn’t in the stockroom. All Berit spotted was a folded-up towel stuffed between two bottles of bourbon. She pulled the towel off the shelf and threw it across the room, narrowly missing Bellamy’s face.
“Whoa. Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Berit ran her fingers through her hair, scratching roughly at her scalp in frustration. “I’ve got a three-thousand-dollar fine on my desk, and now Lauren’s gone.”
“What did you say to her?”
Berit’s jaw dropped. “You’re assuming this is my fault?”
Bellamy had the gall to laugh out loud. “Berit, you’re a beautiful person, but we all know how you get when you’re angry. Mixing that anger with something happening in your bar? Forget about it. It turns you damn near explosive. Do you remember when the delivery guy forgot two cases of liquor the day of Pride?”
“I wanted to rip that guy’s head off.”
“And you would’ve if it hadn’t been for Lou.”
Berit slumped agains
t the doorway. “She served a minor, Bellamy. That’s one of the few rules for bartenders.”
“A rule any one of us could’ve broken tonight. Lauren wasn’t even supposed to be working the bar, but she stepped in when she was needed. What would you have done if Dee had served that girl? Or Lou?”
“I would have fucking lost it,” Berit said with a sigh. “I would have gone berserk, screamed my head off, but then apologized and asked that we all put our heads together to think of a way out of this.”
Bellamy chuckled. She walked up to Berit and grabbed her hand before saying gently, “We all expect you to be an asshole when you’re angry, but Lauren didn’t.”
Berit’s head fell in shame.
“What did you say to her?”
“I—” Her words were stuck in place by embarrassment and sadness. She cleared her throat. “I told her what she did was idiotic and maybe I made a mistake.”
“You didn’t…” Bellamy dropped Berit’s hand and took a step back. “Berit, why would you say that? Lauren’s incredible, and you’re going to let something like this end your relationship?”
“This is all new to me,” Berit said in a near shout. “I’ve mixed business and pleasure before, but never business and…and—”
“Love?” Bellamy’s eyebrow hitched knowingly.
“No. Yes. I don’t know, maybe.” Berit grew frustrated at how she stuttered and stumbled over her words. “All I know is my judgment is clouded, and this wouldn’t have happened tonight if I wasn’t so distracted.” Berit began pacing.
“How are you so sure?” Bellamy said, stepping out of Berit’s path.
“This has Mayor McCarthy written all over it. He sent those girls in here, I just know it. If I had been at the bar or walking around as I usually do, I would’ve seen this coming. But I got a late start to my evening routine because—” Berit stopped suddenly, redness filing her cheeks.
“The rendezvous in your office. We all heard.”
Berit slapped her hands over her face.
“It’s okay to be happy with someone.” Bellamy pulled Berit’s hands away from her face and smiled when their eyes met. “It’s okay to have something else in this world monopolize your brain and heart other than the Dollhouse.”
“It’s hard to see the good in it now.”
“Stop doing that. Don’t blame your relationship for some old dickhead having it out for you. Now, go after your girl while you still can.”
Berit looked at Bellamy. Her eyes and smile were full of hope, but Berit couldn’t muster up that kind of positivity. “Not tonight,” she said, placing her hand on Bellamy’s shoulder. “I think we both need a little time to cool down.”
“Don’t wait too long. You’ll regret it if you lose her.”
Berit stood back as Bellamy returned to the bustling bar. The Dollhouse was still busy, still standing after the police had stormed in and caused a scene. She still had a business, and while the city’s fine was substantial, Berit knew Bellamy was right. Her relationship with Lauren wasn’t to blame for this. Lauren wasn’t to blame for this. Berit knew she couldn’t blame anyone but herself for the destruction of her own happily ever after.
Chapter Twenty-two
Berit stared at her sister like she was speaking a foreign language. “I fired Lauren?”
“I know, and I’m asking you why,” Lou said in a harsh whisper. They were standing just outside their parents’ home, readying themselves for what was supposed to be a pleasant celebration. “You should’ve seen her face, Berit. She was heartbroken.”
Berit’s mind reeled. A hundred different thoughts and scenarios flooded her head, but she couldn’t process any of them once their mother opened the door.
“My girls,” Florence said as she wrapped her daughters in a robust hug. She practically pulled them in and then pushed Berit and Lou into the house. “And my grandson.” Florence doted on Hugo as he circled her feet. She reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out a treat just for him. He marched off with a bone proudly in his mouth.
The scent of slow-cooked roast beef flooded their senses, but anxiety kept Berit from finding the savory smell pleasant. Her stomach rolled. “Hey, Mom, listen, I’m not feeling very well, but I wanted to stop by for a quick hello. I really ought to go home and lie down.” Berit felt her mother evaluating her well-being. Florence wasn’t buying her excuse.
“Nonsense. You’re tired from working too much and need a good home-cooked meal.”
“She’s not wrong,” Lou whispered in Berit’s ear as she passed.
Florence ushered them into the dining room where the whole family waited around the table. “Berit, dear, I thought you were bringing someone special. Will she be arriving soon?”
Berit looked to the extra place setting beside hers and winced. “Actually, she won’t be able to make it tonight. She had a prior engagement.” Out of the corner of her eye, Berit noticed Lou open her mouth to speak. She elbowed her sister to shut her up. “She sends her apologies.”
“You should be the one apologizing,” Lou muttered under her breath.
“That’s a shame,” Florence said, genuine disappointment dripping from every word.
“Hey, JJ. Where’s Christen tonight?” Berit said to Jeffrey Junior, who was already filling his mouth with a dinner roll. Berit didn’t actually care where her brother’s second wife was. Christen was sweet but high maintenance in a way that drove her crazy. She couldn’t fill her own plate or open her own bottles, and God forbid she had to drink directly from that bottle. But Christen was an upgrade from JJ’s first wife, a wandering cheater.
JJ swallowed. “She got caught up at work late.”
“Massage therapy is that demanding?” Berit didn’t mean for her words to sound so judgmental, but Christen rarely spoke of her career at length. Berit had begun to believe she didn’t actually work.
JJ sat back and stared his sister down. “She works for an upscale, very busy spa. Sometimes they get a late booking, and there’s nothing she can do about it.”
“Huh.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” JJ’s neck started to grow red, and the scalp beneath his light hair even redder, an indication that a fight was about to start.
Berit raised her hands in an early surrender. “I haven’t heard much about her career, that’s all. I think it’s great how dedicated and professional she is. Christen doesn’t talk much about her job.” Or anything, for that matter, Berit added to herself. JJ sat back, calmer than before.
“This is for you, Dad.” Berit placed an envelope with a gift card to a local electronic store on the table. She bought her father the same gift year after year.
“Thank you, Berit,” Jeffrey Senior said quietly as he sliced the roast.
Bart emerged from the kitchen with Florence and placed serving dishes on the table. The family said grace. Berit never lowered her head or closed her eyes. Her family wasn’t religious, but this tradition never seemed to fade away. They were thankful for the food on the table, the family surrounding them, and the roof over their heads. Berit looked at her father. Maybe it was an actual miracle her family still had all of these things.
“So what does your girlfriend do, Berit?” Bart asked before slapping a spoonful of mashed potatoes onto his plate.
“She, uh…” Berit looked to Lou for help.
“Lauren worked at the bar for a bit,” Lou said evenly. “But she’s a paralegal and is looking to get back to that.”
Berit took a deep, steady breath and began to relax. She’d always been grateful for Lou, but at this moment Lou was her shining star. “I gave her some work to help her out while she was between jobs.”
“That was kind of you,” Jeffrey said.
“It was a temporary gig. I’m sure she’ll be happy to get back to paralegal work.”
“Are you sure her leaving the Dollhouse had nothing to do with serving underage drinkers?” Matt said. He was the youngest and the brat of the family. “I heard you fired h
er.”
Berit’s nostrils flared. “Who told you that?”
“Berit, why would you fire your girlfriend?” Florence said.
Matt smiled smugly. “You always forget I hang out with Monica’s little brother. I hear about a lot of things that go on in your bar.”
Bart’s laughter cut through the tension. “No wonder you’re always single.” He pushed his long, dark curls away from his scruffy face.
“And what’s your excuse, Bart the fart? Is it your name?” Lou said, coming to her sister’s defense.
“I don’t want a girlfriend.”
“Well, I didn’t either until I met Lauren.” Berit pushed her full plate aside. Her appetite was gone, and a headache started to form behind her eyes.
“Then why did you fire her?” Florence asked again.
“I didn’t fire my girlfriend!” Berit shouted. She fell back into her chair with a huff. She turned to Lou. “What exactly did Lauren say to you?”
Lou acted as if she was truly searching her rattled brain for Lauren’s exact words. “She said she was ‘fired without a doubt.’”
Bart snorted. “Harsh.”
“I never said…Oh my God. She must’ve overheard our conversation. Right after the police left, you came into my office, and we talked about what we were going to do, about the fine and about Danny and Lauren. I said any other bar would fire those employees, without a doubt.”
“Oh shit, that’s right.” Lou looked at her mother apologetically after letting the curse slip. “I completely dismissed it because I knew you wouldn’t fire them.”
“Your employees should be trained better, or at least know better,” Jeffrey said slowly but loudly.
Berit turned to her father, who was eating calmly. She didn’t appreciate his two cents when it came to her business.
“I understand why they’d get fired,” he said. “It’s common sense.”
Berit scowled. “What would you know about running a successful business? Or about success at all?”
“Berit…”