Mason walked out from around the bar and showed me around. When he had given me the full tour, he brought me back behind the bar to start introducing me to mixing drinks.
“So, one thing we have going for us is we keep the best liquor stocked at all times. A lot of the clientele drinks beer, and we have a good selection on draft and in bottles as well. The big reason we were looking for something like a bartender is the time it takes to handle mixing drinks on busier nights. We have to also handle filling orders for the tables, food, and everything else, and it can get pretty backed up and out of control.”
“So, essentially, you were looking for someone to stay behind the bar, mix drinks, and fill beer,” I said.
Mason nodded. “Yes. Pretty much. Let’s start with the basics. A screwdriver,” he said.
“Orange juice and vodka.”
“Good. How about an old-fashioned?”
“Bitters, sugar, and whiskey. Citrus twist,” I said.
He rattled off a few more cocktails, and I filled in with how to make them. He had asked me to start mixing them when a couple of the other brothers came in. Matt watched me with admiration as I pulled together a blue motorcycle.
“I’m impressed,” he said.
“So am I,” Mason agreed. “You told me you didn’t have any experience bartending.”
“No,” I said. “I don’t have any experience working at a bar. Which I don’t,” I said, finishing off another cocktail and sending it down the bar to Matt. “But I went to a lot of parties while I was getting my graduate degree. I’m not a big drinker, so I usually ended up playing bartender. It’s not like I have an encyclopedic knowledge of all mixed drinks, but I can hold my own pretty well.”
They seemed happy to hear that. But Tyler had a cautious look on his face. “Be prepared for some of the guys who come in here to be obnoxious. They might try to order things that don’t exist just to fluster you.”
“Can I make them up?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Can I make up drinks? If somebody orders something I’ve never heard of and I can’t find a recipe for it anywhere, can I just make something up and give it to them? They really wouldn’t be able to say anything about it because they’d have to admit they were being an ass,” I said.
As soon as it was out of my mouth, I thought I probably shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t the most professional wording. But they guys started laughing and I relaxed. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad. At least, the work element of it.
It wasn’t long before customers started coming in, and I did just what I said I was going to. I jumped right in with both feet. Mason stayed close to help me get used to everything. It was nice of him, and there were several times when he saved me from confusion and major mistakes.
But it wasn’t easy. Being near him brought up so much for me, even more than I expected it to. Everything came rushing back with every glance, every word he said. I could remember all the good times we had together and the incredible love I’d felt for him. He’d been my entire world, the only future I ever saw. I remembered the way he made me feel and the dreams I carried in my heart and mind.
I also remembered something else I’d carried. A tiny bit of a future where we would be a family. Sooner than we expected and not in the way we’d thought, but a family, nonetheless. Only, Mason didn’t see the hope. He only saw the fear. It didn’t matter to him that I was scared, too. When I came to him to tell him I was pregnant, his reaction cut me to the bone. I wanted him to comfort and reassure me.
I didn’t know how connected I already was to that baby and how protective I already felt until that moment. And even more when it was gone.
Losing the baby was the final blow. It was what pushed me over the edge, so I made the decision to leave for Michigan. I tried not to think about it. It was too much. But now I couldn’t avoid it. Being near Mason again brought it all back. Everything from the bliss of our first kisses to the excruciating pain of the miscarriage. It was a little overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the night.
But then, like a pink Barbie lunchbox on the first day of school, Stephanie came in to give me my confidence again. She brought along a group of friends she introduced me to, and they started ordering drinks. It was a chance to show off and to rake in a few extra tips. As one of her friends ordered a third cocktail paid for by another hopeful man, I tried to tell Stephanie they didn’t need to keep tossing money on the bar for me.