“I don’t know what the salary would be exactly, but I know it would end up being a considerable bump from where you are now. I think HR will be bringing it up with you once they have a formal offer. I received an e-mail from the boss man himself. Y
ou must have made quite an impression on him.”
Flushed now, she said, “I guess that gives me a lot to think about.”
“So it does,” Marcus agreed. “Congratulations, Lilly.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling completely awkward. “I appreciate you giving me the heads up.”
“Not a problem. I’ve gotta head home now. Kara is probably tearing her hair out by now. Our twin boys just turned two,” Marcus explained, grinning.
“Oh Jesus. Poor woman. Go,” Lilly said laughing sympathetically. Her own brother had been a demon at that age. She couldn’t imagine two of him. She was ten when her parents had informed her she was going to be an older sister. She had been so excited.
By the time Peter had turned two, she’d had a clear understanding of what ‘terrible two’ really meant. He had thrown some of the meanest tantrums she’d ever seen. As much as she loved him, he had been the best advertisement for birth control of all time.
Bidding Marcus and Caroline both good night as she settled in for her shift, she brooded. Not only about the job, but about her family. It had been a long time, but she still felt entitled to do it on occasion.
Marcus’s comment about his children had made her think of Peter. He had just started preschool a few months before the attack. She remembered that he’d been filled with stories about his day. She’d thought he was a pest. What she wouldn’t give for a ‘do-over’.
She could still remember standing in the basement, paralyzed with fear as she’d heard their screams. She had heard the attackers laughing. The deeper voices didn’t carry well, but she could still hear the woman’s laughter. It haunted her dreams.
Lilly shivered and then shook her head, willing herself not to go down that dark road right now. Especially not at work. When she looked up, she saw that Daniel and Rob, two of her regulars, were waving her over.
“Hey guys,” she said, pasting on a smile. “What can I getcha?”
Rob said, “Same old. How ya doing? Looked like you were having some long thoughts over there.”
Giving him the most genuine smile she could muster, she said, “I’m just fine.” She looked to Daniel and said, “You ready for another?”
At his stoic nod, she popped the lids off of their respective beers and delivered them on autopilot. She stood with them, chatting about nothing in particular for the next few minutes before Daniel asked, “Rough day?”
“Jeez, is it that obvious?” Lilly asked, smiling in spite of herself.
“Uranus just went into retrograde,” Daniel explained. “It’s got everyone in a tizzy.”
Blinking at him in confusion, Lilly said, “Uh, I didn’t realize you were into all of that stuff.”
Rob snorted and then joked, “He tries to talk to me about that weirdo shit, but I don’t get it. Don’t get him started, Lilly.”
Daniel rolled his eyes and said, “I own a metaphysical bookstore. My sister and I specialize in astrology, tarot, and palm reading. Don’t listen to Rob. He’s the type of guy that requires empirical evidence.”
Lilly snickered and said, “I think I’m that type too, honestly.”
Daniel studied her and asked, “Ever had your palm read?”
“Nope,” she answered honestly.
As he spoke, she looked up and saw that the group sitting in the back of the bar splitting a pitcher was running low. As she left, Daniel directed his attention toward Rob.
After getting the go-ahead to refill the pitcher, she headed back up to the bar and watched Rob and Daniel continue to talk. Strange, she realized, that Daniel had been coming here since before she started and this was the first time they’d really spoken.
When the pitcher was full, she brought it back to the table and checked in on the other couple that was there. They seemed enthralled with the hockey game and content to sip at their wine, so she moved back behind the bar just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation.
“No gay shit, all right?”
Daniel rolled his eyes and dryly said, “Though it absolutely breaks my heart, I think I can agree to those terms.”
Lilly laughed and said, “Now I really wanna know what I missed.”