Chapter 5: Lynette
The Speakeasy was busy for a Thursday night. I was behind the bar filling orders. The baseball game blasted loudly on the TV above me.
By nine, I had already stopped thinking about the visit from Gabriel, being too wrapped up in the running of the bar. One of my waitresses had called in sick so we were short staffed, as usual. The regular bar patrons kept me hopping which wasn’t a bad thing. Being overwhelmed gave me less time to think.
“Lynette! Get me another beer!”
“What happened to my order of fries?”
“Your sweet ass is looking mighty fine tonight in those shorts, Lynette!”
On and on it went.
Constantly being called over, ordered around, and objectified. I smiled broadly while filling orders, delivering food to tables and mixing drinks. My backup, Tanya covered the bar alone when I took over the waitress’s shift.
I moved on autopilot. I was exhausted. Gabriel had been right about that, but there was no time to rest, not even to sit down for a moment. Thank God, the night was almost over with final call in less than an hour.
I hustled to the kitchen window with a fistful of new orders with the intention of swapping for the filled orders when Tanya stuck her head through the window.
“Sorry to do this, but Tami just called. She quit. Said she’ll be in next week to pick up her check.”
“What? When did that happen,” I exclaimed, feeling my world crumble at my feet.
I didn't need any more bad shit in my life. Tami hadn’t been the most trustworthy employee in the world, but when she was at work, she gave it her all.
Tanya shrugged.
“I don't know, an hour ago? I wanted to let you know before I left for the night. By the way, I’ve got to leave early tonight. The sitter can't stay late again.”
I nodded.
“Shit! Let’s close the kitchen for the night then. Jesus Christ! When it rains, it pours.”
Tanya nodded back at me and returned to work. When I reached the kitchen counter, I knocked against the metal to get Bill, the cook’s attention.
“Hey! Shut it down in there. We're losing Tanya early and I need to tend bar.”
Bill shrugged nonchalantly and started turning off the fryers. I grabbed the last few orders and headed back into the crowded bar. After delivering them, I found the patrons whose orders I wouldn’t be filling and explained why. Naturally they were pissed as hell and left.
I cursed to myself, hating to lose the revenue. It wasn’t like I had a choice though. With half my staff deserting me, I was needed behind the bar. I couldn’t be everywhere at once. What does it take to find dependable employees these days?
I hurried behind the bar while Tanya was wrapping up her last drink order.
“I hate leaving you in a tight spot like this,” she said.
I wanted to scream, “Don’t leave me!”
Instead I just smiled and said, “It’s okay, family first. See you tomorrow.”
Family first. Yeah, right. For everyone else.
By the time the last drunk had left the bar, I was ready to drop down on the floor and pass out. Even though I had been left in a lurch by my staff, my drunken father had failed to make an appearance, so it wasn't all bad.
I couldn’t count the number of times in the past he would stumble in here, cause a scene, and leave me feeling embarrassed and powerless. Not to mention the insults he would throw around before locking himself in the office and passing out. Once I even had to call a locksmith to open the door because my father couldn’t wake up from his drunken stupor and I needed to get money from the safe.
With a loud, tired sigh, I locked the door behind the last customer and pulled down the blinds. It was just after two and I still needed to clean the place up.
“I’m heading out!” I heard Bill yell from the kitchen.
The kitchen door slammed closed and I knew he wasn't coming back in to help with anything else. Usually one of the girls stayed to help with the clean-up, but with Tanya leaving early and Tami quitting there just wasn't anyone else to do it.
Story of my life.
I grimly grabbed a broom and started to clean. The place was a mess, as bars naturally were. The floor was sticky, like the tables and the counters. In fact, everything was dirty.
Three hours later, I finally stumbled into my apartment, smelling of cigarette smoke, liquor and sweat. The worst possible combination in my opinion.
I stepped into the apartment and noticed that. my father wasn't home. I pulled off my sneakers and stumbled down the hall to my bedroom. Not even bothering to change, I fell face first into bed and was asleep seconds later.