Paige felt much more at home in the bar than she did at uni. At uni she constantly felt like she was bracing herself against something, but she didn’t even know what. She was waiting for someone to catch her out, to tell her she shouldn’t be there, she never should have been there, it was all an administrative error. Or maybe for her dad to turn up and drag her home. She still had nightmares about that sometimes, even though she knew he didn’t care enough to even look for her, never mind take her back home. It was a relief. But also not.
But as soon as she walked into the pub, she felt like she could breathe, as clichéd as she knew that was. She’d felt like that from the first time she’d stepped inside it last year, when she’d seen the scrap of paper with ‘Help wanted’ written on it stuck to the inside of the window with Sellotape. She hadn’t thought about working in a pub, and had been leaving her feeble CV at coffee shops and fast-food places, but the pub had turned out to be perfect.
Jonny behind the bar was always pleased to see her, but not too much. He said hi, asked her about her day, but then expected her to just get on with working, which she was happy to do. And he always tried to squeeze extra shifts in for her when she was desperate.
Paige loved the regulars – Alan and Donnie, who’d had a pint, just the one pint, every night after work and had been doing so for years. They showed Paige photos of their grandchildren, their new cars, their frequently redecorated kitchens. And they always offered to buy her a drink, but were never sleazy about it (and she never accepted). Jean, who lived alone with her dog, had a missing front tooth and drawn-on eyebrows, and, Paige guessed, was horribly lonely. Paige suspected she may be the only person Jean ever spoke to. It made her heart hurt.
Billy, who was loud and Scottish and asked Paige out every single time he saw her, but was always funny and charming about it. And Paige wondered what it would be like. She thought he’d probably be pretty good – enthusiastic, not too serious, and he had nice hands – but she wasn’t going to risk it, not with someone who came in the pub. It was her safe space and there was no room for sex in the safe space.
Right now it was pretty quiet, the lull between lunch and the end of the work day. Apart from Lou, who was sitting on a stool at the bar, alternating between talking to Paige and fiddling with her phone. Lou was the one Paige had been the most nervous about getting to know – she just seemed so cool. And while she was cool – effortlessly so, apparently – she was also warm and funny.
Paige was wiping the counter down, lifting the soaking wet bar towels and polishing the beer taps, when she saw Issey and Liane standing in the doorway, Issey’s eyes wide, Liane looking bored and slightly disgusted.
‘I WhatsApped them,’ Lou told Paige. ‘That’s OK, right?’
‘That’s fine, yeah,’ Paige said.
Issey spotted the two of them and her face lit up. Paige was grinning back at her before she even realised. There was something about Issey’s enthusiasm and naivety that completely charmed Paige, ridiculously. If someone had described Issey to her, she’d have stuck her finger in her mouth and pretended to gag herself, but in person Issey was just kind of sweet.
‘Hey!’ Issey said, clambering up on the bar stool next to Lou, directly in front of Paige. ‘So this is where you work!’
‘Yup,’ Paige said, dropping the cloth under the counter and wiping her hands on a tea-towel. ‘This is where the magic happens.’
‘How was your first day?’ Liane asked Lou, who held up one finger and carried on texting, a little frown line between her eyebrows.
‘You look good behind the bar,’ Issey said, leaning back a little and narrowing her eyes at Paige. ‘It suits you.’
‘Buxom wench,’ Paige said. ‘Yeah, I’ve heard.’
Issey actually blushed, her eyes flickering down to Paige’s boobs and then back to her face again. Paige laughed. This happened sometimes when someone found her Instagram – they started superimposing the semi-naked pictures over her real, fully dressed self.
‘What are you drinking?’ Paige asked. ‘First one’s on me.’
Issey and Liane both got beers. Liane hadn’t sat down; she was still standing, next to Issey, half leaning against her.
‘Is Ella coming?’ Paige asked Lou, after she’d taken someone else’s order. She pulled open a bag of crisps and put it on the bar in front of Issey and Liane.
‘I love you,’ Issey said, immediately shoving crisps into her mouth. ‘M’starving.’
‘She’s on her way,’ Lou said, putting her phone down on the bar then picking it up again to make sure it hadn’t been in a puddle.
‘I like this place,’ Issey said. ‘It’s cosy.’
‘That’s why I like it,’ Paige said. ‘Let me see if the snug’s free.’
She walked to the end of the bar and round a corner and then came back and gestured at Issey, who hopped off the stool, steadying herself on Liane’s arm, and walked to the end of the bar.
‘Open the door,’ Paige told her. ‘And then the next door on the left.’
Issey followed Paige’s instructions, Liane behind her, and they found themselves in a tiny separate room with its own access to the bar. Where Paige was standing, grinning at them.
‘Oh my god,’ Issey said, turning in a circle. ‘This is perfect! Can we keep it permanently reserved? Like the sofa in Friends?
Paige laughed. ‘I don’t think so. But it’s actually almost always empty, except when we’re really busy. No TV in here.’
Issey sat on the sofa under the window, dipping her head under the net curtain to look outside.
‘Can we get rid of this?’ she asked Paige.
‘Bloody hell, Iz,’ Liane said. ‘You can’t redecorate.’
‘We can, actually,’ Paige said. ‘I don’t even know why that’s there – the window’s half frosted anyway.’
Issey kicked her shoes off under the table and stood up on the chair, looking out of the top half of the window. ‘This is much better. Ooh! There’s Ella!’ She knocked on the window, while Liane opened the door to the snug and went out to find Ella and guide her in.
‘Can we have our own bell?’ Issey said, sitting back down. ‘On the bar here. So we can call you when we need you.’
‘Don’t push your luck,’ Paige said, but she was still smiling. She’d thought it would be nice to have the girls here while she worked, but she hadn’t actually realised it would feel this nice. She shook her head at herself – she was turning into a sap.