Page 20 of Taste of Forever
“Be right with you,” said the bartender, who I was pretty sure was a vampire. I couldn’t see their eyes, but there was something in the quality of a vampire’s skin that was almost too perfect to be human.
I looked up at the loft section as I waited, noting several human women up there too. Most of them stood around, as if waiting for something. A few had drinks in hand but most didn’t. All were beautiful, varying from girl-next-door to ethereal supermodel. Through the spaces between their bodies I saw two men lounging on a couch, although I was too far away to tell if they were vampires or not.
“What can I get you?” The bartender stopped in front of me, red eyes bright. They had an androgynous look with a slender, feminine face, short hair, and dark slacks held up by suspenders over a white buttoned shirt.
“Forgive me if this is a stupid question,” I started. “But you do have drinks without blood in them, right?”
The bartender grinned, stopping just short of laughing. “Yes, we definitely do. Almost anything you can get in the human world, you can get here. Unless it’s really limited or seasonal.”
“Okay, I would love a gin and tonic, then.”
“You got it.”
As they started making my drink, I suddenly panicked over how I would pay for it. Would a debit or credit card even work here? Did they use dollars or some other currency?
“Um, what kind of payment do you take?”
“Blood.”
At my panicked face, the bartender burst out laughing as they set the drink in front of me. “Temkra, I’m kidding. We take all kinds. It costs five, or I can start a tab.”
“Five what?”
“What have you got?”
“Uh, dollars?”
“Sure. But if you need change, it won’t all be the same currency.”
I stared at them for a beat. “What do you mean?”
“So, say you give me a ten. I’ll give you back five like this.” They opened a drawer and placed a five euro note on the bar. “Or like this.” Taking back the five euros, they replaced it with a five British pound note. “Or like this.” They placed a US dollar, a Canadian dollar, a Fijian dollar, a Dominican peso, and an Egyptian pound below the British fiver.
“No way, you’re kidding.” I picked up one of the foreign bills to examine more closely. “This is how you use money here?”
“Yeah.” The bartender shrugged. “As long as it’s got the right number on it, we take it.”
“This is wild. Do you take Monopoly money?”
“No.” They laughed. “I’m pretty sure it has to have been legal tender at some point in time.”
“How did you even get so many different kinds?”
“From humans like you, venturing from your world to ours.”
I glanced at them over the Fijian dollar in my hands. “I’m that obvious, huh?”
“Just a little.” They pinched their thumb and forefinger close together.
“And you’re okay with that? Us coming to your world.”
The bartender placed a forearm down and leaned toward me. “No offense, but I think we could take you guys if we had to.”
I let out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s probably true.”
“And anyway, most humans who end up here don’t come with bad intentions. They usually end up staying.”
“Really?” My eyebrows went up. As fascinating as this world was, I couldn’t imagine leaving my whole life behind.
