Page 301 of Falling Backwards
They lift a wave at me and leave the bar.I tidy up where they were sitting, as well as the spot a few stools down that was recently vacated by another happy customer.This has been a busy day for me despite that we’re in the middle of the week, and it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who feels like I’ve kept up well.
I like being busy, honestly.I like getting shit done.I mean,notbeing busy can be great, but as long as I don’t have a headache from hell like I did back when Maggie and I were still on unpleasant terms, then the flow of work is something I enjoy.And the more people I’m serving, the more money I have trickling in, which is always a plus, particularly since Lucent’s guests don’t typically tip poorly or refuse to tip at all.
Shortly, I check the clock and note that the second bartender on the schedule should be here in half an hour.We’ll work together for a while before my shift ends and he takes over.I look forward to the company itself; I like Shota.
It’s not hard to pass the time, obviously.
Indeed, he seems to arrive in the blink of an eye.We chat while we prepare drinks for a big table in the dining room.
Shota has only been here two or three weeks, but it has become our routine that every time I see him, he tells me about whatever fantasy book he’s been reading with his boyfriend.It’s always fun as shit to hear.I know I’m never going to pick up those books, so I let him spoil plot points for me, and he likes gushing about all of it as much as I like the surprise and the easy entertainment.Especially since he weaves in stories about him and his boyfriend that tend to crack me up.
We get the drinks done just as he finishes describing the first book in some crazy-and-amazing-sounding story featuringsixbadass main characters—and I spy Mr.Polk coming my way from the other side of the bar.
My pulse gives a bit of a jump.
Since going for the assistant manager job, anything to do with work has kept a mixture of hope, nerves, and steadiness in my stomach—sometimes it’s subtle, other times not.The latter is truest when I interact with Mr.Polk, of course.And I haven’t thought on any of it much today since I’ve been so busy, but I can’t help doing it now.
Talk of the open position has been lean since right before the new year.That hasn’t surprised me.Holidays are hectic times in all kinds of ways, and I’m not the only person who’s been interested in the job.Plus, we’re only almost a week into January; I wouldn’t think that’s enough time for everyone who’s even slightly involved in this situation to get back in the swing of things.So I’ve not bothered Mr.Polk about it, just settled into patiently waiting for him to decide what’s going to happen and tell me about it.Might be soon, might be next month.There’s no telling.
“Hello, sir,” I say once he reaches the bar.Shota extends his own greeting.
He smiles between us.“Hello and hello,” he replies warmly.“How are things?”
“Going well so far,” Shota reports, “though I haven’t been here long.”
I nod and give a thumbs-up.“And I’ve been rocking and rolling.”
Mr.Polk chuckles.“Good to hear, Shota, and I’m sure you have, Luke.”
He makes eye contact with me alone, and my pulse jumps more than just a bit when he gestures in the direction of his office.
“Luke, now that extra hands are on deck, I’d like to speak to you in private.If you’ve reached a good place to pause working, that is.”
I believe I have; I glance at Shota and find him nodding at both me and our boss.
“Sure,” I tell Mr.Polk.“Lead the way, sir.”
He’s always such an amicable man that while I’m sure this has something to do with the assistant manager job, I can’t read anything in the smile he’s still wearing.There’s no way to know if he really has news to deliver, and if so, what kind of news it is.
So as he leads the way, indeed, I walk out from behind the bar to follow, hopeful and nervous and steady as ever.
No matter what, things are good,I remind myself.
Yeah, that’s one thing I do know.
—
All right.
Time to let Maggie know.
I wonder, not for the first time, if I should’ve found a moment to text her while I was still at work.But as with all those other times, I know that wasn’t how I wanted to tell her what Mr.Polk said.It was best to wait until I got home and could be with her in person; she’s been waiting to hear about his decision just as much as I have.
I’m home now, shutting myself in, immediately catching sight of her across the way in my kitchen.
“Hi,” she calls.I can see her smile from here.
Need it much closer, though.
