Page 56 of Glass Half Full
“Guess you’ll have to find out when we get to the park.” I start to stand up before glancing at our table. “Oh shit, I forgot all about my drink, and you’re all done. Do you want another one for the walk?”
“I’ll just help you with yours. I need to try this apparently excellent chai latte.” He grabs my mostly full cup and downs several sizeable gulps. “You’re right, that is good.”
I take the drink back and gaze into the dregs. “Thank you for emptying half my cup for me, Dylan.”
“Ah, Renee.” He shrugs himself into his coat before patting my head. “Some would say the cup is half empty, others would say half full. Your outlook on that is up to you.”
“Wow, what a philosopher.”
I take my final two sips and drop the cup in the trash can after Dylan’s on our way out the door.
“So, which was it?” he asks, as the chill in the air makes us both pull our clothes tighter around us. “Half empty, or half full?”
I stand on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms around his neck and contemplating his face for a moment.
“With you,” I tell him, “it’s always half full.”
I press my lips to his, and the sparks that flare behind my eyelids are anything but normal.
Fifteen
Renee
CACOPHONY: A group of strong, harsh sounds within a sentence or phrase that is used to create a sense of unease
“Callme if you need anything,mes chers,” DeeDee sings out as she throws a jean jacket on over her crop top and shoves her phone into her purse. “I will try to answer if my mouth isn’t too busy.”
She says the last part quietly enough that only I can hear and wags her eyebrows at me. She booked a few hours off tonight to see her flavour of the month sing at an open mic night and has been very clear about what she plans to do with him after the show. It’s cute to see her so excited about someone, but like everyone else at the bar, I can’t help wondering why she’s out there looking for love when she’s got a sure-fire shot right here. Zach was trying to hide how gloomy he was before he left for the night, but I know him well enough now to see right through his forced smiles.
“Do you need me to go over the tip out again?” DeeDee asks me and my fellow bartender for the night, a new guy around my age named Sam. It’s the first time either of us will be working without a senior staff member on the bar, but it’s a Monday night and the place has been dead enough that I’m sure I could handle things on my own. With the two of us here, we shouldn’t have any problems.
“I think we’re good,” I answer.
She pats me on the head. “You have a busser here until the end of the night, so they’ll do most of the front of house close for you. It’s just the bar stuff you need to worry about, and you’re very good at that. You too, Sam! I believe in you guys!”
She blows us a trail of kisses as she heads out the door and then knocks on the window outside before flashing a thumbs up.
“She never slows down, does she?” Sam comments.
“No,” I reply. “No, she does not.”
Business for the night does slow down. By midnight, there are only three guys left crowded around a table, finishing the dregs of their beers. The kitchen has been closed since ten, and the busser has subtly been cleaning up the front of house to send the guys a message. It’s only him, Sam, and I left on the clock. We’ve done everything we can to speed the close along without actually closing.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Sam mutters, tapping his fingers against the bar. “How long does it take to drink a beer?”
“You getting sleepy?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I just have someone to go see.”
I don’t know him well enough to ask what he’s doing meeting someone at midnight, but the answer is pretty clear. If DeeDee was here, she’d be shouting ‘Boooooooty call!’ loud enough to disturb the customers.
“Do you guys need help with anything else?” The busser saunters over and leans across the bar to check the time on the POS system. “I might head out if you’re both staying until closing time—if that’s okay with you guys?”
I don’t know what the policy on leaving early is. Usually when it’s dead, the highest ranking member of staff will let me know I can leave, but we’re all equally ranked tonight. What I do know is we certainly don’t need three people on the payroll with business this slow.
“I’m cool if you go. Sam?”
Sam’s rocking back and forth on his heels with impatience now. “Yeah, you head out. These guys can’t take longer than five minutes to finish, and then we can all finally go.”
