get it— I finally let them fall unchecked from my eyes. I cry for the life I wanted for my daughter. The one I thought we had but was stripped away in a single moment. I cry for the fact I was naïve and dumb and didn’t see Devon for who he really was. And I cry for the future and the big question mark it possesses.
Finally, when the tears subside, I wash my face and my body and get out. I grab a towel to dry off, only to put on the clothes I just took off once more. I stare at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are tired from lack of sleep and worry, but I’m determined. I’ll make a good life, a better life, for Lizzie and me. I’ll start my new job tomorrow and earn enough to get settled. Lizzie and I will be fine.
I know it.
Chapter Three
Walker
“I hired two new servers today,” Numbers announces, as he takes the last empty seat at our table of four.
My mind instantly goes back to the beautiful blonde I met in the hallway. The one who’s pushed her way to the front and center of my mind no less than three times already, and it’s only been an hour.
“Finally. Do they have experience?” Jasper asks, sipping his water before pushing the fourth plate of food over to Isaac.
“Both do, yes. They start tomorrow. Gigi will be ready for them,” he says before taking a hearty bite of his burger. “Mmm, what’s this?”
“I call it the Morning BJ,” Jasper announces with a wicked grin. All of our burgers have an unusual, and somewhat sexually laced innuendo name to them.
Isaac slowly chews, glancing at the ingredients between the bun. “Is that…”
“Jam? It is. Bacon and jam, hence the BJ. It’s onion jam, which is slightly sugared and caramelized onions. I played around with it all night last night, until I got it just right,” Jasper says, taking his own bite, slowly chewing and clearly critiquing his masterpiece.
“I really like it,” I tell him, already halfway through my burger.
“Me too,” Jameson mumbles, his mouth full of food. But Jameson likes just about anything.
“I’m thinking of introducing it in this weekend’s menu.”
“Definitely,” Isaac agrees. “I can get my sister to work on a graphic for social media. Maybe even some teaser ones leading up to it Friday night,” Isaac adds, already inputting notes into his phone. His sister, Hannah, helps with our social media accounts, constantly posting and keeping our pages fresh. Apparently, that’s pretty important, but I couldn’t care less. Sure, I have a Facebook page, but I’m barely on it. Most of my posts are tags from one of my friends.
“I’ll make up a fresh burger after we finish our meeting so you can photograph it,” Jasper replies.
“Sounds good. Now, anything you want to add for this weekend on the bar side?” Isaac asks, his eyes meeting mine.
Clearing my throat, I wipe my mouth, my wheels starting to turn. We rarely offer deals in the bar, mostly because we don’t have to. We don’t need a sale or special to draw in the customers, but we will offer them on occasion, especially when we debut a new burger special. “Well, since your hamburger is titled Morning BJ, how about the blow job shot?”
This particular shot is popular for girls’ nights or bachelorette parties. Even though there are a few different ways to make it, our recipe consists of half an ounce Kahlua, half an ounce of Bailey’s Irish Cream, and a dollop of whipped cream on top. The catch to the blow job shot is you’re supposed to take the shot without using your hands. So, girls will set the shot glass on the counter, wrap their lips around the glass, and guzzle the booze, usually leaving a small trace of the whipped cream on their lips.
Blow job shot.
“What are those priced at?” Isaac asks.
“Five,” I confirm.
“Will a dollar off still cover our expenses?” he asks.
“Definitely. Both liquors are popular enough, I’ll probably amend the order I just placed to add another two bottles of each,” I add, swiping a fry through mustard and popping it into my mouth.
“Sounds like a plan,” Isaac replies, making more notes in his phone. “I’ll have Hannah add it to the graphic.”
He moves on to music, asking Jameson about his set for Friday night. We usually publicize a few songs from his set to grab potential patrons’ attention. But like the rest of