A loud cheer from the other room reminds Tammy and me of exactly why we’re here.
“Sounds like our resident bartender has just had her first camaraderie shot of the night.” Tammy pushes out of her seat and makes her way to the door. She points at me. “Call that girl. I’m not sure how much longer Desiree can pretend she’s sober while she works.”
With those parting words, Tammy exits the room and leaves me to my thoughts.
I glance down at my watch, noting it’s only seven-thirty. Well past business hours if I worked in an office, but I don’t. This is an after-hours establishment. If this Kristen, or however you say her name, is going to work here, she better get used to phone calls at weird times.
Grabbing my office phone receiver, I dial the number from the top of the paper.
It only takes a couple of rings before a gentle voice answers. My first thought is she’s going to have to get a little more gruff if she’s going to be effective behind a bar.
“Yeah, I’m looking for a, uh, Kristen Willoughby.”
There’s a pause on the other end of the line before she responds.
“This is Kiersten.”
“Sorry. Anyway, Kiersten, this is Paul Franklin. I’m the owner of Frui Vita. It seems you dropped off an application with one of my employees during the wedding reception last week and she was really impressed with you.”
“Oh, yes.” Kiersten’s voice immediately perks up. Maybe she doesn’t need to get more gruff after all. “It looks like a neat place to work.”
“Why?” I’m truly curious. It’s just a bar. I’m working on making it something better, but right now there’s not really anything different about it than any other run-of-the-mill place.
“I guess I’ve always thought working at a bar looks interesting. Talking to the people. Learning how to make mixed drinks. Live music. It seems like every night would be different. I like that. I don’t like it when things get boring.”
I feel like there’s a bit of desperation in her answer. Like she needs this job badly and is willing to kiss a little ass to get it. I’m oddly okay with that. I appreciate her trying to put her best foot forward. Combined with Tammy’s initial impression, I think we may have found my newest employee. But I still need to ask a few important questions.
“Look Kiersten, I’m gonna cut to the chase. I need someone who will be here on time and work hard. I don’t need a slacker or someone who is going to drink on the job.”
“Understood.”
“Do you have reliable transportation?”
“Yes, sir. I have a car. It’s got some miles on it but I keep up with all the regular maintenance so it should last me a while.”
“Perfect. We mostly serve beer on tap, but we also serve liquor. Can you make a mixed drink?”
“Just the basics. My friends say I make a mean margarita and I know how to make regular martinis. But I’m a fast learner,” she adds in quickly.
“Last question. Are you a thief?”
“Uh… What?”
“Sorry, that came out wrong. Do you have a record for any kind of theft?”
“No. I don’t have any kind of record at all. But since you’re leveling with me, I’ll extend the same courtesy. I need this job too much to risk it by being a douchebag. If you hire me, I’ll train hard and work even harder. As long as you’re a good employer, I’m happy to be a good employee.”
I find myself smirking at her candor. Tammy was right—she is impressive. Even over the phone.
“I like your style. And you’re friendly enough. When can you start?
“Wait. You don’t want to see me first?”
“I trust Tammy’s recommendation. And I don’t need to see you to know you’re better than what I’ve got.”
“Oh. That’s kind of sad. But in that case, I’ll start tomorrow.”
We work out a few more details, including pay scale and the hours she’ll work. By the time we hang up, I feel even more confident that Tammy was right on. I’ll have to thank her later. Maybe someday I can even thank her with a raise.
Another cheer comes from the front and I have a bad feeling that was camaraderie shot number two. I can’t afford any more of those tonight. It’s time to put on my boss hat and fire my first employee.
This is going to suck.
SIX
Kiersten
In hindsight, I probably should have asked Lauren if she could babysit before agreeing to start a new job, but I was afraid the opportunity was going to slip through my fingers if I didn’t take it right then.
It wasn’t until I hung up that I thought about the fancy new daycare we’d already toured and that they close at six and aren’t open on weekends. I looked into some other options, but I don’t feel right about leaving Carson in a twenty-four-hour facility. Besides, the closest one is by the San Antonio airport and I’m nowhere near there. The only other option, at least until I come up with some other ideas, is letting Carson go to daycare in the afternoon with Lauren picking him up after work and keeping him until I’m home. I hate feeling like an imposition.
“Are you sure this is okay?” I hand Carson to my best friend, who begins peppering him with kisses making him giggle and squirm until she puts him down. He immediately takes off running to the toy box Lauren has hiding behind an oversized chair. “My new boss is training me to close. I won’t be off until at least two. I might be as late as four. That’s really early to wake you up.”
That gets me an annoyed look. “Which is why you’re going to go home and grab a few hours of sleep before I drop Carson off at your place on my way to work.”
“What? You can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s above and beyond.” I cry indignantly, growing more and more uncomfortable with how much I’m coming to rely on her. This is why I refused to move in with them despite how much room they have. I didn’t want them to become more responsible than they should be for me and my son. And yet, here I am.
“No, dragging my ass up at four a.m. only to try and fall back asleep for a few hours is going above and beyond, which is why it’s not gonna happen. I’d rather not interrupt my REM cycle and as a bonus because of the great friend I am, you’ll get one, too. It’s not a big deal,” she reiterates. “I’ll leave for work at nine and with rush hour, it’ll take me half an hour max to get to your place. That gives you a solid five hours of sleep before you have to wake up. And he still takes naps so as of today, you do too. And that’s on the days Heath doesn’t beg me to leave him here for a while. You can sleep as much as you want then.”
I rub my forehead, willing my brain to come up with a solution that doesn’t require my friends to become like my son’s second parents.
“Listen, Kiersten, I know it’s not ideal, but it’s way better than never getting any rest at all.”
I bite my lip, still hesitating, but she’s right. This is better than any alternative, no matter how much I feel like I’m intruding on her life. “Are you sure? Like really sure.”
“What’s to be sure about? Heath isn’t even here tonight. He’s on a road trip with his dad and I’m already bored. Carson and I will eat some boxed mac and cheese, watch some cartoons and take a bath. Sounds like a perfect night.”