Page 59 of The Reluctant Roommate

Morgan listened to Franco’s instructions. All bottled beer, eight bucks, regardless of brand. Same for a glass of house wine. No spirits, no matter how much anyone begged. Ten bucks for a half dozen wings. Cash only. He handed her a bottle opener and instructed that all bottles had to be opened at the bar. She nodded. How hard could it be?

Heidi, having told Franco she was a bartender by trade, was already serving customers, laughing as someone tried to put one over on her by saying the beer was five bucks. She seemed at home behind the bar, taking cash from one customer while picking out the next in line and taking their order.

“Hey,” a woman with a pixie cut waved a hand in front of Morgan’s face. “I asked for IPA, not wheat beer.”

“Sorry,” Morgan muttered. Lucky she hadn’t opened the bottle yet. She replaced it in the fridge. Which was the IPA? She looked around for Franco.

“Whatcha looking for?” Heidi paused in her whirl.

“IPA.”

“Bottom shelf. Green and white label.”

“Thanks.” How did Heidi know that already? She grabbed a bottle and returned to her customer.

She hit the button on the till for cash sale, but the drawer didn’t open. Should she enter it again, or would that mess up the totals? She snagged Franco’s arm as he whirled past, and without even looking, he hit the top of the drawer with a closed fist and it sprang open. Morgan put in the money, took out the change, handed it over, then moved on to the next customer.

By the time the next two volunteers showed up, she was getting the hang of it.

“Your drinks.” Franco poured two outsize glasses of wine. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Heidi said.

“If you mean it, there’s no one down for the thirty minutes after this one.”

“Sure, I can do that.” Heidi thumped his shoulder. “It’ll be a pleasure after the FlyInn.”

“You obviously know what you’re doing,” Franco said. “Are you the manager there?”

“No.” Heidi rolled her eyes. “But I do a lot of the admin and training of newbies—not that any of them last more than a week.”

Franco clapped her on the back. “Well, lucky me today. See you in half an hour.”

A small table became vacant, and they hurried over to claim it.

“You did good,” Heidi said. “If you ever get sick of being a financial advisor, you could get a job as a bartender.”

Morgan stared at her. Those words were uncomfortably close to the truth. She took a gulp of wine. “Maybe I will. I’m sure there’s worse jobs.” She focused on Heidi. “Worst job you ever had?”

“Strangely, that would be direct wine salesperson in Melbourne. I went around to private parties—hens, bucks, birthdays, and so on—gave a spiel, and a free wine tasting. The idea was that people would then love our overpriced wine and buy big. Spoiler alert: They never did, and no wonder. There was better and cheaper wine around in the big bottle shops. I lasted two weeks. What about you?”

The words rose up in her throat:my last job. She pushed them down. That would lead to questions she didn’t want toanswer. “I worked as a grocery store clerk in college. That was bad. You had to stand in one place and scan groceries, and the customers would often get irritated if you were too slow. I lasted three weeks.”

“Heidi!” The shout came from the bar. “Don’t suppose you can start early?”

She gave a thumbs up. “Sorry,” she said to Morgan. “Duty calls. Come with me, and I’ll get you a glass of wine first.” She nodded at Morgan’s nearly empty glass.

Morgan followed. What else was there to do?

~ ~ ~

Franco gave her an even bigger glass of wine at the end of her time, as well as a second one. “For Morgan. Thanks, Heidi. You’re the best. I know you said you have a job, but if you ever want to work closer to home, drop in and apply. We’ve no openings right now, but you know what it’s like: People move on all the time.”

“I’ll do that. I’d love to work here. I’ve worked bar most of my life, including a couple of assistant manager positions.”

“I’m the manager, so find me to apply. I can hire and fire. The absentee owners are somewhere in Montana raising cattle.”

“It’s like a cattle press here today, so I get the connection.”