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“Ready for the New Year’s Eve party?” Audrey is wiping down tables. She looks over her shoulder at me.
“About as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“You know, for a guy who owns a bar, you sure hate being busy. Don’t you know most businesses would kill to have the problems you have?”
I shrug. “Being around people has never really been my thing,” I admit.
“Why’s that?” Oriana asks softly. Audrey and I glance over her. “If I can ask, I mean.” She blushes slightly. “I’m not trying to be rude or nosy.”
“I was in the Army,” I explain.
She holds up her hand. “Say no more,” she tells me. “My brother was in the Navy and was the same way. If it got too busy or noisy or crowded, he needed to peace out. I get it.”
“Was he overseas?”
“For awhile,” she says, but then she stops talking and quietly gets back to work. For a minute, Audrey and I are silent.
“She’s a hard worker,” Audrey points out the obvious.
“I know.”
“Better than Heather.”
“I know.”
“Don’t fuck her.”
“Excuse me?” I look over at Audrey, but there’s no malice on her face.
“I’m just saying that if you fuck her, you’re going to screw up the best employee you have.”
“I thought you were my best employee.”
“There’s a new girl in town, Dale, and she’s fucking incredible. Don’t mess it up. I’m serious.” Audrey tosses a washcloth in my direction. I catch it easily and look back up, but she’s already walking away.
She’s right.
Oriana is great.
She’s only been here for two days, but being around her is just fucking comfortable. She’s a hard worker. She’s determined, she’s strong, and she’s interesting.
And I can’t understand why, out of all the places in the world, she chose to move to Greenville, Kansas. There are other cities with larger populations, more job opportunities, better housing, and more entertainment. There are other, better, more interesting cities she could have chosen, but she didn’t.
Why?
When I catch her alone a few hours later, I ask her. It’s near the end of the night and Audrey is already gone. Kyle is still hanging out, ready to kick out anyone who causes trouble, but at this point, there are just a few stragglers left.
“So can I ask you something?” I look at Oriana. She looks up from where she’s tidying up the bottles of liquor behind the bar. She’s methodical in her work, and I like that. It’s difficult to find good people to hire. It’s even more difficult to find people who are interesting and that I actually want to talk to.
Maybe I really am just turning into a Grinch in my old age.
“I suppose that depends on what it is,” she tells me, looking back at the liquor.
“Why Greenville?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re from Minnesota. I’m guessing you didn’t come here for college. You’re past that at this point in your life. There’s a military base nearby, but you aren’t enlisted. So why Greenville?”
