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“Sure thing.” He moves down the bar, grabs a bottle of water from the fridge, and calls to the booth with the elderly people, “Alice, do you need anything? Because I’m gonna be busy for twenty minutes or so.”
A red-haired lady peeks out of the booth and shamelessly looks me up and down, her eyes widening when she reaches my eyes again. “Um… who is he?”
Nate shakes his head. “He’s my interview.”
She waves him off. “He’s hired. You’re going to get a lot more women in here with him behind the bar.”
“And what does that say about me?” Nate looks offended.
“Stop looking for compliments,” she says, then she turns her attention back to me. “Good luck. Not that you’d need it in my book.”
I have no idea how to respond, so I just smile.
“Come on, Van, we’ll talk over here.” Nate nods to the farthest table from the overly friendly geriatric. Once we’re both seated, he says, “I’m really sorry. They’re from a retirement center in town and they hang out here sometimes while I’m getting ready for the evening shift. They act like they’re in some secret club, but from what I overhear, all they talk about is the food at the home and who’s sleeping with who.”
I chuckle. “Good for them then.”
He laughs. “That’s what I said. When I get that old, I’m going there.” He straightens the papers in his hands, and I catch he doesn’t have a wedding ring. “So, you worked with Tony?”
I nod. “He’s a great guy. Lucky bastard got transferred to Clearwater, Florida.”
“And you’re still up here in the frigid weather?”
I shrug. “I don’t mind it up here.”
“Yeah, Tony told me you’re one of those guys—the more risk, the more adrenaline, the more you love it.” He smirks. “So, you said you’re on leave?”
“Yeah, eight weeks. Is that gonna be a problem?” I really wish I could be back with the Coast Guard right now, but my fucking commander ordered me to take time off. Since I can’t sit around doing nothing for two months, I’m looking for something to occupy my time.
He laughs. “No problem at all. My right-hand guy just left and if I want to keep my relationship going with my girl, I cannot be here every night of the week.”
“Then I’m your guy. While I’m here, I only plan on working. No need for any strings since I’ll be gone soon.”
He stares at me for a moment but doesn’t say anything. His nonverbal cues tell me he’s already typecast me as a one-night stand kinda guy. He’s right to an extent. It’s not that I never see a future with a wife or kids, but not while I’m in the prime of my life. I’m only twenty-six, and since you only get so many years to be a Coast Guard diver, I refuse to give it up for a regular piece of ass.
“You’re hired.” Nate nods.
“Thank you.”
He pulls a few sheets of paper from a folder that is already at the table. “This is the wage plus your tips. We share when more than one bartender is on shift. Waitresses share with the bartenders and busboys. You find a place to stay in town yet?”
I pull out the newspaper. “I was just looking at apartment ads. There aren’t many here, huh?”
“Unfortunately, the one drawback of Lake Starlight is the lack of rentals. There are some small houses for rent around the downtown area, but it’ll be hard for you to find a short-term rental.”
We continue talking about the area and he says that as long as I have transportation, I can check out the neighboring towns like Greywall or Winterberry Falls.
Alice surprises me by sitting next to me, taking the paper from my hands. “I thought I heard of someone I know who was putting an ad in the paper.” She digs in her seashell purse and takes out a pair of reading glasses that are missing one arm. “Oh, here, you already have it circled.” She hands the paper back to me.
I laugh because I circled that ad as a last-ditch effort. The person I’d be sharing space with doesn’t sound very warm and cozy. “Oh, that one. I don’t think I’d jive with that person.”
Nate takes the paper from me and reads the ad, then shares a look with Alice.
“What’s the look about?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing, you totally should call. I mean, this place.” He points at another ad I had circled. “The guy is home all the time. One of those video gamers. And this one.” He points at another one. “This ad is in the paper every other month because everyone they get moves out. I think the place is haunted or has mold or something.”
He hands me the paper and I read the ad one more time.
