AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, you’re taking a little mental health break?”
“Yeah. Plus, I need to sleep on a real bed. My back is killing me. This leg of the tour is over in May. So there’s about six weeks left. Then I’m putting my foot down for Europe.”
“Will you come home at all before you head over there?”
“I think there’s two weeks between when this leg ends and when we pick up over there. I have some shit to take care of at home anyway.”
“Is Nobody’s Fool going with you?” My mother was apparently a big fan of our opening act.
“Not to Europe, no. But we may tour with them again in the fall. You can see your buddy, Tyler.” Tyler Thompson was their bass player, and he and my mother had become pals. They even followed each other on social media, which cracked me up.
“Well, it’ll be good to have you around, even if it’s just for a week or two.”
“I miss you too, Ma.”
“Call me more often, would you?”
“Promise.”
“Love you, Zeke.”
“Love you too.” I disconnected and stared out at the road in front of me.
A storm was coming and it was starting to snow, so I needed to get there already. If I was lucky, the kitchen would still be open.
2
Presley
I shifted my beat-up, ten-year-old Honda into gear and headed for work.
The last twenty-four hours had been frustrating, difficult, and unfair.
Life, I’d begun to realize, was increasingly unfair.
Whether it was my Aunt Meg’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, the leak in the basement of our house, the hours at my job getting cut, or not getting the Onyx Knight interview, I seemed to be on a downward spiral of bad luck. On top of that, I was running late to work because of the weather, and my boss had already warned me I’d been late too many times this winter.
And frankly, I’d run out of excuses.
He didn’t care that the tires on my Honda weren’t in any condition for snow. Or that Aunt Meg had fallen three times in the last month. Or that I was going to fail my senior project because I hadn’t been able to procure the interview I needed to write my final article. Nope. All Mr. Hopkins cared about was me showing up on time and making sure the patrons of his exclusive resort were happy.
I already worked the crappiest shifts because of school. Monday and Tuesday nights, which were typically dead. The occasional Friday day shift, also dead. Once in a blue moon, if someone called out, I got to work a weekend and make real money. Beyond that, I was the new girl, and probably the least attractive compared to the others, so I took what I could get. To be fair, even a Monday night at the resort was better than eight hours at McDonald’s, but I could have been making so much more with a few decent shifts.
I pulled into the parking lot a minute before my shift started and ran as fast as I could into the building. I practically skidded into the ladies’ locker room, where I secured my things, sliding my feet into the low-heeled pumps we had to wear and stuffing my winter coat into my locker as quickly as possible. I clocked in at seven-oh-one and walked into the bar. Normally, I was a waitress, but on nights like tonight, where the tables were empty and only a handful of patrons lingered, I got to tend bar.
Mr. Hopkins wagged a finger at me as I waved. “I’m watching you, Lee!” For some reason, everyone here had shortened Presley to Lee, and now it had stuck.
I waved at him with a smile. “I know, Mr. H!”
“By the way.” He came up behind me. “There’s a storm coming. I don’t know that you’ll be able to drive home in it once your shift is over.”
I grimaced. I’d known that was a possibility, but I couldn’t miss work. Aside from already being on thin ice, Aunt Meg and I needed the money. “I’ll be okay,” I told him.
“We’re supposed to get a couple of feet. If that happens, you can sleep in the lounge.”
“Thank you.” I nodded, surprised. There was a rule that forbade us from sleeping in the employee lounge, but I figured the blizzard headed our way was an exception. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be anyone to take care of the guests that were here, regardless of the weather.
Humming to myself, I started wiping down the bar. The day shift hadn’t done a great job at it, which was typical. Everyone hated working days, and tended to escape the moment they could get away. I didn’t mind, though. It kept me busy and that kept Mr. Hopkins off my back. He wasn’t bad for a boss, but he seemed to watch me like a hawk.
