[IC] A Wonderful Life

[Tyler Night]

Taylor is making his way around the bar picking up glasses and cleaning tables during the evening downtime, waiting for the next bar rush to happen which is an hour and a half or 2 hours away. Heading back to the bar he drops the glasses off when a younger guy walks in by himself, he walks up to the bar and stands near the end. Taylor walks over to him. "Can I get you something to eat or drink?" The man shakes his head. "No thank you, I just have a question. My baby brother is turning 21 tonight at midnight, he doesn't have his actual picture ID, he just went in to get his ID for the first time a few days ago so he doesn't have his permanent ID, would there be a way that he could come in and still celebrate his birthday?" Taylor nods his head. "Actually yeah, if he brings in his temp ID and a high school or college ID with his picture on it that is as acceptable as actually having a permanent ID." The guy smiles.

"Can he come in before midnight or do we still have to wait?" Taylor looks at the guy with a smile. "He can come in an hour or two ahead of time, we can make him a birthday dessert and countdown until his birthday. If you want to place your order for a dessert and his first legal drink we will get it started for him now." The guy smiles and nods his head. "That would be awesome." Taylor hands the guy a menu with desserts on it. "If I can make a suggestion for his first drink I say we should do a tiramisu shooter or chocolate cake shooter though we do have a bunch to choose from." The guy looks up slightly confused. "Tiramisu and chocolate cake shooters? What are those?" Taylor reaches behind the bar grabbing a bottle of amaretto liquer, kahlua and whipping cream. "We mix these together with a few other ingredients and serve them with pudding in a shot glass, it isn't a drink that is gonna be a one and done, it is a little more expensive cuz we use a lot of liquor for it. The chocolate cake is multiple alcohols too so it is more expensive as well but they are great birthday shots, the chocolate cake is Frangelico hazelnut liquer, vodka and usually a lemon or lime wedge dusted in powdered sugar though as of late I have been doing the shooters with blood orange instead. Makes for a fun drink." The guy smiles. "The chocolate cake sounds good but so does the tiramisu. Can we get both?" Taylor chuckles, of course you can. Can I hold you to 20 total drinks?" The guy smiles. "Probably can, we are gonna have a bunch of friends and family coming to celebrate. But I think I have figured out what dessert we are going to get. This mascarpone cheesecake with blueberries sounds amazing." Taylor nods.

"The cheesecake is one of the best desserts we have, it puffs up so much when it is baked. As for the drinks I will do a double batch of both." The guy says. "Sounds good, we will be back in about 3 hours then if that is alright." Taylor nods. "The tiramisu will take 4 hours to complete but since it is just 7 we should be ready by the time it is time to celebrate." The guy smiles. "Alright, thanks for that then, I will be back later." The guy leaves the bar and 2 more bartenders make their way to the bar and start getting set to close the grill and start advertising the drink specials for the day. Taylor then heads into the back grabbing the liquor and beginning work on putting it all together.

[Tyler Night]

.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Ping!

Kijani looked at her dashboard as the low fuel light flicked on. She let out a shuddering breath and ran a hand across her face. She was sweating a bit. Disgusting. Reflexively, she checked her rearview mirror and got a good look behind her. There was nothing. This winding road had the occasional car heading in the other direction, but she hadn't run into any traffic for miles. It was very odd to her, to be on a road with no one else on it. She might have enjoyed the drive if she weren't so anxious.

She passed a city limits sign, but she was going so fast she missed part of it. At least she'd managed to catch the number 15, which was just great, because she only had 20 miles worth of gas left. Her running was at an end. Or at least at a pause for the time being.

She pulled her sleek, red sports car slowly into town, following signs of civilization. Lights, buildings. It looked like the only thing that was open and active. The night was closing in fast, so she parked in the nearest spot and turned the car off. Silently, she leaned against the wheel and closed her eyes.

She'd never felt so lost in her life. Now that she'd stopped, she realized how stupid her idea had been. At first it had made perfect sense: she'd maxed out her ATM withdrawals, filled her gas tank, and picked a direction. And she drove. She had to get away- she felt like her life was going to suffocate her, wring her out until there was nothing left. It had been an emotional choice. But now that she was back in her head, she realized she may have been overhasty.

“I need food.” No good idea was formed on an empty stomach. She grabbed her purse and headed out of the car, locking up and heading toward the restaurant-looking building she'd parked near. Automatically she stopped just outside the door, adjusting her expensive looking clothes and rearranging her hair. Then she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

[Tyler Night]

As the door opens, a bell rings. Taylor had been working a while for the birthday party and needed a break from the work in the kitchen so he heads out to the bar again looking at the lady who had just arrived, the bar is not a drive bar but not quite an upscale bar either having a dance floor near the back and enough space for about 100 people in total. Looking to the woman who had just arrived he smiled. "Please have a seat wherever you wish, I will get you a menu."

Taylor grabs a menu and takes it over to the woman handing it to her then asks. "Can I get you something to drink while you look for something to eat?" Inside the menu are typical bar foods. Burgers, grilled cheese, hot dogs, pizza's, nacho's. He waits for her to decide on what she wants to eat and drink,

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kijani smiled vaguely in the direction of the brunette who'd handed her the menu. "Thank you." She scanned the menu quickly. "I guess I'll have a cheeseburger. And a cuba libre, if you could." She looked around the bar, trying to get her bearings. It was nice enough, but she couldn't quite find the information she was looking for. She'd just have to ask, as unfortunate as it was. "Ah..." It was going to sound strange, no matter how she put it. "Could you possibly tell me the name of this town?" She tempered her strange question with a smile.

[Tyler Night]

Taylor nods his head. "Not a problem." He takes the menu and heads over to the bar passing his ticket through the window.

Hearing the womans question he answers her from the bar. "You are in Gladwin, Michigan."

He heads back over to the bar and grabs a bottle of bacardi oakheart and a rocks glass, he fills the glass with ice then starts filling the glass with coke and rum at the same time. He sets a blood orange wedge on the edge of the glass and carries it over to the woman. "You want to pay now or open up a tab?" He sets the glass down on the table.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kijani stifled the urge to groan. Michigan- she'd gotten here from Chicago, and lost count of the hours and miles she'd driven. She pulled herself out of her thoughts to accept the drink with a distant smile. "Thank you. And... well, I might as well pay now. I need to think tonight, not drink myself into oblivion." No matter how good that sounded. She'd honestly never been one to drink to excess, but shutting off her brain, even for a night, sounded wonderful about now.

She looked around the bar, and it was a little empty. Then again, night had really hit just within the hour, so perhaps things just hadn't gotten going yet. She got the attention of the brunette bartender again. "Do you know where the nearest hotel is?"

[Tyler Night]

"Ok, you can pay after the meal. I will go check on it for you." He heads over to the bar opening into the grill as he gets up there the chef slides the burger through the window. Taylor grabs the burger and the rack of condiments to go with it. As he heads towards the woman he hears her question.

"We have 1 about a mile to the west and we also have a upscale place down the road to the east about 3 quarters of a mile." He puts the burger on her table with the condiments which are ketchup, mustard, steak sauce, bbq sauce and franks red hot. He sets the check on the table for her whenever she is ready to pay.

"Any drink after this we will just charge you for right then and there." He smiles and then heads to the back to work on the rest of the dessert drinks and cheese cake.

[Mistress Dizzy]

"That's fine by me." Kijani took a sip of her drink, rolling the liquid over her tongue and sighing softly. It was delicious, but you know what they said about people who drank alone. This was just sad, but at least it was honest. The sort of people she usually met over alcohol weren't exactly the type to come to small places like this. She picked up the burger and took a dainty bite. It was hot and well-cooked, and she uncapped the ketchup to dab a little bit underneath the bun. She had a choice to make. Go to the good hotel, where she'd be more comfortable, but her money would run out faster, or go to the other hotel, where it was likely to be less showy, but she'd last longer. A faint smirk crossed her lips when she realized she'd never had to think about budgeting before. That bit of mirth faded quickly when she realized how far that removed her from the rest of the world. She heaved a sigh, running her hand through her dreadlocks and staring blankly at the table. What was she going to do?

[Tyler Night]

The bell above the door rings as somebody walks in, in with the person comes 4 other people. 2 of them walk over to the bar sitting down and the other 3 head to a table at the back of the bar. One of the bartenders serves the people at the bar and the other goes to the people at the table. Taking their orders they return to the bar just as Taylor finishes all the drinks for the party that night. He makes his way back over to the woman at the table. "You set on drinks or would you like another one?"

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kijani blinked a few times, slightly startled as the bartender returned. Her gaze went briefly to the table. Somehow her burger was mostly gone, and her glass was empty. Damn, when had that happened? She'd been so lost in thought that the food had gone down automatically. She turned her attention back to the bartender and forced a smile that probably wouldn't fool anyone. "Ah... just a Coke and lime, no rum." She had driving to do, after all, and she wasn't dumb enough to drive drunk, no matter how unhappy she felt. She ran a hand through her dreadlocks and heaved a half-silent sigh.

[Tyler Night]

Taylor nods his head. "Alright I will go get that for you." grabbing the woman's glass he heads to the bar tossing out the ice then grabbing a bigger glass.

He moves back over to counter and fills the glass with ice then fills it with Coca Cola he then grabs a lime wedge and makes his way back over to her. "That will be 2 dollars please." he says as he places the glass on the table top.

Taylor looks up as more people start piling in getting, a few of them move over to the bar and then rest move to the tables in the back, the 2 that sat at the bar earlier stand up and walk with the other 3 that walked to the bar back to the tables, the people are all talking loudly with each other. 2 more people make their way inside 1 being the guy that showed up earlier and one who could only be his little brother. They both head to the tables at the back, they start the party a little early and sing him happy birthday. Taylor smiling heads into the kitchen grabbing the cheese cake from the oven and sets it in the blast chiller for a few minutes to set the cheese cake. He then opens up the springform pan after removing it from the blast chiller. He tops the cheese cake with the blueberries, he lets them cool down for a few minutes in the blast chiller then pulls it out cutting it into slivers. The cheese cake is 4 inches thick and had been made in a 12 inch pan. He makes his way over to the party crowd which looks to be about 25 people. He smiles as he sets the cheese cake down. "Hope you guys are ready for this." He smiles as he looks to the birthday boy handing him the first piece.

The guy grabs a fork and dives into it taking his first bite he chews a couple times and suddenly stops and looks down at the cheese cake then up to Taylor he takes a few more bites and closes his eyes sighing then says. "Oh yeaaaah." He eats it very slowly enjoying every last bit. The others start eating their own pieces and ordering drinks for themselves.

Taylor turns around and heads back to the bar getting the shots ready for midnight.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Automatically, she opened her wallet and dropped 5 bucks on the table. "Keep the change..."

Kijani started to feel rather distant as the room began to fill up with people. They were obviously there to have a good time, and as she watched them interact, she realized she'd never seen people having that much fun. Sure, there was liquor, but no one looked completely plastered or high, there was minimal flirting, and it all looked so... real. She'd never been at a party like that- where the object was to actually enjoy yourself as you were. Instead of being seen, or getting as high as possible, or getting attention from drama.

She felt the tears pricking at her eyes. Maybe it was the alcohol loosening the lid on her feelings. She pushed a suddenly shaking hand through her locks and fought back the sudden, unwelcome urge to burst into tears.

[Tyler Night]

Taylor comes back out to the woman carrying a shot glass that resembles a beer mug. Inside is a golden color liquid with some cream floating on top. "On the house." Taylor says to her as he sets the drink known as a mini beer. In the glass is not beer but a orange and vanilla flavored alcohol called licor 43 and heavy cream on top to resemble a beer with foam on it.

Taylor sits down at the table with the woman. "You look like you could use some company." Sliding the drink over to her with a smile.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kijani picked her head up as the bartender returned. Immediately her emotions withdrew. The urge to cry was forced away, her shoulders went straight. But she was pretty sure he'd seen anyway- and his mentioning of her needing company confirmed that.

"Perhaps." She wasn't going to spill her sob story to this guy. To distract him from his unanswered question, she delicately picked up the shot glass and sniffed lightly. "What is this? It smells good." She sipped just a tiny bit and raised her eyebrows. "It tastes like an orange creamsicle."

[Tyler Night]

"It is called a mini beer, it has a decent amount of alcohol but not too much." He smiles to her and picks up his own and drinks it down.

"Bartending is an art and you have to be attuned to reading people." He looks across at her. "Something tells me you are either running away from something or to something else." He smiles at her setting his glass back down.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Kijani drank the shot in one smooth motion, neither confirming nor denying what he'd said. It wasn't exactly hard to read people- if you knew what to look for, it was like a game. She'd already asked him what the name of the town was, and where things were, so she obviously couldn't claim to be local. Then there was that expression of defeat she'd let slip earlier. Any fool could put two and two together.

She ran her neatly manicured nail around the edge of the shot glass, round and round. "Bartending, huh? How long have you been at that?" It was easy to deflect. Most people would talk about themselves all day if given the chance. If you knew how to fake attention, you wouldn't have to say a word.

[Tyler Night]

"Well I am 30 now so about 8 years experience with this." he just answers the womans question, not pressing the issue at the time, knowing if she wished to open up she would. Hearing a ding of the door he looks up seeing a guy walk in with an all in one pc under his arm as well as a cordless keyboard and mouse, the guy walks back to the dj booth and begins setting up the pc getting it ready for djing. He looks at the clock behind the bar, it reads 9:40, he nods again. "If you need something to occupy your time and mind, we are gonna have a dj playing in about 20 minutes time, I have to finish some drinks and get ready for the 10 o'clock rush. If you feel like having a few more drinks but are on something of a budget we will have jello shots for a dollar all night." He stands up and heads back to the bar.

[Mistress Dizzy]

"Thank you." Kijani said, with a faint smile. Dancing sounded good. She always felt the most free with music and movement. Jello shots sounded decent too, but she'd hold off on those. Maybe when she had a place to rest and wake up in the morning, she'd return the next night and enjoy a good drink. "Before you go... What's your name?" He had been kind to her. Sure, he could have been playing her for more tips, but even so, it was appreciated.

[Tyler Night]

He stops and looks back at her. "Name is Taylor but most people call me Tiptop cuz I have a pension for doing heavy pours." He turns to head to the back but stops again. "I am gonna be a bit if you want to put in a suggestion for jello shots just come up to the bar, we have 10 pounds of jello mix, we will have no shortage of flavors we can make." He heads into the back of the bar and goes to work mixing up gallons of jello shots. The DJ starts playing music, first song being keep it redneck by the LACs.