Turbulence

“Alright, I’ll talk to you later, Mom. You and Dad have fun. I’ll see you in November for Davina’s wedding. Love you too.” I hung up my phone as I unlocked the back door to my bar.

I had opened the bar almost four years ago after I had helped a friend of my dad’s open a sports bar in New York. The day that the doors to his bar opened, I knew that owning a place where people could watch sports and have a good time was what I was destined to do. Dad had given me an extremely handsome cheque to get me started, but I was pretty certain that I still had quite a bit of that cheque still in the bank. I had tried my hardest not to use his money, that way I had something to fall back on if something went wrong, but so far everything had been great.

Reaching out, I flipped the light switches, bringing the bar area to life. I had some inventory to do before we opened at eleven. Glancing at the clock, I noticed that it was a little after ten thirty. Kendra, one of my waitresses, was bound to show up five minutes before eleven. She always did. I never minded. It was easier for me to do inventory if there was no one around to get in my way.

I worked extra hard to finish my counts before Kendra arrived and managed to get most of the tables and chairs washed as she entered the building.

“Hiya Boss!” She sent me a grin as she headed to the back room. “Think it’ll be busy for lunch?”

“Not likely, but then again it is a Saturday and those can be unpredictable.”

“Especially with the Hawks back in town,” Kendra added. She left the seating area, but was back in no time, tying an apron around her waist. “How’s your friend, Jon?”

“Probably busy training,” I shrugged, wiping off the last table. I looked at the clock. Right on time. “Do you mind unlocking the door? I have to get the bar set up for when Steve arrives.”

“Yea, no problem,” Kendra nodded, heading to the door. “Who’s cooking today?”

“That would be me,” I told her as I set the bottles in the spots that Steve liked them.

“Oh, then what time is Steve getting here?”

“He called me and said he was going to be late. His girlfriend was in the hospital last night and he wasn’t sure how soon he could get away.”

“So, you’re manning the bar and cooking?”

“It won’t be too bad. Sam and Ester are getting in at twelve thirty and Tala will be here around noon. We won’t be alone for long.”

“You’ve got that right,” Kendra said, pointing out the window at the small group of people walking toward the door.

I watched as she approached the group, menus in hand. She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder, telling me that the man she was talking to was trying to flirt. I noticed her point my way and the group look in my direction. I gave them a little wave and a smile before busying myself with the bottles once more.

“They were telling me about how much they like that you opened a sports bar,” Kendra said, handing me a slip of paper with a number on it. “It’s from the guy with blonde hair.”

I looked over at the table again, this time taking a few moments to study the people sitting there. There were three men and two women. Two of the men looked like twins. The both had short red hair and facial hair. They were well built and seemed to have some muscle on them. The other man was also built with some muscle, but had dirty blonde hair and a younger looking face. The two women were beautiful. One had shoulder length dirty blonde hair and the other had long blonde hair.

“Did they order anything?” I asked, turning to look at Kendra, who was still standing at the bar.

“Not yet, they said something about looking over the menu, but they had heard that the potato bacon soup and the chicken club sandwiches here were to die for.”

I nodded and continued with the bottles. “No drinks?”

“Not alcohol. They asked for water, but I figured I’d take it over when I go to ask if they were ready to order.”

I nodded again and poured five glasses of water. “Let me know if I need to make any drinks, okay? I’m going to go do some prep work in the kitchen.”

Kendra smiled and put the glasses on a tray. “I’ll be back soon, Boss.”

I watched her walk back to the table before heading into the kitchen. I got to work cooking some bacon and put a rather large pot on the stove. I poured one of the containers of potato soup into the pot and flipped the bacon over.

“Boss, they placed their order,” Kendra said from the doorway to the kitchen. “And the blonde haired man wants you to bring it out to them.”

I rolled my eyes and stirred the soup. “What did they order?”

“Five potato bacon soups and five chicken clubs, no fries and light on the mayo.”

“I can do that,” I said, pulling out five ciabatta buns. I placed enough chicken for the five sandwiches in a frying pan and started cutting the buns as Kendra left to take care of the front room. I brushed them with a lemon mustard sauce and spread a small amount of mayo onto one half of each bun. Next was the lettuce and tomato. Two leafs of lettuce and three slices of tomato were placed on the bottom half of each bun. As the bacon finished, I removed each piece and placed it in a plate filled with paper towel. I dabbed the grease off the meat before checking the chicken. Seeing that it was ready as well, I removed it from the pan and placed it on top of the tomatoes. I laid two slices of Swiss cheese on top of each amount of chicken before finishing the sandwiches off with two slices of bacon. I placed each sandwich in a plate and cut them in half. Then I quickly poured five bowls of soup, just in time for Kendra to return to the kitchen.

“Are you finished already?” It was obvious she was surprised.

“I sure am, are you ready to help me carry them out?”

Kendra nodded her head and grabbed the tray of soup and one sandwich. “The blonde one seems really nice.”

“Do not try to set me up,” I warned, grabbing the last four plates and leading the way back into the bar .They look familiar, but why? I smiled to the customers as I gently put a plate in front of each of them followed by a bowl of soup. “I hope you enjoy your meal.”

“This lovely waitress said you were the owner,” one of the men with red hair said as the woman beside him took a bite of her soup. He had an accent that I knew was from Sweden.

“I am,” I nodded, ready to turn away and get back to work.

“You seem awfully young to own a bar,” the other red haired man commented, earning an elbow from the other woman. He also had a Swedish accent.

“I’m not as young as you think,” I told him. By now I knew that Kendra had left me to talk to the customers.

“I’d say twenty-two at the most,” the blonde haired man chipped in. He, however, did not have an accent.

“I’m twenty-five, I’ll have you all know,” I said proudly. “I hate to do this, mostly because I hate when people do this, but are you two from Sweden?”

The two men laughed and nodded. “These are our wives, also from Sweden.”

“I noticed the accent and just had to ask,” I explained.

“Have you ever been?” One of them asked.

“To Sweden? No, but my parents have and they say it’s beautiful.”

“I keep telling her to take a few weeks off and come with me, but she always declines,” a voice said from behind me.

I turned around to find three men standing there smiling. “Thanks, Niklas, and now I’m never going to accept.”

Niklas sent me a smile before looking at the table. “How are you?”

“Ready for tonight’s game,” one of the red haired men said. “You’re going down.”

“Bara i dina vildaste drömmar (only in your wildest dreams),” Niklas countered.

I looked over at Jonathan, who shrugged, not understanding Swedish.

“Je ne sais pas,” he said, patting my shoulder.

“Ceb, these are the Sedin brothers,” Niklas explained. “And this is Kellan Tochkin. They all play for-”

“The Vancouver Canucks,” I finished. “Of course, that’s why you looked so familiar.”

“Are you a Canucks fan?” Kellan asked before taking a bit from his sandwich.

Jonathan started laughing beside me as I shook my head. “Unfortunately for you three, I’m not.”

“You’re a Hawks fan, aren’t you?” Kellan guessed.

Jonathan started laughing more as I shook my head. “Not in a million years.”

“Please tell me you are not a Toronto fan.”

“Definitely not a Leafs fan. Do you want to keep guessing? You’ve only got twenty seven more to go.”

“You might as well just tell us,” Kellan surrendered.

“Canadiens fan and a Rangers fan, all the way, but Canadiens always come first.”

“Are you from Canada?” Kellan asked. “Or did you convert?”

“100% Canadian,” I smiled. “Look, I hate to be rude, but I should probably get back to work. If you need anything else, just holler.” The table nodded as I walked back to the bar. I slid behind the counter and started stocking the shelves with the extra alcohol.

“What’s up, Carey?”

I looked over my shoulder at the source of the voice. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just asked what was up,” the man defended, raising his hands.

“You did, but you asked it in a way that made me feel like I had a problem.”

“Sorry, Carey, I just wanted to make sure you were alright after talking yesterday morning.”

“I’m alright, Jonathan. I do have a question for you though.”

“What is it?” Jonathan asked, sitting on one of the bar stools.

“I was just wondering, um,” I paused and glanced around the bar. Leaning across the bar toward Jonathan, I lowered my voice as I continued. “How is Cameron? You know, since I have made it over in a couple of days.”

“Cam’s good,” Jonathan told me quietly. “He’s been a curious little guy. Trina says that he’s into everything. She’s afraid he’s going to get himself stuck or electrocuted.”

“What?” I asked, nearly dropping a glass I had been shining.

“Don’t worry, Carey, she’s taken all the precautions to make sure none of that happens. My brother and Trina are taking great care of Cam. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I wish I could be with him all of the time.”

“You’ll be able to, Carey, soon enough.”