Passenger

My lips were already chapped.
My headphones were tucked carefully into my ears, Lisa Hannigan playing loudly, as I drowned out the sound of the arriving tourist ferries, the squawking of the seagulls... Rats of the sky, was how Annie referred to them.

I sighed as I braked the baby green bike at the street across from the restaurant. I glanced behind me, so used to seeing Annie wheeling her way a few feet behind me, either screaming at me to slow down, or to wait for her.

Today, it was just me.
After last weeks treatment, she hadn’t been feeling like herself- she didn’t even want to go to the Aquatics Center.

I waved at the elderly woman in the shiny Prius, as she stopped and let me cross.
Today it was just me and it felt strange.

Lisa had called me the previous night, stating that ‘She and Michael weren’t going to work out’ and if I wanted to ‘I could give him a try’. The way she said it was almost like a dare.

Lisa has been a competitive person for as long as I’ve known her- seventeen years. Even when she was ten, she would know exactly what she wanted, would point it out and no one could touch it. She was oblivious at times- and she never could decipher bad attention from the good kind.

“Afternoon Karren.”

I smiled at my boss, the Manager and Owner of the B&O American Brasserie, Thomas Dunklin.

I walked around the podium and leaned against him with an exaggerated yawn, and glanced down at the reservations for tonight, in his velvet booklet.

“Packed night?”

Thomas nodded and scratched his balding head, “How’s Annie?”

I swallowed, and glanced at him, “She reacted badly to the new treatment, so she’s staying with our Grandmother.”

Tom glanced up at me from his book and sighed, “She’s probably coming to terms with it.”

I nodded and stretched my arms back, intertwining my fingers, “Yeah, I guess. Never expected her to actually do it.”

The doors opened at exactly five, and patrons with no reservations went directly to the podium, while those who arrived for happy hour and small meal portions came to me at the bar.

My hair was braided to the side, and my arms leaning against the counter. I a black and beige colored sleeved dress, with an apron around my waist and a pair of flats, my boots and tights in the backroom.

I smiled as a middle aged couple approached the bar and took a seat two seats away from being directly in front of me, and I quickly handed them two menus, a drink menu and a food one.

They ordered a glass of the house white wine and a glass of Guinness from the tap. I turned away from them and stared out the window that exposed the wharf below. The sun was setting, beautifully over the waters edge, and I smiled as I saw the other restaurants begin to get crowded with the Dinner rush.

“Here you are.” I smiled at the couple, who thanked me and said they were going to go grab one of the smaller tables, and asked me to send a waiter to them so they could order food.

I was in the middle of talking with four guys from California, talking about how I got the job etc- flirting, basically, before my name was screamed from the front entrance, and in came Lisa. Thomas gave me an annoyed look from the back of the restaurant as he talked to a customer, but stayed put. I never did anything wrong, apart from tell Lisa where I worked.

“Excuse me.” I said, slightly disappointed as she approached the bar, and the gaze of the young men left me and focused on my blonde friend who was dressed in a short dress and tights.

“What’s up?” I asked her with an exasperated expression, trying to show her she was bugging me, but as always she was oblivious.

“I have a date.” she smiled, “And... I need your bike.”

“What?” I asked her, with wide eyes.

“I need to borrow your bike. Please, me and the guy are supposed to go night riding, on the promenade!” she whined, “I’ll owe you big time, I promise.”

“That’s my only way home, Lis.” I stated flatly, ignoring her for a moment, to help my coworker with the new order of drinks, “Go rent one.”

“You’re being rude.”

I ignored her, as I poured the glasses of wine, quickly made the glass of whiskey with three cubes of ice that were exactly the same, and put them on the tray and handed them to the waitress.

“I’m not being rude.” I snapped at her.

She frowned at me, and I made the same face, “Please, Kazz. Please I really like this guy.”

I tutted under my breath, as she stared at me with wide pleading eyes, and quickly rolled my own, and tug through my skirt pocket, hating myself for giving in so easily, and gave her the keys to the lock on my bike.

“You total it, or get it stollen, you owe me, so much.” I warned her before I dropped my keys into her hand.

“Thanks Birdy!” she squeals, and quickly bolts away from the bar.

My heart flutters, some what as one of the guys I had been talking to approached me, with a smile and a folded napkin- which I know has his number on it.
But, as they walk away, the napkin burns in my hands, and his words make my eyes twitch.
‘Could you give this to your blonde friend?’

I grumbled around the back of the bar, making the drinks, and thanking people for the tips, when they praised their beverages.
As I went on break, I grabbed my coat from the back room, and made my way towards the front of the restaurant, cell phone in hand, as I made my way down the corner and took a seat at the tables outside of Starbucks.

I crossed my legs, the cold hitting the skin on my feet exposed by the flats, I bundled my self up in my long coat, and pressed the dial on my phone as I phoned my Grandmother.

“Ruth residence.” she answered on the third ring.

“Hey, Gran it’s me.” I yawned.

“Hello sweet-heart. How’s work?”

“So far so good, I get off in four hours, but I might be a little later. I’m going to take the bus home, I leant my bike to Lisa.”

Gran chuckled, “You’re too sweet honey bee.”

I rolled my eyes and moved my phone to my other ear, “How’s Annie?”

“She just fell asleep, we watched a few movies, and had dinner. She’s pretty tired.” Gran replied sadly and I could imagine her scratching her chin, “We have to get her to swimming, it will do her good.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” I sighed, “I better get go. Call me if you need anything, okay?” I urged.

“I will Karren, see you soon.”

I spent the rest of my break at the Starbucks table. Flipping through photos on my phone, smiling at the ones of Lisa, Annie and I at the National Aquarium last year. Annie still had some baby fat in her cheeks and she didn’t look so thin. She loved the Aquarium, we had to go again- before...

I sniffed, and closed eyes and leaned my arms against the medal table covering my eyes with the base of my hands as my face and eyes grew warm.

“Karren?”

I jumped and quickly and wiped my eyes as the deep and awkward and familiar voice, met my ears, and glanced up quickly, knowing my face looked disastrous as Michael Phelps stood a foot away from where I was seated looking concerned.

“Hi... Michael.” I said remaining seated, and glanced behind him, where I saw he was two other guys and two girls.

“Hi.” he smiled, “A-are you okay?”

I blushed and nodded, “Yeah, just some family stuff has got me going crazy.”

“We’ll meet you at the restaurant, Mike.” one of the girls said smiling between the two of us, and pushing the rest of her friends ahead and past us.

He stood awkwardly, until he opened his mouth and took a seat across from me, “Lisa, told me about your sister, that she’s sick.”

I grimaced at him, “Yeah, she was diagnosed with Kidney failure, three years ago.”

Michael’s face twitched in discomfort and sadness as he quickly scratched his head, “I’m sorry, but she seems very active, from when I see her at the pool.”

“Are you there often?” I asked, trying to pull the conversation away from my sister, as I quickly glanced at my phone to check how much time for break I had left.

Michael chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, I just ‘retired’, so I have a lot of free time.”

“You retired from swimming and you’re going to keep swimming?” I smiled blushing as he met my stare, “Sounds like a good plan.”

“It’s relaxing, it’s a completely different environment, puts me in a different place.” he said honestly.

I smiled at his description, “I guess that’s why Annie likes it so much.”

“Probably.” he smiled, “She hasn’t been to class in a while, is- is everything okay?”

I shrugged and scrunched up my face and scratched the back of my neck, “She had a new treatment last week, and she’s not reacting to it so well, she’s not enthusiastic about getting out of the house at the moment.”

Michael nodded, “Annie’s a good kid. She’s determined, if you ever need help with anything, to talk to her, I-I-I’d be more then happy to help.”

I laughed with a genuine smile, my first one, in a very long time, “I think she’d like that, an so would I.”

Michael looked away awkwardly, as he did when he felt unsure, but he smiled kindly, “Sounds like a plan then.”

Back behind the bar, my mind wandered to Michael, who had disappeared from the Starbucks table a while before I did, to catch up with his friends.

He was sweet, genuine, and interested. From our conversation, he never feigned interest, he always listened and then had something to contribute to the speakers benefit. I don’t see why Lisa didn’t like him, he’s a kind person. Something that was difficult to find, something rare.

“Hey, Kazz.”

I glanced up from making a mojito, just as my coworker Beth came towards me, pale, and a pained look on her face, as she passed me her order pamphlet.

“What’s up, are you okay?” I asked with a frown.

“I feel like I’m about to have a baby, my cramps are killing me.” she groaned softly, as to not frighten away customers, “Can you cover my drink section for ten minutes, I need to run to Wallgreens.”

I nodded quickly, “Yeah I’ll do it. I’ll have Thomas cover the bar. Eat something before you take it.”

“Will do, thanks a bunch Kazz.”

I made my way around the bar, signaling Thomas from the podium as he talked to the assistant manager and nodded at me, as I took Beth’s note pad, and walked to the only table that hadn’t ordered their meals yet.

I counted the tables in my head as I reached it, I pulled a pen from my pad, glancing at Thomas as he walked to the bar, before I stopped short at the group I was helping.

“Well hello again.” I smiled as Michael grinned at me.

The group he was sitting with were all very fit. All three of the young men, were toned, their shirts hugging their chests, and all were exceedingly tall. The two girls that were sitting with them, were seemingly in the same shape, but for a woman.

“Beth had to step out for a few minutes, so I’ll be helping you guys for a while.” I smiled, blushing under Michael’s stare, and I watched the group study us curiously with knowing and unfamiliar stares.

❊

I wiped the bar counter, lifting the back of my hand to my mouth to cover a yawn. I shook my head, and smiled as my co workers went around the restaurant listening to the music coming from the speakers. Now the the place was closed, Thomas gave us all permission to play the music we wanted as loud as we wanted.

I laughed loudly as Avery, Beth’s brother and my fellow co worker, turned up ‘Whistle’ by Flo Rider. The beginning instrumental of the song was cute, but the actual lyrics made me laugh.

“Nice song voice Avery.” Thomas said from the back table as he went through the nights receipts, and began splitting the tips by name, as Avery walked by the bar counter winking at me as he sung loudly.

“You’re ridiculous,” I laughed as I stopped cleaning for a moment and pulled down my hair causing Avery, and Scott to whistle.

“Whoa, Kazz is letting loose!”

I rolled my eyes and hopped around the counter and pushed Avery away as I made my way towards the lap top that was connected to the speakers, and fought over him to find my favorite Calvin Harris song. And just as the opening lyrics started to ring through the restaurant Beth and I began singing along loudly and jumping around.

“And these are the girls who get the most tips.” Thomas laughed as he walked passed me and handed me my envelope with my pay check and tips.

“It’s ‘cause they have the best personality.” Avery chuckled as I walked back behind the counter, swaying my body to the music, happy to have my hair down and messy.

“That’s definitely it- Oh, sorry sir, were closed.” Beth said, stopping her dancing to glance at the door that just opened, just like I did. Except her face held a frown and mine was blushing red.

“Hey,” I said loudly over the music, as Michael walked through the door, and walked back across the bar towards him.

“Hi.” he said as I walked up to him, craining my neck just a bit, so I could take in his tall frame, “So, I don’t do this often, and I’m probably out of habit, since I have the weirdest social skills.”

I laughed and chewed lightly on my bottom lip, “That’s okay.”

“Do you want to go grab ice cream?” he asked boldly, with a crooked smile, that made my blush, “And I could take you home after, if you’d like.”

I hadn’t been asked out, even for just ice cream in a very long time.
But Michael was different. Different was good.
Different, was very nice.