"I will as soon as I wake up." As if I don't talk to her almost daily.
"Love you. Be careful on your way home."
"Love you, too, Mom." Before she has a chance to say anything else, I press the end button.
She'll keep me on the phone for hours without saying anything of importance. I get it. It wasn't that long ago that I moved out of her house. She's used to having me around, and this is her way of doing that.
Shoving the phone in my pocket, I head toward the door. There's a group of people blocking it, and I have to maneuver my way through them to open it.
Delilah nods at me as I walk in. "Better hurry before Lisa loses it."
"On it." Lisa is still pretty new to bartending and large crowds overwhelm her. She's so focused on getting the drinks right, that she can't pay attention to all the customers hollering their orders over the music.
"Finally," she throws her hands in the air, "you can't leave me like that back here. I know what I'm doing, but not at the pace you usually serve."
"You're doing great, Lisa," I motion toward the people crowded around the bar, "do you see anyone complaining?"
She shakes her head and continues pouring a beer. "But—"
"But nothing," I start on the customer closest to me, "most of the folks here are regulars, and they know you're still getting the hang of things."
"I guess." She slides the drink across the bar and asks the next customer what they'll have.
We work as fast as we can to get the customer’s drinks. It takes about fifteen minutes, but it's fine because it keeps me busy and less focused on my mom's financial problems. I can't imagine the stress she's feeling, though I was hoping a lot of it would go away when I moved out. One less mouth to feed and all that.
Most would argue it's not my job to help, but I can't do that to her. She's, my mom. Aside from my friends, her and my brother are all I have. Our dad isn't winning any parent of the year awards, and I'll do everything in my power to make sure they are living as comfortably as possible. And for Cameron to do all the things he wants without worrying about how mom is going to pay for it.
The bar is officially closed. One of the perks of working during the week. We close early. Inventory needs to be done before I can leave for the night, though.
Most of the staff is gone. Delilah and Lisa are the only people left. The two of them always go above and beyond to help when they are on a shift with me.
Delilah is walking around the bar doing a last-minute check. It makes opening a lot easier, but I hardly work those shifts anymore. Carlos and Angie usually cover those since they both have partners and families.
She makes her way to the bar counter and leans against it. "If that's everything, I think I'm going to head out."
"You're good," I nod toward the door, "go home and get some rest. Be careful, it felt like it was going to storm when I was outside earlier."
"Pfft. I'm always careful." She waves and heads toward the front door. Lisa follows behind her to lock it up.
I scan the shelves to see what we need to restock. The whiskey was flowing tonight and I'll have to check the back room to make sure we have plenty for the upcoming weekend. The live music means we go through more alcohol than we used to.
Grabbing a pen and notepad off the countertop, I make a note of the liquor we'll need to restock. It probably wouldn't hurt to order more syrups as well. But I'd rather do this than dwell on the thought of my mom getting another job to support my brother.
"Is everything okay?" Lisa rounds the bar before checking the coolers. "You look like you're deep in thought."
"I'm good. Just making lists."
"Nice try, buddy. Can't bullshit a bullshitter." She closes the cooler and leans against it, waiting for me to say something.
She's not wrong. She's also probably the only person I'd consider talking to about everything going on. When we were roommates, we quickly became best friends. It's not her problem, though.
"Just some stuff with my mom."
"Want to talk about it?" She moves and looks through the stock on her side of the bar. Being still is not something she does often.
Shaking my head, even though she can't see me, I mumble, "not really."
"I'm here if you need anything." She will be, too.
