“I’m sorry, but do you happen to know who this box is for?” I smile very sweetly.
“No,” he replies without a hint of warmth.
“It would be wonderful to thank the person who purchased such a substantial amount from me.”
He fetches the label, peels the sticker, and slaps it on. Before I have a chance to see what the white rectangle says, he transfers the box to a back counter; farther than any pair of human eyes could possibly make out.
“No,” he replies again, before returning to the task of folding and forming cardboard boxes.
I mirror the man’s position on the opposite side of the counter. “Please.”
He shakes his head and gives a slight eye roll. “No. We mail drop for customer. Forward to new place. Customer no pick up here.”
I understand what he meant now. He simply didn’t have the information. The new address would be another courier service.
“Oh. Okay. Well, thank you anyhow,” I reply.
The steadfast shop owner has no idea who this client is. The underhanded business most likely doesn’t cater to the average Joe. Who would need that level of anonymity? I doubt the man would even tell me if he did know.
Before The Black Sheep opens, Brittany and I use step ladders to hang spider webs from the pendulum lights above the bar. We pull them across and down, stretching them to the beer taps below. The new girls, Leslie and Maya, work on covering the wall sconces in off-white gauzy fabric, making the already dimlylit atmosphere increasingly darker. We work together to set up life-sized skeletons at the end of the bar, complete with top hats and copper mugs in hand. The place looks qualified to host the annual Halloween Bar Bash. I have a fondness for the holiday. Looking forward to everyone’s creative costumes and eating enough candy to make myself ill the following day. This year, I have my costume ready on time. No need to pull an all-nighter with my sewing machine.
I was so caught up drawing a cauldron on the chalkboard, I didn’t realize Eamon and Connor had arrived until they both came out of the backroom. Eamon stumbled just past the threshold. Appearing more like a newborn giraffe than his usual poised self. Was he… drunk? I mean, he did own a bar. It wasn’t foreign to see a whiskey in his hands. Even if he went fromMr. NeattoIt’s Eamon actually, I’ve never actually seen him inebriated.
Connor went out the front door, mumbling about the impossible task of finding candy the day before Halloween. I was relieved to see Eamon made it to a chair, plopping down next to the skeletons at the high counter.
“Whiskey!” He slaps the countertop.
The girls and I must all be thinking the same thing. Looking between one another, no one makes a move to serve our already drunk boss.
“Alright then.” He does a lazy sweep of the room before he leans forward, extending his body across the bar and grabs the first bottle available. It wasn’t his usual top shelf whiskey, but he didn’t seem to mind.
I steal glances as I finish writing the specials on the board.
Eamon tips the bottle back, not bothering with a glass. His gaze bounces around the room, looking at nothing and no one in particular. There were no two ways about it; he was blitzedand at the rate he was going, he would need a lift home, a cold shower, and a good night’s rest.
I try to mind my own business as my boss drains the cheap spirits, but he wasn’t just my boss anymore. Over the past few weeks, I’ve come to know him on a deeper level.
Brittany appears beside me, “should we text Connor to get back here?”
I shake my head, not wanting to undermine Eamon.
“Cindel!” Eamon beckons me over to him, pulling out the stool to his side when I arrive. “Did you enjoy yourself last night?” Leaning back slightly to face me. He can’t seem to focus on any one place for long.
“Yes. I did. Thank you for taking me out.” I smooth my skirt down, unsure how to phrase the next words.
The glass container is nearly empty at this point; he totters the bottle from side to side on its base. “Did you know… I knew your brother, Theo.”
What? He never mentioned anything before. We’ve been on two dates; I’ve brought Theo up a number of times and now is when he tells me this?
“What…?” I finally voice. “How did you know him?”
His eyes are glassy. Truely, it was a wonder Eamon can even sit up straight.
“Remember at the diner, I told you about not even having a choice in my major? Well… I went to Boston College.”
I finally take the seat next to him, feeling like my knees may buckle over this news.
“You… met my brother at college?”
