Say Hello to the Ground

“Yea,” He agreed, running the tip of his tongue across the inside of his lower lip, “It hasn’t been mine either, and frankly, I’m tired of hearing all this pseudo-positivity from others.” He admitted with a heavy huff feeling somewhat relieved that she wasn’t going to be one of them since she was going through a rough time too. Maybe not to the same extent but it was something. “Be grateful you have an escape. In my case, work is nothing but a reminder, so-” He paused as he tapped his fingers against the glass, “I’m basically screwed.” He mumbled a bit quickly, raising the glass back to his lips.

Serena snorted. “There is not a lot of positivity from me right now. I try to be for the customers here but I just can’t with anyone else. It hurts.”  She poured herself more tequila, filling up Charlie’s glass as well. “Well you can always hang out here with me. Once everything is in full swing I can hide in the office. I have a stash of liquor back there to enjoy. But you would have to play a waiter for a bit.”

 ⊰ ♔ ⊱  — “I know, duh. I’m just… gonna help.” Already dressed and ready to have a wonderful time { as wonderful as she could get for Christmas, which Akira hated }, walked easily towards her sister, shoulders slouched only a little, to act as if she was still upset. “The star is crooked on the tree over there,” she pointed to the small tree resting on a table.

Serena shook her head. “Akira, this isn’t for us. This is a business that rented the entire place for a huge event. they are paying a decent amount that is going to cover most of my expenses for the next few months, which means everything else will be profit.” She sent an elbow, slightly playfully but slightly seriously at her sister’s side, before sighing softly. “Well fix it. Why are you here anyways? Thought you would be of shopping or something.”

      Setting her jaw, Poppy nodded tersely. “Right. Got it. I’ll just go somewhere else. I wasn’t really looking for a drink. I just need a quiet corner to sit in and not be bothered.”

“Well it will be quiet for another three hours, then it won’t be. Big business Christmas party that is going to pay most of my bills for the next three months.” Serena set up the warming trays, sighing softly as she went.

      “Right. Thought you’d be just slightly nicer about it, but I can take a hint. Guess I was more curious as to how you were than getting a drink.” After seeing how Serena was at the department, Tally had been curious to see if the woman’s rage would consume her with Violet’s death. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out with the same last names that they were related in some way. Whether from genuine care or sick curiosity, she had simply wanted to know.

Serena used all the strength she could to not break the bottles in her hands and snap at the woman.”There is a lot to do and my staff isn’t here yet to help set up. And it is the first big party of the season. And my first one without Eric breathing down my neck. So sorry that my kindness doesn’t extend to people who can’t read signs right now.” Serena sighed as she gently placed the bottles down and tried to remain calm. “How do you think I am?”

Mira’s eyebrows raised at the noise of the glass shattering as it hit the door, annoyed with the unprofessionalism of the woman on the other side. “Excuse me!” She had already said the phrase at least twice, her voice getting louder each time, but this time the annoyance was evident in it. She hated having to repeat herself. “Look I get you’re going through something right now, but I’m just trying to pay my tab.”

Why would someone be looking for her to settle a tab? They could settle it with any of the staff on the floor right now. And she just wanted to be left alone for the most part. But of course her staff were incompetent when it came to the most basic of tasks. Pushing forward to the door, she unlocked it to look at the woman. “Why do you need an owner to settle a tab? Any fucking staff member can do it. And you can leave me in peace like I want.”

Daniella’s heart raced, but her face was stony. Death was common in her life of work, in fact she caused it more often that it happened around her. But Violet… her precious baby Violet. The one who had started the chain reaction of mothering feelings to come from an otherwise heartless woman… Daniella’s rage was raw and ugly. She wanted Nick dead too. For all she cared, he failed as her husband. Her baby girl, gone. That was unacceptable.

Of course, she swallowed her pride and her rage, and let her mind think tactfully. She had to work this right before those idiot sisters took her tragedy as their good fortune. Though they all knew how she felt, it was still disgusting that they would do exactly as she would. Monopolize.

With a sigh, she arched a brow and looked over as a person approached her. “Be warned,” she began softly, though her tone and posture remained natural and unmoved by disaster. “I am still a mother who has lost a child. I will bite, and bite hard. Tread lightly as you speak with me.”

“Yeah and I lost a sister and my best fucking friend. How do you think I am doing mother.” Serena poured herself a cup of coffee, grabbing the bottle of whiskey and adding a bit to it. If he was going to be in her mother’s company, she was going to need a drink indeed. It wasn’t enough that she could barely function from the hangover, but now she felt as though she was going to break anew.

Grabbing a bag of pork rinds from the cupboard, she turned to face her mother,her cheeks still red and her eyes beyond blood shot. The nights were difficult and hard, not being able to tell Vi about things. Not being able to listen to her sister talk for hours about her and Nick, about the business she was working on. About everything.

“It’s fine. Truly. It’s not as if I planned to stay for absinthe, anyhow.” As much as he tried to give her a smile, he couldn’t, but from the looks of it, she seemed to not be in the highest of moods either. “Mm,” He hummed in agreement as he grabbed the glass of tequila. “To a hell of a week.” He repeated, taking a sip out of it in a heartbeat. Licking his lips, he placed the glass down and looked over at her, watching her lost in thought. “Not your week either, hm?…I’m sorry.” He paused. “For whatever happened.” Even if he didn’t know what it was, life was unfair.

“Nope. Not my week in the least.” Serena downed her tequila and sighed at the relief it brought for the moment. She glanced to her hands that she had painted to hide the nasty scares from her fights this past week. But it wasn’t something Charlie needed to know. “Lets just say I can’t face my family right now without having a screaming match with my mother about things. So work is now my friend. And my escape from home.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” The last thing he wanted was to be a bother to someone he got along with, but he felt as if he were on the verge of a breakdown. A drink would numb it down. “Yea?” A sense of relief washed over him feeling a weight being lifted as he exhaled. “Thank you. I’ll make it up for the trouble…somehow.” Losing the strength in voice already, he sighed. “I don’t know. —Just pour me your strongest drink.”

Serena grabbed two glasses and poured two servings of tequila. “I would offer absinthe, but I am completely out of it. Between customers and myself.” Serena shook her head, putting the bottle back in the rack. “To a hell of a week.” She nudged his glass towards him, looking into the depths of her own. She wanted the numbness and burn that it would bring but it was all she had done the last week. Now she needed to fill her mind with work. 

“I’d rather not. I’ll even pay extra. I don’t care. I only-— I need a drink now. One. Please.” He maintained a calmness to his voice up until the last word he’d emphasized in desperation. He didn’t want to wallow in his sorrows, but there was an impulse he couldn’t ignore. “Please.” He repeated.

“Charlie....” Serena looked to the man who had become her friend, offering a small smile. She put the bottles down before sighing and pouring out a bucket full of water. “I really need to get ready for the party. But I guess I can do one drink. For a friend.”

“Please, you think you’re the first American to come in here and spew on about knowing your rights?” Natasha rolled her eyes, a small smirk pulling at her lips as she stood behind her own chair and observed the woman opposite her. After a moment, she pulled the chair out and sat down, hands folding together perfectly on the table in front of her. “We have reason to believe that your methods of acquiring liquor for your bar is done illegally. Would your mother have anything to do with that? I heard Daniella has made quite a name for herself these days.” Her head tilted, but her smirk never faltered. She knew the allegations were false, but Serena was a Romono and she could hold all the answers. 

“Yeah, when the cops love to falsely accuse American’s of doing nothing but standing around. We will take it into our hands to know it so you can’t fuck us over.” Serena crossed her arms, pissed right off. She had to prepare for a large party coming tonight and instead she was dealing with this lunatic. Nothing was going to be ready, and her staff would be locked out of work. “Oh you think I am illegally gaining liquor? Bull fucking shit bitch. My supplier as been stealing from me since day fucking one. You want someone to charge? Charge him. My bar is mine. Not my mother’s. I bought my share fair and square with my saved money. I bust my ass to ensure that place stays a float.. So until you show me something legit, you can take your false accusations, shove them up your ass and get me my lawyer. Idiotic crazy bitch.”

“The check, please,” he replied with a tight lipped grin and a nod. Truth was, he was here to observe the Romono child, and he did not care that much for the unprofessional waiter, although he did not understand why he had not been fired yet.

“If you hate drunks so much, why become a barmaid? That does not make much sense to me.”

“I am not a barmaid. I am a barkeep. I own this place. And I like the mixology. I don’t really care for people acting like fools or trying to destroy furniture.”