“Sorry.” I flushed. “Just taking in the space.”
“And? How did it rate for you?” Graham asked, sliding the form across the bar to me.
“It feels good in here,” I answered honestly, taking the pen he handed me. “A place for community.”
“That’s why I’ve always loved owning it,” Graham admitted. “It can be a home away from home.”
“Which is exactly what I’m looking for,” I blurted out, and flushed again when Graham raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry, I just meant, you know, in work. I like working at places that actually care about their clientele, their product, and the space they create.”
“I can’t offer more than minimum wage, at the moment, I’m afraid.”
“That’s fine, I’m happy to have the work.”
“You’ll get some tips, depending on whether tourists come through. Those are yours to keep. The weekend shifts are long, if you get here before lunch to help set up. Food’s done around nine at night, so that’ll be about ten to twelve hours a shift. You reckon you’re up for that?”
“No problem. I’ve got a good pair of trainers. They’ll suit long days on my feet.” I beamed up at him, doing a quick mentalcalculation. Three shifts a week at minimum wage should be just enough to cover rent and groceries for the month. It wouldn’t leave much extra for literally anything else, but I knew how to work with a lean budget. I could walk to work, I had enough clothes, and I was excellent at making dried beans and lentils stretch into many meals.
“Your meals are covered while you’re working. Lunch and dinner,” Graham added, seeming to read my mind as I filled in my information on the form.
“Oh really? That’s generous of you.” I amended my mental calculation for my food budget. “I promise not to eat you out of the pub.”
“Are you staying with Zara then? Or do you need a line on a place to rent?” Graham asked, and I froze. This was the first real test of my new “fake” dating situation I’d set out for Torin and me, and I needed to just pull the plaster off fast and get on with it.
“I’m staying at Torin’s actually,” I said, realizing it would be weird if I said I was renting from Torin, but also his supposed girlfriend. Though couples split rent, didn’t they? I wouldn’t know, I’d never moved in with a boyfriend before, but my thoughts were scrambling too fast to come up with the best answer in this moment other than to say that I was staying at his house. It answered the question without elaborating too much.
“Torin’s?” Graham’s eyes sharpened, and my spirits fell. It wasn’t likely that Graham would have forgotten. Not when it had been the hot gossip for a while. “I haven’t seen him in a while. How’s he getting on?”
“Oh, um, he’s grand.” I blew out a small sigh of relief that it seemed that Graham was going to give me some grace and not poke too much into my personal life.
“Tell him I said hello, would you? And bring him in for a pint sometime. He’s a nice lad.”
“Aye, he is.” That much was the truth at least. I quickly finished filling out the form and passed it back over to Graham. He took his time reading it over, nodding once or twice, and then looked up at me over the paper.
“I’ll get this sorted and add you to payroll. See you Friday at half ten in the morning.”
“Thank you, Graham.” I hopped up and held my hand out. He shook it, his grip confident, and I smiled, relieved that something was going well in my life. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“Nae bother, hen. I could use some help around here. I’ve just been stubborn about adding anyone else on. You popped in at a good time. The holidays always pick up a bit.”
“Great. Really looking forward to it. I’ll see you on Friday.” Waving goodbye, I almost ran from the pub before he could change his mind.
Thank you, new moon. I nodded my head to the sky, sending up a quick thanks, and then hustled down the street to see if I could poke my head into the vet’s and tell Zara my good news. If it wasn’t too busy, that was.
Rounding the corner of where the main street met the loch, I stopped in front of the vet’s office. With a wide front window that looked into the practice, I could see Zara at her desk, Mitch laying on his dog bed in front of the counter. The waiting room appeared empty, so I decided to pop in.
A bell sounded my arrival, and Zara immediately stopped talking into the recorder she held in her hand. She had many tools to transcribe her voice into text, and I assumed this one would help with her notes on charts. Mitch popped his head up, and his tail wagged when he spied me.
“It’s me, Zara,” I said, before she could speak. “Can I greet Mitch?”
“Aye, he’s off work.”
“Hey, boy,” I said, and Mitch jumped up and ran over to me, his butt wiggling as I rubbed my hands through his shaggy fur. Thinking about Bracken, I decided to see if I could talk to him. “Can you say hi back? Speak?”
Mitch barked, but nothing came into my mind.
Hmm, maybe I could only just hear Bracken then.
“I come to you with good news,” I said, glancing around the office. It was clean, but with warm touches like a vase with flowers on the waiting room table.