Page 96 of As the Years Pass

“Uh, sure.”

He grins and I wonder if I’m stepping into trouble. He comes back a moment later with a drink that’s, and I should have known, green.

“What is this?” I pick up the cup to inspect it.

“Just a green tea shot with green soda water.”

“Green soda water?”

He shrugs. “Food coloring.”

There isn’t an open seat at the bar, so I walk over to watch the challenge. The final guy on the right side is working on flipping his cup, while the second to last guy on the other side is struggling with his. None of them look overly intoxicated, and I know Emmet put strict rules in place for this. Like if they’re participating, they can’t have any other shots served to them for the night, and they can only do one challenge round. I’m also pretty sure there isn’t a lot of alcohol in those “shots.” It’s more about fun and competition.

“We have a winner!” Emmet shouts over the cheering of the team on the right, who won. “Congrats, guys. Okay, we’re going to take a break from this. Next challenge is in an hour.”

The guys who won walk over to the bar, patting each other on the back and grinning, to receive their prize. It looks like a gift card, probably for the bar. The losing players disperse, but they don’t leave the bar, which is great.

“Hey,” I say, bumping Emmet with my shoulder.

His eyes light up when he sees me. “Hey.”

He looks as if he wants to lean in and kiss me, but thinks better of it, so I do it for him. I kiss him, lingering for just a moment too long.

“I missed you,” I whisper against his lips.

“I missed you too.”

“Can I help?”

“Sure.”

We grab the empty cups and toss them in the trash, and I get a towel to wipe up the table. We move it against the wall, but will bring it back out for the next challenge.

“Looks like a good turn out.”

“This whole weekend has been amazing,” Emmet says excitedly.

“Hey, Emmet! We got some food orders coming in,” Pete calls out.

“Be right back.”

“Can I help?” I ask.

He takes a few backwards steps, looking from me to Pete. “Yeah, help him get drinks.”

I look behind the bar, never having served a person in my life. I don’t know how to make drinks, but I can get beers and pop caps off. The place is busy and I know Emmet hasn’t been able to hire anyone yet, and I do want to help. So, I head behind the bar. I’ll figure it out.

“Who is getting just beer?” I ask loudly. A few people raise their hands, so I start one end and ask what kind, get them their beers, and take their money. Thankfully, everyone I manage hascash, and I don’t have to worry about using the machine. Pete can put this all in when there is a free moment to do so.

When it dies down, I say, “If you want to show me how to use this thing, I can add the money in.”

Pete chuckles. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Do you know how many beers you sold?”

“Uh…” I look down at the cash and think back to all the people I’d served. “Fourteen.”

Pete puts it into the register, then puts the cash in, taking out what’s left over for tips. He hands it to me. “No, I don’t want that. It’s yours.”

“You served them.”