Neon

“Jade! Grab that crate of glasses and get to work!”

“Ben is out there. I’m on my break, Jim,” she hollered back before taking a sip of her water.

“It’s Friday night. Get back out there before there’s a riot!”

“Yeah, because heaven forbid they go two seconds without a drink,” Jade muttered to herself.

She sighed and fixed her ponytail, her long black hair flowing over her shoulder as she tied it up.

As she picked up the crate and carried it out to the bar and continued with her night of making drinks, she wished she didn’t have to work tonight.

As things began to slow down, she grabbed a rag and began wiping down the bar, enjoying the quiet before groaning as a group of sloppy guys walked in.

This was clearly not their first stop.

“Heeeey!” one of them hollered toward the bar.

Jade gave a tight smile. “Hey, what can I get you?”

“Oh, there’s lots of things you can get me, babe,” he winked, leaning over onto the bar.

“I bet…” she muttered. “What drink can I get you?”

“Beers for all of us,” he yelled, earning a chorus of cheers from his group of friends sitting in the corner.

“Okay,” she replied with her fake customer service smile, taking the card from his hand and swiping it on the machine before hearing an angry beep.

She turned back to the man and set the card on the bar. “Sorry, it says declined.”

“Just give me my beers,” he grumbled.

“No money, no beer,” she shot back.

“What the hell is your problem?” he shouted, his drunkenness making his anger rise.

“Absolutely nothing, sir,” she smiled. “I’ll be happy to get you a drink as soon as you pay for one.”

“What’s going on here?” her manager, Jim, asked as he walked up to Jade.

“Your bartender won’t serve us any drinks!” the man replied loudly, earning the attention of the room.

Jade turned to her manager with an annoyed stare. “His card was declined. I told him I’d be more than happy to serve him once he paid.”

Jim turned back to the man, shaking his head. “What kind of place do you think I’m running? This isn’t a charity, asshole. Pay for your drinks like everyone else here or get out.”

Jade smiled. Jim wasn’t the best boss ever, but he always stood up for his people. Especially when it came to money.

The man grumbled under his breath before pulling some cash from his pocket. Jade took it from him with a smug grin. “Thank you, sir. Six drinks coming right up.”

“What…where’s my change?”

“Oh, I’m sure you just told me to put the rest of that cash in the tip jar. As an apology for all of the trouble, right?”

The man opened his mouth to try and argue before shutting it and walking away.

Jade turned to get his drinks, a smile on her face.

She gave them their drinks and returned to the bar. She walked to the end where an old man had been sitting all night, slowly nursing his drink.

“Can I get you another?” she asked, staring down at the tiny amount of whiskey left in his glass.

He looked up at her with a smile before nodding toward the group of men. “Real pieces of work, huh?”

“There’s always a few every night,” she shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

“You seemed to handle yourself pretty well.”

“Eh. Like I said, I’m used to it,” she replied with a smile, taking his glass.

“I’ll do one more,” he replied, offering some cash.

“Don’t worry about it,” she responded, waving her hand at him. “Those guys just bought your drink for you.”

The man chuckled lightly. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I’d give drinks out to everyone if they were all like you,” she replied with a wink.

He reached over the bar, extending his hand to her. “I’m Davis.”

“Jade,” she replied, shaking his hand gently.

“Nice to meet you, Jade,” he grinned, his face wrinkling as he smiled up at her. He was older, maybe in his late seventies.

His gray hair was styled nicely, and he was wearing what she could tell he was an expensive suit. She saw those often around here.

Businessmen would come in every night from the skyscrapers across the street to blow off steam and get some drinks.

But they were always snobbish and acted as if they owned the place. Davis was nice in a grandfatherly sort of way.

“Nice to meet you too, Davis,” she replied. “Do you work around here or are you one of the ones who just wandered in?”

“A little of both,” he said, nodding as he spoke. “I don’t put in as much time as I used to, but I had to go into the office today. Always saw this place across the street but never came in.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” she said, placing his drink on the bar in front of him.

“Me too,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink. “Do you work here every day?”

“Yep, every day. I usually work the closing shift, but tomorrow I’m working in the afternoon,” she answered as she wiped down the bar.

“You going to come visit me again?” she teased.

“Perhaps,” he said, taking another sip. “I’ll probably have to work again tomorrow, clean up the mess he…” Davis trailed off as irritation grew in his eyes. “Anyway, we’ll see.”

Jade almost asked him about his work before hearing someone calling her from the other end of the bar.

“Excuse me…” she muttered before walking to the other customer.

When she returned, she frowned as she looked at his empty seat. She picked up his glass and the hundred-dollar bill beneath it.

She stared at the exceptionally generous tip with surprise before looking up to argue with him, only to catch one last glance of him as he passed the large front window before disappearing.

She smiled at his kindness before putting the bill in her pocket and going on with her night.