Emily Ochoa was working on a Friday night at a kind-of run down bar that was owned by one of her friends that she met in college. She was dressed in her usual attire which was a white button up shirt and her black skinny jeans. Her blue apron was around her hips, her polishing rag inside with some of it hanging out for easy grab and she had a blue tie on to match the apron. Her platinum blonde hair was up in a bun to keep her hair away from her face. For a Friday night, it was oddly quiet in the bar which meant that the cops were out and about. Her usuals, meaning a lot of mobsters from different organizations, didn't show up. There was a group of girls sitting in the corner of the bar in a booth, all have ordered a beer and were sharing a plate of their famous messy nachos. To her right, there was a man who she has never seen before in her bar but he seemed to be drowning himself in alcohol.
'Maybe I should keep an eye on the girls,' Emily thought, while pulling her rag out of her apron to polish the clean glasses that she got from the kitchen. Since it was a slow night, she wasn't worried about ignoring any customers. The front door opened, the bells ringing to warn her a new person has came inside. Emily turned around to see a man in a red suit and a fedora walking in with a painting underneath his left arm. The fedora man approached the bar and hopped over the counter to crouch, making it look like he was hiding from something. Emily was about to ask what he was doing behind her bar when a man and a couple of cops walked in, looking around frantically. The one who wasn't in the cop uniform was the one that stood out to her the most. He had messy brown hair, a pair of big framed glasses on his face and a trench coat that made him look like he was from a movie in the 70's. The cops walked inside to ask the girls if they have seen anyone while the trench coat man walked inside to head over to Emily personally.
"Have you seen a man in a red suit and a fedora?" the guy asked, handing her a business card. Emily looked down and saw his name was Ayase, proving to her even more that this could be a movie rather than an actual event.
"I have not detective Ayase. I'm sure they're around the area though so go ahead and look around the bar. There is an alleyway next to the bar so you can check that area ," Emily said back, obviously covering the man who was next to her. However, the detective and the cops didn't catch her lie and left. When the Fedora man knew that they wouldn't be coming back, he stood up and took off his fedora to put it on his chest.
"Thank you pretty lady. You covered for me even though I gave you nothing. My name is Baba Mitsunari but you can call me Baba or Micchi," the man in the Fedora said, winking at her. Emily only scoffed and bent down to grab the painting.
"So, you took the museum's new painting? At least you gave people a chance to look at it," Emily said before putting it inside a chest to keep it contained. Baba was about to stop her before Emily grabbed his wrist and pointed to a bar stool.
"Sit. You owe me for lying to the police. Not that I haven't done it before but still," Emily said, pushing him on his back so he can be out from behind her bar. Baba only chuckled and walked through the waist level door that keeps her back there.
"I can't say no to a beautiful woman like yourself," he said, sitting down on the bar stool that she pointed to and placed his hat back on top of his head. Emily only shrugged her shoulders before turning around and picking up a whiskey glass that she recently just polished and filling it up with some sort of ember colored whiskey. When she turned around, she noticed him sitting there and staring at her.
"I'm guessing you're waiting for my name. My name is Emily but you can call me Emi," she said to him, placing down the glass in front of her new customer and then placed a small bowl of nuts in front of him as well, one that hasn't been touched.
"You came at the perfect time. All my usuals aren't here tonight and I'm guessing it's because of you. Why do you need that painting anyways?" Emily questioned him, picking up a new glass to polish it while they chatted.
"That's for me to worry about pretty lady but why would the police bother you usuals?" Baba asked, trying to get the attention off him and his stolen item.
"I'm famous for taking care of mobsters in my bar. If any new come in, I rely on the others to relay the message that there is no fighting in my bar and I won't hesitate to grab them by the ear and drag them out. I'm known as "Momma Mobster" among them so I have protection while I provide them alcohol and keep their secrets. Any other questions about my 'usuals'?" Emily asked, narrowing her eyes at Baba. All he did was smile at her before taking a drink of his whiskey.
"None that I can think of. So, may I ask a little personal question?" Baba asked which threw Emily off a little bit. She glared at him more as he just smiled at her, unaffected by it before she turned her back to him to arrange the glasses.
"Sure. It's probably not as personal as the information that I just told you," Emily retorted back, keeping her back to him but she could feel his gaze on her back which was making her a little bit uncomfortable.
"Just, tell me about yourself. Might as well see if all my personal questions are answered together and if there are some unanswered, then I will ask them directly," Baba said, his voice never changing from the tone it had when she first talked to him. She only turned around to look at him before sighing and turning around to face him fully, leaning against the counter she keeps all her glasses and alcohol.
"I'm 33 years old, a divorced mother of the world cutest boy, i'm actually American but was able to stay here in Japan due to my visa that I got when I married a famous politician who cheated on me," Emily said with a deadpan face, only smiling a little when she talked about her son. Baba noticed the small smile and knew instantly what to talk to her about.
"What is your son's name?" Baba asked, leaning forward to rest his chin onto his hand to look interested. Emily didn't want to tell him but something is telling her to open up to this random stranger she just met.
"His name is Keiji," was all Emily said before turning her head to the door when she heard the bells. It was a group of her usuals and Emily turned her head to the clock to see that it's 5 minutes after 10.
"Huh. I guess I'm going to get my usuals tonight," Emily said more to herself before she stood up from leaning on the counter. A man approached her and she immediately knew who he was and what organization he was from.
"Hey Momma Mobster. Our buddy over there is celebrating his marriage so we are here to treat him to amazing alcohol and some food. I trust you to bring us what we love and you can just put it on my tab," He said pulling out his credit card and handing to her. Emily only nodded slightly before grabbing a checkbook and putting his card inside it and writing his name on the top with an expo marker.
"Alright, anything else?" Emily asked, placing the checkbook underneath the counter so she knows where it is before turning back to her customer.
"Nope. I trust everything to you," he said, patting her head before walking away. Emily walked over to the beer kegs that are all connected to each individual dispensers. She pulled out two pitchers to put beer into it and filled it up with one that is a gold color while the other filled with a dark brown color. She then pulled out a menu and wrote down some stuff off of the menu that she believed would please the 5 hungry men that are now making a bit of noise near the pool table.
"So, I'm guessing they are your regulars?" Baba asked from the other side of the bar. Emily only nodded subconsciously before walking into the kitchen to give the order to the cook. When explained it's for a group of mobsters, the cook knew that he needed it to be nearly perfect for his life to be saved before Emily walked out of the kitchen, grabbed the two pitchers with 5 glasses stacked in one another before walking out from behind the bar and approaching the table to deliver the beer. They all thanked her before they grabbed their cups to get themselves some of the beer. Emily congratulated the man of the night before walking back to keep the man she just met company.
"So, now that you know a little about me. I want to know what the hell you do. I figured you're a thief, if the painting is anything to go by but do you work underneath someone who pays you or how does that exactly work?" Emily asked, somewhat interested in how a thief who steals artwork makes money.
"Now if I told you my secret then I'll just have to steal you away so you can't spread it," Baba said, winking at her in a very flirty manner. Emily only glared at him before rolling her eyes at the pick up line and grabbing his empty whiskey glass to refill it.
"As much as that pick up line will work on girl with no IQ, I wouldn't do that to a girl who was a politician's wife. It takes a lot more to "Woo" me than something as simple as that," she commented, her back towards Baba, pouring the Ember colored whiskey into the glass. When she turned around, he was still smiling at her and it was actually starting to piss her off but she knew that if she lost her cool, the group of mobsters in the opposite corner of the bar would come over and then trouble will start. Emily only placed the whiskey down in front of him before going back to the kitchen to see how the food is doing. When it wasn't quite finished, she walked back out and leaned on the counter to continue the conversation she was having with Baba.
"Alright. So talking about your job is out of the question. How about your personal life? Am I allowed to ask about that?" Emily asked, thinking she might as well milk what she can out of him before he decides he wants to leave.
"Actually, I'd love to get to know you more. You said you were married to a politician? How did you two meet?" Baba asked, again derailing the conversation and switching it to her. Emily can sense that he didn't want to speak about himself but she felt it was unfair that he knows more about her than she knows about him.
"I was a professional performer in America. He had tickets to one of my shows that he took his first son to and afterwards, he had backstage passes, which was rare with the performances I did. He used them and immediately requested to see me. Then from there, I showed him and his son around America. About 2 years into dating, he proposed and then he flew me to Japan so we can get married and I'll be able to live here. Then about 3 years later, I had a child with him, my son Keiji, and since he had a son from his previous marriage, I made sure that I made him just as important as my son but then I found out through his first son that he was seeing another woman so I filed a divorce but since he has money and was born here, I got no money from him and I'm only able to see my child once a month. I get him for a weekend and that's it. Now he is married and I'm worried that she isn't giving my son the attention he needs to grow up but I can't do anything about it. Haven't had him this month but since it's summer vacation, he took the kids England," Emily told Baba, telling him something that was suppose to be a small story that turned into a rant about how she doesn't get to see her son often and that her ex-husband was a piece of shit.
"Wow. That's not fair to you at all. So, if he's in England and you aren't going to see your son this month, do you get to see him twice next month?" Baba questioned her, actually starting to get interested in the conversation. Emily only shook her head, a little sadness in her eyes before the cook took her concentration from the conversation to the food that was ready. Emily only shrugged before walking over and grabbing the tray of food. She walked over to the men who were wrapping up their pool game and before the man who was going to hit the 8 ball in, they all said hello to her with her special nickname.
"Hello boys. I have your food here. Want me to put it here or is there a table you'd love to move to?" Emily asked which then got the response of saying they wanted the booth that was a good 5 feet away from them. She nodded and walked over there and placed the three plates of food down onto the table, in the middle for the 5 men and then went over to a table to move a chair so someone can sit on the outside. They thanked her in sync before going back to their game and Emily went back to her bar and placed the tray outside the kitchen's doorway.
"Well, it was great to talk to you and if I wasn't getting this to a specific place, I would continue this conversation but sadly, I have to leave. May I see you some other time, my lady?" Baba asked, standing up and adjusting his hat.
"Well, since I don't have a kid, you can come any time. I usually get him the 3rd weekend of the month so that's when I'll be out. If you do need a place to run off to, come here. I think you can trust me if mobsters trust me," Emily said, taking his empty whiskey glass and the bowl of now half empty to put it down so she can empty and clean the glasses later.
"Perfect. I think I'll take you up on that offer. Don't be shocked if I bring friends here as well," Baba said, standing there until Emily handed over the painting. Emily took the painting out of the chest underneath her bar and handed it to him. Baba tipped his hat before leaving and exiting, the bells jingling as he left.
"What an odd character," Emily commented to herself before throwing away the nuts in the bowl and taking the empty, dirty dishes to the back to put them in a bucket. She passed the cook who handed her a tooth pick with some sort of food on it for her to taste. She sampled it and nodded after they asked if it was good. When they didn't need her anymore, she walked back out and noticed that a lot more regulars were coming in to enjoy a few drinks with their buddies, whether they were in the same group or in different ones and she felt something felt right with seeing familiar faces. The night went on as she served many different plates of foods and alcoholic drinks to the mobsters that knew who she was. When it was an hour past closing time, she noticed a business card on the table and she picked it up to throw it away before recognizing the name on it as the mystery thief with his name and number. She flipped it over and noticed a small note on it.
'Call or text me if you ever need to talk ;)' was what the note said and she giggled to herself, seeing that the winky face fit him a little too perfectly.
"Despite him being mysterious and easily being able to piss me off, he is a good listener," Emily admitted out loud, letting her thoughts take a little control before she pocketed the card and went back to cleaning up her bar. She went into the kitchen to put the bucket of glasses into the dishwasher to make sure they get cleaned before her shift tomorrow where she would see the usual faces. Emily didn't know when she would meet the man in the red suit and the fedora again but she actually couldn't wait to talk to him again. It was refreshing to be with someone that wasn't a mobster but was still running from the police. She grabbed her purse and slung it onto her arm before walking out and locking the front door of the bar, saying bye on the way out since her friend lives on the upper level. Even though she didn't get a response back, she knew that he would have said bye if he either heard, or was sober enough to hear. Her walk home was long and chilly but for once, she had a smile on her face.