I pulled on some Levi jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt, and a vest before venturing back outside. My old rusty truck lay dormant in the driveway. To be honest I was surprised it had lasted the whole way here. My dad was pretty hesitant to drive it across the country, but I had faith in her. I turned the ignition and I was off into town.
It was a short five-minute drive to downtown. I parked my car and started down the street, planning to stop anyplace and anywhere I could. Restoring that old house was going to take a lot of money. Being an unemployed college graduate doesn't really bring in the bacon.
After being rejected by seven different places I was beyond frustrated. Apparently I needed more experience to be a waitress, or a grocery store clerk, or a secretary. How the hell was I supposed to get any experience if nobody would hire me?
I decided to take a stroll down by the docks to blow off some steam. I sat down on one of the benches and watched the fishing boats come in to dock. Maybe it was a mistake coming here. Maybe my dad was right. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when I came crawling back to Forks, a complete and utter failure.
The voices behind me distracted me from my self-pity for a moment.
"So I guess Mom fired that new bartender…"
I spun around, suddenly intrigued by their conversation. There were two young guys standing on the boat behind me, packing up some type of equipment. One was fairly large, muscles bulging out from underneath his dirty white shirt. The other looked pretty rough. Scruffy beard, desperately in need of a haircut. His bronze mop of hair fell into his eyes as he bent down to pick up a lobster cage.
"Well that doesn't surprise me. She was a complete ditz. Probably couldn't even tie her own shoes," the scruffy one said. I was instantly mesmerized by the sound of his voice. It was smooth like velvet, which was a completely surprising contrast to his appearance. I didn't think I would ever get used to that thick New England accent everyone had around here.
"It doesn't take a genius to work at the Wharf, so she must have been pretty bad. I mean Mom's tough, but I thought she'd last longer than that," the other one said.
The Wharf? That sounded familiar. I was pretty sure it was just down the boardwalk here, a bar where all of the fishermen hang out. If a girl just got fired from there then they must be hiring. Right?
I got up from the bench and started to walk. I chanced a glance towards the two men again. The man with the velvet voice was staring at me. We connected eyes for a moment before I blushed and looked away, completely embarrassed that he'd caught me looking at him. I caught a quick glimpse of his sideways smile. He was actually kind of cute behind that complicated mess on his face.
I hurried down the boardwalk and stopped when I saw the neon sign. The Wharf. I smiled when I saw the "Help Wanted" sign in the window. The door creaked as I pushed it open and peeked my head inside.
"You're a little early for Happy Hour sweetie…"
I turned towards the voice. There was a woman who looked like she had no business in a place as rough as this standing behind the bar wiping down some glasses.
"Actually I was inquiring about the job…" I gestured to the sign on the door.
"You have any experience?" She set down the glass and grabbed a large crate.
"Um. Not really."
"Then I'm not interested." She started towards the back.
"Please. I just moved here, I really, really need this job. I'm a hard worker I promise."
She stopped in the doorway and spun around. I tugged at my shirt as her eyes raked over me, assessing whether I was worth the risk or not. I prayed that I was because this was my last shot.
"You start in two hours. Go home and change out of that Gap advertisement and come back." She disappeared into the hallway.
It took me a few seconds to realize that she just hired me, but when I did I couldn't stop the ear-to-ear grin that spread across my face. I started jumping up and down in excitement.
"What's your name anyway?" The woman called.
"Oh I'm Bella. Bella Swan. I just moved here from Washington and I've been all ov-"
"I just wanted a name dear, not your life story." She came back out into the bar. "I'm Esme and I run the place. And I swear if I see another sweater vest in my bar I'll throw you out myself."
"Okay gotcha…" I started towards the door. "I'll see you soon." I pushed the door open and stumbled on the small step. I looked back just in time to see Esme crack a smile and laugh to herself. Behind that hard exterior she seemed like a very warm person. She kind of reminded me of my mom.
I ran home and took a shower…a cold one at that, and fumbled through my closet. I never thought it before, but now that it's been pointed out to me I kind of dressed like a pompous ass. I pulled on some ratty jeans and one of Charlie's old concert t-shirts that he'd accidentally left here. I gasped when I looked at the clock. I only had a half hour until I had to be at the bar and it probably wasn't a good idea to be late on the first day. I guess blow-drying my hair was out of the question. I ran a comb through it, grabbed my bag and headed out the door.
"If you woulda showed up five minutes later, you'd be calling this your former place of employment…" Esme said as I walked through the door. There were a few people crowded around the bar, but it wasn't busy by any means. Two old men in the corner watched me walk across the room and back behind the bar. "Okay so uh…quick bartending tutorial." She grabbed a few bottles. "We don't get too many fancy orders in here so I'll just give you the basics." I pulled a pen and paper out of my back pocket and prepared to take notes. She started pouring different mixes of drinks and passing them out to the few people surrounding the bar.
"Okay and how much rum was in that?" I asked.
"No clue," Esme said with a laugh. "Sweetheart, odds are that most of the people here are already drunk or off their rocker, they aren't going to give two shits about you being exact with your measurements. I only use four types of measurements." She held up her fingers. "A smidge, a little, some, and a helluva lot."
"Okay I think I've got it." I threw the piece of paper away and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"Hey sugar can I get a beer?" A man behind me said.
"Now that I can do." I spun across the bar and grabbed him a bottle, cracking it open and sliding it to him in one swift motion.
"See…" Esme said. "You're a natural."
Confession: I think Esme is my favorite character in this story. So Bells found herself a job. How long will it take before she runs into the men who sent her there? ;)
Thanks so much for reading and following me on this adventure filled with lots of semen...I mean seamen. Men of the sea.
Probably the last update for tonight. Don't want to get ahead of myself and make you guys wait for the last few chapters I'm working on now.
Again, follow me on twitter MandyLeigh010 or FB MandyLeigh Fanfic. I hope you took a moment to check out the banner link on my profile. It's so pretteh : )
