Two Bartenders and a Flower Girl
Lebreau gave a low whistle of appreciation as she eyed the inside of her new saloon. She really had to hand it these Bodhum folks. They sure could get things knocked together in a hurry. And the work was first rate too, she thought, running one hand along the smooth, polished wood of the bar. Yep, she could definitely get used to calling this place hers.
"Looks like everything's just about done."
She turned and grinned at Snow. "Just about." She looked over at the rest of their little group who were slouched at a couple of the tables with some sandwiches in front of them, along with a couple of bottles of whiskey. "All I need now is some people to help me run the place."
To her disgust, the whole lot of them did their best to look busy with their sandwiches. It was almost enough to have her reach over for the shotgun she kept stashed below the bar like any good bartender. Honestly, those boys of hers, always ready to swing by to grab a bite to eat, but never too willing to help. Even Snow, who could usually be counted on to lend a hand every now and then was too busy with that new farm of his to be much use.
"Why don't you hire some people?" Snow asked. "There have got to be some folks around here that could use the work, and if you ask around, I'm sure you'll be able to figure who to steer clear of."
Lebreau pursed her lips. Snow's idea wasn't half bad. Hiring some folks from around town would also help spread the word. After all, there already was a saloon in town, and even if it wasn't worth a damn, nobody would toddle over to hers unless they actually knew it existed. "You know, Snow, that's not a bad idea." She smirked and looked over at the rest of the group. "As for you fellows, you better start making yourselves useful or I'll start charging you for all the food you eat!" A chorus of groans met her words and she chuckled. "Oh, stop your bellyaching."
So Lebreau took Snow's advice and over the next few days she had a couple of help wanted posters put up around town. To tell the truth, she wasn't expecting too much, what with her and the others being pretty new in town. She was pretty surprised then, when she got about a dozen responses. Out of them, she ruled six out straight away. They seemed to be the seedy sort, mostly out to make a quick gil, and a quiet word or two around town was enough to confirm her thinking. It didn't help either that some of them had spent almost all their time talking to her chest instead of her face.
Out of the ones that were left, there were two that stood out, even if they were a bit young. So she called them back around to poke around a little more, see where they stood, and if they were up to her standard. If they weren't, then she'd have to keep looking, and she was getting mighty impatient to open, because getting the whole saloon set up hadn't exactly been cheap.
The first of them came into the saloon just before dusk and Lebreau took a moment to look the young woman over. She looked to be about eighteen, with long black hair, and wine-coloured eyes. She had a good figure too, with long legs and a chest that probably drew more than a glance or two.
"Care for a drink, Miss Lockhart?" Lebreau called out from behind the bar as she beckoned the young woman over to take a stool across from her.
The young woman sat down across from Lebreau and shook her head. "Thanks, but I prefer to serve the drinks, not drink them." She smiled. "And call me Tifa."
"Tifa then." Lebreau put the drink away and poured them each a glass of water. "That's a good attitude to have, and at least I won't have to worry about you sampling the bar if I hire you." Lebreau chuckled. "But still, there's nothing wrong with a drink or two every now and then." She thought back to some of the fool things her boys got up to and shook her head. "Yes, there are times when it's just about criminal not to have a drink."
Tifa smiled nervously. "I'll keep that in mind, Miss Lebreau."
"Don't bother with all that Miss Lebreau stuff, just make it Lebreau." Lebreau's gaze sharpened a fraction. "Now lets get right down to business, Tifa. I'm looking to hire you on, but I can't promise to keep you on without seeing you in action." She gestured at all the bottles behind the bar. "You think you can keep track of all that?"
Tifa punched her left palm with her right fist and grinned. "You bet."
A sly grin came on to Lebreau's face as she looked at Tifa's gloves. She hadn't really paid much attention to them before, but now, up close, she could see them properly. They were black leather and only went up to the wrists. More interesting though, was the wear and tear on them. It was almost all around the knuckles and as far as Lebreau knew, there was only one way that gloves got worn down like that. Fisticuffs. Oh yes, she was liking Tifa more and more.
"One last thing, Tifa, can you cook?" Lebreau asked.
Tifa nodded. "I can cook just fine. Fact is, I've been cooking for my father and me since I was ten."
There was a knock on the door and the two of them turned. Lebreau smiled. It looked like her other would-be helper was here.
"I hope I'm not interrupting." The speaker was about the same age as Tifa with long brown hair and gentle emerald eyes. She was dressed in a pink dress and jacket, and with the warm smile on her face, she all but radiated an aura of friendliness.
"No, you're not interrupting," Lebreau said. "Grab a seat Miss Gainsborough." She saw the look on Aerith's face and smirked. "Or should I just call you Aerith?"
Aerith smiled. "That would be lovely." She sat beside Tifa.
"Here, have a drink." Lebreau poured Aerith a tall glass of whiskey and grinned as the brunette paled.
"Do I… have to drink this?" Aerith asked. She didn't have much tolerance to speak of and she didn't think that getting drunk on the job would make too good a first impression.
Lebreau laughed. "I'm just kidding around. You don't have to drink that." She drained the glass in one go. "See, no problem. Now, Aerith, I don't suppose you know too much about drinks."
Aerith eyed the wall of bottles behind the bar and grimaced. "Not too much I'm afraid."
Lebreau pursed her lips. "I see… that shouldn't be too much of a problem so long as Tifa here really does know her drinks. But you better be able to cook something fierce then, Aerith."
"That I can do!" Aerith clapped her hands together. "I can guarantee that I'll be just fine with the cooking."
"I hope so." Lebreau pushed away from the bar. "You two can consider yourselves hired. Put on a good show during opening night and I'll keep you on. Make a mess of things and I'll not be too happy." Lebreau reached under the bar and placed the shotgun on the bar. "Catch my drift?"
From the looks on Tifa and Aerith's faces, they most certainly did.
Opening night for the saloon rolled around and Lebreau wasn't too surprised to find quite a crowd gathered up front. It seemed that both Aerith and Tifa were pretty popular with the folks around town, especially the young men, and word had gotten round. It didn't hurt either, that all three of them were pretty good in the kitchen.
"You ready, girls?" Lebreau asked as she took one last look out the window. Aerith and Tifa nodded. "Remember, I've got the bar and Tifa's got the tables. Aerith, you're in the kitchen. Anything goes wrong you holler." She chuckled. "Good, now let's get this saloon going."
Things got hectic from the moment the saloon opened. Lebreau had her hands full at the bar juggling orders, especially since a couple of the customers thought they'd test her to see if she could keep up. Well, she'd kept the bar over in Midgar Town and it'd take more than a couple of troublesome drunks to put her off.
As for Tifa, the girl was doing well, Lebreau thought. She'd taken down at least fifty or so orders over the last couple of hours and hadn't made a mistake even once, either with what was in the order, or who had made it, almost dancing through the crowd as she carried food and drinks over to the proper tables. Aerith was impressive too, what with the kitchen going at full speed, with as many as four dishes cooking at the same time. Yep, Lebreau thought, she'd definitely chosen well.
However, as the night wore on, some of the customers started to get a bit rowdy and Lebreau began to wonder if she'd have to break the shotgun out. Not that she was actually planning to shoot anybody, but a few blasts into the air or out the window did tend to settle people down pretty well.
Things got tricky when one of the local fellows decided to reach over and put his hand on Tifa's backside as she was leaning over to place his order on the table. Then he squeezed. A funny sort of silence fell over the saloon as all eyes turned to Tifa to see what she would do. Lebreau met the younger woman's eyes.
Lebreau glanced down to where the shotgun was hidden under the bar and then at the man with his hand on Tifa's backside. The message was pretty clear: do you want me to fill him full of holes?
Tifa shook her head and smiled. Then, still smiling, she picked up the plate of food she'd just laid out on the table and dumped it over the man's head. The food was still piping hot and he let out an awful yell just before Tifa lunged forward and caught him square in the jaw with a vicious uppercut that actually lifted him off his feet.
The man hung in the air for a moment and then tumbled to the ground. His friends at the table just stared for a moment before one of them dragged the barely conscious man to his feet.
"What do you think you're doing?" one of them growled at Tifa as he reached out to put a hand around her arm.
Her response was ruthless. She ducked inside the outstretched arm and drove the heel of her palm into the man's chin. His head jerked back and she grabbed his arm and flung him to the ground. The others recovered from their shock and closed in on her, but Tifa was ready, striking out quick and sharp with first her fists and then her feet. She dropped the last man with a leaping kick that actually brought no small amount of applause from the rest of the saloon. Finally, a weak attempt by one of the others to get back up was thwarted by a finely aimed plate thrown by Aerith who had come out from the kitchen to watch.
"Well folks," Lebreau said as a couple of the other customers gleefully dragged the downed men to the doors of the saloon and then pitched them out onto the street. "I think it'd be a mighty good idea for everyone to just keep their hands to themselves." And with that the saloon returned to normal, Tifa cleaning up the table so that some other customers could take a seat.
"I hope I didn't cause too much trouble," Tifa said as she came over to the bar. "I can pay for the plate too. It broke when I dumped the food over his head."
Lebreau grinned. "Don't worry about it. Fact is, I like having someone on board who can look after herself." She glanced back at the kitchen. "I don't suppose Aerith can handle herself like you."
Tifa giggled. "Not exactly, although as you saw, she's not bad with a plate. Truth is, she's even better with a skillet or a spatula. Trust me, I know."
"Well, I'll take your word for it," Lebreau said. "Now, get back to work. We've got a couple of hours yet till we close." As Tifa was walking away, Lebreau raised her voice into a shout so that everyone in the saloon and the kitchen could hear her. "By the way, Tifa, Aerith, you two can consider yourselves hired good and proper."
A cheer met the announcement and Lebreau grinned, looking over the full saloon. Business was good and she had a feeling it was only going to get better.
X X X
Author's Notes
First of all, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off this.
I was in the mood to have a bit of fun, so I thought it'd be nice to let Lebreau get her saloon up and running, because really, what kind of Western town doesn't have a good saloon? In any case, once I decided on that, I had to work out who her helpers would be, because there's no way that she can run a saloon on her own. For those of you who aren't aware of it, Tifa and Aerith are both from FF VII (Tifa actually runs a bar so I can't imagine she'd have too much trouble handling working in a saloon). Note that unlike Vincent and Yuffie who are much younger than in FF VII, Tifa and Aerith are much more similar to their FF VII ages. Do let me know if their inclusion fills you with horror.
As an aside, I've noticed that I haven't really referred to FF IX at all. For those of you who are waiting for me to do so, I'm probably not going to. For various reasons, I never really got around to playing it, so I'm not really in a position to work any of the characters in.
As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.