Reiner - Cheer Me Up

In the end, I decided not to say what was on my mind. It wasn’t because I was afraid to hear his response, but it was because I already knew what he would say, and I just didn’t want him to tell me to go home again.

“I’m very sorry. Please enjoy your meal…” I said politely as I kept my eyes down and my head hung low.

I turned and left the room before he could say anything. There was nothing for me to do in the afternoon, so I killed some more time helping out with random tasks at the secretarial office. Maybe if things continue this way, I’ll just become a general clerk without a manager as my boss which wasn’t at all too bad.

By the time that the workday was over, I was too depressed to stay another minute in the office building. Thankfully, I had work at the bar tonight. Talking to Kat and just working would probably make me feel better. After grabbing my stuff, I was on my way to the bar. Just getting in the car eased my stress considerably. There was nothing wrong with the job that I had but my relationship with Reiner couldn’t be more strained. I might be taking my own side, but I believed that I’ve done my best.

I spoke politely, I smiled, I was sincere, and I tried my best at everything…

“You’re here early…” Kat said with widened eyes as I walked in through the door.

“Yeah…” I replied vaguely.

“Is everything ok?” she asked as if she could sense how blue I was feeling.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” I replied a little too confidently.

“I hope that it’ll be an easy night for us tonight. It’s been too busy around here lately,” Kat said wistfully.

“I hope so too…” I replied with a smile.

After doing the necessary prep work as per the routine, we were ready to open for the night. To Kat’s delight, she got what she wished for. The bar was far from empty, but it wasn’t crazy packed like most nights. The flow of customer was light, and we could enjoy interacting with our customers more and didn’t have to rush through everything like our house was on fire all the time. It was a nice pace and I wished we would get to experience it more often.

“I was wondering if you can suggest some good places to rent an apartment?” I asked when we had a spare moment together behind the bar counter.

“I thought you already had a place? You’re looking for a new one?” Kat asked curiously.

“Yeah. I’ve been taking advantage of Queen too much and now that I have a job plus this job here too, I was thinking that it’s about time that I rent out my own place,” I replied.

“Guess you’re right about that. Living alone is probably more comfortable. Want to come live in my building? I also know a couple of other places if you’re looking for something closer to the business district though…” Kat replied thoughtfully.

“I would prefer somewhere close to the business district. You live around here, right?” I asked.

“Guess my building is no good then. It’s close to here but quite far from the business district. I’ll text you some options later,” Kat promised.

“Thanks. You’re such a big help!” I thanked her before pulling her into a squeeze.

“You can thank me by delivering these…table 9,” Kat said as she pushed a tray of food my way.

I rolled my eyes at her but did exactly like she asked. Working made me feel better about myself especially since I’ve been quite useless at the office for two days in a row now. On my way back from serving table 9, I bumped into Charles.

“Natalia…” he called my name and smiled.

“Oh, hi…” I greeted him with a smile too.

“This place is less crowded today,” Charles said casually as he looked around.

“It is. It’s kinda nice this way too,” I replied before inviting him over to a free table.

“Join me?” Charles invited with a warm smile.

“If you buy me a drink,” I replied teasingly.

“I’ll buy you more than a drink,” he replied seriously.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little before heading away to grab the menu. Kat was waiting for me with a wicked gleam in her eyes when I returned to the bar counter.

“Mister boyfriend is here again,” Kat hissed excitedly.

“He’s not my boyfriend…” I hissed back.

“Yet. Honestly, I don’t know why you two are moving along so slowly…” Kat said with clear annoyance.

“It’s not what you think…” I mumbled.

Kat doesn’t know about why I’m really here on the island or anything about Reiner and perhaps it was better to keep it that way. It was hard to explain my relationship with Reiner right now as well. He’s my…I don’t even know how to describe it in words…

That in itself was just so depressing that I didn’t want to think about it even for a second more.

“Apply some more lipstick. Get ready to pucker up for a kiss…haha!” Kat teased as she brought out a lipstick and shoved it in my face.

“Stop that! I’m going now…Charles is waiting,” I muttered before turning to leave.

Charles greeted me with another warm smile as I approached him. I gave him the menu and took the seat next to him at the table. Usually, I wouldn’t do this with other customers, but Charles was different.

I guess he had somehow found a way to get closer to me. Whatever it was, was slowly working its magic on me because I felt a little closer to him already. It wasn’t like I was in love with him, but it felt quite comforting to be around him.

“What do you want?” Charles asked.

“Oh, I’m not allowed to eat while I’m working. I could drink though,” I replied.

“You can eat. I’ll let Jamie know…” Charles replied like there was nothing to be concerned about.

“If you say so…” I mumbled hesitantly.

I wasn’t hungry though so in the end, I ordered some appetizers to go along with a cocktail that Charles chose for me.

--To be continued…