Beautiful Mistakes

by Sam Mariano

  "In a little bit, I want to show her this first."

  Leigh nodded and smiled, but it looked a little forced. "I didn't realize you meant you were showing her… that stuff. I thought you just wanted me to train her to close up."

  "I'll show her that, too," he said.

  "Right," Leigh said, offering a smile. "Okay. Well… I guess I will… go out there, and leave you in here…" Frowning slightly at her own awkwardness, Leigh turned and fled the tiny space.

  Straightening, Julie stared for a moment where Leigh had just been standing, a funny feeling of suspicion creeping up on her.

  "Hey Aaron," she said kind of quietly.

  "Yeah?" he asked, taking the ones out of her hand and changing them for a twenty in the safe.

  "Does Leigh… not seem pleased that you're showing me how to close?"

  Somehow oblivious to his own best friend’s odd reaction, he merely frowned and said, "Why would she care if I show you how to close?"

  "I don't know, I just had that feeling just now…"

  Shaking his head, he said, "No reason it should bother her. Anyway, you have to change the singles out for bigger bills, because I don't like to take a bunch of singles to the bank in the morning."

  "She stumbled over her sentences," Julie pointed out, still hung up on Leigh's slightly off-behavior.

  "What?" he asked, frowning.

  Shaking her head, Julie said, "Never mind, it's probably just me. Anyway, I'm changing out the ones; what else?"

  They were in the office for a while, and after Aaron finished showing her the cash-handling procedures he showed her an overview of the paperwork he did at night. When he showed her that he literally had to add up each individual receipt her eyes widened and she wondered if that was why he always seemed to work late.

  But since Aaron had been doing it for a while, he showed her the shortcuts, suggesting that you keep up on them at the end of each shift and then it would be a whole lot easier at the end of the night.

  Since the 8 o'clock person was getting ready to leave, Aaron handed Julie his keys and told her to go count the register down to a hundred and put the cash in a plastic bag, and to make sure she gathered up all the receipts and brought them back with her.

  Aaron went out with her to check the eight-o'clocker's work, then he went over to chat with one of the remaining customers while Julie attempted to settle the drawer.

  She had convinced herself perhaps she had imagined Leigh's strange behavior, but as Leigh frowned when she saw Julie with Aaron's keys at the register, Julie's opinion that Leigh didn't appreciate Julie learning to close was renewed. She even saw Leigh's mouth tighten into a firm little line before Leigh forced herself to turn away and not pay attention.

  Aaron followed Julie back to the office to show her what to do with the drawer once it was counted down and how to settle the receipts so that the work would be all but done when it came time to close, and before long the stack of receipts didn't look so terrifying.

  Once he was finished with that he gave her the pie and cake inventory chart and sent her out to Leigh, asking Leigh to show her how to do it and then clean the pie case while he went to check on the kitchen.

  Julie couldn't recall a single time before that night that she felt uncomfortable around Leigh, but as Leigh showed her how to do the inventory and then grabbed the cleaner, Julie definitely felt uncomfortable.

  "So, you two seem to be getting along much better," Leigh remarked in what sounded like a casual tone as she wiped out the pie case.

  Nodding, all Julie contributed was, "Yeah."

  There was a pause as Leigh continued to wipe out the case, then she went on, "So… is he giving you keys? Is that why he's training you to close?"

  "Oh, no," Julie said, shaking her head. "I was just sitting at home and I was bored, so I was whining about it and Aaron offered to let me tag along and learn to close."

  That seemed to ease up most of Leigh's tension, and it only took a few minutes for her to return to normal, smiling and being her bubbly self.

  Julie was relieved.

  When she was finished with the pie-related closing ritual, Aaron came back to get her.

  "The next thing that can be started around this time is sweeping the floor," he stated.

  "Okay, I'll go get the broom," she said.

  "No," he said, catching her by the arm. "Leigh can get that, I was just letting you know so you know what your closer needs to be doing. Right now is not the time for them to be standing around. We won't see much more business, so they need to start on their floors. Now I'll take you to the kitchen so you can see what the cook needs to be doing."

  "But I'm not a cook," she said, following him.

  "I'm aware of that, but you need to know what the cook needs to be doing," he stated. "Now, one of the fryers is already off—he already cleaned that one. There isn't as much business this late, so we only leave one fryer and one grill on until it's time to close up. As you can see, the grills do come clean, contrary to what some cooks might try to tell you, they just have to use a little elbow grease. As far as the grease, follow me and I'll show you where that goes."

  Aaron continued to show her what everyone else needed to be doing, but privately she thought he was overtraining her—she had no intention of ever becoming a cook, so she didn't see why it was relevant to show her where the grease went or how to filter the fryers.

  Still, it beat sitting at home so she didn't say anything.

  If she had questions when it came time for her to actually close, she could probably ask him then.

  The restaurant finally did get to close, and she was more aware of what everyone employed at The Lofthouse Café did as part of their job, but instead of letting her stay out in the dining room and help Leigh finish up he just briefly told her what Leigh would be doing, then he took Julie over to the register to take the drawer and the last receipt from the one couple that had trickled in after the eight o'clock person left.

  "Do you want me to show her the rest of this stuff?" Leigh asked as Aaron took the drawer.

  Shaking his head, Aaron said, "I think she gets it. You're about done at this point anyway. You can clock out and go whenever you finish mopping."

  Leigh nodded and went back to mopping her floor, but she still looked confused.

  Aaron showed Julie the rest of the paperwork and how to do the deposit, then he took her around to show her how to check everyone's work. The last thing he showed her was to make sure the outside freezer was locked and the inside cooler light was on, then to make a round back to the kitchen to make sure the cook had turned all the equipment off. After that, all that was left was turning off the last of the lights, setting the alarm and locking the doors.

  "Well, what do you think—was that better than pulling out your eyelashes?" he asked as they rode back to the apartment.

  "Marginally," she said with a cheeky grin.

  "It's not rocket science or anything. I could do it with my eyes closed, but that's because I've been doing it for too many years. Did you have any questions about anything?"

  "Not really," she said, shaking her head. "I take it you do your own bookkeeping?"

  He nodded. "I prefer to do it myself."

  She nodded. "I probably would too."

  "How did you like it though? Do you prefer doing that kind of thing, or would you rather stick to simple waitressing?"

  Raising her eyebrows, she said, "What do you mean?"

  He shrugged, not looking at her, and said, "I don't know, if you wanted to close up a few more nights… if it's something you'd be interested in doing it wouldn't be much trouble to copy a couple keys for you."

  If she wouldn’t have caught herself quickly, her jaw would’ve fallen open, but for once she managed to keep a straight face.

  Leigh was right! He was talking about keys.

  "Really?" she asked.

  Aaron nodded. "If you want to. I mean, I know you're not ready right now or anything, but it's not diffic
ult and you're a pretty quick learner. If you'd like to do that I could copy you a set of keys, you would be able to pick up more hours that way, plus there's a little bit of a raise in it."

  "So… I wouldn't be a waitress anymore?"

  "You'd still be a waitress. You'd do what Leigh does—you're still a waitress, but you're more of a head waitress—you supervise when I step out, you can open the register, you can set the alarm, you can get into the safe if you need change. I close myself most nights, but things are going to be changing a little bit and one more person with a set of keys might help out."

  She would do what Leigh did.

  Leigh—his best friend, the only person besides Aaron with keys and any sort of authority.

  As she replayed his offer in her mind, she concluded that Leigh must have seen it coming ahead of time. Julie was beginning to step on Leigh's toes—and nobody liked having their toes stepped on.

  "I don't know if Leigh is going to like this idea," Julie said hesitatingly.

  "Why wouldn't she?" he asked, frowning a little.

  "Because… isn't she the only person besides you that has keys?"

  "Yeah," he stated. "But you live with me; if anything comes up missing, I know where to find you. It makes sense to give you keys if I have to give them to someone."

  "I don't think Leigh will see it that way, and… for that matter, living with you isn't exactly a permanent situation, you know?"

  Shrugging, he said, "You don't have to if you don't want to, I was just offering."

  "It's not that I don't want to, I do. It's just that I don't want to step on Leigh's toes."

  "You're not stepping on Leigh's toes. As it is, if I can't be there Leigh is the only other person who can run the place—she isn't me, she isn't going to want to be there open to close every day of the week with no relief. If I give you keys, you'll be helping Leigh; you can both open and close, so I can split shifts between all of us."

  That was the second time he had insinuated he wouldn't be at the café as much.

  "Why would Leigh have to do it? You said you close every night, don't you?" she asked.

  "Yeah, right now I do,"' he said vaguely.

  "Are you anticipating a vacation or something?" she asked, smiling slightly.

  "No," he said. "But I have some other things coming up, and beginning February I might not be at the café quite as much, so I just thought if Leigh had someone else to help lighten the load no one would get burnt out."

  Julie's curiosity was piqued with that cryptic remark, but he didn't seem to want to share any more information about it, and she didn't want to pry and risk making him grumpy, so she let it drop.

  "Well, yeah, if you need someone… it doesn't seem very difficult, I'm sure I could manage to do it."

  Nodding, Aaron said, "All right. I'll add you on a couple of nights this week so you can get some practice closing up."

  "Sounds good," she said, nodding.

  "Once you get comfortable with that I'll put you on a few mornings and I'll show you how to open, but I'm warning you now, it's early."

  "That would explain why you're gone every morning at the crack of dawn," she stated.

  "I'm an early riser," he told her.

  "I noticed. Half the time you don't even sleep in when you're hung over—that is just strange."

  Rolling his eyes, he said, "Well, I don't spend that much time being hung over in my life, so…"

  "I know," she said a bit sadly.

  He chuckled a little and shook his head at her tone. "You would encourage me to be hung over more often?"

  "Yes," she said, nodding emphatically.

  "Why?"

  "Because you throw caution to the wind when you're drunk."

  "You say that like it's a good thing," he said dryly.

  "Maybe it is sometimes," she suggested.

  He didn't say anything for a few seconds, then he said, "No, I would have to say it probably isn't."

  "Why not?" she challenged.

  "We've already been over this," he stated.

  "But your reasons don't even make sense," she said, although she wondered how much she would delve into the topic before turning back if he persisted.

  "They do to me."

  "You're using the Matt excuse though. That is within my control. I don't have to listen to any stupid idea he tries to put in my head."

  Aaron simply shook his head, not offering any verbal dispute, but not giving in if the set of his jaw was any kind of indication.

  Seeing that she wasn't going to get any response beyond that, Julie sighed.

  "You need to learn to be comfortable on your own," he said after a few seconds passed.

  Startled, she looked at him with slightly wide eyes. "What?"

  "You're obviously lonely, that's what I'm gathering from the fact that you would rather me be drunk even though it would be a bad idea. Just because you're used to—”

  "I am not lonely. I have spent more time alone in my life than I have with someone, and half the time I spent with someone I would have preferred to be alone. It has absolutely nothing to do with loneliness."

  "Then what is it?" he asked as if he didn't believe a single syllable she had uttered.

  Julie hesitated, not wanting to come out with a truth that she didn't even understand.

  But then he smirked and said, "See, you know I'm right."

  Ugh, he was such an infuriating male sometimes!

  "No, you're not," she said, slightly annoyed.

  "Then why can't you come up with a reason? You know I'm right but you don't want to admit it."

  "No, that's not it," she grumbled.

  "Then what is it?" he challenged, still smug and disbelieving.

  God, he could be a frustrating man.

  "Nothing, just never mind," she muttered.

  His smile widened, and he said, "You can't admit when you're wrong, huh?"

  He was so wrong about her that she could hardly stand it, but she managed to keep her mouth shut—barely.

  "I admit when I'm wrong when I'm actually wrong, but not when someone else is wrong just to appease them."

  Aaron merely shook his head, that dumb smile still on his face. "Whatever you say, Julie."

  "I'm not wrong. I'm not lonely," she argued. As much as she wanted to just keep her mouth shut and not keep talking about it, that was not in her nature. He was wrong, and she wanted him to know it.

  "Then why do you want me to get drunk? When I'm drunk, I tend to find myself all over you."

  "Yeah," she muttered.

  "And the only reason you don't mind that is because you don't have anyone else," he said, fully confident in his completely inaccurate logic.

  Rolling her eyes, she said, "Wrong."

  "If you had someone else," he went on as if she hadn't spoken, "then you wouldn't want that, but at this point it's me or no one. I'm not going to fill that position, sorry."

  "Are you done yet, Dr. Phil?" she asked, unable to hide her annoyance.

  "Just admit that I'm right and I'll shut up," he said easily.

  "Nope," she said stubbornly. "I'm not going to lie to you, even if that is the only way to shut you up."

  "You're so stubborn," he said, rolling his eyes.

  "And you're so wrong."

  Shrugging, he said, "Fine, then give me one good reason—”

  "I feel safe in your arms," she blurted half accusingly. "There, does that make you happy? Is that what you wanted to hear? No, probably not, but you wouldn't stop being wrong."

  He was no longer smirking, and the car was as silent as a tomb.

  Immediately she regretted her impulsive blurt.

  "It's not a big deal, it doesn’t mean anything," she said, trying to play it off. "I don't know why, some sort of… glitch in my hardwiring or something. Just… forget about it."

  The rest of the ride back to the apartment was silent, and to Julie it felt quite awkward. She contemplated interrupting the silence a few times, but she couldn't
think of anything interesting to say and every time she tried her mouth wouldn't cooperate, so they ended up sitting in silence.

  When they entered the building Julie's favorite doorman was there, a smile on his face and a little twinkle in his eyes as he said, "Evenin', Miss Kingsley. Mr. Turner," he said with a nod.

  Aaron nodded back, but he didn't seem to really notice the doorman, so Julie felt the need to make a little pleasant conversation.

  "How are you tonight?" she asked, smiling at him.

  "Can't complain, thank you for askin'. You need to go to the front desk before you go upstairs though, Miss Kingsley."

  "I do?" Julie asked, frowning.

  "Are you coming?" Aaron called, halfway to the elevator.

  "I have to go to the front desk?" she told him, although it came out more like a question.

  Frowning in confusion, Aaron turned back and walked up to the front desk where she walked to meet him.

  "Why?" he asked.

  "I don't know," she said.

  "Did a package come for my apartment?" Aaron asked the lady at the desk.

  The woman smiled at him and she said, "No, we got a delivery for… Miss Julie Kingsley."

  "Yes, she lives with me," he said impatiently.

  The woman registered a confused look for a split second, then she shrugged and said, "Oh, well…"

  Then the woman reached below the desk and pulled up a beautiful bouquet of red roses, and Julie felt her stomach twist into knots.

  The woman grinned as she informed Julie, "These came for you."

  It was hard to smile for the woman, who obviously expected a normal level of pleasure from someone receiving such a beautiful bouquet, but she knew before she looked at the card who it was going to be from.

  There was only one person who would have sent her roses.

  What she didn't know was why the asshole thought it was appropriate to send his ex-mistress flowers to his brother's apartment when his wife surely knew nothing about it.

  "Beautiful," Aaron murmured, but he looked anything but enthused.

  Sliding a sideways glance his way, she sighed a little as she took the flowers, hesitating before she plucked the card out.

  "They are beautiful, aren't they?" the woman said on a sigh, looking at the flowers almost dreamily.