Page 16 of Hallow’s Eve
Viv took the bait, “If you only knew the half of it.”
Hallow gave me a look, and I slid down the bar to talk to Ford and Jasper, but Jasper was gone. Ford pointed to the stage. Dimple and our head cooks had just finished singing together and were at a table drinking. Jasper belted out a cover of Colter Wall’s “The Devil Wears a Shirt and Tie”as he strummed a guitar.
“I’m impressed.”
“You’re not the only one who can sing,” Ford said under his breath. “You’re just the only one Grady let’s sing.”
I filed that away to think about later. “Who do you think did it?”
Ford was more receptive and didn’t bat an eye at Hallow being down the bar talking to his bartenders. I’d already gotten on to him earlier. “I couldn’t tell you. He was in the kitchen a lot tonight. Since he said he wasn’t closing the kitchen early like we normally do. Louis couldn’t handle it. The crowd. The extra orders. You know they ain’t used to cooking past eleven. My team was taking care of the mob without Grady or Celie, so we didn’t notice anything.”
“Celie was in the kitchen too?”
“No. She says she was on the floor, but I didn’t get any of her orders.”
“I can’t believe Grady’s dead.”
“Bound to happen since he’s running with those thugs.”
“What did they ask you?”
“Same shit you’re asking. But they wanted to know if I liked Grady. I said, well enough. I mean, fuck. I didn’t want to see him dead. I’ve worked here six years. He made me head bartender last year over Viv who’s been here ten. But you know why.”
“Yeah, her trouble with the law.” Everyone knew Viv was on probation. She said it a million times a shift.
Ford crossed his arms. “See, not everyone working here are good people like me and you, Eve. Someone here is a murderer.”
“You know I’m pretty new.” Most of the time I felt like I was a new character on the tenth season of a show since Bootsies had been open eleven years. I hoped I wasn’t a red shirt, that I wouldn’t be killed off. I had never thought about it literally of course, until now. I just always thought someone might throw me under the bus, get me fired, or make me want to quit. Donette always had drama. But both Grady and Celie had taken a liking to me, so nobody bothered me.
Jasper returned limping to the bar when Hallow joined me.
“That sent chills down my spine,” I said to Jasper.
He halfway smiled and said, “The inmates are running the asylum.” Jasper pointed across the bar.
Jaylynn started our mechanical bull. Grady hadn’t wanted it turned on til’ it was fixed. The bull would run for a bit before it started smelling like something was burning. Dumb twats were going to burn the place down.
“Looks like I’ll be introducing you to Taco,” I told Hallow.
“Who?”
“Our bull. Come on.”
Hand in hand, Hallow and I made our way to the pit around Taco where my coworkers gathered. I expected more Elvis songs, but Dimple went with the Halloween theme and sang “Honky-Tonk Hell”. It was appropriate.
On our way to Taco the urge hit me, hard. “Excuse me, I've got to go tinkle.”
“All right, I'll meet you over at the bull.” I left Hallow and darted straight toward the employee bathroom. Finding it occupied, I knocked on it. Silence followed. I relished in the calm of the break room a moment until I remembered my full bladder. It must’ve been the beer. Taking off my apron, I felt like I would burst. I laid my apron on the breakroom table and paced. After a good minute, I banged on the door. “Shake the dew off your lily and get out of there.”
There was no answer. I left the back and went towards the regular bathrooms. Thankfully, the women's room didn’t have a line. Unheard of for a Friday night. Still, I didn’t like to use our public restroom. I glanced at myself in the mirror on the way to a stall. I was a sight. My face glistened with sweat and oil, in a day of hard work. My hair was a frightening mess. I couldn't decipher what Hallow saw in me. Then I peered down. I’d worn the wrong bra. My nipples were plum out, showing through my white sheath of a dress. I went into the stall and stuffed some toilet paper into my bra to hide my nips. After I did my business, I had to undo my bandage to wash my hands. The cut looked alright, so I decided to let it breathe. I ran my fingers through my hair to tame it. I squirted some more soap on my hands to give my face a once over. My makeup was gone anyhow. With a clean face, I felt a million times better but knew I could do better. I wet a paper towel and went over my armpits and crotch next. Who knew where the night would lead? I bit my lip thinking about Hallow and I, me against the wall like Donette had been. Seriously hot for him, I splashed some cold water on my face. Was Hallow the right dick? I laughed thinking how he was a detective, a dick. Maybe it was meant to be, me and him. Hallow and Eve on All Hallows’ Eve. Nah. It’d make a hell of a story, but I didn’t believe in that shit.
When I made my way back out to the bar, I got another douse of cold water. I discovered Hallow and his big black wings leaning against the pit, cozied up with the rest of the barmaids. Jaylynn rode Taco, and his eyes followed her back and forth. In her sexy cowgirl costume, her tits were practically bouncing out. Her tan thighs provocatively slid back and forth on the bull as she bounced. Hallow appreciated the show with a big smile on his face. Sure, she was a hoot and holler, but Jaylynn gave white trash a bad name, I’d heard anyway. Not only that, Hallow was being worshipped by all the girls and loved every minute of it.
I found Donette amongst them and our eyes met. I gave her a look that could kill. She left the harem to join me. God bless her. She looked like she'd been rode hard and put up wet. I’d seen it happen myself. She didn't have on a stitch of the red lipstick that matched her dress. Beetlejuice’s face paint was all over her cleavage.
“Oh, I'm so sorry. Eve. I thought maybe your right dick had come along,” she said, observing our coworkers trying to climb Hallow like a tree.
“Dick’s right.” I meant he’s a jerk, but added, “He was a detective.”
