Change Happens Pt. 05

"Robin!" Lacey shouted as she brought me back to reality.

"Sorry," I said as I got the order from the kitchen and took it over to the table. "Sorry guys," I said to the guys that sat at the table staring at me as I put the order down. "Anything else?" I asked with my usual fake smile.

"Your number?" one of the men said.

"Like I haven't heard that before," I said as I shook my head.

I made a round of my other tables before returning to the filling station. "What's wrong with you lately? Lacey asked.

Lacey had come from one of the other closed restaurants; now, she was the shift manager. "Tired, I guess," I shrugged as one of the other waitresses took my order to the table.

The truth was the past four months had been tough on me. Trying to pay the mortgage and other bills on just my paychecks had forced me to work a complete shift at both jobs. Jeff had not taken the deal and was facing a long period of time inside. The good news, as Ray had put it, the gang wouldn't kill him inside. The bad news he was on his own, no back up if any of the other rivals wanted to do something.

Ray said there was a huge possibility that I wouldn't see Jeff again, alive anyway. They still hadn't found Doug. I was sure he ran for the mountains. He was raised way up in the Tennessee mountains and still had family up there. It was a safe bet he was hiding up there where no one could find him.

Then there was Fran, I knew she was alive, but I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to her or see her ever again. How could they all be so stupid?

"Miss!" one of the men said from the table.

"Yes?" I said as I made my way over.

"Long day, huh?" Lacey said as we closed up.

"Yeah," I said as I walked towards my truck. I looked at the time; I had just enough time for a long bath, maybe four or five hours of sleep before I had to get up to do my daily workout before heading to work again.

"Whatever it is ..." Lacey said, staring at me.

"I can manage," I nodded.

"If you need anything," Lacey said as she smiled at me.

Again I nodded before I got into my truck. The ride home was exhausting. I got a new alarm system for the house. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. It felt like everything I did, someone was there, listening, waiting for me to say something out of line. I watched too many movies and television shows were an ordinary family decided to throw in with the likes of this gang just to make more money, whether smuggling, counterfeit, or worse. It never ended well for the family.

Ray had told me repeatedly that they had no interest in me whatsoever, but I still felt eyes on me. Every vehicle that came down the dirt road that led to my house, I watched with caution. I tried not to talk to anyone for long periods.

"Hey guys," I said as I opened the door. "I know, I have to let you out."

Even now, outside my house, I felt scared. I had acres of land behind my house. There could be plenty of people out there just waiting for me to turn around so they could rush my house. The alarm system came with cameras, motion detectors and floodlights, but still, every night as I lay down, I felt someone was already in my house. Damn Jeff for doing this to me.

"Come on guys," I said as I felt the feeling of being watched creeping over me. Sure the dogs would have sensed if someone was out there, but I didn't want them to get hurt.

"No one is out here," Ray said as I called him. "I told you..."

"I know," I said as I crawled into my bed, "but it feels..."

"I will make another pass around," Ray said.

"Thank you," I said as I laid back down. The two dogs jumped onto the bed as I remotely armed the system.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~

"Come on!" I yelled at my new client. This time it was a man. He had come wanting to lose some weight and get back into his high school shape. Right now, he looked like the stay puffed marshmallow man had a smaller version of himself.

"I can't," the man said as he stopped walking on the treadmill.

"It's on the lowest setting," I said, shaking my head.

"For twenty minutes!" the man said, literally in tears.

This was my life now; I was in charge of getting people who had no motivation to change their lives drastically.

"Can't we go to the machines and..." the man asked, looking over at the other machines on the other side of the gym.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "First we have to do a lot of cardio to burn... you know what, go ahead it's your money," I said as I let him runoff.

"That's not the right way," Trevor said as he walked over to me.

"I know," I said as I looked at the man staring at one of the other women on the fly machine. "I will give him a few minutes then go get him."

"Good call," Trevor nodded. Since I had put Trevor in his place, we had a good work relationship.

The only thing I hated about Trevor was the fact our boss always gave him good clients. The ones that were motivated and determined, even now, he had three clients working their asses off behind him. He had it made.

"Now, would be a good time," Trevor said as he looked back at the man.

"For Christ sakes!" I said, shaking my head. "That is not the way you use that!"

"You yelled at him in front of everybody," Mike said as he had told me to meet him in his office.

"He was.." I stopped. "You're right," I nodded. "I will apologize to him first thing in the morning."

"Thank you," Mike said. "What's going on?" Mike asked as he leaned forward. "You used to take these people and turn them around easily, now you're yelling, calling them names, that's not the type of facility we run here."

"I know," I said, slumping back in the chair. He was right, of course. I used to love the challenge of turning a person's life around seeing them come into the building in the worst shape of their lives and then leaving months later in the best shape they had ever been in; it used to be a thrill for me. Now I dreaded it.

"You don't like it anymore," Mike said as he sat back.

"I don't," I said, shaking my head.

"You know what you have to do," Mike nodded.

"Thank you," I said as I stood up.

It was over. Even though I needed the money, there was no way I could be a trainer and hate training people. It wouldn't be right.

"Leaving huh?" Trevor said as he saw my face as I walked towards my locker.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"It's for the better," Trevor said. "Your heart wasn't in it, not for this place anyway."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I got this buddy, he knows some people that work for a sports training facility downtown," Trevor said. "I am not into that type of thing, sports people and all, but it might be something you might be interested in."

"It's legit?" I asked as I looked at him.

There were plenty of these fly by night facilities that popped up, took people's money and then disappeared.

"Totally, I swear," Trevor said. "Tell you what, take this card look it up, do what you have to do before going in."

I looked at the card. It seemed like something professionally done. "Thanks," I said as we shook hands.

"You're fucking kidding me," I said as Lacey told me the news. Our owner had fired our leading manager and now brought someone else in, even more, great news.

"He seems okay," Lacey said as I waited for the kitchen to finish the order.

"Seems," I said, shaking my head.

"He isn't one of the cooperate types," Hailey said as she smiled.

I shook my head. Hailey liked everybody. That was because she was young and just doing this to help with her bills while she finished college. Others like Lacey and I needed this job.

"Robin?" a talk dark man said as he approached me.

"Yes," I said as I looked at him. 'Shit!' I thought to myself he was the new manager, I realized too late as I read his name badge.

"After your shift, come to my office please," he said as he turned around before I could answer.

"Fuck me," I said, shaking my head.

"It might be nothing," Lacey said as she patted me on the shoulder.

"Yeah right," I said, grabbing the order and making my way to the table.

"Enter," Nathan said as I knocked on the door.

"Hi," I said as I walked into the office.

"Thanks for coming, I will make this quick," Nathan said.

He had changed the office around. Even though it was a small office, he had made it look a bit roomier.

"Chad ran this place a bit too lenient for my taking," Nathan started. "The flexible schedules, the sharing of tips, and lets not start with the late night shenanigans," Nathan said as he stared at me.

The late-night parties before we finally closed were a way for all of us to relax and unwind. It wasn't partying as much as we drank and talked shit.

"I run a tighter ship," Nathan said as he sat back. "I like a set schedule, tips are what you make, not for sharing, if someone doesn't pull their weight then that's on them."

"And no late shenanigans," I said.

"Right," Nathan smiled a toothy grin.

I nodded back. I needed this job, especially since I had just left the other one. "So, let's talk schedule shall we?" Nathan said as he leaned forward.

"You okay?" Lacey asked as I exited the office.

"Yeah," I said as I walked to the bar. I ordered my usual drink.

"That bad huh?" Lacey asked.

"I feel like I got bent over his desk and he just ploughed me, with no lube," I said, shaking my head. Not that I knew how that would feel. My ass has always been an exit only, even for Jeff.

"Couldn't be that bad," Steven said from behind the bar.

"You're to teach me how to run the bar," I said as I took the whole shot down in one go.

"No way," Steven said.

"I will be doing the bar, on Fridays and Saturdays, during peak hours," I nodded.

"This one is on me," Steven said as he poured me another.

"Is he..." Steven started to say.

"Smart, yes," Lacey said, interrupting Steven.

Nathan wasn't dumb; putting me behind the bar during peak hours and especially during games was the intelligent thing to do. Dressed and built like I was, the number of drinks sold would skyrocket. Nathan knew exactly what drinking men wanted to see, and I was it.

"I am going home," I said as I stood up.

"See you tomorrow," Lacey said.

I couldn't wait to go home. The only good thing was that I could sleep later than usual. The bad thing was I lost a source of income, the good news was Nathan gave me a significant raise, not enough to cover what I lost, but it was good.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It had been a good three weeks, and I was finally on my own behind the bar. I had to admit I was looking forward to it. Even though Steve had shown me the ropes, there were a few things I was a bit wary about, but like Steve said, "just wing it."

Tonight was outstanding as there was a college game on a rivalry game of sorts. Even though there was a top contender to win, it was still a rivalry game in this part of the state.

People came in sporting their team colours, either Orange and purple or Red and black. The drinks calls were coming in hot and heavy. Steve sat at the bar, just in case I got to overwhelmed.

"So," one of the young men said as he looked at me.

"Yes, and no," I said as I popped the top off his third beer.

"You didn't know what I was going to say," he smiled.

"Are they real and if I said yes, you were to going to ask can you make sure," I smiled as I poured another drink combination for Lacey, she smiled as she took the drinks to her table.

"You must get asked that a lot," the kid said as he smiled at me.

"That's it you're cut off," I smiled at him.

"Oh, C'mon," he said, shaking his head.

"Keys?" I said as I put my hand out. He tried to shake his head, but I gave him one of my patented looks, and he reached in his pocket. I got the jar out and put them in. "They will be here for you at Ten in the morning," I said as I had practised the common lingo.

"Uber, it is then," the kid said.

The night went well, a few more silly questions and a few arguments, all in all, it went well. As we closed, Nathan came around to the bar.

"First game night," he said as I made sure everything was locked up and ready.

"Yeah," I said. I was still mad at him for putting me back here. Even though I made good tips, I made a lot more tips on the floor.

"Drink sales were higher than last time," Nathan said as he sat down on one of the stools.

"Mhmm," I nodded as I wiped the bar down one more time.

"Look," Nathan said as he stared at me. "I have to do what's right for the..."

"I understand," I said, interrupting him. "Am I free to go?"

Nathan sighed and looked around my station. "Sure," he said.

"Thanks," I said as I headed for the door. I had no interest in hearing his reasoning; I was losing money, plain and simple.

I headed for my car when I saw Aaron's patrol car parked beside my truck. "Hey," I said as he got out of his vehicle.

"Hey," he replied in a sombre voice.

"Oh, no," I said, shaking my head. "What happened now," I said, folding my arms.

"It's Jeff," Aaron said.

"I don't want nothing to do with him, that's the good thing about getting a divor.." I started to say as I opened my car door.

"He's dead," Aaron blurted out.

I stopped in my tracks; the words cut through my impenetrable wall like a hot knife through butter. I couldn't move. My heart felt like it had stopped cold.

"They found him this morning," Aaron said. "He was under some of the laundry," Aaron said, shaking his head as he looked at me.

I couldn't move, I wanted to scream, cry, or do something, but all I could do was stare at him. "How?" I said the words came out barely audible.

"I just wanted you to hear it from me and not someone else," Aaron said as he pulled me close to him.

Sure, I was angry at Jeff for putting me in this predicament and many other reasons, but I didn't want him to die. I held onto Aaron, still wanting to cry, but nothing happened. I always thought that the saying that people go into shock was a bunch of bullshit, but here I was, still picturing Jeff and all the good and bad times we had together. "How?" I asked, pushing away from Aaron.

"It's not good," Aaron said, shaking his head.

"Dammit Aaron!" I said, looking at him.

"He was beaten to death," Aaron said, shaking his head. "It looks like one of the rival gangs found out who he was and what he had been doing and ..."

I nodded. Ray did tell me it was likely to happen. I didn't expect it. Jeff was a big guy, and I was hoping his size and posture would keep him safe or make people stay away from him.

"Do I?" I started to ask if I had to go down there.

"No," Aaron said. "All taken care of, unless you want to go to the funeral?"

"No," I shook my head. "I want to stay clear of all of this mess and put it behind me."

"Good for you," Aaron said. "Do you want me to follow you home?"

"No," I said, nodding my head. "I think it will hit me later, when I get home."

"Okay, call us if you need to chat or anything," Aaron said as he got in his car.

The drive home was silent. I didn't put on the radio. All I could think about was the last time I saw Jeff. He was so mad that I had turned him in. The look on his face was stuck in my head. I should feel guilty about it, but I didn't. He had done it to himself.

Ray was at the front door when I pulled up. "You heard, huh?" I asked as I got out of the truck.

"Yeah, just came by to check on you," Ray said as we walked in the house. We walked straight to the back so I could let the dogs out.

"Is it bad that I feel nothing?" I asked as we walked through the dead leaves and branches.

"Not really," Ray shrugged. "He knew the consequences, it's not like he was innocent."

"Exactly!" I nodded. Maybe it was me trying to make excuses or reasons for not feeling anything at all.

We walked in silence as we watched the dogs run back and forth. I smiled as I looked at them. "That feeling is gone," I said, looking at Ray.

"Because you know it's over," Ray nodded.

I nodded again. The nightmare was finally over. I didn't feel like eyes were staring at me or that someone was out here waiting to make a move.

For the first time in months, I felt at ease in my own house.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"No," I smiled at one of my usual customers as he tried for the millionth time to get me to go home with him. It was our familiar song and dance. "Danny," I said, shaking my head as I looked at him.

"I am just saying it will be the best twenty seconds of my life," Danny smiled. He was always like this. I knew he was harmlessly flirting and meant absolutely nothing he was saying. It was fun for the both of us.

"Twenty seconds, ha," Robert laughed as he looked at his friend, they were both regulars, and I loved the company of both of them. "I give it five tops," Robert said as he downed his beer.

"Another?" I asked.

"Nah, taking the ball and chain out for dinner tonight," Robert said.

"How is Melinda doing?" I asked as I poured one of the other customers another drink.

"Still got the bad hip, and still whining about it," Robert said as he put the money down for the drinks. As usual, there was a hefty tip for me.

"Thanks," I said as I put the money away.

"Shall I close you up to?" I asked Danny.

"Sure," Danny smiled as he took out the money and placed it on the bar. "Last chance?"

"Have a good night," I smiled.

"Take care of yourself sweetie," Danny said as he winked at me.

For a Tuesday night, the bar had done well.

"How about you?" I asked the lone customer.

"You guys closing up huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, ten minutes," I said as I looked at him. He was new, I hadn't seen him before, and that was saying something for a Tuesday. Mostly it was all regulars.

"I will take one more, then you can close it," he said as he looked at me.

Now that we were alone, there was something strange about him. Something didn't feel right. "Everything good?" Steve asked as he saw me looking at the stranger.

"Yeah, just closing the last bill now," I said as Steve sat down.

"Good, hopefully we can get out on time tonight," Steve smiled at me.

The stranger smiled and downed his drink in one gulp; he looked at me as he turned the glass upside down on the bar. He paid with a card. The whole time I rung him up, he just stared at me.

"You good buddy?" Steve said, trying to draw his attention.

"Yeah, I'm good, Steve," the stranger said as I put the receipt and the card down on the bar.

"I didn't catch your name," Steve smiled.

"Just passing through," the man said as he stood up. "You guys have a good night."

He slowly walked to the door and opened it. The whole time he walked to the door, he was humming. The song sent a chill through my bones. "You okay?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," I said as I leaned against the counter. "You ever see him before?"

"No," Steve said as he got up and looked out the window. "He's gone though," Steve said as he turned back around.

I knew that song he was humming. I had heard it before, and it was bothering me. I started to clean up the bar as the other girls cleaned up the tables.

Steve put on some music to ease the tension, and I slowly forgot about the stranger. I went to the back to get some of the cleaning supplies when I noticed Nathan's door was slightly open. He never left the door open.

I went to close it so he wouldn't be bothered by the music when I noticed movement inside. "Holy..." I said before clamping my hand over my mouth.

There they were, Lacey on her knees while Nathan was standing up, leaning against his desk. Lacey's head bobbed back and forth between his legs. 'Shit!' I said as I tried to hide behind the door. I looked back to see if Nathan had seen me. Lacey had her back to the door while Nathan was facing it.