Page 9 of Old-Fashioned

I smiled at her and said, “At a cute little vendor out in the Mojave desert.”

“Next time, take me with you. I’d love a top like that.”

I nodded. And smiled at her.

She held her hand out over the counter, “I’m Priscilla, you are?”

Grinning, I offered her my hand in return, “I’m Birdie, and in exchange for telling you where I got my top, tell me where you got your bangles?”

She laughed, “I make them,” then she grabbed a card from the counter and handed it to me.

I had a feeling; I now had a fifth friend.

We gabbed while she got my coffee ready, and I asked her if she knew where a quaint gazebo was in town.

She also found out I was new in town, took my number, and promised to dish about all the cute places and interesting things to see.

With my coffee in hand, since it was a nice day, and according to Priscilla, the gazebo wasn’t far, so I decided to walk.

Miss Maggie had been quite accurate. It was a quaint little gazebo.

And the moment I sat down, a soft breeze blew my hair to the left.

Therefore… I smiled.

Softly, with an even softer smile on my face, I said, “Okay, Miss Maggie. Okay.”

Needing to find a place to stay, I got up, my decision to settle here and see how I liked it and headed to my car.

But something from the corner of my eye caught my attention.

It was of a building in light washed grey with posts holding up a roof, with wall-to-wall windows, and tables outside of it with stringing lights.

Light music fanned out of the door every time it opened.

The sign above it read, Virgin Mary’s, Bar & Grill.

I hadn’t realized my feet had moved in that direction, not until I caught the scent of something fabulous, and then on a side window, I saw a help wanted sign.

Deciding to mentally say screw it, and knowing I needed to get a bite to eat, I tossed my now empty cup in a trash can off to the side, walked to the door, opened it, and walked inside.

The place looked like it belonged in a romantic comedy about a guy meeting a girl at a bar. Said girl not able to take his cheesy one-liners, and then doing an awesome rendition of Sandy shoving Danny away from her.

And by that awesome rendition… shoving her red-clad heel into the man’s chest and shoving him away from her.

That was Miss Maggie’s favorite movie. Poodle skirts, pink leather jackets, and all.

Shaking my head, I walked over to the bar where a man was standing, he saw me coming, smiled, and nodded, “What can I get ya, Darlin’?”

I smiled as I took a seat on a dark wood bar stool with a black leather top, and asked, “Can I get a menu? The food smells amazing.

Once I placed an order and got a soda, I looked at the man and asked, “I saw the help wanted sign in the front window. Are y’all still looking to hire?”

He nodded, “We are. You got any experience?”

I nodded, “Yeah, worked in a bar for two years back home. I’m good on the fly and can make change quickly.”

He rubbed at his white-bearded chin, then nodded, “The owner is out for the day, but his manager is here. Let me grab her for ya, and I’ll check on your food.”