I found the drink order I was looking for and rushed to make it before slipping out from behind the bar and dropping it off. Another table that was finally ready to order after sitting there for fifteen minutes also flagged me down. Something else about working in a restaurant was that it was almost impossible to remember to smile and be friendly while I was also trying to feed and water these vultures. I would never take for granted the service industry again.

Once I was back behind the bar, I rang in the food order before starting to help Bev with the next rush of customers waiting to be served. Making drinks was probably the only part of the job that I enjoyed. I wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but at least I had some of the simpler drinks locked down. Plus, Bev had a laminated book of drink recipes that she kept behind the bar. Sometimes if it was a guy who ordered something I wasn’t familiar with, I asked them what was in it while batting my eyelashes and smiling. They never seemed to take offense to that.

Three girls all dressed in pastel puffy jackets finally made it to the front of the bar line. They all had perfect blowouts tucked underneath fuzzy hats and faces full of makeup. Had they actually gone skiing or were they just here to look cute? Honestly, a vibe I could get behind.

“What can I get you all?” I asked.

Two giggled at something the blonde had said and I tried to shove down the pang in my chest. They were about my age, and judging from the expensive outfits and manicured nails, clearly had their lives together. Alright, I had no way of knowing that for sure, but I could tell they weren’t stressed about anything at the current moment. Meanwhile, I was here. A girl struggling to tend bar with an unsteady future. I’d already had more job application rejections than I could count over the past week. It was completely disheartening. I knew the job market wasn’t great right now, but to not even be able to land a phone interview was a huge blow to my already-fragile ego.

“We’ll have three palomas,” the blonde in the pink coat relayed to me, hardly making eye contact.

“Great choice,” I said with a forced smile.

I poured tequila into a shaker, followed by grapefruit soda, then finished making their drinks before running back to the kitchen and dropping off a few orders.

After about another forty minutes, the bar had finally quieted down a little. It was still crowded, but the rush that always happened after the ski hill closed had finally dissipated.

“You’re getting better,” Bev observed, wiping a few glasses and placing them behind the bar.

“That’s kind of you to say, but I know you’re lying.”

Bev tossed her head back and laughed at that, but she didn’t fight me further on it. She hadn’t been kidding when she said she was basically running the restaurant now. Aside from me, there were only a few other bartenders and waiters working here still.