Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
W ednesday night and I have another shift at the bar, after a full day in the office. It’s been crazy today. New Comic Book Day (i.e. the day comics are released every week in comic shops) is always kind of a busy one, with interns like myself running around between departments, handling messages from comics retailers and monitoring social media for mentions of the latest books.
Primarily, that last bit is the Press Department’s focus, but interns are free extra hands on that, and on days like today the extra help is needed.
Despite the hectic day, I made it to JoyBox on time tonight, Barbs giving me a curt nod and an actual smile when I made it in and got behind the bar. Her beehive orange wig almost toppling in the process.
“Dude, you are really getting run ragged there at the moment,” Cal sits on a bar stool in front of me, cradling his whiskey. He always liked the harder stuff, saying it made him seem more mature and interesting. Honestly, the burn it gives the back of my throat always makes me want to gag.
“Eh, no more than usual,” he glares at me incredulously. “Okay, a bit more than usual, but hey, it’s cool, right? I’m being a sort of official liaison with Arran freakin’ Wilson. That’s a step up, right?”
Cal considers his drink, the look on his face conceding it’s cool. “I mean, okay, that is cool. Wilson is a great writer, and I love that you’ll get to meet him.”
“ We will. I’m sure I’ll be able to manage that, Arran wants me to show him around after all,” I smile.
“Sure, but I have a lot of prep to do for NYCC myself, and shifts at the shop and my class. Hopefully, if you can spare some time, you can help with the NYCC prep work for our table?”
I frown, as I really can’t see how that would work out. “I’ll see what I can do. And hey, Hank Wolowitz saw the comics I brought into work and took them to read. So he’s reading Flowers . You never know what that could mean, rig?—”
“Goddammit, Jesse!” Barbs snaps over from across the room, jerking her head violently towards a small crowd of guys waiting to be served that I had missed.
“Eep! Duty calls,” I make a face to Cal, and then get on with my actual job.
Once the orders are handled, I come back to talk to Cal, just as Julio enters. When he sees me, his face lights up and he makes a beeline for the bar.
“Jesse! Man, it’s great to see you. I had a really great night with you,” he says, blushing at that last part.
“Julio! Yeah, me too! Oh, I thought you might be working tonight, hang on,” I shoot off to the little staff area behind the bar, and return holding a copy of Flowers for the Dead and passing it to him. “Here ya go. One copy of Flowers for you to check out, as promised.”
Julio’s face practically radiates as his mouth hangs open and he makes a sound of deep appreciation. “Dude, this is sick! Thank you so much! Lemme pay for it.”
He reaches for his wallet, but I wave him off. “Don’t you dare. It’s on me,” I smile. “And hey, this is actually my co-writer on it, Callum Haverbrook.” The two of them shake hands, and Julio tells him how psyched he is to read the book, again telling Cal that it sounds ‘sick’.
“Look, I gotta jet, it’s my turn to run a little late,” he laughs, shooting me a wink. “I’ll catch you later on?”
“Sure,” I nod, smiling, and as he walks away, I feel my stomach knot and my smile falters.
“So that was Julio, huh?” Cal follows him with his eyes. “Okay, he really is a helluva hunk.”
“And he is so nice, I hate that I might end up hurting him,” I sigh.
Cal turns back to me. “Date didn’t go well?”
“Well, it went great, actually. But, I dunno, I kind of got the idea that maybe we wouldn’t be a good fit? Like, he’s sweet, and a good friend, I wouldn’t want to risk that if he doesn’t turn out to be the right guy for me.”
Cal almost spits out his drink. “Jesse, you looking for ‘the One’ all of a sudden? What brought that on?”
I shrug. “I dunno, it’s starting to feel like it’s the right time. I could probably do with someone more stable in my life, right?” And if it all turns out as I think, I’ll need the support. My thoughts slipping to the message in my phone, ticking like a bomb. “I just don’t know if that’s Julio, you know?”
“That’s fair. But then, you don’t have to settle down. You can give this a shot and if it doesn’t work out, I’m sure it won’t wreck your friendship…as long as you’re honest and communicate, you know.”
I lean on the bar, head in my hand. “Maybe…”
Barbs interrupts by sidling up next to Cal, shooting him a pleasant smile, before the facade dropping as she turns her attention to me.
“Jesse, sorry to interrupt, but could you please spare me a moment of your time?”
“Uh, sure thing, boss,” I say, shooting Cal an anxious look. Cal’s lips draw into a thin line and he nods, throwing back the last of his drink and leaving a tip on the bar, waving me good night.
In the small staff area, it’s hard not to feel pressed into the corner by Barb’s ample fake bosoms. “Look, Jesse, I don’t mind you having friends come and see you when you’re working, especially when they’re buying too, but this is getting ridiculous.”
Barb’s voice has lost all the edge of femme fatale, leaving just the gravel tones of a heavy smoker and the slightly nasal edge of my boss, Kenny.
“I’m sorry, Kenny, I promise it?—”
“And there’s the other thing, Jesse. Promises. Promises you never quite keep,” Kenny fixes me with a look, not stern but not soft either. “Look, you’re young, and you are working all kindsa gigs, I get that, kiddo. But lately, you’ve seemed really distracted and distant.
“Is everything okay? Do you need help with anything?”
I’m taken aback a little. Firstly, because this isn’t honestly where I thought this was going - when Kenny called me in for a private chat, I was starting to feel like I was about to get sacked. Secondly, because yeah, I do need help with something…but I don’t think my night job boss is the one to provide it.
“No, no, it’s just…I’ve just been really busy, as you said. The internship ramped up big time, and we have New York Comic Con next weekend, so it’s all just a lot to juggle right now. I’m sorry, I pro—I’ll be present, I will. I’m sorry to have let you down, Kenny.”
Kenny tilts his head back, hand shooting back up to his wig to keep it in place, and sighs out towards the ceiling.
“Look, don’t apologize, just be here if you’re gonna be here, okay? And if there is anything weighing on your mind, I hope you realize you can come to any of us here. I may come across as a hard ass, but that’s just my character.
“We are a community at the end of the day. A family, if you need it. But I can only help if you tell me you need it, okay, Jesse?”
“Sure,” I nod, feeling a slight burn in my eye, because I know Kenny means it, but I still can’t tell him. I still can’t tell anyone. I just…I need more time. “I’ll be better.”
“Don’t worry about ‘better’, Jesse, just be you. There’s a reason I hired you, and it’s not just the twinky pert little bubble butt. Though that definitely helps at Jocks and Socks.”
We laugh, and I feel some of the tension building in my shoulders release.
“That said…I’m going to give you fewer shifts next week and the week after,” Kenny says, returning to a serious tone.
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that?—”
“I know I don’t have to, but until you get your head back on straight, I think it’s for the best,” Kenny plants his finely manicured hand on my shoulder. “You said it yourself, you got a lot going on, and it’s clearly getting to you. Can you afford to miss out on some shifts for a week or two?”
“I guess…” I mumble. The tips recently have been good, and technically speaking there’s always mom and dad if I need it, but I don’t think I will.
“Then that’s what’s gonna happen. Obviously, I already have you on a few more nights this week, nothing I can do about that now, but let’s give you a little break for your comic con, and then see where your head’s at afterwards. Sound good?”
Not really. I’d rather keep busy. “Sure. Sure, I can do that,” I say. “Thank you, Kenny.”
“Don’t mention it,” Kenny straightens up, and readjusts his breastplate, and when he opens his mouth again his feminine edge returns and Barbs B Comin is back in the room. “Now get out there and sell some more drinks for mama.”
She exits first, and I limp out behind her, feeling like a failure.
End of the night, and Julio makes his way over to me, clothes back on and my comic in his hand.
“Hey, Jesse,” he pauses, seeing my face and his smile drops, “Hey, why the long face?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. It’s nothing…I’ve just kinda been put on leave for a couple weeks. Kenny thinks I haven’t got my head in the game here, what with everything going on,” I say, apologetically, not wanting to kill Julio’s buzz.
“Ah, that sucks, man. But hey, time off! You’ll have more evenings to yourself, right?”
Rubbing my neck, I tilt my head, feeling awkward. “Well, in theory. But with NYCC coming up, and I got roped into being an actual talent liaison with this new guy we want to sign up, I dunno, maybe Kenny’s right…”
Surprisingly, Julio smiles. “Dude, that is awesome! See, I told you you were a bigger deal than you think,” he bounces on the balls of his feet, beaming at me, and it’s infectious. I can’t help but smile too. “There it is! Look, seing as you might not be around for a bit, can I get you to sign my copy of the comic?”
“Wait, what?” I’m taken aback, but then laugh at the absurdity of it. “I mean, sure. I still have some shifts this week, I’m not disappearing, man. But sure, pass it over.”
He does, and I grab a Sharpie from under the bar, sign my name on the cover of Flowers for the Dead and hand it back to him. “Shame you missed the chance to get Cal to sign it too.”
“Ah, I got the most important one,” he says, hand lingering on mine as we hold the comic between us. “And hey, don’t worry about date number two yet. You’re busy being a big shot. I ain’t gonna rush you.”
Blushing, I fumble over what to say, “Oh, yeah, I guess. That’s cool. Julio, I?—”
Julio leans across the bar and plants a kiss on my cheek, and as I feel the warmth of his breath brush along towards my ear, I can’t help but feel the heat rising to color my cheeks again.
“Okay, I gotta head out. I’ll see you around, big shot!” Julio jumps back, comic in hand (which he rolled up and I have to stifle a squirm throughout my body to see a comic, let alone mine, handled that way), waving and winking at me.
I stand behind the bar for a beat, still at a loss for what exactly I should do. Oh boy.