Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night
Sunday, February 7th, day 252
Wee hours of the morning
Whitechapel inn, upstairs
This is why I hate weekends. I’m told that people in other lines of work actually enjoy them, use them to go out and generally have the good time they can’t other nights, when they have to get up and work in the morning. The difficulty I have with this is that the places most people decide to go to for their good times are the places I usually work. We made plenty of money tonight, I’m sure, and I wasn’t hurting for tips, either, but the crowd tonight was messy and lingering, although not particularly imaginative and rowdy.
The Whitechapel may not be a nice bar, but if I’m working here it will sure as hell be a clean one. Once we finally got everyone out, Adam and I scrubbed the tables and the bar down and then put the chairs up and mopped the floors. God, I hate mopping, but there’s no other way to get everything off the floor that our dear customers leave behind. So here it is nearly three, and we’ve just now finished. Everything I’m wearing is grimy, and my feet are aching for new boots. I did stop in the bar’s tiny kitchen to wash my hands and face and mix up two mugs of the hot buttered rum I’ve been wanting. Well, one mug. Mine is hot buttered molasses and water, which won’t taste nearly as good, but if I’m going to bed with a man I just met, I’m doing it with a clear head, just in case. Unless he offers me a sample of the brandy that’s the reason I’m doing this. Then I might make an exception.
At least the bed will be warm, thank God, and I won’t have to stand up and make conversation at the same time. If it gets better from there, that would be nice, but keeping your expectations low is a good way to not be disappointed in the morning. Before I go in, I make enough noise on the landing to announce my presence if he’s awake, but I’m not knocking on my own door. Really need to find a more permanent place if I’m going to be having people over.
OPEN to Arkady
CLOSED