Log: Dress Code

[junavie]

Summary:  Piper shows up to work in sub-par clothing.  June decides it's about time to remedy the situation.  Then there's a lesson in the finer art of dish-washing.
Location:  The Lucky Seven, Ista Weyr
Date:  8-10-09

It's just at the beginning of the evening, the sun disappeared but its light not yet gone, and here at the tavern it's still too early to tell whether or not it will be a busy night. The girls of The Lucky Seven gradually drift into the large main room, casually reporting for their various duties though the time for them to begin hasn't quite come yet. June swipes glasses with a clean cloth at the bar with Danta while Chidiree and Valenia sit, shuffling their decks and idly comparing tricks, slights of hand. The others have yet to show, though undoubtedly they are on their way. All in all, it's a customary tableau for the tavern's only other employee to walk in on.

Piper has been out and about today. To those sitting inside the tavern, they may hear her as she approaches. Rather, hear Doe's steps, as heavy and loud as a trotting runner can be. That and the door is ajar. So, as she dismounts, the ladies inside may hear her jingling and jangling as tack is loosened and Doe's tied to whatever post Piper can find. To the side of the building of course. And with a clomping up the steps, Piper pushes the door open the rest of the way. She's not so much dirty today, as sweaty. And with shirt and pants looking wet. And there's the boss, "Hey, I report for duty." Said with a smirk as she approaches June with her glasses.

Everyone looks up when Piper enters, but it's only June's gaze that sticks. "Hey," she echoes the younger woman, smile ready and friendly even though her eyes track up and down that sweaty appearance. "Good timing." The girls themselves are decked in appropriately summery sunset hues, neat and quietly alluring even though a faint sheen also shows on their foreheads. "Grab a rag and start wiping," is Piper's first assignment, given as the boss gestures faintly at the crate of clean but water-streaked glasses atop the bar. Meanwhile, Petra and Livi slip lightly down the stairs, the latter announcing idly, "Looks good up there," to which June nods her approval.

Yes, her clothes are wet. Piper catches June's glance downwards. "I'm a little wet." Said with a quick examination of her shirt. And a double brush of her pant legs. "It's just from washing Doe." Let's hope it dries before customers arrive. Not that they'll be paying much attention to runner-girl. "Where do you keep your..." Ah, her eyes answer her half question, "rags?" There's one sitting on the barstool. A little /used/, but she folds it in half and gets to wiping, "So, you expecting much of a crowd tonight?"

Good girl, June doesn't even have to point. Eyebrows that were lifted during the beginning of Piper's question settle back into their normal pleasant level as soon as the girl finds what she's looking for. "No more than usual, I guess." She turns to gauge Danta's guess, but her sister stays in her normal silent state and simply shrugs. June takes it as assent and nods before inspecting, very closely, the glass she's just finished shining. "I want you to tell me something, Piper," she begins again once that glass is set in its appropriate spot behind the bar and she's drawn out another. "Do you own a dress?" Such an innocent question, June lifts her eyes to wait on the answer, brows faintly raised again.

After a nod for the traffic tonight, Piper's managing to dutifully scrub the counter in front of her. "These don't really seem too dirty." Things are relative. She's got her head down working absently, and at the word 'dress', it pops up. "Uh, no I don't have one." The wiping stops while she angles to see June better, "I mean, I do, but it's probably not what you're thinking. I sort of made it out of a bunch of old pants." Lovely thing. "It's like a crazy quilt, not anything like what you all've got on." A head point to June. "Is that a problem?"

June's smile never fades, but her eyes squint, lightly puzzled at the concept of a dress made of pants and the motivation that would drive someone to do it. "Not one that we can't fix," she answers in a tone that's probably supposed to be reassuring. The next glass is finished and she doesn't reach for another one just yet, instead pausing to rest her elbows on the bar and stare across while Danta continues working. "I think I'm going to buy you a couple," June muses after a short span of silence. "Just for work," she adds quickly, with a gentle flick of her fingers. She doesn't care how she looks beyond that.

Being a fairly new hire, Piper doesn't really relish the thought of bringing up objections to the dress business, but her eyebrows raise in a tight worried question mark. "What about when I have to actually /do/ my job. How can I ride with a dress on?" Although the possibilities aren't so awful, such as hiking the thing up to her waist.

Functionality hasn't escaped June, which she proves by readily supplying options. "You can wear short pants underneath. Or pull the back hem up and tuck it. Women do it all the time." Her voice is calm and even as ever, not unsettled one bit by Piper's less than enthused response. "It would just be something simple, anyway. In black or brown, I think," she adds, favoring the girl with an assesing gaze. "It doesn't have to be extravagant, but, well." And a hand lifts to gesture around at the girls, the card-playing Chidiree and Valenia, Petra and Livi heading to the porch to start a game of darts before the customers arrive, all in dresses. "We have an image."

Another downward glance at her outfit and Piper's face lights up at the thought, "I don't mind wearing a dress. I clean-up." With some help, the girl might actually be pretty, "I kinda feel shy when I'm in a dress. People treat me different. Sort of look at me longer before saying anything." And that she notices must embarrass her because she's back to scrubbing the counter. "I kind of like it." Said as a shushed afterthought to the countertop. Sweet thing. "I might wear a hat with it though."

June listens a bit ambivalently through the beginning of Piper's opinion on dresses, but her smile spreads wide and pleased when she admits to liking it. "It can be nice," she agrees warmly, then, "Wear whatever you like with it. Is there a particular style I should look for?" See, she's not unreasonable by any means. Chidiree has a request to make for her and lifts it over her shoulder, "No ruffles." "I think ruffles might look good on her," Valenia protests lightly. Neither of them lift their eyes from the cards.

Pursing her lips deep in dress thought, "I like ruffles, actually." Picture the short haired butch girl in a ruffle dress. "The unexpected. That or something really old fashioned. Ivory, long sleeved and buttoned up to my chin. I could work that look with my crop. Men might not mind the runner girl, if she looks like she could hurt them." Who would've thought she'd thought through this before. "Underneath, I'll probably just wear my usual pants." /Snap/ goes the fabric, in demonstration of their tightness. "Boots too. Maybe I could find some riding boots that look more like dress boots. Heel and small foot." Her shoulders lift and fall at all the tossed ideas. Whatever.

Cue Chidiree's disgusted groan, which in turn will cue a few chuckles, one from June herself. She lets Piper throw out whatever ideas and whims come to her, then says when she's finished, "I like it. Could look very nice." That decided, she straightens herself again and resumes cleaning the few glasses that she and Danta have left to go through. "I'll have a look around for something tomorrow, maybe. Tonight..." Her voice trails off, leaving only the squeak of the rag rubbed firmly against the glass. "Oh, you'll be fine for tonight. So, how are you liking the runner business?"

Groans must be her favorite, Piper chuckles at Chidree, "No, ruffles are amazing. In fact the bigger the better. Hot pink even." She reaches up to mess her hair a little, "Yup, the boys love em Chidree, you should try." The rag is now being totally useless, Piper's got it in front of her, swinging it in a little cirlce. She's a fidgeter. And then with a swipe of the nose, "Cool, can I come with you?" Shopping! She's is a female. "Tonight I'll try to hide in the corners, keep the menfolk from being too turned off by my manly attire." A jest, for sure, "Although....some might kind of like my look." Whether those men would have any money to spend on drinks is another issue.

The girls laugh at Piper's jests, a rippling little chuckle from June and even a soft breath of laughter from Danta. "Sure," June replies on the lagging edge of her laugh, "come if you like. We'll start at Skinner's market just after lunch." The earliest June is usually willing to start her errands. "See if there's anything worth looking at there before we swing in to see the weavers in the caverns." Plan made and the finishing touch put on the final glass, June loses the rag and places hands on her hips to survey how the bar is shaping up for the night. It must pass muster, because she relaxes, taking up a lean on the bar again. "You're liking this arrangement so far, then?" she prompts the new girl, chin supported by her upturned hand.

A lazy but giddy smile spreads across Piper's face. "I'll just have to show you ladies some night. With my ruffles, and all the confusion about what /exactly/ my job description is." More of that chuckling for such an absurd thought, "Although, that might dissapoint the clientele. No drinks service from ruffle girl." Setting her joking aside, "As far as the job? I've liked it so far. My favorite was the other night when a wife tracked me down in the Bowl and begged me to give her a ride back here. Apparently her husband was suppose to be getting her something from the stores, and it took him a little longer than expected." Oops. "That was pretty funny." A little look ceiling ward, in smirked reflection. "What've you got for me tonight?"

That single arched eyebrow of June's hints at disapproval for such confusion, but her smile and easy manner prove it to be light enough. Indeed, it disappears altogether when consideration for the clientele is brought up. She nods and chuckles faintly then settles to listen to the actual answer to her question. Her little story gains attention from more than just June and, at the end, more laughs too. "Oh, that is a good one," June comments, humor still lingering in the rich pronunciation of her words. As for tonight, she looks around the room when prompted. "Nothing out of the ordinary, that I can think of. Busing and washing may be the most important, we're short on glasses tonight." Which would explain the extra crate they just unpacked.

"I'm just glad I didn't get caught in the middle of those two. Yikes." Piper's face looks pained. Mocked though it is. "The lady asked me to drop them off in the jungle. I'm pretty sure I heard screams as I got out of there. Poor guy, gettin his ass kicked by his wife." She folds her rag in half and leans across the bar to lay it somewhere it won't be seen. Oh, there in that bucket. "So, I can understand the busing part." A moment or two..."But...when you say /cleaning/ what exactly does that entail. Like....laundry?" It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

"No, no, no," June is quick to reassure her, "not laundry. Just dishes. They're easy enough." Spoken like a true expert at dish-washing. "Here, I'll show you." And she pushes off of the bar, turning with the expectation that Piper will follow. "It's about time you learned this," she says as she continues through the doorway behind the bar and down the fairly long hallway that is connected to it. It empties into a small kitchen area, scattered with a long table, a stove, a short counter and, the spot of interest right now, a tub of a sink. A bucket of soapy water stands next to it.

Shouldn't Piper be sighing in relief? She's not, "Oh, too bad." Instead maybe hoping for a little peek into the inner workings of the business. But, being the new girl she follows June back to the kitchen. "Dishes are easy. Do you think I'll be doing dishes most nights? Not that I don't looove me a dish!" Smile there, a little play is all in fun as she reaches for a plate. "But, do you think I'll get a chance to be out front at all?" Intrigue and mystery. Not to be found in a bucket of bubbles. "What if a brawl breaks out and you need me to run for help?" ....seriously.

June dips her fingers into the soapy water as they near it, testing one quality or another, and then flicks them at the sink to remove the water after she's done so. "Dishes need to be done most nights," is the joking response, made with a strong smile, but she does elaborate more helpfully. "You won't be the only one doing them, though. Whoever sees they need doing does them." Honor code and all that. "Until then, you'll be up front, taking the dishes, wiping the tables, delivering drinks... run for help if needed. But if you see a sink full of glasses..." June slaps her hand on the edge of the sink. "Dip them in there," the soapsud bucket, "wipe them out good," there's a pile of clean cloths nearby, "and rinse them," her gesture points out the sink at last.

As June dips her fingers, Piper moves closer, reaching for a rag to wipe it off with. "This is sort of like bachelor washing, isn't it?" Or weyrling washing? "I don't rinse them? Just wash, wipe and dry?" Asking, checking to see if she's got her instructions correct. "I guess the glasses are full of alcohol, so it doesn't really matter how clean they get." No germs. "I think I got it."

"No," June corrects, repeating, with a heap of patience, the process for the girl one more time. "Dip, wipe, rinse," the final word gets a little stress. "Then dry. Once they're dry, you can gather them up into a crate-- /carefully/-- and carry them back out to the bar and help unpack them." She inclines her head and hitches her eyebrows a half-inch higher, silently inquiring as to whether she's clear or not.

A wink, "I kid June." Piper smiles after picking up a glass. Trying to make up for being a smart alek, she shows her she knows how to properly wash a dish. Bubbles, rag, water. "Sparkly. Sorry, but I've washed lots of dishes. I was just goofin." She dries the clean glass, and asks, "Like this?" Just making sure.

"Okay, good," June replies, putting the humor back into her tone, as well as a bit of relief now that her new hire proves herself to not be a complete dunce. She blink-a-blinks a few fast times, then surveys the washing of the example dish, drawing out a smile just as shiny as the newly cleaned glass when it's finished. "Perfect. So there's that, all the stuff in the front," she tosses her hand in a quick gesture at the hallway they came through, "and then dealing with all the drunks, of course, much later." Easy as pie, her tone says for her.

Piper's attention is politely on her boss lady. "I'm glad I'm not a complete idiot." A relief really. Her mind skims past all of the other required new hire talk, until she hears the word drunk. "Wait, what about the drunks? You can tell me. I've dealt with lots of those types back home. Even had to punch one guy. Whack the sober into him." She glances down at one of her arms. "He didn't seem to notice. But, he did end up leaving. Through the back door, and out to the barn. But, at least I didn't have to smell his nastiness anymore."

June listens to the story, all smiles, lowering herself into a lean against the door jam. "That works," she comments cheerily. "Deal with them however they need to be dealt with. Most just need a nudge, some need," and she lifts a hand to call out, with a chuckle, the example from Piper's story, "a whack or two. I expect you'll know. Worst you'll have to deal with," not worst there will be, but worst that the tavern runner will deal with, "is a passed out sack of shit you can just toss over your saddle and haul away."

"Maybe that could be my side job. Niche girl. Those unruly men will have to see the smart end of my whip." If she happens to have it on her while washing glasses in the back. "Again...I'm telling you. Some guys might come here just to get drunk and let the Tavern Runner hit them." While in hot pink ruffles. "And, yeah sure, I'll take the sacks somewhere." Wicked smile. "How about the beach. Am I allowed to mess with them a little?" She draws a moustache with both fingers across her face. Just to be sure we all know what 'messing' she's talking about. Purely innocent.

June answers the wickedness Piper brings to the table with a momentary show of slyness in her expression, smile dipping on one side to make it lopsided. "As long as they have no idea it's you doing the messing," she warns, still keeping the voice of the practical and cautious tavern owner for all her conspiratorial glance. She rounds it off with a laugh, eyes squinting up with mirth while they dart over to the doorway, peering out to check on the status of the main room.

"I can't see what harm a few moustaches would cause." Piper can only imagine. "Other than being a little difficult to wash off." Causing possible scaring. This is all said at a whisper, conspiratorial talk needs to be hushed "As far as I'm concerned, a man comes here for an experience." And being dropped off in a random location while slobbering drunk could be one of them. Not to mention the messing. "You see anybody here yet boss lady?"

"That they do," June agrees good-naturedly, giving a wave of her hand and in a lowered tone that doesn't quite meet Piper's whisper, adding, "Do what you want, just don't get caught." Subtext says the tavern owner won't have her back if she does. As for customers, "No, it was just Petra coming back in. But we should probably get back, see if there's anything else that needs... Oh." Something occurs to her just as she's starting back, not even a full two steps toward the door. She points at the other side of the room, at another doorway, darkened and hidden by a slight outcropping of the wall. "Don't go back there." Simple enough boundary, that.

"I won't. Never Do." Piper replys for getting caught. And a simple nod for getting back out front. She wipes her hand on the edge of the driest rag she can find there on the counter. With this movement, she happens to be facing the very darkened doorway June is directing her attention towards. "Why not?" Not that she would. But a dark, sneaky doorway. "The question begged to be asked."

June sighs slightly, but indulges. "It's not as exciting as you're thinking, I guarantee it. It leads to our rooms, our things. Private. You can get to the stills going that way, but you won't ever need to," she explains easily. "Most people don't even make it this far, so you're already a special few," she adds, giving her that slightly tilted smile for a second longer before it straightens and she gestures for Piper to precede her out into the main room. After you.

Piper blinks at June, "I feel a little silly for asking." Hands all dry and patting on her thighs, she heads towards the door. A little quicker than she needs to, still tossing over her shoulder "You induldged me, so thanks. Private space is cool. I'll stay out." June might notice while walking behind Piper, that for being around horses all day, she still smells sweet. And if she looks closely she might notice the tatoo through the sheerness of the backside of Piper's shirt. Not enough to quite make it out, but that there is one there along her shoulderblade. Also, the same area one might expect to see a bra. Nope, nada here.

The dress was the hurdle for today, if June notices any more, they're filed away for a future date. Right now is the time to focus on the tavern itself. On returning to the main room, grown dimmer in their absence now that sunlight is no longer streaming through the windows, she pauses to survey it all. "Everyone ready for a fun night?" she asks of the girls gathered there, all present save for Ruesse, who must have the night off. There's a slight slant of bright sarcasm in her voice, a tease that's met with all the lack of enthusiasm one might expect. The girls each give their own brand of an unenthused response, some matched with familiar, indulgent smiles. June turns to Piper then, for her response.

Look at the pretty ladies, all colorful and....ladylike. Piper stares for a moment, well sort of. Her eyes go from one to the next. "Ya'll look hot." I'd do ya, she doesn't say. Thank goodness. "If anyone wants to borrow Doe tonight, for like a romantic beach ride with a /friend/. You're welcome to." She can do enthusiastic sarcasm too. "June, do you want me to light some candles. You know atmosphere. Or make the men look a little better." It's a thought.

Oh, Piper has Valenia positively preening through her all-too-evident blush. Livi also takes the compliment well, thanking her silently with a twitch of a smile. Danta, indifferent as she is, might also be a mark in the win column, but Chidiree and Petra both roll their eyes and get on with their idleness before the workday(night) begins. "Don't think there's any way you could improve on the mugs that come in here," June answers, with a short pat to Piper's shoulder, "I wouldn't try too hard." And just in time, here comes a couple of those mugs now, young ones, quite handsome ones actually if you don't look too hard. The atmosphere of the bar subtly changes: the girls' smiles are drawn up to greet them, June stands a little straighter, and gradually, so as to make the movement look organic, the girls drift toward their different postings. "Time to work," June says in an aside to Piper as she moves past her to grab an apron for herself, the uniform for those working the bar. "Have fun," she remembers to add, though, with a small grin.

Piper is happy to oblige and then takes her cue to sort of drift over to sit near Valenia, the preening may not be an invitation, but she figures she should be fairly safe near her. Pulling out a care and dropping a quiet, "Nice dress." Fiddling with a napkin on the table. "Do you know anyone who smokes around here?"

Valenia pockets her cards, welcoming her new tablemate now that Chidiree is sauntering toward the games room. "Thanks," the younger redhead responds brightly, then puzzling for a second over the question of smokes. "None of us do," she prefaces, pausing for another moment of thought before continuing, "but some of the men do. I know I've seen a few with..." Instead of finishing the sentence, she mimes the motion of a smoke, two fingers held to her lips arguably more elegantly than the male customers would do it. "It'll be a cinch to bum one, don't worry." The first customers, already in and heading straight for the bar, are scoped out to see if they're the smoke-carrying type.

"Shit. Really, none of you?" Piper eyes the guys over yonder. But, for someone with a habit, she doesn't seem too eager to go chatting up those barmates. "If you don't know them, I'm not planning on asking them. They could be crazies." Her odds at self defense are better after they've sat there for a while. So, she puts both skinny arms on the table. Palms flat. "You like doing this job?" Asked plainly enough. If she really /enjoys/ doing what she does.

"Odds are," Valenia answers with a veiled giggle, eyeing the potential crazies over again, flirting with the few that are looking even as she badmouths them. That flirting is sidetracked easily enough, though, by Piper's question. "Oh. Yeah. I mean, some of it's a bit gross," and she wrinkles her nose to illustrate the fact, "but more of it is fun. I get to dress up all pretty every night and the men all dote on me and we laugh and have a good time. Even when they're..." She's cut off then, catching a glimpse of June's gesture over Piper's shoulder, one that tells her she should be getting to the game room instead of chatting. "Oh, gotta go," she says instead, already standing. "You can come along for a bit, if you want. 'Til they need you out here."

Enthralling stuff, Piper's listening intently, "Gross, I can imagine." Not so much the fun part. And then it's time to split, "I've got to go check on my beastie outside. Feed her and all that. I'll see you around later. No cheatin the boys out of their marks." Piper pushes off and heads to the door, her boots clomping the way on outside. "Hey June, I'll be out this way." Thumb point, "Send the belligerent ones this way."