Blood of the Son (Book #1 in the Skye Morrison Vampire Series) (Skye Morrison Series) (24 page)

I filled the kettle with water and sat it on the stove top to heat up.  I took out some of the leftover breakfast that Jameson had cooked for me this morning and popped it into the microwave to heat up for dinner.  Styvi Nix slowly padded her way into the kitchen and sat down at my feet, looking up at me.  She gently pawed at my leg.

I looked down and smiled.  “Okay.  Apology accepted.  Now, want to share some bacon with me?”  She wagged her stumpy tail and turned around once in a circle.  I made us a plate of leftover bacon, biscuits with strawberry jam, and fruit salad.  I poured the hot water into a cup and added a bag of Thai milk tea to it to steep. 

I took our meal into the living room and curled up on the couch with it and Styvi.  We ate supper as we watched one of my favorite John Hughes movies, “Say Anything”.  John Cusack was so dreamy in it.  The boom box scene out in front of Diane Court’s house makes me swoon every time.  

After it was over, I cleaned up the kitchen and ran upstairs to take a shower.  The hot spray felt good on my tense neck and shoulders.  I took my time with my bath.  For once, I was in no hurry for it to be over.  I toweled off when I was done and blow dried my hair straight.  I selected a thong and my old Boston Red Socks t-shirt to sleep in.  It was a hand me down from my mom.  I think she had inherited it from someone because it was a men’s extra-large and it hung down to my mid-thigh.  My mother was much shorter than me, but we wore the same size in clothing.

I whistled for Styvi Nix as I climbed into bed.  I heard her bound up the steps seconds before I felt her jump in it with me.  I held up the covers so she could curl up underneath them.  “Goodnight, super star,” I said as I reached over and turned off the lamp.  I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep while thoughts of Jesse and Archer ran through my head.

The next few days were relatively uneventful.  I continued working at Drop Kick Dan’s during the day and The Mausoleum at night.  I did as Archer asked and trained the newly hired staff.  I set the dancers up with their schedules and assigned them to their cages.  I explained the hourly cage rotating schedule that I had come up with and answered any questions that they had.  I also assigned the 5 general workers to their areas.  I had three that were dedicated to cleaning, one that was a designated bar back, and one floater. 

I was glad that Jameson was there to help me, but it turned out that I didn’t really need his help after all.  And, it was just as well.  Archer had him pretty busy with the construction crews who were making last minute fixes and the rad interior decorator who was putting the finishing touches on the décor.  I saw him every night, but we hadn’t really had a chance to sit down and talk.  Every time we did talk, it was about what still needed to be done before Archer got back on Tuesday or about what deliveries we had gotten in that day.  And, boy did we have deliveries.  Our two stockrooms were filled to the brink with alcohol bottles, glass wear, paper products, and cleaning supplies. 

We almost needed a third room, but I had decided to take that room and turn it into an employee lounge.  The dancers needed somewhere to change and we all needed a place to chill out on our breaks.  (I was kind of surprised to see that Archer hadn’t thought to do it before he hired me.)  I fitted one side of the employee lounge with two black leather couches, a boom box that I brought from home, a small fridge, a microwave, and a glass dining room table that seated six.  The other side held a wall mounted unit of twenty-four mini lockers, a big lighted mirror, and changing screens in each of the two corners.

Jameson looked impressed when I showed it to him.  I was a little worried about how Archer would feel about me doing it, but Jameson reassured me that it was perfectly okay.  After all, Archer had given me free reign when he left and the employees fell under my duty.  I wanted to make sure they had a small space of their own. 

By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, the construction crews at The Mausoleum were gone and the interior decorator was finished. 

 “I’m coming, I’m coming,” I yelled out, setting my cup of tea down on the kitchen table and pulling my robe closed.  It was 8:30am and someone was pounding away at my front door. 

I checked the peep hole before I opened it.  Nikki was standing there with a huge smile and a plate of muffins.

“Morning, cupcake!” she sang as she pushed past me and hurried into the kitchen.  “I brought you breakfast!  I decided to make my famous Organic Vegan Blueberry Oat muffins, ‘cause I know how much you love ‘em.  I thought we’d celebrate your last day at Drop Kick Dan’s.”

I smiled and shook my head.  Nikki was so unpredictable sometimes and I loved that about her.  I shut the door and followed her into the kitchen.  “I think you just made my morning, girlfriend,” I laughed as I got out two saucers from the cupboard and poured Nikki a cup of hot water.  I selected her favorite blend of tea, Tazo’s Wild Sweet Orange, and made my way over to the table.

“Damn, those look good,” I said as she put a muffin on each of our plates. 

“They ARE good,” she smiled.  “I had one while I got ready this morning.”

I pealed down part of the muffin wrapper and took a big bite.  “Oh, have mercy, Nikki,” I said as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm blueberry goodness.  “These are just to die for.  Have I told you lately how much I adore you?”

She laughed and bit into her own.  “Yeah, I thought you’d like them.  I haven’t made them in a while and we were way past due for a sit down.”

“Thank you so much, Nik.  I was just going to have a banana for breakfast.”

“A banana isn’t breakfast, cupcake.  A banana is a snack,” she admonished.  “I know you’ve been super busy lately with the two jobs, but you need to take time for yourself and eat a good meal every day.  It’s no wonder you passed out last week.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed.  “Yes, mother.”

Nikki gasped and her jaw dropped.  “Oh, no you didn’t!” she screeched as she playfully threw her napkin at me. 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” I laughed as I help up my hands in surrender.  “You’re right.  Thank you for feeding me.  I appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” she winked.  “So, how about we ride to work together today?  You missed our Krav Maga class on Sunday and I haven’t had a chance to tell you about the new guy I’m seeing.”

“Oh, yeah?” I cocked my eyebrow.  “New guy, huh?  I want all the juicy details.”

After we finished breakfast and girl-talked a bit, I ran upstairs to get ready while she cleaned up.  I brushed my teeth, did my makeup, and quickly ran a flat iron through a few unruly sections of hair.  I picked out a black pleated mini-skirt, my tuxedo t-shirt baby doll top, and fishnets.  I tossed a blood red demi bra, a black mesh long sleeve shirt, and my DIY (Do It Yourself) Christian Louboutin knockoff Alti spiked pumps into my messenger bag for later.  I threw on my black Chucks and raced Styvi Nix down the stairs. 

I quickly put down some fresh food and water for her, kissed her goodbye, and followed Nikki out the door.  We piled into her old brown Volvo wagon and chatted about our love life all the way downtown.  When we got to Drop Kick Dan’s, I was in for a surprise.  The bar was decorated with rainbow streamers and tons of balloons.  There was a table set up by the stage that held a huge sheet cake, a veggie plate, flowers, an oversized farewell card, and a huge banner that said “We’ll Miss You, Skye!”.

“Surprise!” Dan, Fiona, Angel, Roger, and Nikki yelled. 

Tears sprang to my eyes and I blinked quickly to try and keep them from spilling over.  “Oh, you guys!  You shouldn’t have…”

Dan rushed over to me and hugged me.  “We couldn’t very well let you leave us without showing you just how much you meant to us these last four years.”

“We’ve got pizza and wings coming later,” Fiona said as she greeted me.  “We’re throwing you a farewell party at five.  All your favorite customers will be here.  Dan’s running a drink special all day in your honor, so we are expecting a huge crowd.”

“Yeah.  We’re having $1 Kamikazes, $2 Margaritas, Sex on the Beach, and Red-Headed Sluts, and $5 domestic pitchers all day,” said Dan.

“$2 Red-Headed Sluts…I love how you included that,” I said and we all laughed.  I looked around at all the beautiful decorations and couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.  “Gosh, y’all are so sweet.  This is just amazing.  Thank you,” I said as I took turns hugging each one of them. 

“We hate to see you go, cupcake, but we are so happy for you,” Nikki said, throwing her arm around my shoulder.  “If you ever get tired of those gorgeous men, you still have a place here.”

I laughed and bumped her with my hip.  “Like that’ll ever happen,” I joked under my breath.

Dan broke up the gathering and put us all to work.  I helped Nikki cut up the drink garnishes behind the bar and then I worked the floor.  We had a steady inflow of summer tourists and regulars all afternoon.  Dan made sure our regulars went by the party table and signed my farewell card.  It looked as though he had been busy gathering signatures on it all weekend.  I tried to take a peek at it a time or two, but Dan caught me every time.  He said that I had to wait for my party this evening.

Around four o’clock, two more employees showed up to lend a hand for the rest of the night.  Dan had hired two new girls to replace me and Heather.  They were both around my age and as sweet as could be. 

The bar was filling up quickly and I was glad for the extra help.  Dan and Nikki were slammed at the bar with drink orders.  Dan’s drink specials were a huge hit with everyone.  At 5:00pm Mallory, one of the new girls, took over my section and Fiona took over for Dan behind the bar.  I walked with Dan to the back office and cashed out for the last time.

“Damn, girl,” said Dan as he was calculating up the tips I got today from the debit and credit card payments.  “Do you have any idea how much you made tonight?”

I laughed and took out the wad of cash from my front pocket.  “$286 in cash.  What do you have?”

He looked at me with wide eyes and shook his head.  “$412.  I’ve never seen anything like it, Skye.  You’ve made more money tonight than I’ve seen anyone do.  People were leaving you $50 tips all day.”

My jaw dropped and I was speechless for a few moments.  “You’re kidding me.  That’s…what…$698.  Oh my gosh! $698!” I said as I sat down on the edge of his big desk.  “I can’t believe it, D.  But, I can’t take all that money.  You guys deserve some, too.”

Dan shook his head and smiled.  “You’ve earned every cent of this money, doll.  I wouldn’t dream of allowing you to split this up.  Your customers wanted to show you how much they have appreciated your service over the last four years.  They love you, Skye.”

I felt tears sting my eyes and quickly looked down at my hands.  “I’m really going to miss it here, D.  I’m going to miss everyone so much.”

Dan stood up and pulled me into a hug.  “We are going to miss you, too, doll.  The place just won’t be the same without you.”

I looked into Dan’s eyes and saw tears in them.  “Oh, D., not you too,” I cried as I buried my face in his chest. 

“I can’t help it,” he sniffled.  “You give this place life.  It’s going to feel a little empty when you’re gone.”

“I’ll come by and visit you guys as often as I can,” I promised.  “You’d better keep in touch with me, D.  Just because I won’t be working here anymore doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for our girl talk.”

His chest rumbled with laughter.  “I wouldn’t dream of it, kid.”

I stood on my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. 

“Come on,” Dan said, reluctantly letting go.  “Your party is starting and you don’t want to be late, do you?”

I shook my head, stuffed tonight’s tips in my messenger bag, and slung it over my shoulder.  We walked out of the office together and made our way over to the floor door.

As soon as I pushed through the swinging door, the entire bar broke out into song.   Everyone had their glasses raised and were singing “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow” which was led by Angel on the microphone. 

I laughed and felt a blush spread across my cheeks.  I allowed Dan to lead me to the stage and pour me a glass of champagne.  I looked around at the large crowd and saw that it was filled with regulars and friends.  Nikki’s entire roller derby team was here, my favorite regulars Jackson Ewing and Johnny Kilgore, Dan’s rugby team, and many others that I had gotten to know and serve over the years. 

Dan took the mike from Angel and quieted the crowd.  “Thanks for coming everyone.  It’s nice to see everyone come together to celebrate this big day for Skye.  As some of you know, Sky here just finished her degree and is moving on to bigger and better things.  She’s been here for the last four years and has helped make Drop Kick Dan’s what it is today.  She has been an integral part of it’s growth and continued success and we sure are going to miss her.  If you will all please raise your glasses.”

I watched as the whole room lifted their glasses and bottles of beer.  I spotted Jamison by the bar talking to Nikki and smiled.

Dan turned to me and continued with his toast.  “May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.  May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam.  May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.  May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours! Here’s looking at you, kid! 
Sláinte
!”