The Unexpected Partner

Chapter 8

"This ain't beer!" The man exclaimed, spitting the drink from his mouth back into the glass. "What kind of service is this?"

Billy shot Claire a disapproving look before turning to the man at the bar and smiling, "I'm so sorry, sir. I'll get you a beer, no charge." He took the beer jug and poured it into a new glass. The man gave Billy a nod and rolled his eyes at Claire before walking back to his loud group of rugged men.

"What's wrong with you?" Billy asked, feeling annoyed at the new worker.

"What...what do you mean?"

"What do I mean? That's the third wrong drink you've given to someone... in this past hour alone!"

"I don't know what half of these drinks are! I've never worked at a saloon before."

"Sure, I get that Clark," Billy started, "But I told you what the drinks are, try to memorize them."

"I got it," she replied in a low manly voice. Why is everyone so rude? It's only my first day!

She wiped the counter as she thought to herself, how am I supposed to memorize drinks based on their color and their names? They all look the same: like dark piss. While she was deep in her thoughts and busy wiping the counter, she didn't see the glasses lined up on the other side. She wiped the spot aggressively, knocking all the glasses over and making them fall to the floor in a loud shattering noise.

She put her hands to cover her gaped mouth. There must have been at least ten glasses that shattered.

Billy's head turned to look at her, as did everyone else in the saloon. "Why did you do that?"

"Billy," Claire started, feeling distraught. "I am so sorry; I didn't see the glasses. I was just trying to clean the coun-."

"Clark!" He exclaimed, cutting her off and sounding like he had had the last straw.

"I'll clean it-."

He cut her off again, "Clark," he said in a calmer tone, trying very hard to control the anger that had built up. "Go clean the outhouse. Once you're done, sweep the outside area."

Claire didn't say anything. She silently nodded, took the broom and went outside to do what Billy told her. I am getting fired because of this, she thought. She would die before letting them fire her. This job was her only means of survival and she would not let that slip through her fingers.

Meanwhile inside, Billy looked at the broken glass on the floor as he thought, what kind of dumb fool did we hire?

While he cleaned up the glass, he heard footsteps coming from the noisy stairs. Shane.

Shane walked over to the bar and stared at Billy's bent body picking up broken glass. "What happened here?" He looked around, "And where's Clark?"

Billy threw most of the glass he had collected in the wastebasket. "Clark," he said in an aggressive voice, "has been sent to clean the outhouse. Maybe he will know how to do that correctly."

"Did he break all this glass?" Shane asked with a shocked look on his face.

"Yes...," Billy said. "Maybe we made a mistake hiring him. He's a fool."

"I'll go talk to him."

Billy nodded and watched as Shane walked to the front door. Looking outside, Shane didn't see Clark. So, he walked around to the back where he saw the boy sweeping the dust off the wooden ground.

"Clark," he called out, causing Claire to turn her head in his direction.

Oh no, I am so screwed, she thought. Nonetheless, her chest puffed like a man, and she replied in her manliest voice, "Hello, Shane."

Shane walked closer to her before saying, "I hear you haven't been adjusting well?"

Shit! "Yes...I'm struggling with some things but that has nothing to do with my competence. I am simply learning the ropes."

"Learning the ropes?" Shane squinted his eyes. "You broke half my glasses! You call that learning the ropes?"

Claire took a deep breath before responding to his angry comment. "I'm sorry about that, but it was simply an accident. I promise I will be better."

"It seems to me," Shane said. "You don't really know what you're doing."

"That is not fair," Claire replied, wanting to punch this obnoxious man in the nose. How can someone so handsome become so ugly in a matter of seconds. Personality was definitely what mattered most.

"How is that not fair? It's fair that I don't want a halfwit working in my saloon."

"Because" she started to say, holding on tighter to the broom, fighting the urge not to whack him in the head with it for calling her a half wit. I have to worry about keeping up my cover of being a boy and that makes it harder to do my job, that was what she wanted to say but she went with the better answer. "Because it's my first day, of course I'm going to make mistakes. Tell me, Shane, were you perfect at owning a saloon on your first day? I would bet you weren't. But over time you got better and better. That's the same with me. It's my first day in this kind of setting and I bet you, I'll get better at doing my job tomorrow and every day I will improve until I reach you and Billy's level. You can't call me halfwit when I am just inexperienced."

Shane looked at him with a blank look, this boy might be dumb with learning drinks, but he just made the smartest argument I have ever heard. This hurt Shane's pride, but he couldn't argue against it. He couldn't argue against the truth.

"Valid point you make, Clark."

"Thank you." Claire replied calmly, getting back to sweeping while a large grin formed on her face. I just showed him!

"You can go back to the saloon to start getting better right now," Shane smirked.

"I need to sweep the outside first."

Shane, not liking the defiance from the annoying boy, spoke in a louder, more frank tone, "The dust will come back the minute you sweep it. Go help Billy."

Taken aback by his loud voice, she simply nodded, and walked back towards the front door of the saloon. What a bad egg! She thought. What a...what a brute!

Billy saw Clark walk through the front doors and thought, oh no, here he comes again...probably going to burn the place down.

"Hello, Billy. Shane said I have to help you."

"Very good," Billy replied with a forced smile, pouring a drink for the men at the counter. "You can clean up the rest of the broken glass."