It was a very, very, slow Monday night. Although I was the man in charge, I took the bar shift so my friend Phil could go to a concert he had looked forward to for months. There was no one in the place except me, the new waitress Pam, and the new money asshole, John.
The thing about John was that he made his money the old fashioned way, he inherited it. To be fair, that wasn't quite true. He inherited a couple of dormant oil wells from his late dad, and when the technology for drilling improved, what was dry became wet again and started spewing black gold. It didn't change the fact that money or not, he was a major tool, and I took an immediate dislike to him, and he to me. The only problem was that my boss did some business with him, so I had to watch my mouth and hold my tongue.
Pam was the new girl on the floor. She had only been there for a week, and you could tell she had not been in the real world very long. Sarah, Kay, and the rest of my staff were very protective of her, and if anyone got handsy or crude with Pam, the girls would set them straight. Tonight however, she was alone on the floor and fending for herself. It was also the first time she and I had worked together one on one.
Pam was just a shade under six feet tall, with honey blond hair, at least a 38c chest, and legs to die for. She tried to hide it, but her natural assets could not be hidden. She was an aspiring artist, still in school, and being a waitress on the side for extra cash.
It was getting late. I was cleaning up and getting ready to close. A-hole John was holding court with a couple of friends when all of a sudden I heard a loud burst of laughter from their table and Pam came running toward me at the bar. When she got to me, she was crying hysterically, gasping for air, and her makeup was running down her eyes.
"What the fuck? I asked. What happened?"
Pam shook her head no and continued to cry, not willing to say what happened. I gave her a minute to compose herself and tried again.
"It's okay. I said softly. Tell me what happened over there."
Pam took a moment and gathered herself. Then she told me. "I was trying to be nice to John, and I made some conversation with him and his friends. It seemed fine for a few minutes. Then I asked if they wanted more drinks. They said sure. But when I tried to clear the glasses off his table, John tried to reach under my skirt and grab me. Then he told me he wanted to turn me upside down, and eat me like a watermelon."
With that, she broke down again. I took her hand for a minute, and then told her to go get cleaned up and to go home. I told her not to worry, I'd take care of it and I would see her on the weekend.
"Don't quit. I said. We really like you around here and I'll straighten this out."
She gave me a look like her heart was torn in two. I waited until she left and went over to John's table. I thought I would have calmed down by this point, but remembering the look on Pam's face just got me madder and madder. I had a cocktail tray in my hands just in case. After all it was three guys and me.
John looked at me all bleary eyed and asked, "Where the hell are our drinks, and where is Pam? I sure as hell don't want to look at you serving us."
I responded with a menacing glare and tone and said, "You're done drinking. Now get the fuck out of my bar right now."
He gave me a look of disbelief before responding.
"Fuck you." he yelled. Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me that way? I'll tell Frank what you said to me, and you'll be out of a job in the morning, you piece of shit."
"Maybe. I said back to him, But you'll be calling him from the hospital if you're not out of here in ten seconds. One... two..." And with that I put my eyeglasses on the table and squared off.
He got up, and I thought we were going to go, but he threw a hundred on the table and left with his friends, cursing under his breath and staggered away.
I knew there was going to be hell to pay the next day, but at this point I didn't give a shit, I just wanted to get home, spark one up, and calm down.
Surprisingly, I didn't get a phone call in the morning, so I went in for my regular shift on Tuesday night. I got there fifteen minutes early, knowing Frank would be there and my job was on the line.
When I walked in Frank was seated on a bar stool, with an expectant look on his face. He said nothing and waited for me to start. I took a deep breath and I told him what happened word for word, including the part where I told John I would put him in the hospital.
Frank looked at me for a minute and said, "Well, you've got balls, that's for sure. Didn't you think I would fire you?"
"Sure. I said. But would like your girlfriend to be talked to that way and grabbed like that or would you kill the guy?"
"Good point. He said. Still, I do business with the little prick, and this is going to make it tougher. He thought it over for a minute and added, fuck it. I've got something he needs, and it's about time someone straightened him out. Just don't make a habit out of it, all right?"
I let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thanks." And went back to work.
Over the course of the night word got around and Kay, the queen bee, came over and told me how much she respected what I did. I made nothing of it but inside I knew I did the right thing.
Pam and I didn't work together again until Saturday night, and I really hoped she hadn't quit. Much to my relief, when I arrived for work she was there, a bit early, and she walked right over to me.
She had tears in her eyes when she spoke to me and she said softly, with a choked up voice, "No one has ever stuck up for me like that before. She held back a sob and continued, I just want you to know I'll remember that for the rest of my life. You put your job on the line for me, and... and..."
With that she walked away, and I could tell she was crying. For the rest of the night we all went about our business. It was busy and we all made good money, and everyone was in a good mood at the end of the night. I noticed Pam took a little extra time finishing her side work and waited until everyone else was done. Then she came over to me with a grateful look on her face.
"Bob, I want to do something for you. Buy you a gift. Take you out for dinner. Cook you dinner. Something to show you my gratitude." She said.
I was starting to get embarrassed by the attention., but then I thought about it for a second, and said, "You know, I haven't had a real home cooked meal in a long time. That sounds really good to me. When would you like to do it?"
Pam's face lit up with a big smile and said, "I was hoping you would say that. I haven't cooked for someone in a long time. How about tomorrow night? We're both off. I'll make a real Sunday chicken dinner."
"Sounds great. I said. Six o'clock okay?"
"Perfect. Pam said through a huge smile. It's a date."
The next day I was actually a bit nervous. I knew nothing was going to happen, but I wanted to leave a good impression. Put on pair of nice jeans, a white shirt and a blue tie. I grabbed a bottle of good wine, and headed over to Pam's place. On the spur of the moment I decided to grab some flowers. Nothing fancy. One of those quicky mart bouquets. When I got to her place, I noticed it was a nice complex. Looked much nicer than my dump. I was glad at that point I said yes to her invitation.
Pam opened the door, and OMG, she was a vision. Tight white jeans that accented her legs, a plunging v neck sweater that led right down the cleavage of her chest. I couldn't help but stare but I finally looked away as she welcomed me in. She gave me a tour of the place, and the first thing I noticed was the art work all over the walls. Man, she was really talented.
Eventually, we sat down to dinner, and really enjoyed ourselves. She loved the wine and the flowers, and she didn't lie about being able to cook. We talked for well over an hour, and she told me how she loved to paint, but would probably end up teaching because the was no money in trying to become an artist. I told her my dreams of becoming an actor and how I just auditioned for a company in Phoenix. We really explored each others lives and the conversation flowed as easy as the wine, and I think we both caught a bit of a buzz. I suggested coffee, and she agreed, putting some up.