I packed up my books and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Taking a minute, I stood in the middle of the classroom and looked around. It was a rather unreal feeling. My last college class. All I had to do was turn in a couple of papers and take a couple of tests. Then I would put on a cap and gown and walk in the graduation ceremony. I thought I’d never get there, but finally I was done.
As I walked across campus, everything looked both completely familiar and somehow fresh and new. The flowers were blooming along with all the trees putting out new leaves. The grass was green after being brown all winter. The sky was the most gorgeous shade of blue, and the white puffball clouds floating overhead seemed to be decorating a scene just for my enjoyment.
I was free! I did it!
At the same time, it was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. I was going to have to go out in the world and be an Adult. Not a college-student-pretending-to-be-an-adult, but a real adult.
I crossed the street and turned to look at the campus. Soon it would be a part of my past instead of my all-consuming present.
Walking into the Library, I waved to Ed and took my backpack to the back room. I dumped it in the corner where it had sat for so many nights over the past year and a half.
“Tom wants to see you,” Ed said as I came back to the front. “He’s in the office.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, and made my way back to the small office. Tom was our boss, the owner of the Library. He was mostly an absentee owner, a CPA who bought a small off-campus bar as an investment. Other than dropping in for an occasional drink and the monthly review of the books, he didn’t spend a lot of time there.
Tom told me to close the door and motioned me to a chair. He was about six feet tall, thin with brown hair that tended to flop over his forehead. I thought he was kind of handsome, with a long nose and silver wire-rim glasses. I didn’t know his wife very well, but she seemed very nice.
“Are you almost done with classes?” he asked.
“Done. A couple of papers to turn in, and tests during finals week.” I smiled. He and Ed had always been really easy about accommodating my school schedule.
“How’s the job hunting going?”
“I’ve had some interviews, on-campus interviews through the placement office. Two or three have told me that I’m on their consideration list. I’m sending out resumes, but so far I don’t have any offers.” I shrugged. “You know how the economy is. The placement office says offers are way down this year.”
“Do you plan to keep working here until something comes up? You’re going to stay in town?”
“Oh, yeah. Tom, I’d give you plenty of notice if I find something. I won’t just disappear.”
“Well, I have a problem. Ed turned in his notice. He got a job as food service manager at the Marriot, and his last day is two weeks from today.”
Tom didn’t seem terribly upset, although Ed had managed the bar for him for three years. I was the assistant manager, so what that meant for me immediately started running around my mind.
“Ashley, I don’t know anything about running a bar. I’m hoping that you’ll consider taking over. Your job situation makes that a bit complicated, I know. But I’ll pay you forty-five thousand dollars a year. The same deal that I have with Ed. What do you say?”
It was a generous offer. A lot more than I would be making as a new grad with the large corporations. It also wouldn’t hurt to be able to put Manager on my resume instead of Assistant Manager. But it meant staying in Fort Collins instead of going to some new and exciting place. My common sense confronted my dreams and set off an immediate storm of confusion in my mind.
“Tom, I’m flattered, but ...”
He held up his hand to stop me.
“Ash, take the job. Whether it’s for two weeks, two months or two years. I’ll take whatever you can give me. I need you. At the very least, I need you to hire someone and train them. And if you get an offer next week, I’ll deal with it. I won’t be in any worse shape than I am right now.”
No one had ever told me that they needed me. How could I say no?
“Okay, under those conditions, I’ll do it.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
“Good. Now, what should I do about hiring your replacement as assistant manager? Can you write up an ad for me to put in the newspapers?”
“Actually, I’d rather promote from within,” I said.
Tom frowned. “Who are you thinking of?”
“Tyrell.” Tyrell was our bouncer, a former linebacker on the university’s football team whose eligibility and scholarship had run out. He’d been working at the Library for over two years.
“Convince me,” Tom said.
“He has the temperament,” I started. “He gets along well with customers. He already knows inventory. Ed and I use him to do the inventory and make out ordering lists when it’s slow. He has one more semester to finish his degree in accounting, so the books won’t be difficult for him.”
Tom’s eyebrows rose in surprise at that news.
“He has a wife and baby, so he needs a steady job, and he’s as dependable as the sun rising. He’s only called in once in the time I’ve been here, and that was to take the baby to the hospital.”
“Does he have any experience tending bar?” Tom asked.
“No, but I can teach him. Making drinks is a lot easier to pick up than keeping the books. Besides, eighty percent of what we do here is pour beers. He’s filled in a few times in the kitchen when we needed a cook. He told me he worked at McDonald’s when he was in high school.”
“Make him an offer, and arrange for him to meet with me on Saturday,” Tom said. “If he convinces me, then he’s got the job.”
“Thanks, Tom. When do I start? I mean, you said Ed’s last day is two weeks from now?”
“Yes, two weeks from today. But as of now, you’re the manager and your new pay rate starts today. Go ahead and continue taking your share of tips until Ed leaves. Sound good?”
“Sounds great. Thank you!” Suddenly I was excited. A part of me was grumbling about putting off my adventure into the next phase of my life, but at that moment, all I could think of was, I have a job! A real job! With a salary! I’m a manager! I wasn’t even officially graduated yet, and I had a job.
I thought my heart would burst. I leaped around the desk, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you!” The shocked look on his face brought me back to reality. I backed up. “Uh, I’ll try to be more professional. Don’t tell Kayla I kissed you, okay?”
He burst out laughing. “Not a chance. I wouldn’t keep this moment from Kayla for anything. She thinks I’m too dour and don’t connect well with my employees. She’ll love this story!”
My face felt as though it was on fire. “Do I need to get a bullet-proof vest?”
“No, Ashley. Believe me, you’ve made my day.”
I went out and Ed, standing behind the bar, gave me an expectant look.
“I took the job,” I told him. “Thanks for the recommendation.”
“He told you I recommended you?”
“He didn’t have to.” I leaned forward and kissed Ed on the cheek. “Congratulations on the new job.”
I looked around. The Library was a fairly typical bar. There was a dark-stained oak bar and matching tables. A few pictures of meadows with wildflowers and snow-capped mountains hung on the walls, along with the TVs that were always tuned to sports. The space consisted of a large front room and a smaller one in the back. We didn’t have shuffleboard or pool tables. The Library served food and drinks without much frill. The bar wasn’t too busy yet, and everything behind the bar looked good. Spic and span, everything stocked. Just the way Ed and I liked to start a night.
“Do you mind if I take a couple of minutes?” I asked him.
“So you can call people?” he asked with a smile.
I nodded and he motioned with his hand. I dug out my phone and walked out the side door where we had wrought-iron tables with chairs. Four of the five tables were occupied and there were almost as many people out there as there were inside.
I took a seat at the open table and punched in my brother Pat’s number.
“Hey, what’s up?” he answered.
“How’s the electrical-engineer-to-be?” I asked him.
“Doing okay. I turn in my final project tomorrow and I’m done.”
“No tests next week?”
“Nope. Nothing between now and graduation but celebrations.”
“Lucky you. Hey, I called to tell you I got a job.”
“Thank God! I had visions of having to support you for the rest of your life. Poor little Ashley, only one step away from either living on skid row or selling your body.”
I laughed. “No way I’m going to indulge your fantasy of becoming a pimp. Here’s the scoop. Ed’s quitting the bar, and Tom offered me the manager’s position. Starting salary forty-five thousand. Not bad, huh?”
“Congratulations,” his voice was warm and genuine, and I relaxed. It made me feel good to hear him validate my decision. “Not exactly Tahiti or Bora Bora, but it’s in your field.”
“Yeah, it is. Thanks. What are you doing tonight? Stop by later and I’ll buy you a drink.”
“I have a date with Jenna, but we’ll stop by afterwards.”
As pleased as I was with Tom’s offer, I was disappointed that I was still in Colorado. Five years of college and I wasn’t any closer to my dream than when I started.
I called Marcie and my mom and gave them my news, then went back inside to start work.
