Chapter 20: Brotherhood and Baby Stretches
"Here?"
"Move it a little to the right. It's a little bit crooked."
"Really?"
"Uh huh."
I pull the frame towards me and hook the back clip onto the track. "What about now?"
Elena shrugs, leaning on the shelf behind her. "It's better." She says slowly. Nik turns his head from behind the bar and laughs.
"She's a perfectionist; it looks fine. No one will even notice."
"I will." Elena says, launching a bottle cap at him. He flinches and glares at her.
"Enough, children." I joke, crawling down the ladder. "Especially you." I point to Nik, who rolled his eyes at me.
"Of course it's especially me." I barely register his words because I'm looking down at the clipboard Elena has in her hands.
"What's that?" I ask her, reaching my hand out to shake it a bit. She hisses at me and smacks my hand away.
"Rules."
"Rules?"
Nik coughs from the bar. "Rules are there aren't any rules."
Elena scoffs and looks down at the clipboard. "I think it's important to have rules for the patrons so things don't get too out of hand, you know? Specifically a drinking limit. They can get drunk, but not to the point where they need to get their stomach pumped. We should also keep little reminders not to drink and drive or drink as a coping method."
I raise an eyebrow as she shows me a banner.
Having problems?
Talk to an operator at:
296-555-1342
"What's that number lead to?"
"It's my office number." She says. It wasn't necessarily what I envisioned, but hearing about Damon's problems and his and Andie's struggles with addiction did enlighten me a bit.
"We'll hang them behind the bar, okay?"
She smiles gratefully and gives me a loud kiss on the mouth, putting on a show for Nik.
"Really?" He says as I walk towards the bar. "You're gonna let her put up 'rules'?"
"We aren't the first bar to implement them and we won't be the last." I tell him before jabbing his shoulder playfully. He jerks to the side and we begin a small boxing match on opposite ends of the counter.
I decided, after a lot of strenuous thought, to name the bar Nell's after Mini. Thankfully, Nik agreed with the name and we signed it away on all the documents. It was a big decision and a personal one, but I knew that I could rely on Nik to support me no matter what.
I owed it Nellie to name it after her. Without her, I wouldn't be where I am right now. I wouldn't be opening up a bar and I certainly would not be with Elena. Having my Mini was a surprise and it flipped my world around, but it was a positive adjustment, one that I can never thank her enough for.
Nik throws his hands up in defeat, walking backwards until he collides with the back of the bar. "I'm through, I'm through." He pulls himself from the back counter and grabs a cup to begin washing it in the sink. Nik was so adjusted to the bar already that I was slightly envious. "You cutting out in a few?"
"I've got a couple things to do, yeah." I mumble absentmindedly. He dries up one of the glasses and places it on the shelf behind him. He awkwardly shifts his body so it's facing me, but his head is nearly turned around all the way.
