Dream Mare

As we reached our destination at the end of my hour-long commute, I turned off the radio and we stepped out of the car. I noticed that Luna was staring at the sign above the door. I felt the instinct to face-palm at the irony. The sign read "The Full Moon" in big white fancy lettering.

"I should have mentioned the name." I muttered to myself. "C'mon!" I motioned for Luna to follow me.

We walked through the double doors and were met by a blast of cool air. I've always said that if there's one thing in life I'm grateful for, it's the luxury of an air-conditioner in the middle of the summer. Since the Full Moon is one of the more high-end bars in Queens, the only people that were in there were a few office workers on their lunch break. As soon as Luna walked in behind me, all eyes were immediately on her. One guy sitting at a table with who I assume was a girlfriend nearly choked to death on his bruschetta when he saw her.

"Miles, why is everyone staring at me?" Luna asked, blushing slightly'

"Don't mind them, just follow me." I reassured her. We made our way behind the bar and into the back where we ran into my boss, Stan.

"Mornin' boss, sorry about yesterday." I apologized.

Stan was a man in his early sixties with short gray hair that he kept combed back to look professional. Along with the white dress shirt and black pants he always wore. He had a slight build to him which didn't surprise me on account of the fact that he was drafted into the army when he was nineteen and shipped off to Vietnam. Regardless, Stan was probably the best boss I had ever worked for. All he expected was for me to show up for work and do my job. And if you weren't going to show up that day, all you had to do was call ahead of time and he wouldn't press further into the matter.

"Miles, I--" he noticed Luna standing behind me and smiled. "So Miles...aren't you going to introduce your lady friend?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Stan this is Luna my err...roommate. Luna this is my boss Stanley Meade." I introduced them both while simultaneously praying to God in my mind to end the awkwardness quickly.

"Well it's very nice to meet you Mr. Meade." Luna smiled, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Please, call me Stan." He replied as he reciprocated the gesture."Would you excuse Miles and I for a second?" he asked. Luna looked at me and I nodded and she walked back out o the bar. Once she was out of earshot, he turned to me. "She the reason you called out yesterday?" he asked, grinning.

"Stan I can explain--"

"Don't bother, you've got nothing to be ashamed of. Hell, if I was thirty years younger..." Stan chuckled.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm just gonna ask that you keep it in your pants while you're working. I'd rather no one find you two fucking in the bathroom."

I could feel my face turning blood-red with embarrassment and Stan laughed before slapping me on the back and going about his business. I walked back out to the bar to find Luna talking to my friend and co-worker, Viktor.

"Vic how the hell are ya?" I greeted how usually do.

"It's good to see you my friend." he replied. Over the last two years I've worked at the Full Moon it sure has gotten a hell of a lot easier to understand his accent. "I was just talking to your lady friend here." he turned to Luna "Luna right?" he asked. Luna responded with a nod.

Now I should probably explain something. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that Vic is a dead ringer for the Russian guy from Rocky IV. The guy's built halfway between a brick shithouse and Mt. Vesuvius. When I first met him, I was fucking terrified. But I ended up having a few drinks with him and finding out that he's really more of a gentle giant than he looks. Turns out his great-grandfather helped take over the Reichstag during the siege of Berlin in World War II. His grandfather was KGB and worked for Brezhnev in the sixties. And his father worked as an adviser to Gorbachev for a short time when he first came about in '85 but resigned about a year later. Apparently, when his old man found out his mother was pregnant, he started worrying about raising Vic in Russia. Especially while the Cold War was getting dangerously close to erupting into nuclear war during the late eighties. Their breaking point was the invasion of Afghanistan, and they moved to New York two months later where he was born seven months later. He told me that whenever he asked his dad why they moved after  his dad would say that he didn't want him to have to grow up afraid that World War III was going to start tomorrow.Anyway,after that Viktor and I became pretty good friends. Even with me cracking Rocky IV jokes every now and then. Hell, we made a pact that if he ever had to throw someone out of there, I would give him fifty dollars if he said "I must break you." But now I'm getting the feeling that I'm rambling like crazy. Let's move on.

After talking to Vic, I clocked in and took my position at the bar. I looked at my watch to see that it was only 11:00, So I still had a few more hours to go before business would start to pick up. I spent most of that time talking to Luna and showing her how to mix different drinks. At one point I had her try a Bloody Mary but I made it really hot without her knowing. But when she took a sip of  it, what happened? Absolutely nothing. So I took a sip. The end result being that I might as well have ingested battery acid. After a short coughing fit I asked Luna how she could possibly stand something with that much heat. Turns out she'd accumulated quite the tolerance for hotness.

Sometime around 4:00 the bar started getting busier. Luna hung back at the far end of the bar counter, drinking the occasional martini. Usually spacing them apart with a glass of water, wanting to keep her head clear. Most of the time she would just pretend not to notice when guys were staring at her, and then laughing when some of them got grilled for being so obvious about it in front of their girlfriends. Which I have to admit was pretty hilarious. I turned around to check if we were running low on Captain Morgan. When I turned around, I nearly burst an artery.

Motherfucker!

Luna was still sitting near the far end of the bar. Which would have been fine with me if it weren't for the asshole sitting next to her, most likely trying to hit on her. I approached them both.

"Frank!"

The guy turned to face me.

"Miles. How's it hangin'?" he greeted with a shit-eating grin. I always hated it when he talked to me like one of his stupid deadbeat friends. Fucking hated it!

Frank was a twenty-year-old poor excuse for a man. He always wore this damn suit, as if he actually worked a day in his miserable life, and had long hair usually tied back giving him a Jesse Ventura look. Only I never wanted to clock Jesse Ventura with a bottle of Guinness Drought. I could deal with all of that other BS if it wasn't for his arrogance. Why? Because his dad was a cardiologist or some shit so he never had to work. He just lived off of his trust funds. He would act all high and mighty when really, he wasn't worth shit. He was nothing but a spoiled rich kid. Almost every night for the last eight months he would come in and start  harassing female customers and employees alike. Stan has had five female workers quit because of him. Including my last girlfriend, Ashley.

"I thought I told you to fuck off!" I growled leaning onto the bar.

"I thought I told you I don't give a shit." he replied.

"I would appreciate it if you left Luna alone." I scowled. Why the hell did I give him her name?

"Oh, so you two know each other?" he asked, looking at Luna, then back at me.

"Get the fuck out!" I snarled, leaning closer.

"Now is that anyway to talk to a paying customer?" he grinned. That fucking grin! He put a five-dollar-billl on the bar. "Now how about you go and get me a shot of whiskey." he said once again with that shit-eating grin. I turned to Luna and she gave me a weak smile, basically telling me that she'd be alright.

I walked away to grab a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. I couldn't wait for Vic to get back from his break. When I turned around, he was trying to get his hand up Luna's skirt. I felt my blood pressure skyrocket and my vision blur and cloud with red as I approached them with a bottle of Crown Royal, fully prepared to stuff it down Frank's throat. But as I got close with the bottle in hand, a loud crack cut though the cloud of red. When I came to my senses, Frank was clutching his face with blood pouring out of his shattered nose. Luna looked pissed.

"You bitch, you broke my nose!" he screamed. As he started to approach Luna, a large hand tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around I couldn't help but smile. It was Vic.

        "I must break you." he said. Fifty bucks well spent. He grabbed Frank and lifted him so that he was carrying him like a battering ram. He carried him outside and threw him about ten feet onto the curb. Stan, having seen everything, walked over to the battered little shit.

        "If I ever see you in my bar again you little pissant, I'll have my big Russian friend over there rip your ears off. Got it?" he warned before turning to face Luna, Viktor and I. "Miles, why don't you take a few weeks off? Think of it as my apology for you having to deal with this mess. Besides, you  should probably get Luna home anyway." he told me.

        On the car ride home, I could tell Luna was upset. All she did was keep staring out the window.

        "I can't believe you broke his nose." I chuckled and she gave me that beautiful smile. "You might be a badass." I joked and she laughed.

         All I know is that I jst wanted to make her smile again and again.