Rose Tyler is Bad Wolf (_badwolf_) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-12-13 11:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, neena thurman (domino), rose tyler |
Who: Neena & Rose
What: Chips and Coffee
When: Backdated to November sometime
Where: The Inferno
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
By the time Rose had arrived, The Inferno was packed. Wait staff swarmed the place with trays of food and alcohol, many of them piled with those half priced shots that Neena had advertised. Neena herself had long since stopped trying to serve drinks and had been on her feet for a while, running back and forth between the front and back of house, monitoring the pool tables, and occasionally schmoozing.
She’d just come in from the kitchens to check on the status of those fries she’d promised Rose when she noticed a cheery looking blonde woman come in carrying a cup of take out coffee. Figuring it had to be her new friend, she waved her fingers in Rose’s direction.
It wasn’t always easy to tell how people would be online versus in person, but every now and then, Rose could get a good feeling before meeting someone. Neena fell into the good section and she was more than happy to bring her a cup in exchange for some chips. She could always do with a new watering hole and this seemed to be the place to be! Rose glanced around, realizing how ridiculous she looked with coffee in her hand.
The wave caught her attention and she grinned, moving between the throngs of people to get to the hostess. “Looks like your place is the place to be tonight.” She handed Neena the cup, glancing around at the various people drinking and laughing. “I guess you’ll need this to keep up with this crowd!” She turned back with a cheeky grin on her face. “I’m Rose by the way…in case anyone else was bringing you coffee late at night.”
"I probably wouldn't turn them away if they did, to be honest." Neena replied, smirking as she took the cup from Rose. She immediately sipped it and then rolled her eyes into the back of her head. "Okay I don't know if your shop made a pact with the devil or maybe you lace your coffee with fairy dust or something but that's just ridiculously good."
Neena held her hand out to Rose to properly shake it, "And it's good to meet you in person, Rose. I think I mentioned I was Neena, right? It's been kind of a hectic night since I made that post. Everyone and their mom showed up for half price shots and I'm almost out of Patron. But we've got some chips cooking in the back for you."
Rose grinned at her compliment of the coffee. “Extra special, just for you,” she said, taking her hand in the formal greeting. “Next time you’ll have to stop by my place of work and I’ll make you anything you’d like! Coffee like this is easy enough, I’d be happy to help.” She glanced around the bar and her eyebrows rose. “Well, at least it’s been a successful night! Probably what you were hoping for with the ad you made!” She grinned, glancing around for an empty seat. “I’m gonna go grab a spot, but stop by when you can, yeah?” She didn’t want to take more time out of Neena’s night than she had to. She figured there would be time enough for them to catch up.
It felt like Rose was buttering her up with all of those nice comments, but Neena already knew there was no angle. The people she'd met so far in California were nothing like the old crew she'd gotten used to running with, and Rose was the cream of the crop when it came to friendliness and warmth.
"I'll make a note to try and provide some kind of challenge with my next coffee order, just for you. Find you in a bit, promise!" She said, while offering a mock salute in Rose's direction.
And with that, Neena disappeared for about twenty minutes. She made sure to send a server to get Rose's drink order while she cleared up the rest of the bar's rush. When she finally reappeared, the coffee was long gone and in Neena's hands was an entire platter of french fries. Neena set it down and crawled into the booth, then pulled a squeeze bottle of vinegar out of her jeans pocket. "Just for you, Malt Vinegar."
Rose was already halfway through her pint by the time Neena was able to find some time and she grinned, her eyes falling to the plate of chips in her hands as she slid into the booth. “Cheers mate!” Her face lit up as she took one of the golden deliciousness and popped it into her mouth. They were the perfect combination of crunchy and soft, and she sighed in contentment. “These are brilliant,” she said, reaching for the malt vinegar and giving the plate a light dose. “Don’t tell my mate Clara this, but you might be the best at making these chips.” She was happy Neena didn’t bring a fork with her so she wouldn’t be caught digging into the delicious snack.
“Pretty good night for ya! People seemed pretty happy and drunk. Glad you found some time to sit though. You’ve been running around like crazy!”
Neena grinned at Rose, proud of the compliment, though she wasn't the Chef. She pointed her thumb towards the kitchen, as if passing the compliment off to him, and then reached out and stole a fry of her own. "It has definitely been crazy in here tonight. I think I might need to go a little more easy on the wait staff. We had someone quit last night and I'm going to end up catching myself coming and going at this rate."
She crunched on the fry and rolled her eyes into her head. Fries weren't usually her go to comfort food - the truth was she rarely remembered to eat. But they were absolutely delicious. "I'm no chips expert but I'm just going to agree with you, these are amazing. Nick's going to glow with pride over this one. A real legit British woman, giving his chips the thumbs up. Who's Clara? Is she a native?"
“Did you just move here?” Rose had recognized the name on the network and it seemed like she was drumming up business for a new place. Rose certainly hadn’t come here before, but there were a lot of bars and restaurants around the area she hadn’t frequented yet. “And open this place up?” She took another chip and munched on it, pouring a bit more vinegar on them. “Well, you at least have the right chef here! My compliments!” She returned Neena’s grin, feeling very silly in the moment. She finished off her first pint, contemplating if she dared to start a second.
“Clara’s a mate I’ve met here. She has her own diner and the chips she had were pretty good. I’ve just been looking for legit ones around here. I don’t like what passes for chips here.” She made a face before popping another one in her mouth. “But between you and Clara, I think I’ve found my new favorite spots!” With Clara’s more unusual hours, Rose had a feeling she’d be at the Inferno more often than naught.
“Do you need any extra help? I could help on some nights if you need it!”
Maybe Rose hadn't actually signaled for another pint, but Neena motioned for another round to be brought over. Mainly so that she, too, could have a good drink. It just didn't seem right to eat comfort food without washing it down with a glass of good beer.
She watched Rose munch on the food, amused at how quickly the chips were being devoured, and stole another one for herself. Rose's bubbly personality was adorable and kind of addicting, and Neena couldn't help but grin widely. "Well, I won't tell if you won't. Your secret's safe with me, but I bet you could probably put away enough chips to keep us both in business if you wanted, and never gain a pound. But yeah... Kind of new-ish. I had a previous career that I kind of..."
Neena tilted her head to the side and squinted, "Well, literally washed out of might work best to describe it. I kind of went on a two year long bender. Which was great, because I know all about bars now, right? And ... are you sure? Don't you work at that coffee shop?"
The decision having been made for another round, Rose couldn’t really say no...it would be rude not to! She just grinned as two pint glasses were brought to the table and she held hers out in a sort of cheers. “To the best chips in California!” She held it out for Neena to cheers before taking a drink. Was there anything better?
She grinned at Neena’s teasing back, nodding her head as if they had just made a very important pact. “Good ‘cause I wouldn’t wanna upset anyone over chips. Really, the more places that can get some decent ones in their kitchens, the better!” Or more the better for Rose, but she wasn’t going to make it that obvious. Rose laughed at her jest and she shrugged. “I wish,” she said. “Although I don’t really make it to the gym as much as I’d like...still, can’t really complain, yeah?”
With only a few little bits left on the plate, Rose settled back into the booth, her eyebrows raised as Neena talked about what she had been doing before coming to California. “Sounds like a crazy couple of years,” she said. “But like you said, that kind of knowledge you could only learn from experience. And seems to be paying off nicely!” She took another sip of her drink and grinned.
“Yeah! I mean, if you need the help? I could always use a few extra dollars! Plus one would be in the morning, the other would be at night! I think I could make it work. Or at least talk to my boss about it, see what we could do.” Rose had a feeling she’d enjoy working there, possibly with Neena whenever she would be around...which seemed like a lot.
"It was completely crazy, yeah," Neena agreed, nodding her head firmly. She'd toasted Rose with her pint, and she guzzled down over half of it while Rose talked. That time of her life wasn't the kind of thing to talk about with people you just met, and she decided that they were both right. In the end, the experience had been used for the better. She had a good bar, after all. And amazing patrons.
So she leaned back in the booth a bit, and instead turned her mind to the idea of Rose working for her. Neena squinted, acting for a few moments like the idea didn't suit her. Then she cracked a grin, "Well, why not? You're bubbly, you've got an infectious smile, and you already know how to handle most of the job. You've got to be better at this than half of these college kids I keep ending up hiring. If you're up for it I could certainly use the help."
After a pause, she added, "And I'm standing by my previous comment. You probably could eat dozens of french fries and still keep your figure. You just seem the type. But maybe you'd be interested in the fact that I can work out a decent gym membership for you too?"
Rose couldn’t help but squint back at her, unsure if she was sizing her up for the job, but as soon as she smiled, Rose couldn’t help but laugh with relief. “Yeah, you got it! I’ve done so many different jobs that I can be a good worker for ya! Never worked at a bar before, but definitely been a waitress.” She had a feeling working here vs working at her older restaurant job wouldn’t quite be the same; for one, she knew she already liked her boss, so that was a definite plus.
She raised an eyebrow at the mention of a gym membership. “You know someone?” she asked. It wasn’t on the top of her priorities, but she wasn’t going to say no if Neena had a way to help her out. Rose didn’t even know how much she was paying now; it had been idea to sign up and go on a weekly basis, but she found herself too lazy to actually go most of the time. Signing up for automatic renewal just kind of made it something that just happened for her; she’d have to look into the amount that was being pulled each month.
"Oh yeah, I definitely know someone." Neena replied, after taking another long sip of beer. She smacked her lips and glanced over at the empty plate of fries, looking slightly guilty for a moment. "My physical therapist. He'd nag me within an inch of my life if he knew I'd just helped you devour all that. But he's already on my case. I get so busy at the bar that I don't go down and do all the kinds of exercises he'd prefer I was doing. I keep telling him tending bar is enough, but..."
She trailed off and shrugged a shoulder, "Somehow he just doesn't agree. Anyway, you can just handle the waitressing part, right? That's the area we're really hurting. I can show you the ropes behind the bar when we've got some spare time here and there. If you want, anyway."
Rose laughed, nodding her head in understanding. “I definitely know what you mean,” she said. “I’m not much for going to the gym. Sometimes I go every now and then when I’m bored, but I usually don’t stay for long.” She shrugged her shoulders, not too perturbed about it. Maybe Neena was right...she was lucky to be able to eat whatever she wanted without too much fuss about her waistline. Not that that would have deterred her from her precious chips.
“Besides, like you said, working a job like this when you’re on your feet all day burns the calories! People wear those step tracker things and I’m sure that’s good enough, yeah? But if he gets on you too much, maybe we can be work out buddies too. Be easy to do if we’re working together!” She was amused by working and work out buddies and her mind started to play with nickname ideas.
“But yeah, I can handle the waitressing, no problem! As long as you’re alright if I slap someone that tries to grab my ass. Had that happen at a place and I did that, was terminated on the spot. Didn’t miss it, I’ll tell ya that!”
"If someone tries to grab your ass, not only will I let you slap them but I'm calling the cops." Neena replied, looking deadly serious for a few seconds. "I haven't had to get security here, I usually toss people out of the bar on my own, and it hasn't happened that often. But I don't let my customers get fresh with anyone in my bar. Not my staff, and not anyone else either."
There'd been a time she was almost certain a guy had slipped something into his date's drink, and she'd replaced it without even questioning him. That night he'd gotten a surprise when he left the bar. Neena always carried drink check testing strips behind the bar, and that guy learned his lesson the hard way.
"So alright, you're hired! Just like that." She reached her hand across the table to shake Rose's hand. "When can you start?"
Rose knew she liked Neena for a reason and she grinned, reaching over to shake her hand as well. Well that was easy. “If only all job interviews were like this!” She couldn’t help but laugh, knowing already how much she would enjoy working at the Inferno with Neena. “As soon as you’d like to start me! Here…” She pulled out her phone and dug through it, searching for her schedule at Baxter’s. “Do ya have a pen? I can write it down for ya and you can put me on whenever you need me!”
"I... actually do not. One sec." Neena grabbed the plate and their empty glasses, then slid out of her seat and headed off to the bar. She grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper, then brought them over so that Rose could fill it out. "There you go. I'm... probably gonna have to get back to it now, you never know when another rush is going to start. Do you want to just drop that off with me at the bar before you go?"
Rose was sad to see Neena go, but knew it would only be selfish to keep her longer than she could. She grinned and nodded her head, glancing up from the slip of paper she was writing her schedule down on. “Yeah, no problem! I’ll drop it off once I’m done with my drink.” She gave Neena a little wave before turning back to her schedule. Who knew today could end up with a new friend and a new job?