"Rough day?" the woman at the bar mused. She was cute, Karla supposed. Brown skinned, curvy, wavy brown hair and multiple piercings and really her type. She leaned forward, her silver bottom lip piercing stark against her black lipstick.
"Yeah," she said, smiling wryly. She hoped that the girl didn't think she looked annoyed or curt because of her. It was not her. In fact, she was probably there to look at her face everyday. After leaving Daisy with her nanny, she would make her way to this bar to be hit on by other women. It was peaceful not to hear Daisy's crying for a while, but she would always worry. Her sister sent her books about murderous babysitters and that didn't calm her nerves.
"You will take a martini?" she asked her while she preparing a shot for some man sitting next to her.
"I will take the Glenlivet," she said and the girl smiled. She didn't look much younger than her, two years difference at max. Maybe being a single mom added years to Karla's real age.
"Your order changes everyday," she commented as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Karla's order was not linked to her mood at all. She would take anything and if this kept up, by the end of the year she would have drunk everything.
"I don't like sticking to the same thing," she smiled a little. This was the first time she had ever said something sensible to the girl in a while.
"That would explain why you flirt with different women every night," she laughed, grabbing the Glenlivet from behind. She looked pretty from behind too. Her brown hair falling over her body like a waterfall. She always wore the same boring uniform, a silky black vest and bow tie over a plain white shirt with long cuffs. Karla wanted to see her in casual clothes someday.
"There is one woman I want to flirt with every night though I have never had the courage," she said as she pushed the glass towards her.
"I wonder who that is," she mused, leaning against the table. She clearly liked Karla and Karla couldn't lie that she was into her a lot. She hadn't exactly gotten over Caleb but she was trying. This bought her salvation, flirting with women that she would probably never date. She could act stupid, flirtatious because she would probably never get to know them.
"Do you always work here?"
"Weekends off," she shrugged though there was still the ghost of a smile on her face. She always looked like she was about to break into a smile. "My dad own the bar so work here sometimes for extra cash...and women."
"Any woman caught your interest lately?"
"Yeah," she said as the man beside Karla fucked off somewhere, drunk. "She has shoulder length hair, very pretty, wears glasses and is really exhausted all the time."
"Is she exhausted to flirt with you?" Karla said, sipping the whisky, smiling like a cat.
"Never," she said smugly. "I am assuming you will ask for your check after this."
"Yes," Karla said and the girl's eyes sparkled with validation.
In a few minutes, she passed Karla her check and she groaned when she saw her number written on it.
"Yeah, sure," Karla said, amusing Daisy with her toys and talking on her work phone, tucked between her ear and shoulder. "Yes, Conan Gray would love that. Ten is fine, I believe. Thank you so much for this. I will mail you with the details."
Daisy whined as she knocked down one of her toys and Karla sighed, picking it up and handing it back to her. Maybe it was time to put her in the crib with her toys.
"It's hard to be mad at you, Daisy," she said, pulling her daughter up to hold her. Daisy giggled as Karla poked her cheeks.
"Come on," she said, grabbing a few of her toys with her free hand. "I will put you to bed and then I need to talk to Cone."
Conan had seen Daisy a few times and played with her. Karla trusted him with her daughter only because he seemed kid friendly and Daisy liked playing with his curly hair.
She tucked Daisy into her crib quickly and gave her a few toys to busy herself with. Thankfully, she didn't protest and lied down without asking for more toys.
"Hey, Conan?" she said, massaging her head. "I talked to another magazine and they will give you another interview to clear up...whatever you want to clear up."
"Thanks, Karla," he said, sounding relieved. "You are a life saver."
"Try not stir up more stories. I know you don't like a spot light on your face," she said. "Although, it would be cool if you did stir up something and then wrote a song about it."
"That sounds like a nice idea," he said. "I need to call someone. Thanks."
"Is it...um, Heath?" she asked, gulping hard. "I am okay with it but try not make it very public for now."
"Calling him is making it public?" He sounded doubtful.
"No," she said, rolling her eyes and looking at her daughter, "Don't make it public in general unless you feel strongly about him."
"Thanks for the advice," he said quickly. Something about his tone sounded excited and charged. "Bye Karla."
"Bye, Cone," she sighed. It almost feels like I have two kids, instead of one.