Chapter 28: The English Impatience
Ranko hopped down off the stage, the patronage of the bar cheering as the last note of a pop song faded from the air. She waved from the floor, surveying the tables for anyone who needed her attention. A few of her regulars waved to her – they'd quickly become accustomed to this routine in the last few weeks – and she headed toward the closest of their tables.
"Hey, everybody! We having a good night? What can I get you?" The six young men at the table all started shouting their orders to her at once.
"Whoa, easy, boys! I can only handle one of you at a time." A black-haired guy in a brown leather jacket snickered wolfishly, and Ranko could only shake her head and roll her eyes in his direction. Having spent a few weeks as a cute girl working in a bar sometimes made her feel ashamed that she was ever a guy. She hoped she had never acted as gross in her former life as some of the things she'd seen in this job, especially to Akane. Still, the guys eventually calmed down enough to give her their order, and she headed up to the counter to relay it to Yui, dropping a few empty glasses off in the dishwasher on the way by.
As she made her way back from the bar, Hana waved Ranko over to the back corner where she'd been standing. Hana wasn't used to standing idle on a busy night, but since Ranko had acclimated to her role, the girls had become so efficient that she barely had anything to do some nights. "Hey, Ranko. Are you doing okay? You haven't had a break in a few hours."
The redhead grinned. "I'm alright, mama. It'll take more than a few catcalls to wear me out."
The elder woman laughed. "I was more worried about your dance routines up there, but alright." Ranko grinned. If the proprietress only knew how much physical exertion she'd been trained to endure.
A sliver of light pierced the dark front wall, and the door opened, admitting three men in their mid-thirties. All were in business suits, and they definitely didn't look like they belonged in a bar in Japan. From their appearance, Ranko wondered if they were Americans. She smoothed the lavender sundress around her hips and met them at the front with a welcoming wave. "Hi, guys! Looking for a table, or would you rather sit at the bar?"
The tallest of the three replied, but in English. "We're okay." Ranko looked at him with a bit of confusion, but he extended his palm in a back off gesture and led his party to an empty table, where the men all began looking over the drink menu.
Ranko made a pass by the bar, picking up the six drinks for the table with the rowdy guys and dropping them off. She only had to dodge one hand trying to sneak up her dress. One of these days, someone was going to catch her in a bad mood with that nonsense, and they'd have to explain to their wife how their wrist got broken when they got home. It took every bit of restraint she could muster not to deal with her grabbier patrons in the only way she had ever learned to respond to social conflict – unrestrained violence. Only her wish to protect the reputation of the bar for Hana, and to hide the true extent of her martial arts prowess from her new family, stayed her hand.
After picking up a few empty glasses and topping off a few beers from a pitcher, she decided to check on the Americans again, heading over to their table. "Hi, everybody! What looks good to you?"
The American who spoke to her before rolled his eyes, responding very slowly, almost condescendingly, in English. "Three beers and some cheese sticks." Ranko bit her lip, nodding and heading back to Yui to relay the drink order and then to Mei for the food.
Seeing that her tables were all fairly contented, Ranko rinsed out a few glasses and started the dishwasher while Yui prepared the drinks. As the bar was a little backed up, she also took a few moments to glance through the music catalog, trying to decide what she might want to sing next. She blushed at some of the costumes the girls on the album covers were wearing. It was only a matter of time before Izumi managed to dress her like that when she sang. She'd already tried more than once. Ranko dreaded what sadistic getup she would come up with for the wedding, but at least that she wouldn't be suffering alone.
Seeing her drinks being placed on the counter, Ranko scooped them up and headed to the Americans' table. "Here you go, guys!" She placed a frosted glass of cider in front of each of the men. "Your food should be right up."
One of the Americans looked over the glass in disgust, pushing it back in her direction. "We said beer. What is this?"
Ranko looked over the glass. It seemed fine enough. She didn't understand his frustrated glare. "Is it flat? That happens sometimes. I'll get you some new ones." She picked up the glasses, returning to the bar and asking Yui for some fresh drinks.
"Those were fine, but okay… I know that type can be picky sometimes," Yui said with a sigh. "Sorry they're giving you a hard time."
While Yui popped open some fresh bottles, Mei emerged from the kitchen with the food order, which Ranko accepted and headed over to the table again. "Hi again! So sorry about your drinks; your new ones are almost ready. In the meantime, here's your appetizer!" She placed a tray of nachos at the center of the table, walking off before she heard the shortest of the three exclaim, "What the hell?"
She quickly grabbed the three new ciders, this time serving them in the bottles to help ensure that they didn't lose carbonation in the pouring. When she placed them in front of the three men, one of them slammed the table with his palm. "Oh, come on!"
Ranko looked at the three of them, a little panicked. She was trying to determine what to do next when she heard Hana's voice over her shoulder. She responded to the most irritated of the three, in English. "Is everything okay over here? Anything I can do for you?"
The frustrated man motioned to Ranko, rolling his eyes. "Yeah. You can get rid of this ditzy bitch and find us somebody who can get our orders right."
Hana glared at them, raising her voice a little. "Hey now. We're sorry that your order wasn't right, and I'll be happy to fix it for you, but I won't have you talking about my girls like that!"
The brash American groaned, motioning to Ranko again. "Why not? It's not like the fucking idiot has any idea what I'm saying." Ranko stood like a deer in headlights, feeling quite ashamed that Hana had to get involved in one of her tables at all.
Hana glared. "What did you order to drink?"
The youngest-looking of the three chimed up. "Just three beers. Not like it's especially difficult."
Hana nodded. "Alright. You got it. I'll get you three beers, no charge. You can drink them on your way out the door." Her voice had an angry edge that Ranko hadn't heard much before.
The man sitting in the middle of the three motioned angrily. "Can you believe this shit? You're kicking us out because you can't hire competent help? Whatever. I think the place down the street has cuter girls, anyway."
Hana motioned for Ranko to follow, and went up to the bar. "Yui, get me three beers, in plastic cups, for our douchebag friends."
Ranko frowned. Of course they were upset; she'd gotten their order wrong! She'd probably screwed up their food, too. When the beers were placed on the counter, Ranko reached for one, but Hana grabbed her wrist. "Nuh-uh. You, sit. You aren't going anywhere near that table until those guys are gone."
Ranko mounted a stool, looking down at the bar top dejectedly. She hadn't really made too many mistakes since she started working at the bar, and she didn't like how it felt.
Hana handed each of the men a beer and physically shepherded them out the door. Ranko didn't know what was being said, but she couldn't imagine any of it was pleasant. She wanted to go over to them and apologize; to try to fix her mistake, but Hana had made it abundantly clear that she was to stay put, and she was not about to make her boss angrier by disobeying her.
When Hana returned, she motioned for Ranko to stand. "C'mere, Ranko." Mei turned to follow, but Hana waved her off. "Give us a minute, hon?"
Mei nodded, and looked over the floor to see if any of Ranko's tables needed anything, while Ranko followed the matriarch into her office, hanging her head. Ranko did not like how this was playing out, at all. There was a formality to this that terrified her. Am I going to be let go?
When the office door clicked closed, she could wait no longer to plead her case. "Hana, I'm so sorry I messed up their table. I promise I'll be more careful next time." She bowed stiffly to the elder woman, who looked up at her with a puzzled expression that quickly changed into one of disarming understanding.
"Ranko, honey, I'm not mad at you! Not at all. Those guys were jerks. We don't need their kind around here."
The redhead exhaled heavily and Hana could watch the fear dissipate in her muscles. "Then what is…" Hana put up a hand to interrupt her thought.
"You don't speak English, do you?"
Ranko grimaced, and shook her head. "A few words here and there, that's it. I'm sorry."
Hana nodded, a concerned expression on her face. "I don't understand. It's been a minute since I went to school, but I know high schools require a couple years of English classes." Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped open slightly as the realization struck. "You… never finished school, did you?"
Ranko did not answer in words, but the shame with which she bowed her head told the proprietress all she needed to know. "Oh, honey…"
Ranko sighed and spoke after a long silence. "With all the time I spent traveling with my father, I was probably years behind. I think they only put me in the grade I was in last year because Pop knew somebody on the city council, and I didn't even pass that."
Ranko bowed at the waist again, and Hana stood from her chair. She closed the distance between them in two quick steps, and as Ranko rose from her bow, Hana wrapped her arms around the slender girl. "Sweetheart, don't you dare apologize." What she would have given in that moment to be able to get her hands around the throat of Ranko's father, just for a minute, for all he had put that poor kid through.
"Listen to me, Ranko. Everything is okay. I'm not upset with you at all. We're going to find a way to make this easier for you, I promise. In the meantime, if you get any other customers that don't speak Japanese, just come get me or one of the girls. We'll handle it."
Ranko cringed. "I guess I'll need to tell them, then."
Hana shook her head, giving her charge another squeeze. "I'll take care of it."
The redhead stepped back from the embrace, wiping her eyes before they could well past the point of no return. "I should… get back out there."
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