bartending!

[antishinra]

Tonight's specials board proclaims

Milkshakes and nontraditional martinis half off!

Half of the customers Tifa's gotten are just as happy to order a nonalcoholic drink during happy hours. She figures she might as well have something with no alcohol as a special just in case, and it hasn't been so long since she had a smoothie night.

(Marlene would hate to miss a smoothie night and a milkshake night.)

Behind the bar, she tugs her long hair into a loose ponytail and positions herself in a prime spot.

"Anybody need a drink?"


[Open to new threads until about 10:30 EST!]
[tiny tag: James Adams]

Comments

[navyafterone]

James hasn't tried his luck in Milliways yet. Mostly because he was barely thirteen when he was last here and he had no hope in hell of passing for eighteen. He's not sure his chances are much better at fifteen and a half, but it's worth a shot.

He smiles charmingly at Tifa.

"What martinis can you recommend?"

[antishinra]

She smiles pretty widely, but she does give him a little bit of an appraising look.

"For you, I'd probably have to go with something nonalcoholic." Alcohol's kind of the essence of a martini, but it can be pulled off. "Unless you've got some kind of ID, that is."

Maybe he's just a little baby-faced, but if he's over sixteen she'll eat her gloves.

[navyafterone]

"Sure I've got ID."

Beat.

"...but I, erm, probably left it in my other trousers," he admits grudgingly. "What non-alcoholic drinks can you recommend, then? Besides milkshakes."

Maybe he'll try again next year.

[antishinra]

"Bring it next time, and I'll see what I can do for you."

Pointedly not breaking into a grin, Tifa settles for another smile.

"I could make you a berry martini, no alcohol. Or any kind of smoothie. My strawberry passionfruit ones were a hit last time I offered them." She shrugs goodnaturedly. "If you'd rather, I could always get you tea or a soda."

[navyafterone]

Perhaps he will get a fake one from the CHERUB labs!

And then perhaps Meryl will rip him a new one for it.

He leans on Bar as he considers, then smiles again (with less fake charm). "I'll try a berry martini, please. Got to be the next best thing, right?"

[antishinra]

"Probably so." This time she does grin. "It even comes in a martini glass, so you get all of the style and none of the drunkenness."

With that, she sets to work on his martini, getting the glass out and busying herself behind the bar. The drink requires three kinds of juice, some actual raspberries, and a little vigorous shaking, but it doesn't take her very long to make.

"I'm Tifa, by the way," she offers as she strains the mixture into the glass. "Are you a regular here?"

[navyafterone]

"Brilliant -- well, for the style, at least."

He supposes he can deal with the lack of drunkenness.

"James," he returns, and shakes his head. "Not really. I came here a bit when I was twelve, but then the door disappeared 'til last week. I hope to be a regular, though -- I like this place. It's got space pilots and everything."

[sun-hwa.livejournal.com]

It has only been a matter of days, but the days have been endless ones. Still dressed in her pink sweater and gray skirt, she eases quietly into a seat at the bar.

There is a lady working there today, and she looks very friendly and very young.

"Excuse me." Her voice is stilted, heavily accented. "Is it a bad time to ask for tea?"

[antishinra]

Tifa sidesteps so she's more in front of the woman -- she's never seen her before -- and gives her a big smile.

"It's never a bad time to ask for tea." The uncertainty of the question makes her wonder if the woman's new here. "Is there a certain kind of tea you'd like?"

She knows she has her favorite.

[sun-hwa.livejournal.com]

"Green?" She looks so hopeful, but glances at the board that shows how much money people owe. For her, it is listed in won, and this distresses her. She has no money and despite Sam Linnfer's reassurance that the "tabs" are not called in very frequently, she still worries even though it seems that Hercules' word was good, and her room is paid out of his generosity.

At home, she rarely worried about money.

[antishinra]

She has a strong accent, but Tifa isn't surprised that she can't place it. "Green tea is no problem."

It's possible this bar has as many types of tea as it does types of beer, and that's no small feat. As she claims a cup for the lady, she follows her gaze up to the tab board and then looks across the bar again, smiling gently.

"My name's Tifa. Have you been here long?"

[sun-hwa.livejournal.com]

"Tifa. That is a pretty name." Ducking her head into a small bow, she smiles. "I am Sun. I have only arrived recently, and am... I think the word is bound." She chances a glance to the wall she's beginning to dislike very much. "No door."

Every day, she misses Jin. Every day, she misses the husband she was going to leave. If this is a test of some kind, it is one she's failing miserably.

[antishinra]

"Thank you."

She grins, pleased. She can barely remember the last time someone commented that she has a pretty name. In her opinion, Sun is a beautiful name.

It makes her mind want to wander to Cloud, as if her brain can't think of one thing found in the sky without thinking of another, and she has to promptly turn her thoughts back to the task at hand.

Careful not to spill, she presents Sun a full cup of green tea, and her eyes are full of understanding. "I'm bound, too. I can see a door over there, but I can't get it to open for me."

[weirdwilbur.livejournal.com]

"An' whut, exactly esn't traditional fer martinis?" Wilbur wants to know.

[antishinra]

She looks up.

And then up some more.

But in spite of feeling suddenly very short, she still manages to smile. "Ones with flavored liqueurs or juices. Usually fruity or chocolate. Anything that's not the traditional gin or vodka martini can fall under nontraditional tonight, as far as I'm concerned. Did you have something in mind?"

[weirdwilbur.livejournal.com]

"Wal, I like oranges. An' strawberries." He grins in response to her smile. "I'm Wilbur Whateley, by the way. Yew ur?"

[antishinra]

He has a strange way of talking, she thinks, but so long as she can understand him she's not going to point it out to him.

But he is awfully tall.

"I could make you an orange martini then. It's an easy one to make. Or a strawberry one, if you'd rather." Her smile just gets wider. "I'm Tifa. It's nice to meet you, Wilbur."

[weirdwilbur.livejournal.com]

"Either es fine." Wilbur shrugs. "Sew, whar yew from?"

[antishinra]

"I'll make it an orange one, in that case."

Behind the bar, she fills her cocktail shaker with cracked ice and pours in vodka, some orange liqueur, and a tiny bit of orange bitters. After a good shake, she strains the mixture into a glass and places it on the bar in front of him, garnished with a slice of orange.

"I'm from a town called Edge on the planet Gaia. What about you?"

Most people she's met here have been from Earth, but... none of them have been as tall as Wilbur, for one thing.

[bluespells.livejournal.com]

Billy grins at the specials board.

"I owe one very nice boy a milkshake. Do you have any recommendations?"

[antishinra]

"Did you lose a bet?" Tifa grins, too. How bad can owing someone a milkshake be? "You can't go wrong with the usual: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. But peanut butter shakes are good. And there's one of my favorites, chocolate mint."

The moral of the night, she's starting to think, is don't offer shakes as a special on a night when you haven't had anything to eat or drink for dinner yet.

[bluespells.livejournal.com]

"I think he would like chocolate mint." Well, Teddy will eat most anything. "--But no, I didn't lose a bet. He brought me one the other day and I thought I would do something nice for him."

[antishinra]

"Returning the favor. How nice of you."

Most of the time, people who treat their friends well rate in her book.

"Your friend has good taste. I can make him a chocolate mint shake in a flash. Did you want one, too?"

[bluespells.livejournal.com]

"Actually, can you do coffee for me?" He's a caffeine fiend. "I'm Billy, by the way. I don't think I've seen you around."

[antishinra]

"Absolutely. Can I get you cream or sugar for it?"

She starts to work on the coffee first so he can drink it while he waits for the milkshake if he'd like to.

"It's nice to meet you, Billy," she goes on, glancing up with a grin as she pours the coffee. "I'm Tifa. Have you been here long?"