Bartending with a Blackhawk!

[zerocharliexray]

Things are a little... strange on the Aerie One.

Maybe strange isn't the right word. Maybe it's more like strained. Helena's taken her belongings and run off God only knows where, and Dinah's on her way to Asia, traveling with Zinda's old bar buddy, Wildcat, and the Skipper...

Well, suffice it to say even Zinda's ever-present cheer has gotten a little dinged, so once she's bedded the Aerie One down for the night and brought the Skipper a sandwich – more out of optimism than realistic expectation – she pats the door to the cockpit and murmurs a few soft and encouraging words.

The door rewards her with the bustle and warmth of Milliways, and Zinda pushes her hand back through her hair and grins and grins and grins.

"Sis," she tells the bar once she makes her way there, "you sure have swell timing."

A napkin appears along with Zinda's cold bottle of beer, and she reads the note on it before laughing. "Whatever you say," she says, and parks her pert bottom on the bartop so she can swing her legs up and over, landing on the other side. She grabs a marker and writes:

Specials

Champers
Diablo
Gin Fizz
Betsy Ross
American Beauty
Ice-cold beer + shot of whiskey

She can be found behind the bar for the rest of the night, cleaning glasses and whistling Andrews Sisters' classics to herself. 

C'mon, Milliways. Tell Zinda your troubles. What the heck else is a bartender for?

Comments

[zerocharliexray]

"Pretty sure I saw a pitcher back there," Zinda tells her, and goes to look. She's pouring a large, chilled glass of minty, lightly sweetened, ice-cold tea when the little boy comes charging back, and she grins at him as she places the drink in front of Sunshine.

"Look at those hands!" she says, impressed. "Clean as a whistle. Well, time for me to hold up my end of the bargain – "

Two chocolate-chip cookies find their way onto a plate, and she puts it in front of him with a smile. "Enjoy that, cutie," she says. "My treat."

Finally, she looks back at the other woman, interest clear in her warm blue eyes. "Yeah? Don't have to tell me twice, sis. It's been a long time since I've had to eat with rations, but I don't think I'll ever take somethin' like cinnamon rolls for granted ever again."

[sunbaked_baker]

"What do we say, Terry?" Rae grins, scooting the young kid's bar stool closer to the counter so he can reach better.

"Thank youuu!" Terry choruses dutifully, his day infinitely improved now there is apple juice and yummy cookies.

"There we go," Rae chuckles, fluffing the boy's hair before turning to take a long drink of her tea. "Oh! That's perfection. Thank you."

"While I've never had anything that was called a ration - rationing, sure, but not actual rations - as a baker of toxic sugar-shock specials I've got a bias against food-as-fuel as a very concept."

She is currently solemnly dedicated to making Fives' squad the clones least satisfied by GAR rations and the ones with the most experienced palates among their fellows.

[zerocharliexray]

"You are so welcome, cutie pie," Zinda tells Terry, and turns her grin back on Rae.

"Heck, sugar, just bein' able to go to the store without bringin' a book of ration stamps makes my whole day, and I can't cook worth beans. Serve me up a pastry and you'll have a friend for life."

[sunbaked_baker]

"I remember Mom and Charlie having to scrape through during the Wars, when I was still living with them. I'm pretty sure the coffeehouse would've gone under when things were worst, if Mom weren't so good with money."

She had had to be, having left her first husband with nothing but a small daughter and the clothes on their backs, so she was still good with money when she had something more to fight to keep.

"Charlie's like me," she grins. "More geared towards the cooking of good food and getting it to our hungry customers. Mom, thankfully, is much better at logistics, ordering supplies and scheduling shifts."

[zerocharliexray]

"Charlie's Coffeehouse," Zinda remembers, putting a few things together. "That's swell, sis. Family operation, huh?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"Absolutely a family operation," she affirms, smiling with fondness for the whole place, the family of staff and regulars it has accrued over the year.

"I'm Rae, Rae Seddon," she adds, realizing that in their brief previous encounter they never got to the point of exchanging names, in the face of delicious food. "More often called Sunshine, Head Baker at Charlie's Coffeehouse of Old Town, New Arcadia."

Don't ask how a baker gets scars like that.

"An' I'm Terry!" Terry pipes up, as well, earning another hair-ruffle from Sunshine.

"And he's Terry," she chuckles.

[zerocharliexray]

"And I'm Zinda," she tells them, grinning. "Zinda Blake, pilot."

There's a beat, and then she laughs. "And now bartender, too, I suppose."

She leans over the bar to offer a hand to Terry for a high-five. "Nice to meet you both."

[sunbaked_baker]

Terry beams and high-fives her hand with all the hand-eye coordination of a small child, giggling along with Zinda's laughter. "Nice ta meet youu! Whatsa pilot?"