No extra cherries for you kid

I just worked six nights straight at the bar. It went really well, but by the end, my patience for poor customer behavior was running thin.

People like to share things at my bar. It's not unheard of for a couple to share a $7 glass of wine and split the bill two hours later. I don't make out on this deal.

This past Friday was busy. People were fighting for seats. Two dads plunk their ten-year-old daughters down at the bar. In Cambridge you have to be old enough to sit up on your own and you're allowed at the bar.

The dads order drinks and one girl orders,

"We'll share a Shirley Temple."

SHARING a SHIRLEY TEMPLE??? It's $3, your dads can afford to buy two Shirley Temples AND what child in their right mind only wants half of a super sweet, cherrylicious soda with extra cherries?

I split a Shirley Temple. Guests hover nearby waiting for service. I have five other cocktails I'm trying to make. I pour sparkling wine into a champagne flute. It starts to overflow. One of the little girls yells at me,

"Excuse me! You're spilling!"

She's making a barrel-aged cocktail. We have those at my bar.
I think she's my next bar manager.

Tweet