Poisonous Fox

Marianne paced back and forth across their shared chambers.

They had retired for the night after closing the tavern, and Marianne was really letting Jackie have it. The purple haired girl must have had something wrong with her head, because she just was not understanding. It vexed Marianne! Taking another breath, she tried again, spinning to face where Jackie sat on the bed.

“I’m supposed to be training you, right?” Marianne asked.

Jackie’s face twitched. Was she trying to avoid laughing? What did that twitch mean?! Marianne scowled. “This is serious!”

“I never said it wasn’t,” Jackie replied, as if she had done nothing wrong.

“Then why aren’t you listening?” Marianne crossed her arms over her chest and tried her best to loom over the other girl. But Marianne was short. Of course, Jackie was short too, and Jackie was sitting down, so Marianne still managed to get some loomage in, but not nearly enough.

“I am?” Jackie said, feigning confusion. Or maybe she really was confused?

“Are you?” Marianne asked. “I literally can’t tell.”

“I am,” Jackie reaffirmed.

“Well alright! Then pay attention, because this is monumentally important.” Marianne paused and waited to make sure Jackie was attentive. When Jackie nodded, Marianne dove into the crus of the matter. “Do. Not. Strike. Customers! It’s basically lesson number one! It shouldn’t even hafta be one! Just don’t do it. Not ever!”

Jackie’s lips parted, as though she were about to speak, but Marianne kept going, not wanting to lose her steam.

“Make them feel wanted! We need customers to make Cee! No customers, no job, no food, no tuition, no nothing! Got that? They need to enjoy their time here, and that means being friendly. Smiling! Gods, it’s like you’ve never dealt with patrons before! Do you even know how the service industry works?”

Jackie almost snarled but managed to mostly hold it in. “Oh, I know,” she said.

“Do you? Because you didn’t act like it tonight.”

A moment of silence passed, and Jackie appeared bothered, maybe even remorseful. Marianne decided to let it all soak in, and hopefully teach Jackie a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, the marination failed to take, at least not completely.

“Look,” Jackie said in a hushed tone. “What is the real problem here?”

“What?” Marianne hissed. “I just told you! You embarrassed patrons! Now they’re gonna badmouth the place, and make us look bad! You think people will wanna eat and drink here after that?”

This girl! She was going to cost Marianne her job, because she was too dense to understand the simplest of instructions. Marianne threw her hands up and moaned in exasperation.

“I can’t. Just cannot.” Marianne deflated and sat down on her own bed, opposite to Jackie.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but do you know where I’m coming from?” Jackie asked.

Marianne looked up from where she was glowering at the floor. “What difference would that make?”

“Perspective. Compromise?” Jackie rocked left and right in a wiggle, before adding, “Just hear me out?”

Marianne thought about diving back into another rant, but the last few had done a whole lot of nothing, and her voice felt somewhat strained. So, despite her better judgment, Marianne nodded. Just one nod, though.

Jackie’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Alright, thanks.”

“Go on then,” Marianne said, trying to hurry it up, and possibly transfer some of the strain that she felt over to Jackie. It would only be fair. Jackie was not nearly stressed enough.

“Right. Well. I think things aren’t as dire as you do,” Jackie said.

Marianne’s jaw dropped. This girl!

“What? Why would you say that?” Marianne demanded, attempting to calm herself, but having a difficult time doing so. “You emasculated a patron! And yeah, he deserved it. But that’s just not done!”

“He deserved it and more,” Jackie said, her voice low and dangerous, almost a growl. “But the real problem that we’re facing here, isn’t that I defended myself, but that those idiots have leverage over us.”

“What does that even mean?!” Marianne cried. “Do you not like having a job? Because that’s the only leverage I can see here.”

“Those men are not our employers,” Jackie stated the fact as though it were somehow profound.

“Of course not!” Marianne seethed. “Do you actually think Ma won’t drop us for ruining her reputation?”

“You think she would?” Jackie asked, a flicker of concern upon her face. It looked like Marianne was finally getting through to the girl.

“Yes!” Marianne exclaimed. “If we cost her her business? Yeah, I think she will. Don’t you?” Marianne genuinely wanted to know just how disconnected Jackie was from how actual life worked. But, maybe it was possible that Jackie was just ignorant about hospitality? It seemed like common sense though, and even Marianne had come into the business knowing that much.

Jackie nodded her head, then rubbed above and backwards of her temples. A curious place to ease tension. Another curiosity to the list, Marianne supposed.

But then, Jackie spoke, and once again Marianne knew frustration.

“You mentioned reputation earlier,” Jackie said. “I want to point out that there’s an assumption at play here.”

Marianne groaned. “What now? What’s this assumption then?”

“It’s that the men can hurt Ma’Ritz’s reputation,” Jackie said. “That’s the leverage the men have, right? At least what you’re saying?”

Marianne found herself contemplating Jackie’s words. Was that an assumption? Marianne had thought it to be an obvious fact. But maybe there was something Marianne was missing.

“I’m sure that they can hurt our reputation. That’s obvious, right… ?” Marianne trailed off, wondering what Jackie was angling at. Was it some sort of trick, or trap? Because that was what it felt like to Marianne.

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” Jackie said. The edge of her lip was trembling. What did Jackie know, that Marianne did not?

“Explain then.”

“Let me ask you this,” Jackie said. “Does Ma want to be known for letting her girls get molested without consent nor payment?”

So that was it. The trap which Jackie had laid.

“No. Of course she doesn’t. Don’t be foolish.” Marianne let loose a disgusted scoff.

“Exactly!” Jackie said. “Then what’s the problem?”

“What’s the problem? What’s the problem?!” Marianne hissed. “There are other ways! Better ways! More, more graceful ways! What would your mother say?”

Jackie’s reaction was instantaneous and surprising. Her face fell completely flat and she shrunk in upon herself. Marianne figured she was on the right track in drilling the lesson into the girl’s thick head.

Marianne tried following the breathing exercises that Esmerelda had taught, but it was to limited effect. After the attempt at cooling off, Marianne decided to try de-escalating.

“Look,” Marianne said. “I get it that you can fight. That’s great. But that’s not the only way to resolve problems. There’s charm! I don’t wanna be mean, but I cannot afford to lose this job.”

Jackie remained silent for a while longer. Marianne considered speaking once more, but just as Marianne took a breath to speak, Jackie spoke.

“What should I have done differently then?” Jackie asked.

Now, now they were getting somewhere! But where to start, Marianne wondered. She wanted to reward Jackie for finally seeing reason, and so Marianne decided to throw the other girl a bone.

“Certainly not letting them get away with it for free!” Marianne said. “Though the best way to deal with that sort of situation is to keep it from happening in the first place.”

“Unfortunately,” Jackie began, her voice trembling slightly. “I was unable to avoid it–I wasn’t even aware before his hand grabbed my–”

Marianne hushed her.

“-no need to explain,” Marianne said. “But in that case, instead of lashing out with violence, we have a couple of other ways to handle it. The easiest would be to get Esmerelda to deal with it.”

“She’s the bouncer then?” Jackie asked, using an unfamiliar word.

“Maybe?” Marianne asked. “I’m not familiar with the term. But another way would have been to get help. And then there’s the barmaid’s tax, which you could have applied.”

“Right… “ Jackie worked her lips a bit before figuring out a way to voice whatever was bothering her. “But the barmaid’s tax is a fiscal punishment, almost a payment. It feels a little like selling our bodies.”

Marianne grimaced. That was the wrong way to think about it. It was such a horrific line of thoughts. So much of their business was based on proximity to pretty bar-maids. Was that selling their bodies? Maybe… but Marianne did not want to think about it.

“No,” Marianne said flatly. “The tax is reparations for injuries done. Nothing more.”

Jackie remained silent a bit longer, before nodding.

Finally. Finally! Marianne thought.

“I’ll do better,” Jackie said.

That was good. Very good. But after such a draining almost argument, with such high tensions, Marianne needed something a bit more to feel the disagreement had been resolved. So, after watching Jackie carefully, Marianne pressed for details.

“How?” Marianne asked. “How will you do better?”

“To start with,” Jackie said. “I won’t leave myself exposed on the floor to grabby perverts.” Her voice ended with an angry tone.

“Good…” Marianee said, and then hesitated a second. She had already gotten enough. But, she needed to know. They had to have a contingency. Because life never went as planned, Marianne had learned that well enough, and she would be a fool to forget that lesson now. After licking her lips, Marianne asked, “But if by chance, someone does manage to grope you? Gods forbid, but if it does happen?”

Jackie grit her teeth, speaking in a low, almost inaudible tone. “Then I’ll get Esmerelda,” Jackie agreed.

Marianne let out a heavy sigh of relief, sagging into her bed.

It was done. Handled. Jackie had agreed.

“Get some sleep then,” Marianne said, already closing her eyes. “It all starts again tomorrow.”