Sweet Ales

Dolly Camellia couldn’t believe her eyes when she woke up the next morning at the back of the bar. The sun was out, and the day had already begun. Dolly witnessed a full room of new people, indulging in the services as well as talking within the table. Indeed, through years of hard work and a few lines passed down, Sweet Ales had established itself well in the Western District of Traum. The locals knew it well, and it was a name that comes first to mind when casual dining was mentioned. In addition to its reputation, the location of the pub was a few streets away from the center of the town, making it easily accessible to a majority of the population. Although it was recently inherited by Albert, his experience amounted to around a decade from helping out since he was a child. Dolly watched, as he juggled from working in the kitchen to taking orders and serving dishes.

“I’ll have a pint!” a customer shouted.

“Sure thing!” and in a quick minute, Albert brought over a full glass to the table before returning to handle the other orders.

There were times when Albert would stack his arms full of dishes and balance over to the appropriate tables. His movements were well rehearsed, displaying the experience that he had culminated over the years. Albert’s unwavering pace asserted that this was his daily routine.

Dolly continued to stare, as Albert made time to converse and joke with the people he knew well. It was different from the years that she had to spend by herself. There was nothing but awe on her face, like seeing someone in a different world. There were so many tasks to handle and so many faces to greet.

As the morning rush died down, a man in a beige coat, decorated by the colors of red and white and iconic of the city soldiers, barged in and sat down in an empty seat close to the counter. The man must have been of high stature, because he caught everyone’s attention as he walked in. He had Albert’s attention too, but in a different manner. Hearing the doors open and the tables hush, he went out of his way to grab a wooden stick and put it by his waist before continuing to prepare another dish.

“I’ll have a pint!” he ordered.

“No drinking on the job, Leo.” Albert was quick to bring him a glass of water, which he slammed in front of the soldier. “You can have this free of charge.”

“As strict as ever,” Leo huffed, but he took it anyway.

The room began to twitter as if a show was about to begin. People from outside started to crowd around the entrance. Slips of paper were beginning to be passed around the room. Dolly wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but there was definitely some kind of tension in the air.

Albert returned to the table with a bowl in hand. “The special.” He placed it in front of Leo and headed back to the counter.

“I don’t remember ordering the special.” Leo talked to the back of Albert.

Albert stopped and turned around with a frightening look on his face. “After what happened yesterday, I don’t think you have the right to order anything from me at the moment.”

Leo quickly ate the contents of the bowl with shaking hands. That face he saw was a rare instance he had never seen before, and it was clearly dangerous to probe any further.

Finishing the bowl, he tossed the pay on the table. “Looks like my job’s starting early,” he said before rushing out of the crowd. There were some groans from the people as they witnessed the anticlimactic spectacle. Money started to be passed around.

“Hey!” Albert was returning his wooden stick. “Show’s over! Either come here to eat or get out.”

They quickly dispersed, leaving a small volume of diners in the room accompanied by the return of small chatter. Dolly, who only witnessed the back of Albert’s head during the brief exchange, had no clue what occurred between the two. She also stayed oblivious to it because she found the spectacle to be quite an interesting thing to watch. Nobody noticed the change in her expression turning into a smile.

The rest of the day proceeded without any hitches. When closing time passed, after everyone else finished dining and left, Albert closed the doors. The day was not over for him, though. Albert had to prepare the ingredients for the next day as well as clean. Prepping for Albert was easy, as he only needed to portion out the ingredients. He swept the floor and cleaned the tables before glancing at the pile of dishes at the back.

Dolly stayed still, but her eyes were following Albert. She didn’t notice, but Albert did. He felt someone staring at him. A quick scan around the room didn’t reveal anyone. Albert assumed that it was his imagination, but then he stared at Dolly. She was staring back.

How silly, Albert assured himself that the doll could not be staring back. He booped Dolly on the nose before washing the dishes and further checking the area for any spots.

As the space drew closer from clean to sterile, Albert set down the broom and rested on a table near the counter. Giving in to the pressure of the night, he patted Dolly on the head before trudging up the stairs. A poof from him falling onto the bed to sleep could be heard upstairs.

Too overwhelmed by the sudden change in pace, Dolly found herself more tense than usual and relaxed her posture. It was quite a day — the people, the soldier called Leo, and Albert’s work. It seemed like the days were what Dolly had dreamed of. But now, as the night’s mood started to set in, Dolly realized she was alone again. She didn’t realize how different it was last night, when she was too excited. Back in the shop, Dolly had spent her nights alone, but it was quite different. The compact room had provided Dolly a sense of security and comfort. Compared to the shop, the tavern was much more open and empty. The place was still new to Dolly, which caused fear to grow and gnaw inside her. Fear for the unknown and unfamiliar. It felt barren. Dolly started to miss being back in the shop, where whenever she was scared and would cry, Ficus would be there. Dolly missed being with Ficus.

At that moment, Dolly began to catch up to the fear and started to rattle. She dropped down onto her side and began to cry. Her sobs echoed in the room. She hid her face and closed her eyes to pretend to not see the new environment. This continued for a while in the middle of the night.

“Dolly,” a gentle voice appeared, but she couldn’t hear it over her sobs.

“Dolly!” it grew stronger. A hand touched her chin.

She opened her eyes and looked up. It was Ficus.

“Fi—!” Ficus put a finger on Dolly’s lip.

“Hush, Mr. Albert is still sleeping.” She smiled at Dolly.

“Ficus…” Dolly rushed into her arms, bawling. “Dolly missed Ficus.” Ficus wrapped her arms around Dolly in a hug as Dolly nuzzled herself into her.

“I missed you too Dolly,” Ficus said, stroking her head.

In the comfort of the arms of someone familiar, Dolly started to calm down. Now that she was peaceful in Ficus’s embrace, Dolly began to drift off to sleep. Ficus waited for Dolly to be completely still. After a few minutes, she confirmed that Dolly was asleep and set her between Happy and Fluffy. Dolly, now asleep, never noticed when she had brought them out.

“Good night Dolly.” Ficus whispered. She placed a letter denoted to Albert by the trio and took one last look at Dolly before disappearing from the room. Her face was emotionless, but her eyes hinted at a sense of longing as well as hope for Dolly.

The next morning brought a confused Albert. His face wrinkled when he saw Dolly sandwiched between plushies that resembled a white sheep and a smiling bear. He walked towards the odd group when he noticed a note.

Albert ripped open the letter. In elegant handwriting, its contents contained:

Hello Mr. Albert,

Dolly was feeling lonely last night, so I brought over her friends from back at the shop. Don’t worry, they won’t bite, nor do you have to pay for them. Please make sure that Dolly is kept company because she tends to be lonely.

Best Regards,

Ficus

Albert folded the note and placed it in his pocket before staring at Dolly. “She gets lonely?” he muttered to himself. He tried not to overthink it before starting his morning routine.

The day continued on like yesterday. Those days turned into weeks. Then they turned into a month. As usual, Albert had his hands full with the business during the meal time rush hours with small breaks in between. However, there was one good change from the first day for Dolly. In those small breaks, Albert would relax in the vicinity of Dolly behind the counter.

Dolly appreciated the small breaks with Albert. Although they didn’t do much, it helped Dolly adjust to living away from the shop. Away from her first home. The presence of someone that Ficus entrusted Dolly to made her feel at ease.

Through the month, Dolly began to familiarize herself with the routine and the crowd. Dolly, motionless in the back, was able to silently observe the room. She had noticed quite a few regulars that frequent to dine. The most peculiar regular, though, was the soldier Leo. Almost every day, when the business was low, he would visit and cause a crowd to form. One way or another, Albert would repel Leo. The people gathered would treat it as entertainment and either cheer or groan at the outcomes.

On the nth day since Dolly was given to Albert, she began to feel uneasy. Dolly began to wonder if she would someday be bored of this scene, like how she was back at the shop. Although she was able to see new sights, she was nervous about being used to this slightly less new scene. While everyday was slightly different, it certainly did feel a bit repetitve. She couldn’t stand being still all day, with no change in pace.

Her chance for something to do came later that day. Albert was cleaning the shop, ready to close it. A regular, the bald one with a white mustache, was still in the shop, sipping tea while reading an article. The room was silent except for the sweeping from the broom and the occasional sip from the man. Albert seemed to know and get along with the man well; he did not rush him to finish and even poured him a refill every once in a while.

“Another busy day, Albert?” The regular broke the silence into small chatter after he finished reading his paper.

“Yes, Mr. Percy, swamped with business during the rush hours,” groaned Albert, pausing to rest on the broom.

“Haha,” Mr. Percy chuckled and lifted his cup. “Hard work is better than no work at all.”

“That’s true,” Albert continued sweeping, “But I just wish that the work is not as hard. I wish I could hire someone to help out, but there’s not many that are interested.”

Mr. Percy finished his last cup and stood up. “The night is falling. I must head back. Lots to finish back at the hall.”

“Thank you for your patronage, as usual, Mr. Percy,” Albert led him to the door and bid him goodbye for the night. He locked the door and sat down at a table. There were still dishes to do.

“Maybe tomorrow,” he said. After giving Dolly the nightly pat on the head, he marched up the stairs to sleep.

Dolly returned to her usual self. Is this, perhaps, an opportunity? She had been spending her nights with her plush friends, but what if she used that time to help Albert out?

She walked towards the pile of dishes that looked like a mountain in her eyes. She had watched Albert enough times to know how to clean them. Staring at the stack, she wondered if she could really do them. She started by grabbing the closest one. The other dishes began to shake precariously. Dolly let go. She decided to choose a safer dish. This time, there was less shaking. The plate began to wriggle its way out from under the mountain and was about to be free, when one of the platters higher up suddenly tobogganed its way down. The clatter rang in Dolly’s ears as she released the plate and darted back between Happy and Fluffy. Maybe next night, she told herself.

The next night came quickly. Dolly had found a more doable task to do while contemplating throughout the day. Every morning, Albert would clean the kitchen surfaces for the day. With this in mind, Dolly decided to do them before Albert entered from his room upstairs.

Starting a couple hours after Albert went upstairs, Dolly put herself to work. She stood up and clenched her fists. With a determined look on her face, she marched towards the sink. At the rack on the wall, lay some towels. Dolly took one and wet it with water from the faucet.

Dolly knew which parts Albert tended to clean; it tended to be the counter and the area close to the stove. She carefully made her way past the sink, climbing into and out of the tub while dragging the sopping towel with her. She made a trail of water towards the stove and started to wipe.

There were a number of mistakes that Dolly hadn’t thought through when she started cleaning that area. Such were as follows:

She forgot to wring out the towel.

The towel was too big for her.

The area she intended to clean seemed smaller in her mind.

What resulted from these shortcomings was nothing too far from a disaster. Dolly mopped the counter, creating a miniature flood over the surface. As she spread the wet mess, she began to experience increasing difficulty. The towel, still soaked with water, was heavy, and the surface gradually became too slippery for Dolly to push the towel. Dolly made several attempts, slipping backwards before he resolved this matter by dragging the towel, further sloshing the water around. Before she knew it, the sun was starting to shine over the streets.

Scuffling could be heard from upstairs. It was Albert, waking up and changing into his clothes. In a frantic scramble, Dolly tumbled into the sink and slipped her way in between her plush friends. That morning, Albert was met with a puddle at the kitchen counter, dripping onto the floor. Dolly, sitting at her usual position, was soaked as well, but she seemed to be smiling more, as if she was proud of the results she achieved from the hard work that night.