“My bar skills?” Matthew was puzzled by the question.
“Have you ever been behind the bar. Do you know how to mix a drink?”
“Well yeah. I can pour a drink. What’s the relevance though?”
“Do you think you could fill in for me while I ran an errand? If you could then I think I could find someone willing to swap with you”
“I suppose. But I have no idea how you make your special cocktails”
“They are easy. It’s all computerised. Just press what the order is and they come out pre-mixed. Wait a second. I’ll just clear these customers then I’ll show you” The goth girl went to the other end of the bar where there were two groups of people waiting to be served.
Matthew sipped his drink while he waited. He looked around to see what had happened to the couple who had spoken to him earlier. Apparently they were still in the private room. He looked across just in time to see the door open. First the man walked out. He appeared to be back to normal - but then that couldn’t be right – He remembered the barmaid saying they would not be able to change back to normal for 3 hours. Matthew realised that man, now dressed as George had been earlier, must be Julie. It certainly did look like they had done a complete swap.
That was confirmed when the woman walked out. She looked exactly like Julie had when the couple were first at the bar. She wore the blue dress and the heels that Julie had been wearing earlier, however she was clearly struggling to walk in the heels and was moving very tentatively. When the man offered her an arm she grabbed it and hung on. Matthew watched as the couple slowly made their way across the room. The man had a huge grin on his face while the woman looked terrified. They approached the bar and the man (Julie?) placed the key on the counter, but they then left the bar. Matthew guessed they might have decided to take a room next door.
As they left Matthew looked across to the barmaid. She was taking an order from a younger couple. He could see she was explaining how the special cocktails worked. Matthew watched as the male touched his credit card to a device. Then the barmaid used a touch screen on the computer behind the bar. Seconds later she placed two glasses into what appeared to be a fancy coffee machine. When she hit another button the glasses filled simultaneously with pink and blue liquid, which the barmaid then presented back to the couple.
However it appeared that this time the young woman was not as eager to take a sip as Julie had been. The couple were having a heated exchange. The barmaid came back to near Matthew. “What’s the blew about?” Matthew asked
“She’s reluctant to take the drink. It seems like neither of them are willing to take the blue drink. I’m guessing they don’t trust each other enough. I left them there to sort it out”
“Does this happen often?”
“Not too often. Usually if a couple are willing to spend the money they have sorted things out before they get here. Those drinks are pretty expensive”
Matthew knew. The swap scotch he had tried to order would have cost him $500
The woman had picked up her handbag and left the bar. The man was gesturing to the barmaid.
“I’d better go and see what he wants” the barmaid said as she walked back to the man. Matthew moved closer so he could hear the conversation.
“We have changed out mind. I’d like my money back”
“Sorry can’t do. You paid and I served you in good faith. It’s all in the contract you signed before you came in here”
“Well can we take the drinks with us?”
“Can’t do that either. As part of our license the drinks need to be consumed on the premises. The best I can do is offer you a discount card, 20% off if you come back again”
The man turned to the girl. Neither looked much older than Matthew. “Come on Becky. I’ll blow my money if you walk away”
“Well next time you might think before springing a surprise on me” she did not sound sympathetic.
The man was exasperated. He turned back to the barmaid. “I’ll take that discount card you offered”
The barmaid hit buttons on the computer and opened her till. She passed the man something that looked like a credit card. “20% off a round of drinks. Good for 1 year”
The man didn’t look happy as he snatched the proffered card from the barmaid. He followed the girl out of the bar. Matthew guessed they were not going to be taking a room at the hotel next door.