Bad Idea Right? By Olivia Rodrigo began to play and I did my best not to sing it, because this song has been in my head for four days now.
"You can pick mine too, dear," Keira told me. "Pick something of the Passion Fruit special cocktail menu. I never drank anything that had this exotic fruit in it, so, give me whatever you like best."
"Oh, really? That's good. My favorite cocktail is one with passion fruit," then I turned to Pandora first. "Okay, for you, I thought about Pink Lady, Mexican Firing Squad, and a Maracuya Mistress."
"What are they made of?" Pandora tilted her head, leaning closer.
"The Pink Lady is made with London Dry gin, applejack, freshly squeezed lemon juice, grenadine, one egg white, and the glass garnished with brandied cherry. Mexican Firing Squad is made with blanco tequila, freshly squeezed lemon juice, grenadine, angostura bitters, and lime wheel to garnish. Lastly, the Maracuya Mistress is made of lime, hibiscus syrup, passion fruit juice, and rhum agricole."
"I want all of them, then," she beamed without a 2nd thought.
"Alright, sweetheart." I turned to Keira, "Pornstar Martini for you."
"I trust you," Keira purred sitting down. "Did you learn how to do cocktails with your dad? He was amazing at it."
"Just the basics, since he passed away when I was 10," I turned to the other side and began making their drinks. "My aunt Monika, his sister, is the one who actually taught me real cocktail making skills, though my dad's prior basic teachings helped me get a hold of it quickly." Then I side looked at Elena, who was just watching me, "Elle, what drink do you want?" I changed from English to Dutch.
She blinked, "I want something with cognac."
Oh? She's a cognac type of girl? "How about a Porto Flip?"
"What goes in a Porto Flip?" Elena leaned closer watching me as I make the four drinks for Pandora and Keira, changing from Dutch to back in English with a charming accent.
"Ruby port, cognac, heavy cream, a whole egg, extra-fine sugar, yellow Chartreuse, and freshly grated nutmeg to garnish," finishing the Pink Lady, I handed it to Pandora. "This is the Pink Lady, sweetheart," then I got back to making the cocktails and focused my attention on Elena again. "So, do you want a Porto Flip, or do you want something, Elle?"
"I want three drinks. I'll take the Porto Flip, and more two."
"Want me to recommend?" She mumbled in agreement. "Pick."
She knew what I meant by that, thankfully, "Absinthe and rum."
"Alright then, darling. For absinthe, I suggest Absinthe Suessesse, which is made of absinthe, white crème de menthe, orgeat, heavy cream, 1 egg white, and orange floral water. For rum, I suggest the Jet Pilot, which is made of overproof Jamaican rum, overproof demerara rum, gold rum, grapefruit juice and lime juice both freshly squeezed, cinnamon syrup, falernum, absinthe, angostura bitters, and maraschino cherries to garnish."
Finishing Pandora's and Keira's drinks, I handed it to them.
"There you go, sweethearts," then I turned to Elena. "So?"
"I want them, I trust your picks," she winked and I blushed.
Winking back, I twirled on my heels and began preparing hers, that was when a pair of young twins siblings came and sat down on the bar, both all in black, tall, slim, brown skin, her long and his medium black straight hair, and both with big doe dark brown eyes, looking around their 20s, and definitely with an Indian heritage. She was in a black short Louis Vuitton dress with high black stilettos and he was in a Dior black full suit. Both, with all due respect, looking like they both went through a broken heart a minute ago.
And as Delirium by Elley Duhé began to play, I handed finished her drinks and turned my full attention to the duo that I'm pretty sure to be twins, who were really looking like they just came out of a funeral of their parents, or someone they loved like hell.
"What can I get you to soften the sadness on your faces a lil bit, my sweethearts?" I leaned closer to them and their gazes met mine.
"Ah," the girl sighed self-deprecatingly, "I feel like crying."
"Don't cry, sweetheart," I quickly handed her a handkerchief.
"It's hard not to cry when our fiancées cheated on us, at the same time, with one another, two months before our duo marriage," her brother groaned and I quickly handed him another handkerchief. "It was supposed to be our honeymoon, we always wanted to have our honeymoon here in Switzerland. So, we came together. It's been two months, and even then, it hurts so bad," he cried and let out some curses in Hindi.
"You two deserve way better than those pieces of shit, no matter who they were, don't cry for them, they don't deserve your tears!" I told them in Hindi. "Don't think, for even a second, that the problem was you, sweethearts, it was not. They are the problem, them and their shit morality and lack of sense of loyalty. Imagine if you had married them, and then they had cheated on you afterwards? You were both freed from those blinds sons of a dirty whore, yeah? So, don't cry, drink instead. In the right amount, it helps us a lot, it eases the mind, and makes you forget your problems. Just, don't keep your phone near you."
"We left them in our suites," she chuckled through the tears.
"How can you speak Hindi?" Her brother gasped, in Hindi. "I have never seen anyone, who doesn't have family ties with Indians, or anything like that, speak so fluently like this. Where are you from?" He switched to English on the last part.
"First, do you feel less like crying?" I narrowed my eyes at them and they both nodded, holding the handkerchiefs I gave them. "Good, good. Now, it's nice to meet you two, I'm Zofya Fiaich Turovska," I leaned in, closer to them. "Polish-Irish-British, born and raised in Warsaw, Poland."
Pandora gasped, "What language was that?"
"Hindi," I turned to her.
"English, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Russian, Greek, Hindi," Nicolette gasped. "That's a whole lot of languages you speak, pretty girl."
"Do you speak any other?" The old women asked me, amused.
"Fluently? Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese of Brazil, Czech, Danish, Chinese, Romanian, Thai, Turkish, Afrikaans, and Latin. But I'm currently learning Maltese, Arabic, and Hungarian," grinning, I turned to the twins, who looked even more shocked than the others.
"She's not a bartender. She's a guest like us, who's being bartender tonight to help the staff, since the actual bartender went through some kind of accident," Pandora told them and by how they reacted, that seemed to explain a lot to them. "That's why she's so pretty, and fancy, and talented, and amazing, and," Nicolette cleared her throat and Pandora stopped.
"She's also 16," Nicolette added.
The twin's eyes widened, "No way."
"Reality can be deceiving," I winked at them. "Now, that you look better," I stayed on English, since they were all talking to each other in it. "What can I get you? Anything you have been craving for?"
"Before that, since you told us your name, it's fair that we do the same," she exclaimed and her twin brother nodded. "I'm Kalyani Kulkarni-Dharker, and this is my older twin, Narayan Kulkarni-Dharker, we are 25, both our parents have Indian heritage, but mom is from Romania, dad is from the United Kingdom, and we were both born and raised in Turkey. We are Indian-Turkish-Romanian-British, both our grandparents are Indians."
"That sounds amazing," I tilted my head. "My mom was born in the United Kingdom, her maternal family is partially from there but of Spanish origins and her paternal family is natural from Poland. My dad was born in Poland, his maternal family is from Ireland, and his paternal family is natural of Poland. I am their only daughter, and I was born in Warsaw, Poland."
"You don't look like your maternal family though," Keira pointed, enjoying her drink.
"Thank God, I don't. I like my Irish heritage the best," I played with my ginger hair. "I'm a female version of my dad, his genes were definitely stronger than hers." Grabbing my ankles, I showed them my huge heels, "I mean, except for my height, since I'm as short as my mom is, since my dad was a titan, and so are everyone in my paternal side."
"Even then, you are still outstandingly perfect," Nicolette flirted.
"Aren't we both, darling?" I winked.
"Zofya, dear," the old Russian man called me and I turned to him. "We forgot to greet you the right way, like the others," then he shared a soft look with his wife and then back to me. "I'm Damir Ivanov, and this is my wife, Sasha Rybak Ivanov."
Adorable, "It's an honor to meet you like this then, Mr. and Mrs. Ivanov," I smiled softly at them. "It was a pleasure to cross paths with all of you here in Switzerland." As the two elders blushed, I turned to the twins again, "Now, sweethearts, what can I get you?"
Kalyani pressed her lips together, "My ex used to make a hell when I ate chocolate, because she hated it, and I stopped eating for her, but fuck that now," oh? So, she was engaged to a girl? "I'm in the realm of chocolate, I need chocolate drinks. Can you suggest me five different ones? I'll trust your suggestions."
"My ex despised any kind of whiskey, because he also hated it, and like Kaly, I also stopped drinking because of him, but it was always my favorite beverage. Can you give me five different whiskey cocktails? You can suggest it to me!" So, he was engaged to a boy?
That means their fiancées were bisexual. Damn that's a low hit. And by how Nicolette, her brothers, and Pandora were paying some extra attention to the twins, with interest in their eyes, I can tell they caught on too. Maybe Nicolette's brother like both too. It'll be good for the twins for sure, if they want a distraction.
"Alright, sweethearts, I got you," then I turned to her first. "Let's start with you, shall we, gorgeous?" My words made her blush and I took that as a yes. "Five chocolate alcoholic cocktails," I raised my right hand. "Death by Chocolate which is vodka based, Chocolate Mint Julep which is bourbon based, Chocolate Old Fashioned which is whiskey based, Brandy Alexander which is brandy based, and White Chocolate Martini which is gin based instead of vodka and is a different kind of chocolate," at each of my recommendations, I put a finger down. "What do you think, gorgeous?"
"Are you single, Zofya?" She asked instead, making me blush.
"No," Pandora, Nicolette and her brothers all groaned as if that was the most horrible news in the world, making me, Elena, and the elder couple from Russia laugh.
"Whoever you are with is Goddamn lucky," she groaned. "With all due respect, of course." Sigh, "But if you're ever single, just go after me on Instagram, my IG is Kaly Dharker. Kaly with only one L and a Y. Dharker with an H between the D and the A."
"Hey, get in line, we're first," Nicolette groaned. "My IG is Nicky Couvreur, pretty girl. Nicky with a C and K, and with an Y."
"Mine is Paul Couvreur," her brother from the leftmost corner told me, speaking with me for the first time, seemingly shy. "Without the IN."
"Mine is Achilles Couvreur, with the S in the end," the one in the middle of the five twins spoke, more easygoing than the others.
"Henri Couvreur, with an I instead of an Y," the one between Paulin and Achille spoke smiling, blushing hard. Cute.
"Couvreur Ratatouille," the on in the right corner, on Nicolette's side told me, "you know? Because of Remi?" Oh, so, he's the funny one?
I chuckled softly, "Yeah, I got the reference, Remi."
"Mine is just Edgar Couvreur," the remaining brother spoke, and he winked at me. "I'm gay, but follow me, I'll follow you. You're cool."
"You know mine," Pandora purred next, "it's Pandora Mantzari. But I also go by Pan intimately, so you can call me Pan. What's your IG? I'll mark you on my live, so everyone can follow you too," oh?
"Zee-Lena Fiaich Turovska," I told her. "Lena from Magdalena."
"Your middle name, right?" Pandora beamed.
I nodded, "Yep. The Zee is with two Es. Fiaich is F-I-A-I-C-H. Turovska is T-U-R-O-V-S-K-A," I spelled it in English. "I'm not that active since my best friend is the influencer of our friendship. You will see me in her IG more than in mine. So, just in case you want, hers is Lia Malkowicz. Lia from Cecylia. Malkowicz is M-A-L-K-O-W-I-C-Z," I spelled hers.
Elena gasped, "Wait, your best friend is Lia Malkowicz?"
Oh? "Yeah, you know her?"
"I've saw her many times on the internet, she's really popular back in Warsaw. In all Poland. Oh my God, are you Honeyboom?" She gasped.
I chuckled, "Yes. She calls me that since we were little kids," then I brushed it away and wrote our IG down on a paper I found behind the bar. "Here, mine and hers."
"We'll follow you too, dear," Sasha and Damir told me together.
"We are Sasha Ivanov and Dam Ivanov. Dam with an M," she said.
"I'll also follow you," Keira winked at me. "I go by my name. It's in the Japanese order though. Kuroyanagi Keira. I follow your mom."
"My family is blocked on mine," I chuckled. "Hard pass, but okay. I'll follow all of you back," I turned to Kalyani's twin. "And yours?"
"Rayan Dharker. Rayan with an A between the R and Y."
A nod, "Alright, now, back to your drinks," I turned to her.
"I'll love all that you can recommend me, babe," babe? Cute.
"Whiskey cocktails, right?" I turned to her brother.
"Yes, yes. Do your best. Five different ones," he beamed softly.
I licked my lips and raised my hand to him, "Churchill, which is made of blended scotch whiskey, cointreau, Doulin rouge sweet vermouth, and freshly squeezed lime juice," 1st finger down. "Lynchburg Lemonade, which is made with Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey, triple sec, lemon juice freshly squeezed, simple syrup, lemon-lime soda, garnished with lemon," 2nd finger down.
It's not hard, especially when it's Rafał's favorite base for drinks.
"Blinker, which is made with rye whiskey, freshly squeezed yellow grapefruit juice, raspberry syrup, garnished with 3 raspberries, skewered," I put my 3rd finger down. "Manhattan, which is made with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and aromatic bitters," 4th down. "Lastly but not least, a De La Louisiane #4, made of rye whiskey, red vermouth, Bénédictine, absinthe, creole-style bitters and ice water," little finger down. "I decided not to go with the most obvious."
"Hah, you are a rare little one, aren't you?" Old Damir giggled.
I winked, "I do my best," then I turned to the twin. "So?"
"Go on, do your art," he beamed. "I trust your suggestions."
And it didn't take time for the bar to be swarmed by other young and old people, interested in me, the client who had offered to take care of their drinks for fun. Either that, or because I'm talented. Though I think it might be because they found me pretty.
I mean, I am really that pretty.