The Cure

“Last Call! Who wants another round?” Jenny exclaimed, as she was finishing her shift. Glasses clinked, drinks spilled, just another night. A lone woman walked in and sat at the corner of the bar. Jenny walked up to the woman and politely asked if she could bring her a drink. “Water with lime” the woman responded quietly with an accent Jenny couldn’t place. She pulled out a black notebook and began writing. She was not a young woman, her silver streaks gleamed under one of the few lights in the dim bar. She wore a beautiful purple woolen coat that made her skin look bright and youthful despite her wrinkled brow. Just then, two men started yelling at each other. This wasn’t looking good; she went over to deescalate the situation. With a little reasoning everyone calmed, one of the men left and all was well. Jenny went around to check on the patrons and close out everyone’s tab. She was on her way over to check on the woman with the silver hair when she noticed that she had left. She didn’t owe any money, so Jenny went on and wished everyone a good night as they left the bar. It was her and the cook in the kitchen that were left to close. It was Jenny’s responsibility to bus tables and clean up the front of the house. Dave, the cook handled the back. As she was cleaning, she found the woman’s notebook. She put it in the lost and found basket which was cluttered with sunglasses, gloves and other personal junk that had been left behind. When the work was done, her and Dave locked up and he walked her out to her car. Jenny appreciated this. Her and Dave had a good working relationship. He was a hard worker and made some amazing food to be served out of a corner bar. Jenny wondered how long it would be before he found a better job and some new creep would be in the kitchen closing with her every night.

It was finally Sunday, Jenny’s days off were Monday and Tuesday, it was better for her to work the busy night and weekend shifts at the bar. Her days off flew by as they always did and before she knew it, it was Wednesday afternoon. Time to get ready for work. Another week at Mulligans felt like a week of her life thrown away. Jenny wondered how she would turn her life around and find freedom from punching a clock. At 4:00, she did just that. Punched in and met with her manager, who was getting ready to leave. Sandra worked the day shift and Jenny worked nights. Every day when Jenny arrived, she would greet Sandra, get an idea of how the day was going, get a to do list of things around the bar and a fresh order sheet to log everything that was running low so Sandra could make the orders. Just as Sandra and her perfume cloud rushed out, she came back to ask Jenny if she knew what was up with that black notebook in the lost and found. She said it contained a bunch of herbal recipes and lists of fruits and vegetables, and whoever left it probably wouldn’t be back for it. Jenny thought it was quite an invasion of privacy to the woman who owned the notebook, but that was Sandra, always in everyone’s business!

Wednesday was a slow day at the bar. Most of the regulars were there drinking beer, but other than that, Jenny didn’t have many customers. She watched the news on the flat screen behind the bar because that’s what the regulars always wanted to watch if there wasn’t a game on. The news anchor was talking about some deadly virus overseas. This wasn’t the first time a viral outbreak occurred but those things never made their way over here, nothing to worry about. Sad for the people who were getting sick though. On Jenny’s break she paused for a moment of silence for the people who were sick and dying from this virus. She prayed for their families and that “they” would find a cure before it spread further. Who are ‘they?’ Jenny thought. As she chuckled to herself thinking of anytime someone mentioned help from an authority figure such as the government or the medical field, the help from whom, always referred to vaguely as ‘they.’

Another week came and went, and Wednesday morning rolled around once again. Jenny was feeling motivated this week. She had caught up with some friends over dinner, paid her bills and ran errands on her days off so she was ready to get to work and make some money. She spent her last $120 on the electric bill, so there was no time to waste. But as she expected, a slow Wednesday. Just the usual draft beers, news, and small talk with the regulars. The news was talking again about this deadly Coronavirus. The men who lined the bar made bad Corona beer jokes and ordered another round as Jenny sat their burgers and fries in front of them. This doesn’t seem to be getting any better, Jenny thought to herself. She went in the kitchen to get the other orders that were up. Dave was busting it out back there. And looking good doing it! She had never thought of him in that way, but she let her mind slip away for a moment and fantasized what a good round between the sheets would be like with him. “Order up, Buttercup!” He smiled at her and suddenly, a warm sensation rushed through her body. She returned a coy smile; she knew she had to keep her cool at work. She grabbed the plates and rushed from the kitchen to serve the customers. The phone started ringing. It was Sandra. She told Jenny that after today the bar would be closing for a couple of weeks because this virus had made its way to Michigan and the government was shutting everything down. Jenny was shocked! Nothing like this had ever happened. She went to the back to tell Dave. Sandra instructed them to close early and use the rest of the shift to do a thorough cleaning. Jenny and Dave scrubbed every inch of the bar that night. Getting rid of old menus, clutter, and the junk that was left behind in that lost and found basket.

She noticed the black notebook was still in there, the old woman never came back to retrieve it. She was about to throw it away when something inside her stopped. She put the notebook in her bag instead. When they finished, Dave walked Jenny out to her car as he always did, but before she could open her car door, she paused and asked Dave to join her for a drink at her place. He followed her in his car, and they met at her door. Unsure where this would lead, Jenny anxiously unlocked the door to her townhouse. They went inside and sat and talked and sipped on wine for hours. She didn’t know Dave was this awesome! They were really connecting. Jenny grabbed her bag to find a cigarette. She didn’t smoke often but while drinking she felt the urge, she asked Dave to join her on the balcony. She saw the black notebook while she was fumbling in her purse for a lighter. She grabbed the book and told Dave about the woman who left it at Mulligans. She had such an intelligent demeanor, a worldly presence. She and Dave laughed at Sandra’s reaction to the contents of the book as they thumbed through the pages of herbal remedies and vegan recipes. They got to the final page with writing on it, titled “The Cure.” there was a short list of herbs and instructions on how to prepare them. Jenny wondered what this cure could be for. Where would one find an ingredient like sarsaparilla? What is that? She and Dave were both unfamiliar with all of this. It was getting late, and they went back inside. Looking in his glazed over eyes Jenny felt that warm rush again, Dave was feeling it too and leaned in to kiss Jenny. She was so taken by lust that led her straight to the bedroom. Jenny gasped as she took him in slowly. She enjoyed every blissful moment of this. The slow grind was almost too much to take! She was on the brink of pleasure she had never experienced before, and then, sweet release. He lied down next to her and gazed into her eyes before drifting off to sleep.

The sun was rising, and Jenny and Dave were still in dreamland. Jenny’s mother had been trying to call. Her father had fallen ill. He was still waiting on test results, but the doctors suspected him to have Coronavirus. When Jenny heard this, she was devastated. She sobbed quietly on Dave’s shoulder. She was thankful to have some company while pondering this horrible news. A day later it was confirmed. He had the virus that no one knew how to cure. Jenny thought back to the worldly woman in the purple coat. She investigated the notebook again. She pulled out her laptop to research these ingredients listed on “The Cure” page. What she found intrigued her. These herbs had been used by ancient cultures for centuries. They had many healing properties, but they all had one thing in common, they were good for the respiratory system. Jenny thought back to the news talking about the respiratory virus. Jenny called her mom immediately, who was hesitant to receive this information. But with the doctors having no known course of treatment she was open minded. Dave told Jenny about an herbal store he passed every day on his way to work. She and Dave made the trip across town hoping that they would find these ingredients at the shop, and that the shop hadn’t closed down because of this virus! They arrived at the apothecary. A purple woolen coat was hanging near the door. “I wondered if I’d see you again” The silver-haired woman greeted them. Telling them that by the time she realized where she left her book, the bar was shut down. She was shocked, thinking how fate had turned in her favor to help by sending her an herbalist to save her father. She asked the woman about “the cure” and the woman told her that she hadn’t tested it on anyone, but she believed this could be the way to cure a person with COVID-19. Jenny asked her if she had the ingredients in the store. The woman gathered the herbs and gave her instructions on how to use them. Jenny raced to her parents’ home, where she met her mother outside. She passed her the brown paper bag with the herbs and instructions. Within 2 days her dad was feeling much better. This cure seemed to work! She posted it on her wastebook, along with the location of the apothecary. Overnight she gained a HUGE following!

Jenny returned to the shop and told the woman about the overnight attention she was getting! The woman knew nothing of the internet or how to get this information to people who needed it. Dave dabbled in e-commerce and had a side hustle selling collectibles. He knew he could help them, so he created a listing for the herbal cure that he linked to Jenny’s wastebook page. Almost instantly, money was pouring in. The next morning Jenny woke up to an alert from her bank account. She had received $20,000 in sales in just that one day! Over the next month Jenny, Dave, and the woman made 3.6 million dollars! With Jenny’s social media following, Dave’s e-commerce experience, and the woman’s worldly knowledge, these 3 lives were never the same because “they” had found The Cure.