Work Text:
Arjun enjoyed his job as a bartender. Sure, the late nights meant he missed his family more than he used to in his 9 to 5, and sometimes the clientele could be crass and rude, but overall it was fun. Working as a bartender in a city as big as Mumbai meant he could broaden his horizons without ever stepping out from behind the bar. People from different corners of the world would visit the establishment and tell him stories of their culture or their own personal journeys; it was fascinating.
Tonight was the same as any other night, but also different. It was always different though. Sure, you had some of the same regulars who would come and go, night to night, but there was always someone new. Arjun looked around as he wiped down the bar, it was still quite early so not many people had arrived yet; the calm before the storm. He smiled to himself, allowing a deep breath to relax him while it was still tranquil.
Just as he returned to cleaning the bar, Arjun heard the front door creak open. He glanced up and saw a man and what looked like his teen son walk in. He frowned, no under-25s were allowed in the bar after 8 pm, and the sign outside clearly stated that. The teen sat down at one of the more isolated tables in the corner of the room. Ajun frowned deeper at this. It was as if they thought the child wouldn’t be noticed sitting in the corner, despite him very clearly being underage. He could lose his license to serve alcohol over this.
The father approached the bar with a pleasant smile and flagged down Arjun. “Hey! I was wondering if I could get -“
Arjun cut in before the man could finish his sentence, “excuse me, sir, but how old is the boy?” It was better to get straight to the point, he glanced over at the teen, who was watching the exchange from his chair. He could definitely hear them. It was a small, intimate bar, and was still almost empty, currently the sound carried relatively easily.
The man looked back at him confused before following Arjun’s gaze. He turned back and pointed over his shoulder, “him?” He said this incredulously like Arjun was insane to question this situation. He felt his blood boil but bit down his instinctual scathing remark.
“Yes, sir, the boy who you walked in with. I understand that you are not from here so you may not realise, but the drinking age here in Mumbai is 25. Both you and I could find ourselves in severe trouble for allowing the serving of alcohol to a minor.” He held eye contact with the man, who continued to look bewildered by the whole experience. Arjun sighed, “look, I understand that you are on vacation with your son, however, by law, you can’t bring him here after 8 pm.”
“He’s not my son?” The man now looked horrified. This confused Arjun even more.
“Why are you saying that like it’s a question? Is he your son or not?” Arjun was now beginning to feel more concerned, wondering who the child was to this man, if not his son.
“I’m sorry, but I think there’s been a misunderstanding.” The boy had made his way over without either the man or Arjun noticing, placing a hand on the former’s shoulder, causing him to almost jump out of his skin. He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and handed his ID to Arjun. “I’m not his son, we’re just good friends.”
Arjun looked down at the ID in his hands - ‘Daniel James Howell… D.O.B. 11.06.1991’ - and looked at the photo against the person standing before him. It looked legitimate. He nodded and handed the ID back to Daniel. At this point, the other man had fished out his own ID and was trying to hand it over to Arjun. He raised an eyebrow at the man before taking the card - ‘Philip Michael Lester… D.O.B 30.01.1987.’ Okay, so he was only a few years older than his friend. Arjun nodded again and handed it back. He tried to squash down the embarrassment he was beginning to feel from the whole situation.
“Apologies for the confusion gentlemen,” he tried to smile apologetically, feeling a bit foolish for thinking Daniel was Philip’s son when - in reality - they were so close in age. He mentally reasoned that anyone could have made that mistake, Daniel, after all, had a very youthful face. “May I offer a drink each, on the house? What would you like?”
Happy shock spread across both of their faces, and both ordered matching Pornstar Martinis, which Arjun quickly made up and served to them. They still tipped him for some reason, despite his misstep. No wonder Philip was so confused and then mortified earlier, being accused of having an almost adult son at his age is not exactly flattering.
He watched them quietly walk back to their table, whispering and gently bumping shoulders midway, before dragging their chairs closer together and sitting down.
***
In between serving other customers, Arjun spent most of the evening quietly watching the two men. Both of them stayed in the bar for a couple of hours, Philip came up at one point to order more drinks, leaving another generous tip, but they spent the night huddled together whispering and giggling.
Arjun turned the phrase “we’re just good friends” over and over in his head while watching them. They were trying to keep things platonic in appearance, but it clearly wasn’t. Lingering gazes, gentle fleeting touches. It was both endearing and sad to watch. He understood why they were trying to be discreet but it was still a shame.
“Oh my god, is that Dan and Phil over there?” A loud whisper came from next to Arjun and he let out a small, but undignified, yelp. It was his coworker, Kiara. She had just arrived for her shift, assisting Arjun in keeping the drinks flowing as the night life rush was about to begin.
Confused, he looked at the woman standing beside him and asked her, “who?”
She rolled her eyes playfully and gestured to the two men he had been watching, in a quiet tone she replied “I swear that’s Dan and Phil! They’re YouTubers from the UK.”
Arjun grimaced, not only had he insulted two innocent men, embarrassing himself in the process, but they were also YouTubers. His mistake was going to be used for attention online, he just knew it. He recalled the evening’s humiliation to Kiara and then expressed his fear of himself and the bar being dragged on online for views.
She smiled, “nah, they wouldn’t do that. They might mention that a bartender in Mumbai accused Phil of being old or something, but they’re nice people. They wouldn’t punish someone for an honest mistake.”
Arjun gave a half-hearted nod and sighed, he hoped she was right.
***
A couple of days later, Arjun was enjoying a much-needed day off, lounging around with his wife and two kids, watching films and eating snacks. It was the perfect day.
Beside him, his phone pinged, and the screen lit up with a message from Kiara.
Kiara Himani 18:15: Look! I told you they wouldn’t drag you!
Kiara Himani 18:16: https://x.com/AmazingPhil/status/1042798636336242688
He felt his stomach churn with nerves as he clicked the link;
Phil Lester
@AmazingPhil
Bartender in Mumbai just pointed at Dan and asked me “Sir, how old is the boy?” he literally thought Dan was my son
It had eighty thousand likes. Fortunately, all the comments were instead laughing at the pair of them now being a father-son duo. One comment asked Phil what face masks his partner used, “newborn baby tears” he replied. Arjun chuckled at the tweet. Okay, he was safe, and so was the bar.
Even when they later mentioned the incident again in a livestream, which Kiara also set him a clip of, they only laughed at each other. He was still horribly embarrassed over it all though.
***
It had been at least six or seven years since Arjun’s minor humiliation with the British YouTubers he had served drinks to. The memory still occasionally assaulted him and left him cringing, often wishing he could erase his mind of all past events, especially that particular one. And sure, he had misidentified other people’s ages since then, it was part of being a bartender. You had to be vigilant on who you were serving, but he was fortunate in that it hadn’t been him accusing a couple of being parent and child again. Especially a famous couple.
As he was setting up the bar ready to open for the night, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out of his back pocket and was shocked to see Kiara’s name. She had left his employment a few years prior when she had finished her post-graduate studies, no longer needing to work part-time at the bar.
Kiara Himani 17:31: Sorry this is random, but look, it’s not just you who called them father and son! (skip to like ~16 minutes in)
Kiara Himani 17:31: https://youtu.be/y5ZDrN-MXtw?si=t8_mLZdeC4fIbOWZ
Arjun clicked on the link she had sent and was shocked to see the man, Phil, who he had accused of being the other’s father was now a very light blonde. No wonder the nurse thought he was Dan’s father, he probably looked elderly in the hospital fluorescents.
After finishing the video, not bothering to skip ahead like Kiara had suggested, he smiled. Yes, he was still going to cringe at the memory of meeting them, even if the nurse had done the same, but it was nice seeing that they were still together after all this time.