River of Love

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Dakoda Lanning spent her summers in Hannibal, MO working as a bartender on the Tom Sawyer riverboat tour. When she was not in Hannibal, she occupied her time at the University of Missouri in Columbia as professor of Art History. Being a local to Columbia, Dakoda was very knowledgeable of all the beauty that her home state had to offer. Never one for being idle, she enjoyed busying herself all year around. So working two jobs was definitely not stressful for her. The bartending job made for great temporary and short-term work whenever she wanted it; and it made it possible for her to do it wherever she wanted.

Dakoda stepped onto the beautiful, large red and white riverboat. She had fifteen minutes before she had to be ready behind the bar, as the boat was about to take off for the next tour. With a smirk and a nod, she gave her bartending co-worker and friend, Joe, a low-five smack on the hand as she passed him in the hallway while heading towards her locker. She grabbed her black vest from the hanger, threw it on, and then proceeded to wrap the bow tie around her neck as she peered into the small mirror on the inside of her locker door. With everything in place, and her jet black shoulder length hair pulled back into a ponytail, she shut the locker door and headed to the main room.