9:40am October 12th 2007
"Fuck man why did no one tell me it was truck day." Was the first words DJ heard cutting through the kitchen to clock in turning to see that they had a double truck day to contend with before opening & the grumbling was coming from one of the cooks who's been here almost 8 years & knows exactly when a rush is about to hit every time. "Hey Tyrone I'm about to clock in so we can knock out the freezer stuff first giving you guys some time to take care of the other stuff instead of rushing it." I call out to the kitchen staff knowing it's going to be a long day already 'Well I have the meds, cashed my check at the bank & will be getting off the clock at 745 if I clock in now meaning I'll have just enough to time to stop in at Family Dollar grab groceries & maybe have enough left over to get us each a bag of combos from Sammy's.'
Before clocking in I go & knock on the office door pocking my head in to let Thom know I was clocking in now to get the trucks taken care of. Surprisingly it wasn't Thom in the office tho it was his dad the owner Nathan who looked surprised to see me popping in. "Ahh you're here early that makes this easier." of course anyone who's worked in the restaurant industry in any capacity knows that is one of the last things you wanna hear from your boss cause usually what follows is getting fired for X reason or another. I step into the room fully & walk over to the desk not wanting to sit just in case I am getting fired. "What's up you need something from me Nathan???" Doing my best to be as normal as possible with that loaded question out there.
"Oh it's nothing for you to worry about lad unless you're afraid of getting a raise??" hearing that statement almost made me laugh in happiness but I held it in aware that there could be a catch or it's not much of a raise after all I make 8$ a hour right now & getting 10$ a hour for every hour of overtime I work which is really good money to be honest as a busboy. Standing in front of Nathan feels weird because I haven't stood here like this since I was first hired because Nathan didn't appreciate seeing a "fine young man" waste away doing what I had been doing to cover my first year of tuition at the time since I'm on a half coverage academic scholarship with the stipulation being I have to maintain a B average to continue being eligible for it. "So what's the raise going to be & what does it entail for things I have to do around here going forward?" Not missing a beat being direct & straight forward because that's the only way things get done causing the mountain behind the desk to smile "Well it's more of a upgrade in position then raise if I'll be honest but the pay's better with less hours letting you focus on your studies & taking care of your Grandfather with what time he has left."
'So I guess he talked with gramps then & he is one foot in the grave with the other following... fuck man why does shit have to always happen as I'm starting to get somewhere in life' "So I guess I get to hear the bad news when I get home then tonight huh??" Nathan's eyes go wide as he realizes the slip up he made, shaking his head he stands up extending his hand "Listen you get the trucks settled & go spend some time with the old geezer, for the record your being made apart of our week day security so you'll be on the clock from 8am-4pm Monday-Friday meaning you'll be responsible for letting people in, signing for deliveries & whatever Alex assigns you throughout the day." I just nod along & turn to go bang out the trucks cause I can at least turn off my brain while unloading them. I work on auto pilot getting them done in under 2 hours with everything broken down, labeled & squared away then telling the kitchen crew to have a "quite" evening & leaving out the back fast as possible with Tyrone leading the kitchen staff after him as a angry mob.
'Well that should leave them having a fun day' Of course I'm fully aware that doing what I just did will have it's own murphy's law effect on me but some times you just can't suffer alone & the safest way to do so is by saying the "Q" word in a kitchen before lunch opens up. The walk home somehow feels like it only takes a couple minutes with everything feeling like a weird dream bubble waiting to be popped by reality. After opening the front door I don't even say hi or call out, I just close the door head to the living room & sit in the other chair waiting for him to say what needs to be said himself instead of doing the leg work for him.
"So I see Nathan dropped the ball & blabbed his mouth more then he should of when offering you the promotion." turning to look at me now "You already know why I haven't brought this up before now, you're to smart to not realize & we both know what you would've done had you known before now." I stay quite waiting for the rest of it sighing "I have a month left at best with a week at worst before my body shuts down finally from all the chemical exposure that happened in 37 years of serving in the Corp." He leans back into his chair no longer looking at me to give me the floor to speak, like he's waiting for a report from soldier "Well I think you have yourself to blame for the shit show that's going to pop up in the illegal fights since I can't very well go around this pissed off dealing with drunk or high people working security at the pub now can I??" Dragging my hand down my face I can't help the venom dripping from my voice with my next set of words-
"You know if your whole plan was to just kick the fucking bucket without giving me the chance to say good bye or talk to you with what time you have left then you almost succeeded you miserable prick. Fucking made me promise to give college a shot & take the chance Nathan gave me to work at the Pub, stop fighting for money & avoid using my fists to solve every problem, keep my temper in check... You made me promise these things with you drilling into my head that when I give my word on something that it's set in stone because without the ability to at least stay true to your word then you hold no worth in this world. Those were your words to me multiple times over the years. You took in a kid who was nothing & abandoned in the system after 12 years of living in it, made me shape up into someone who wasn't just lashing out at the world. The smallest fucking courtesy you could've given me is honesty about this gods damn it." standing up from the chair & stepping in front of the TV feeling my blood pressure spiking "You're a stubborn old fuck I get that & understand it but when you choose to take me in & give me a chance at life you also took it on yourself to have family in your life that deserves your honesty with this shit. I know I'm far from the most rational person when shit hits the fan but you could've still told me. Missing out on OT for the past 2 months would've been possible even if it meant I would have needed to skimp on getting the books I needed for class or eating cheap cup noodles for a week straight. According to you & everyone else time is the one thing that's to easy to squander in life so why didn't you at least give me the choice to spend that time doing things with you instead slaving away in a constant cycle??"
The frustration & anger at the situation was burning still but it was more like smoldering embers & the venom had left my voice mid way thru the rant. Honestly this was how most things went with the old man, emotions burned bright & then dimmed almost as soon as they started because there isn't a argument of who's right & who's wrong with him, it's instead a of conversation of he did what he thought was best & doesn't feel that what he did was wrong at the end of the day. It made things transparent & easy handle once stuff was out in the open but getting it out in the open was the real struggle. "So now that you've said your piece & vented some of the pressure you've had building up how about you help this old man out the door, I want to eat something that wasn't frozen or put together by you improvising ingredients tho when you do have kids of your own one day you'll never have picky eaters." All I can do is sigh in defeat & help him up.
30 minutes later
I ended up hailing a cab for us & we went to the Little Gem a diner that's been opened for a long while & never skimps on portions but is to far for us to have it on a normal basis of any kind even if it is affordable for our budget. "Well you trying to sit at the counter or going to sit in one of the booths & save everyone the trouble?" & without missing a beat I feel the sharp sting of his cane hitting my shin "Just cause I got one foot in the grave doesn't mean I can't whoop your ass, go to the corner booth there near the bathroom. It'll save me some time." Pretending like he hadn't almost shattered my shin he says hi to the waitresses working since he was a regular at one point & outside of 2 people who are new faces everyone in the kitchen & working the counter are more then used to this. We get settled in & before the new waitress can head over with menus she gets directed to the truckers that just came in with me catching her being told we're regulars that haven't been seen in awhile.
"Do my eyes deceive me or is it actually Jason in the flesh?? & David look at you, you're practically a tree now." says Mary as she puts 2 hot cups of black coffee in front of us "However did you convince this grinch to drag his butt here for food?? We haven't seen you guys in almost 5 months since I wanna say memorial day weekend actually." looking at us I can't help the sigh that escapes me already knowing the real reason we're here & while yes he wants food he is here to catch up & say his good bye to some folks. "Well I'm in my final year of college about to take all my Mid-Terms for this semester & just got a promotion over at the pub so now I'm working the week as security instead of being busboy." Deciding I might as well try to cushion what's coming with some good news as much as possible but if Mary was that easy to fool then she would've let the new waitress take our table & come over to talk in-between her other customers.
"So there is nothing else going on?" With those words making feel it like a ticking time bomb was just set in front of me with no way out & as if to further seal it in she slides herself into the booth next to me trapping me in the booth preventing any potential excuse to run to the bathroom leaving the old man to fend for himself. chuckling Jason doesn't even sugar coat it "I got about a month left before I finally kick the bucket. Figured I'd come eat something good instead of making this knucklehead make another monstrosity out of what's in the kitchen even the Corp would be questioning. Besides I could've just gone down to the Clam Bar instead & enjoy some Thursday football all day if I really wanted to." I swear that I FELT Mary narrow her eyes at him which prompted me to scoot as far into my corner as possible cause FUCK getting caught in the pissing contest between old folks especially with it being a Marine & a Lady who's spent almost 50 years waiting tables here serving everyone from the truckers, bikers & gang members to cops, families & politicians that called this place a regular stop in their day at all hours.
"Hey Mary could I get up I need to pee." I try my luck hoping she'll let me up before laying into the old fool but no dice as she turns to look at me next "& You, a little birdy told me you seem to have gotten into a situation with someone the other night." 'FUCKING HELL, WHY DO ALL THESE OLD FOLKS KNOW ONE ANOTHER ALSO DEBBIE YOU TRAITOR.' because no one but Debbie would have ratted him out for the situation to Mary even if he hadn't done anything because unfortunately I have a track record of getting what's owed with less then legal means & stints in the local illegal fighting ring. "Listen it wasn't a fight, the guy was a little drunk, bumped into me, got hands on & then dropped me & walked away. I swear to you right now nothing else happened & I haven't even been near that part of town either since I started working at the pub cause it's part of the stipulation for me to keep my job" With that job being the only reason I wasn't still fighting for money every weekend to make ends meet like the first year of college or when I was always looking for a fight as a 16 year old brat. "Mary let the kid breath he's been on the straight & narrow since he got the job having given his word he wouldn't go near those places as long as he had the job." "Jeez thanks gramps don't ya think you could've led with this since all you old folks seem to gossip about me like I'm some kind of wild animal."
That got a chuckle out of Mary & seemed to break the tension in the air. "Alright I'll get you guys sorted for the usual order tho I'm doubling yours David you clearly aren't eating enough to keep up with your size" getting up & walking away before I could even refute that statement. "So is this how the whole day is going to go" looking over at Jason & my answer is given in the shit eating grin he platers to his face "Fuck Y--"