She thought that was an understatement.Her mom did a good job with the hotel where she worked because they catered to her needs.And needs meaning not to change anything around for her.If she had to clean one more or less room, she’d be in a tizzy and not know what to do.They kept her on because she really did do a good job while there.
After getting rid of her mom, she went about her afternoon before the evening shift started.She knew that she was going to make some tips for the evening, but just how much she didn’t know.Lori had done all right in the breakfast shift and was happy to be able to put the twenty-five back that she’d lent her mom from her stash.
The evening shift was busier than usual.She liked staying busy; it made the time go by quicker, and things seemed to move a good deal better when there were lots of people in the restaurant.She was just sitting down for her fifteen-minute break when she was called to the floor.A couple wanted her to wait on them.
She didn’t mind using her break to wait on the couple.They didn’t tip well, but they were nice about things.Even when she got the wrong drink to their table, did they not get upset.After they left, she took her break anyway and sat down at the little table in the back of the place to chill out.
“I heard something about you.”She tensed up and asked the cook what he’d heard.“That you’re leaving us.I can’t say that I blame you, but we’re going to miss you around here.What did you do, get a better job?”
“I’m not leaving.I don’t know where that came from.”She wasn’t leaving for a year.That’s whatthe research that she’d looked up on winning the lottery had said to do.Since it had worked out so well for others, she was going to follow the instructions to the letter until she was able to claim some of her winnings.“I don’t have a better job.This one suits me just fine for what I want to do.”
“Must have been someone having fun at your expense.”She nodded and ate the sandwich that she’d ordered from the kitchen.“You should try the special.It’s really good tonight.I made chili for tomorrow night, too.”
“I like your chili.”She wasn’t thinking about food so much as where the rumor had come from that she was leaving.It was all just a joke, she thought, but didn’t like it.Things like that could get her into trouble.“I also had the special last night.I like the chicken sandwich special that you make.It’s fresh, and I don’t have to worry about how long it’s been in the kitchen.”
He laughed.“I guess you would know working as much as you do.You’ll be happy to know that starting next week, the specials will be a one-time thing just at lunch.The boss said that people aren’t coming back when we have the same special all the time.And only having it at lunch will help get people in and out of the place faster.I know you like to turn your tables when working the lunch crowd.”
“I don’t work the lunch crowd all that much anymore.I do breakfast, then dinner.I like having that break in the middle of the afternoon.I can get things done at home, too.”He asked if she went to the laundry mat.“No, that’s just on Mondays when we’re closed.It’s too much for me to gather up my wash and take it down to the washer and dryer, then haul it back up the stairs.”
“How long have you worked here?”She told him she started when she was fifteen and has been working until now at twenty-five.“That’s a good long time to be working for one place.And you started so young.I bet you know everyone who comes in here.”
“I think they remember me more than I remember them.I see a lot of people during the day, and they only see me the one time.I get to know them if they come in a lot, but I don’t know their names or anything like that.How long have you worked here?”He told her the last five years.“I thought it was about that much.Mr.David retired about then.He was having trouble remembering what went on each plate.It was sad, really.”
“I bet you could run this place you’ve been here for so long.”She said that she doubted anyone could run it as well as the Murphys did.“I guess they’ve owned it from the first day that it opened.They’re a good couple.I’m not so sure about their son, but the older Murphys are great.What do you think of the son?”
“I have to get back to work.My break is over.”He nodded like he didn’t expect her to answer him and went back to the kitchen to work too.She didn’t much care for the cook, Lenord, but he ran a good kitchen.She was cleaning off a couple of tables when she heard her name being said.It was the six men from the other day.
“Hello.I wanted to give you a heads up.We’re the Hathaway brothers.I’m Axel.”She looked around to see if anyone heard him and nodded.“I didn’t think you knew who you were waiting on.We’ll be coming in here once a week for the next month.That’s until we find some other place that will allow us to be loud and friendly.”
“You can stay as long as you wish tonight.We don’t have to turn the table again later.Unless there’s a walk-in, but that won’t matter.”She leaned close to him and asked if he’d had any trouble.“I didn’t hear from you at all on my break.”
“Everything is taken care of.You’ll be notified in the morning about the transfer.”He whispered, too, and she was glad.“Congratulations.”
She needed a minute, and they seemed to understand.As she stepped outside, she inhaled deeply and exhaled the same slow way.She had her money.All she had to do now was wait out the year so that no one would be suspicious about her winning, and then she could do what she wanted.And buying a house was the first thing she was going to do, just for her.
She waited on the six men for the rest of the evening.They weren’t demanding, but they did have a lot of needs.Once she took their dinners to them, they settled down, and all she had to do wasmake sure they had plenty to drink and napkins.She gladly did that for them and had about twenty minutes before she had to start clearing away their dirty dishes.
Axel picked up the tab again, and she was happy with the tip that they all left her.Three hundred dollars would go a long way in putting more money in her stash, and she was happy for it.After they left, and she was cleaning the table again, Axel came back to talk to her.She took him to the office where her boss was usually napping.
“Nothing went wrong, but I wanted to tell you that I’ve taken my fee out and the rest is yours.The accounts that you set up were wonderful, and you saved me a great deal of time.You’re going to need to find yourself another lawyer to help you with the day-to-day, but remember what I told you from the start.Write your own checks so that you know where your money is going all the time.”She said that she would, but for now, she didn’t have anything that she was paying for.She was waiting for a year to make sure no one knew.“That’s the best way to go.Keeping it quiet will make you be able to keep your money without having people try to take it from you.”
After assuring him that she was following the rules, he left.He said that he wanted to hug her, but didn’t want to draw any undue attention to them.She was glad for it.As big a man as he was, he might well have crushed her.Laughing a little to herself, she set the table for breakfast tomorrow, hoping that a big table would come in for breakfast in the morning and make her day.
After nine, the place closed up.She was happy for the extra time to get home, but wasn’t all that thrilled about having to get up in the morning.Having to work by six in the morning meant that she had to get up around four to be there on time.Once she got there, she was all right; it was getting out of bed that bothered her the most.
Putting her money away after work, she poured out the stash and counted it.Just over fifteen hundred dollars.She liked having that kind of cash around in the event that something were to break down again.Last time she’d had something break down, it had cost her nearly all her savings, but she had the money, and that was all that mattered.She was going to buy herself a new car when she was able to, and then she was going to buy herself a house.
She just wanted something small enough where she could have a couple of bedrooms and two baths.Lori didn’t much care for sharing her bathroom, so she would be happy if she could have her own.She didn’t like sharing anything, but the bathroom was the worst.As she was getting ready for bed, she thought of her mom.
She’d hate her if she knew that she’d won the lottery and not told her.Having her own reasons for not telling her, she had decided from the start that she’d drain her dry or want her to share it with everyone that she knew.It had been a hard decision to make, but one that she was glad that she’d made.Her mom would be mad at her, but she’d have the money all to herself if she ever found out.
Getting ready for bed, she put her uniform out for the morning.It was going to be a long day tomorrow, as there was a meeting in the afternoon that she had to attend as an employee there.She’d tried to get some information on the meeting, but all anyone would say was that David had some news for them all, and it would be at two o’clock.She just knew he was going to mess up her plans for working there for a year by closing the place down or something.
The breakfast crowd came in as usual, and when David showed up for the meeting, he wasn’t alone.His parents were with him, and she didn’t think it boded well for any of them.When the meeting started, she still had two tables to wait on, so she was in and out of the meeting while it went on.She missed a bit of it being out all the time, but she heard enough to make her want to quit working right then.
“We’re no longer going to be closed between two and five.We’ll be open for reservations at that time too.”She didn’t much care for that as she went home during that time, but would work it out.“Also, the tips will be shared with everyone.If you have a table and you get help from others to run it, then you owe them some of your tip.That’s the way it’s going to work from now on.”
“No.”She looked at Abby sitting next to her when she spoke up.“I won’t be sharing my tips just because they had to bring my table a glass of water.I’ll just stop helping anyone else if it comes to that.We work hard for those tips, and they go a long way in getting food on the table.”
