Chapter 3 #2
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.”
“This wasn’t up for negotiation. If you get help, you’ll share, and I’ve yet to see anyone who didn’t need help at their tables.” Abby stood up and looked at the rest of the wait staff. “You have something to share.”
“I don’t want any help at my tables from now on.
If you see something that needs to be done, then tell me.
I won’t be sharing my tips with you if you do something that I’ve not asked you to do.
” David said that’s not the way it was going to work.
That she’d share even if they didn’t help her, but told her about something.
“Then I’m giving my two-week notice. I can’t afford to share my tips with someone who will only help me to get a portion of what I make.
The way it sounds to me, it’s going to be a free-for-all on waiting tables with everyone else in your way. That’s no way to run a place.”
“Some people are making really good tips, too, because they work so hard. And others barely get by with hardly no tips at all. Are you going to be taking money from the hard workers just because they got me a glass of water sometimes?” He told Dorothy that was the way it was going to work.
“Then I’m giving my notice too. Most of the people who work here make good money, but there are a few who don’t care at all that they don’t make any tips.
I’m thinking that they’ll be helpful by bringing things to the table simply for a cut.
I’m sorry, but I’ve worked too hard to become a good waitress in order to make good tips only to have to share them.
I’m sure that we’re all going to see it that way. ” Everyone turned to her.
“I’m not sure that this is going to work.
The other night, I had a six-top that I waited on all by myself.
As I usually do. Now I’m going to have everyone trying to ‘help’ me when I don’t need it.
It’s not fair. If that’s the way things are going to go, it’s going to be too cutthroat for me, too.
I’m afraid after ten plus years I’m going to have to say no too. ”
~*~
Penrod walked through the house and was amazed that he’d gotten it.
The open house had been nice; he’d come to look through the house again when it was going on.
He’d learned a few things, too, that he’d not known when he’d walked through it before.
Such as the furniture that was in the five bedrooms stayed, and the office furniture would also be left behind.
He didn’t care for the office things and figured that once he got the house, he could swap out the bedroom furniture for other things if he wanted.
However, he didn’t see that happening as he loved the bedrooms. Apparently, the kids were going to take it from the house, but then they changed their minds.
As is what happened to the office things.
The desk was too big for what he wanted to use it for.
Mostly, he didn’t work from home unless he had to, and that wasn’t often enough to warrant him having a room dedicated to it.
He loved the shelves in the room and thought that it would make a better library than an office any day of the week. That’s what he wanted it for anyway.
“The appliances will stay as well.” He nodded at the man when he told him about the kitchen.
“I’m so happy that you got the house. We didn’t get a single offer even close to the asking price, and that disappointed me somewhat.
But knowing that you were going to buy it certainly did take a burden off our shoulders.
Now all we have to do is have the few things that we want moved out and be on our way to Florida to be with the kids.
The grandkids are what I’m looking forward to being with most, but I’m sure that someday you’ll understand. ”
“My sister-in-law is going to have a baby, and my parents are over the moon happy. So are hers.” He said they had nine grandkids and two on the way. “Congratulations. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you guys as well.”
Now that the house was empty, he could see his own things around.
He didn’t have much, just an old couch and a coffee table that was more of a footstool than anything.
He’d purchased a dining ware set once about four years ago and had yet to take it out of the box.
Same with the silverware that he had. Since he mostly ate out, he didn’t find the need for such things around the house and probably wouldn’t once he moved in either.
He didn’t figure a house would change him that much.
“What are you going to do with the master bedroom? They didn’t leave the furniture in there.” He said he had some furniture in storage that he’d been stashing away. “Good for you. I mean, I knew that you were buying things when you found them, but I don’t know how much you have.”
“Not much. I’ll need living room stuff, lamps, and shit.
I’ll also need a new coffee maker. The one I have at home is on its last legs, and I don’t think it’s going to last all that much longer.
” Gilman told him he had the same thing going on at his place.
The coffee maker was as old as he was and still did the drip thing.
“Mom must have given it to you then. I think she tried to give it to me, too, but I already had this one. I’m betting that she has all kinds of things stored up to give us once we have our own home.
She gave Kahana some of his baby things, too, like his crib and rocker.
I think she did the same for Axel when he and Mac found out they were going to have a baby. ”
“Did you know that the house that I was looking at yesterday sold? I think they wanted too much for it in the first place. I guess the people who bought it went ten percent over the asking price just so they’d be assured of getting it.
I didn’t want to pay that much. Besides, I have time.
I’ll keep looking.” He said he’d help him.
“Thanks, I’m going to take you up on that too. ”