RUSH TO JUDGEMENT

She peered into the ladies’ room mirror, making a last adjustment or two to her hair and makeup. She would be greeting the public for the next four hours and needed to look as presentable as possible. One more tweak to her hair. That should do it. She walked out to the hostess stand of the Lazy River restaurant, where Mary was waiting. Her shift didn’t start until 4:30, but she liked to arrive a few minutes early to check out how many people were already there, and where they were seated. It also gave the previous hostess a chance to leave a little early, if she wanted to.

“Hey, Lilly. How’s it going? Good to see you. It’s been slow, but the dinner crowd rush should start pretty soon,” Mary said with a bright smile, obviously delighted to see that her relief was on time.

“Sounds good. Anything special I should know about?” Lilly asked, placing her purse on the shelf in the back of the hostess stand.

“Don’t think so.” she replied but then glanced quickly around. She put her hand up next to her mouth and, leaning toward Lilly, she whispered, “But Angela has been in a nasty mood this afternoon. She’s been snapping at everyone.” Angela was one of the older servers at the restaurant, all of 24. She seemed to have had a lot of bad days lately.

“Gotcha,” Lilly replied with a wink, “Thanks.”

It turned out to be a busy night with several large, hungry parties. Lilly met people easily and had a natural, warm smile. Even grumps like Angela didn’t bother her. In fact, despite Mary’s warning, she’d barely seen Angela. It was almost as if the older girl were purposely avoiding her. Certainly nothing to worry about.

It was 10:00, and tomorrow’s setup was almost complete. Lilly was chatting with Joel, a waiter, whom she knew from high school, as she wiped off a tabletop. Joel was cute and always had a big smile for Lilly when their paths crossed. In fact, she was so taken with the blond-haired hunk that she didn’t hear Mrs. Donahue call her name across the room. Mrs. Donahue was the restaurant manager, usually on duty in the evenings.

The older lady finally got Lilly’s attention by walking over to her and pointing a finger for her to step across the room. “Come over here, young lady.”

Lilly waved at Joel and scooted across the room, but still within the open restaurant seating area where several of the staff were finishing up and not out of earshot.

Lilly stood there bright eyed and grinning, “Yes, mam. What is it?” she asked pleasantly.

Making no attempt to lower her voice or move to a more private place, Mrs. Donahue began, “Lillian, we operate a friendly family restaurant here and depend upon our team of employees to ensure our customers have as good experience as possible when dining at the Lazy River. They, of course, have many, many other dining choices nearby. Every member of our staff must do their job efficiently and work as a team member. We have absolutely no room for anyone who steps out of line or causes trouble. We are running a business and cannot tolerate petty jealousy or random acts of selfishness.”

Lilly listened attentively, not disagreeing with the woman’s comments, but wondered why she was receiving this lecture. “Yes, mam.” She said. “I perfectly agree.”

“I’m not so sure you do. An ugly incident. has been reported to me that occurred last week between you and one of our servers. In fact, our security camera even caught it. We simply cannot tolerate such behavior and hope to keep up our excellent reputation as a dining establishment.”

Now Lilly was totally shocked. What in the world was this woman raving about? She hadn’t been short with a customer, had she? Did she bump into a waiter and cause him to spill four meals onto the floor? Had she been late for her shift? Heck, no. She was always early and stayed late for free. She’d never missed a scheduled day since she was hired and had even come in as a last second replacement for someone who was sick.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. D, but I just don’t know what you are referring to.”

By now, every other staff member in the room was tuned in on their conversation, except for Angela, who had gone home early.

“Are you telling me, young lady, you don’t remember getting into an argument last Friday with Angela, who has been employed here for almost five years compared to your six months? And that in the heat of the argument, you reached with both hands and rudely shoved her in the face? Does that help your memory, Lillian?”

She could not believe what she was hearing. Sure, she remembered the discussion with Angela, who always carried herself around the restaurant like she owned the place. They really weren’t even arguing. Lilly had almost forgotten about the incident, but now it came back to her. It was so ridiculous and would have been funny under different circumstances. They had been discussing Taylor Swift’s age. Angela was certain, Ms. Swifty was under 30. Lilly knew for sure she was already 35. Angela did not want to be shown up, and Lilly just had to prove she was right. No fight. No scream. No pushing. Over and done. Lilian had forgotten about it ten minutes after it happened.

“Oh, that!”, Lilly replied, “I had totally forgotten about that. It surely was not a fight or even a shoving match. We were discussing Taylor Swift’s age, of all things. I was sorry it happened and would have apologized if she hadn’t left so quickly. You mean she was so mad that she came to you? What a wuss that girl can be.”

Mrs. Donahue scowled. “See, there you go. That kind of talk is just unacceptable at the Lazy River.” The woman handed Lilly an envelope she’d been holding. “Here. Take this. You’re paid through tonight. You don’t have to worry about coming in anymore. You’re terminated, young lady.”

Lilly’s head was spinning. Did she hear right? Had she just been fired from a job she really enjoyed for an incident with a known troublemaker? That was unbelievable. There must have been something else to it, although she couldn’t imagine what. She thought she got along really well with the staff and had never had a complaint she knew of from a customer. Tears welled in her eyes. She bolted for the door before anyone else could see her. She had started down the sidewalk to her car when she heard a frantic voice behind her. “Lilly! Lilly! Hang on a minute.” It was Joel who had followed her outside. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, but he caught up to her and gave her little choice.

“Hey, what happened in there with the old witch? It looked like maybe she canned you. No way that could happen. Could it? You’re the best and most well-liked employee we have. Tell me that didn’t happen.”

Lilly tried to look away from his handsome face, but she was just too upset not to show her emotion. Her mouth quivered. “Yes. I was fired for being a disruptive employee. I am accused of having words with and then shoving Angela.”

“No way. That’s the bitch that needs to be sent packing. She thinks just because she has worked there a while, she’s better than everyone else. She takes long breaks, misses a lot of time, and I know of several customers that have made complaints about her. I heard that she is the owner’s niece. Maybe that has something to do with it?”

“I don’t know, Joel. I’m too confused to think about it right now. I should go back and say goodbye to all my friends. I just can’t right now. Please explain that to them, okay?”

“Of course I will.” Don’t worry about them. Just take care of yourself. Hey, maybe, you and I could have dinner and a movie sometime?”

That brought a smile to Lilly’s face. “As long as it is not at the Lazy River.” That made them both grin.

Lilly’s parents were both very upset when they heard the news. Her mom grabbed her and squeezed tight, telling her to forget about the whole thing. Life is full of injustices like that. She didn’t doubt for a second that the Angela incident happened exactly the way Lilly described it. There was little she could tell her daughter that she might have done differently. Just learn from it and move on. She certainly didn’t need the Lazy River, Mrs. Donahue, or Angela in her life. In fact, she was better off without all three of them.

Back at the restaurant, though, the staff liked and admired Lilly and were upset about what had happened right out in the open in front of them, no less. A few nights later, after cleanup was done and Angela and Mrs. D had left, several of them sat around a table to discuss the incident.

“It’s just not the same around here without Lilly. She was so great. Friendly, and fun to work with,” Mary said.

Miguel, a bus boy spoke up. “That’s for sure. She even bussed tables before I could get to them. That has never happened to me before.”

There were several other positive comments about their missing comrade, and how they all now looked at their jobs differently than before she was let go.

“Is there anything we can do?” Mary asked.

“Probably not.” Joel said. “Although I have a rather crazy idea. Want to hear it?”

There was an enthusiastic nodding of heads.

“Okay, this is nutty, but what if we planned a work stoppage one night in protest of Lilly’s firing? We could all call in sick on the same night. Mrs. Donahue would go bonkers.”

Everyone chuckled.

“That sometimes works with labor unions, but I’m not sure it would be a good idea here”, he continued.” What do you think?”

Mary said, “I think my tummy’s already acting up for tomorrow night!”

Most of the others thought it would be a great idea. It might not get Lilly her job back, but it would be wonderful to see Mrs. Donahue (and Angela, who was not included in this discussion) panic.

They had just about agreed to do it, when Miguel spoke up. “Sorry to rain in your parade, but I am not sure I can go along with your great idea. This job is very important for my family. I just can’t do anything to jeopardize it.”

Joel looked at him and suddenly felt bad for even suggesting something that might really hurt someone. Most of the staff were still teenagers in school and living at home.

“We hear you loud and clear, Miguel. No work stoppage for sure, but I think I will mention it to Mrs. Donahue just to rock her boat a bit. No names, of course.” Heads nodded around the table.

They were about to get up and go home when Mary, said, “ I don’t know if you have gotten the word, but everyone’s best friend has invited all of us over to her apartment after work Saturday night to watch Beyonce’s big show at the NRG Stadium, which she is streaming. The poor girl doesn’t have many friends.”

This news was met with mixed emotions among the kids. They loved Beyonce, but at Angela’s apartment. Yuk! In the end, the desire to see one of their favorite entertainers would overcome the unsavory venue. Most would probably go.

Joel wasn’t so sure. He’d love to party with his fellow staff members but knew Angela had more than one agenda for him. She had been flirting with him nonstop since he started working there, even though she was three years older. He was also convinced that Lilly’s firing was instigated by Angela because she was jealous of the competition for his attention she provided.

He ended up going, as did most of the staff at the Lazy River. Angela had an apartment with a roommate. Understandably, Lilly wasn't interested in going. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show but cleared out as soon as it was over. Angela set out chips, beer, and poured wine for anyone interested. Joel was over 21 and had one glass of wine. Many other kids did as well, even though they were underage, which did not bother Angela. He noticed she had three bottles of Kendall Jackson merlot on hand, which he had seen somewhere before. He soon realized just where. He asked her, “You must enjoy merlot?”

Obviously, she did and was feeling the effects of more than a glass or two at that point. “Yup. I like the taste, and I get it at a discount.” she said with a smirk.” Say, Joel, after the kids leave, why don’t you hang around?”

Joel would have been more likely to walk Captain Hook’s plank over a sea of alligators. He’d heard and seen enough and was the first one out the door. Angela pouted, and poured herself another glass.

A few days later during his break, Joel made good on his promise to advise the witch lady about a possible work stoppage, assuring her that there were several folks still upset about Lilly.

Mrs. Donahue glared at him and sternly pointed for him to go into her office, where she slammed the door behind them.

“Now you listen to me, Joel. You can tell anyone and everyone who tries a stunt like that they are immediately fired. I won’t tolerate that stuff for one second. Am I clear?” she said.

“Oh, yes. You are loud and clear. I get it.”

“I know this is still about Lillian. The problem is none of you know the complete story. I purposefully kept it quiet so as not to have to take legal action against that girl, by the way, is a thief.”

Joel’s mouth dropped open.

“Look at this.” she said, taking out her phone and scrolling to a photo taken in the restaurant. The photo showed the hostess stand from the back. On one shelf, a large handbag lay there with a wine bottle clearly visible inside. No person was in the photo. “That is Lilian’s handbag. She was helping herself to a bottle of our Kendall Jackson merlot. I had already noticed there were some bottles missing. When Angela pointed out Lilly’s handbag, I had to terminate her as soon as possible. There was no way to keep the petty thief on. Now do you understand? She’s very lucky I didn’t call the police.”

Joel nodded but hesitated a second before responding. “Sure, now I see why you did what you did, but I have a few things to add. First, Lilly is only 18 and does not drink a drop. Of course, there are older members of the staff who do.”

Mrs. Donahue listened attentively to Joel’s information but did not respond. She thanked him when he left without another word. He saw Angela heading towards the witch cave a few minutes later.

Lilly was at home a few days later making cookies with her mom. She was surprised when her cell rang. Mrs. Donahue was calling. She debated answering but didn’t. The call went to voicemail. It appears Mrs. Donahue would like to meet with Lilly at the restaurant. Lilly’s first impulse was to refuse, but her mom encouraged her to go. At least she’d have time to see some of her friends she hadn’t seen since that fateful night.

Mrs. Donahue was all smiles when she greeted Lilly. They went into her office and shut the door, leaving the staff abuzz. “First, Lilly, thanks for coming in. I want to apologize for the misunderstanding that occurred last week. We have a wonderful restaurant here and can’t tolerate anything that might cause problems. The action that was taken was for the good of the Lazy River. I hope you didn’t take it personally. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

Lilly remained outwardly impassive but was smoldering inside.

“Anyway, I hope you’ll let bygones be bygones.” She did not wait for Lilly to respond. “Here’s the good news. I’ve decided to give you your hostess job back, and I will even give you a raise of fifty cents per hour. How does that sound? So, we’ll see you here at 4:00 this afternoon. Okay?” she asked, doing her best to beam at the young girl.

Lilly had been raised by parents who taught her proper manners and respect for adults, which was one of the reasons she’d been such an excellent hostess.

Lilly took a moment to respond. “Mrs. Donahue, thanks so much for your giving me a second chance and bringing me back on board. I really enjoy the job and the folks who work here. Meeting the customers is also a pleasure. The Lazy River has good food and a friendly atmosphere. It was a privilege to work here. But, as far as your kind, and considerate offer, you can take that job and shove it!”

She smiled at the awestruck manager, got up and left, being careful not to slam the door on the way out.

7/11/2025‘

Robert John DeLuca

About 3,000 words