More? More Coffee?

I’M NOT GOING in the front. I’ll just wait here until someone comes out. The door swung open. 

“Hi Jessica. You back?” Ronny said, the dinner-hour, salad-prep guy. She answered him by only shrugging her shoulders--she didn’t know. 

She had a hunch she’d know where he was. Now in the kitchen of “Mio Amico” restaurant, she headed to the little staff lunchroom. There was Reed, her manager, sitting at the back table, alone in front of a pile of dirty dishes, scrubbing through his iPhone. 

Jessica sat down. He looked up, when he recognized her the edges of his mouth pinched, then frowned. He said nothing and looked back down at his iPhone.

“Mind if I get some food? I will be right back. I need to talk with you,” she said.

“Go right ahead,” Reed said. “I’m all ears. I can’t wait for this. I have some news for you too.”

Jessica returned to the table and plopped down with a rush of relief. “Reed, I am so sorry. I can explain. What I did was absolutely my only thing. I had to go,” she said. “I know it wasn’t right, but I had no other choice.”

Reed rolled his head to stretch his neck, then shifted his eyes, finally looking at her. “For three days. You couldn’t call?”

“But Reed--“

“You’re fired. I have your check, in file--on my desk. We owed you twenty-four hours. I’ll walk you to get it when you finish your last meal here at “Mio Amico. I’ll show you to the door.”

Reed leaned back, put his iPhone earbuds in, still scrubbing down the screen of his iPhone. Without looking up, “Jessica, this is a four-star hotel. The “Mio Amico” restaurant is the fine dining restaurant we have. You make over two-hundred dollars each shift in tips on bad day."

Jessica’s insides quivered. Her chest tightened, her throat scratched with thirst. She swallowed a yawn. A multi-million dollar corporation. He makes it sound like I’m the problem. “Reed? Me bad. I am a bad person. I am so sorry,” Jessica said. 

“You let me down. Not showing. I counted," pointing into the kitchen, "they counted, we all counted on you for help. We had to cancel reservations made in your area. If the COVID-19 wasn’t enough? Then you?”

After a slight rush of lightheadedness, Jessica sat up in her chair straight. “Reed. I’ll go with you. You are absolutely right. I would fire me too.”

Reed rubbed his jaw, then folded his arms over his chest,

“You right about that. You fired. I just no get it. No even call me. No return my texts.”

Jessica’s pulse picked up, a burst of adrenaline kicked in. Step one operational. Let him keep taking the bait. That’s it, Reed keep piling it on. Here I’ll help. “Reed, what hurts the most for me right now,” lowering her head, to hide her welling tears, but not enough so he wouldn’t see them, “is I hurt your feelings.”

Tears formed in his eyes but not down his cheek, “My calls went to voicemail. Three days. First, I worried you hurt. Then scared. You dead.” Reed stopped talking, now looking at his iPhone only.

Warmed now from what Reed was saying, Jessica paused. Say nothing. If I break the silence I’m out of here. Just wait. Reed still said nothing. This is like negotiating a price. Whew, this is a long one. Jessica don’t say anything. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Still she paused without saying another word.

Shifting his weight sitting in his chair, finally Reed said, “Then I got mad because you thought so little of what we try to do here. Our guests--to even call.”

Hearing that a jolt went through her body, then a tingling and fluttering in her stomach. Jessica pulled her chair closer, and in a soft voice started with her plan’s second step. “Reed, my religion says when we are without faith act as if you have faith.”

Reed was now looking at her. “Faith will be given to you, so that’s why I’m here. I was given faith to come here and meet you face-to-face. To tell you what happened to me. Can you give me that?”

Reed’s mouth was set in a grim line, jaw tense, “We had angered customers because we turned them away, Jessica. The first night I had a congressman’s aide and three big-pharma guys in your section because I knew you would kill with them. But didn’t show? No?”

Jerking back, her neck turned red and she was breathing hard. Alternating on purpose now, between furrowed brows and an engaging smile, “What did you do? What happened?” she asked.

“I know now. I didn’t know better. I put Ginny in your section. She was a train wreck, a disaster.”

“Ginny? I like Ginny. You like her too. What happened?”`

“First, she was late to table. She didn’t screw the wine opener in deep enough and the cork broke off on a two-hundred and ten dollar bottle of 2010, Shiraz wine from Chile. Ginny dug out the rest of it. Then she served them wine with floating pieces of cork in their glasses. Then she mixed up their orders when the plates came.”

The muscles which had been tense now started to relax as she unpacked what Reed was saying to her. He needed her was the message. Jessica pushed back from the table. Keep talking man. The more you talk the closer I am to coming back. “You are absolutely right to fire me Reed. I am so sorry.”

Reed’s eyes beam, sparkled, “You count on that girl. When you didn’t show on Sunday, I decided. On Monday, I tell HR you’re done. Fired.”

Jessica sat silently. Her phone rang. It was from her friend Lores who was waiting outside. Okay time for step three. “Reed, I have to take this call.” Jessica swiped her phone and answered, “Ah, Jules? Are you feeling any better? I am still in shock.”

“Jessica, this is Lores. I’m in the car? Knock knock. You know? What are you talking about? I’m here in the car waiting. How much longer? They’re holding the jet until five for us then they are leaving, with or without you.”

“Jules I’m doing fine,” Jessica covered the phone with her hand and said to Reed, “It’s my aunt. The one recovering from COVID-19.” 

Turning back to her phone, “What is important is that you are feeling better. I am so sorry. I wish I could have stayed longer but I had to get back to D.C. You get some hot tea and your favorite blanket-- fishy--and rest. I’m talking to my boss and got to go. I’ll call as soon as I can.”

Lores was staring into the phone dumbfounded at what she was hearing. “Well I don’t know what all that means but you have twenty minutes and we’re leaving you. You can call an Uber to get home. Tchau dear,” and Lores rang off.

”Sorry Reed. That was my aunt Jules, my late-mother’s sister, who has been like a mom to me.”

Reed’s tone of voice got higher and he was breathing faster, “Jessica what’s going on?”

“Well--I’m telling you, not because I am asking for anything. I’d fire me too.

“Jessica, what’s going on?”

“My aunt got the COVID-19 and I drove up to the city to be with her in the hospital. As I was the only one at the hospital, family, and after they tested me they let me in. I sat with her for three days. We’re not allowed to have phones in there because of all the high-tech equipment. That’s where I was last weekend. I was comforting my aunt, in the NY North Bronx, on Kossuth Avenue, Intensive Care ward.”

Pressing the palms of his hands from one to the other hand, and leaning in, “She better? Oh my god. She made it. Didn’t she?” Reed asked.

Jessica signed, and relaxed. That’s it. He’s done. Time for the close. Jessica gave Reed a face of frown, and a message of icy from being fired, “Yes she’d been released from the hospital and is home now. She is covering up with her favorite blanket she called “fishy” and drinking lots of liquids.”

Here goes. Time for the takeaway. Jessica stood up, “But I’ve got to find new fish to fry and got to get going. Let’s go get my final check and I’ll let you get back to your music.”

Jessica looked at her watch. She had twelve minutes to go. Reed got up. “Follow me,” he said as they left the lunch room and walked through the quiet kitchen between lunch and dinner shifts. 

When they got to the business office, Reed told her to wait here in the hall while he went in and got her pay envelope. Jessica sat down, looking at her watch. She now had eight minutes. Reed came out of the office and handed her the envelope. 

“Jessica, I have decided to give you one more chance. Can you work your regular hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend?”

“Oh Reed, of course. I’ll be here. Thank you. Thank you amigo.”

“Well I am satisfied. I fired you.”

“Reed, you were right to fire me. I’d do the same. You’re so sweet. I’ve got to run. I ordered an Uber and he’s waiting for me.”

“Okay Jessica. Four-thirty, in your uniform and ready Friday. Right?”

“Right.”

“Good. The next meal together can be more than me eating before you arrive and you salad greens. Okay?” Reed said.

“Deal boss. Deal. See you Friday.”

She looked down at her iPhone, she had four minutes left. She went back out through the restaurant, then the kitchen and exited the employee’s door and there they were. 

Lores opened the door and Jessica got in the stretch limo.

“Jessica, we were just about to leave. You made it. Did my plan get the job back? 

“Worked like a charm. I did.”

Lores started scrambling for her purse. She reached in and pulled out a ringing iPhone. “Hello? Oh, okay. We can do that. Will the congressman be flying down with us today? Great.”

Jessica listened to the conversation when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, it was Reed. “Reed. What’s up?”

“Jessica I t’ought about our talk. I decide you playing me. So you needn’t come back on Friday. Good bye.”

A cold started in her body core and spread heaviness in her stomach. Her heart started to race. She heard Lores finishing up her call saying she’d give her phone to the driver. 

“Reed? Why? Please? You always have confidence when you seat the very VIP’s of the VIP’s in my section. Please Reed. I need this job.”

Jessica’s heartbeat kept increasing, things which moments ago were clear, now were utterly blurred. Reed didn’t answer her question. 

Waiting for Reed to answer Jessica listened to the limo driver asking questions about street names she’d never heard of before. 

Still Reed didn’t answer. He's bluffing. He wants something. “Reed. Are you there? Please?”

Jessica’s mouth was dry now. Her throat tightened up as she waited. The driver handed back Lores’ phone to Lores. Lores made sure the call had ended. She looked at Jessica with a "What's-going-on look," but said nothing. 

“Reed? Please?” Jessica asked again.

“Jessica, okay. But one condition you can have your job back?”

Ah ha, here it comes. Just as I figured. What's he want? My tips? More hours? “Okay. What is it, Reed?”

“I’ll hire you back as a favor. Sometime in future I may ask you for a favor. And when I do, you remember you agreed. You owe one to me.”

“Reed? I don’t know. What kind of favor?”

“Okay forget about it. That was your last check.”

“Reed, Reed. Okay. A favor. Anything you need.”

“Okay den. You understand? Dis is the way it works. I’ll be expecting you on Friday for the dinner hour,” Reed said. He rang off.

“What did Reed want this time?” Lores asked.

“Oh, nothing, just a favor.”

Jessica leaned back in her seat, sighed a deep breath of relief. Favor? I wonder what he’d ask me for? Oh well it doesn’t matter. 

“Driver, let's go get this girl and to the airport. We’re going to Miami to party,” Lores said. 

She slid the glass shut on the driver’s window and opened the refrigerator door. “Great. There's champagne in the fridge. Let’s get this party rolling. Grab that bottle of Dom Pérignon.

“If I’m having fun and want to stay I will,” Jessica said. “But, this week, I’ll call Reed on Thursday. Tell him my aunty has had a relapse. She needs me in the city. I’ll just tell him I need that and promise him his second favor.”

“He’ll go for it?” Lores asked.

“Oh yeah. He'll go for it."

 # # #