Workers of the Night

Chapter 11: Going Home Early

Pulling up to the mall, I could only think about one thing, going home early! How is my wife going to react? What would my children think? Carlito would certainly love it! I could spend more time with him! Lord knows that having him go to sleep around 8:30 is awful for father-and-son time. Well let's get through the first three hours first! I know that I will get another break around 3:00 p.m.

Abraham takes his lunch out of his car and makes his way to Servantes Dining within the mall. Arriving at the entrance, Juan greets him, "Why hello! I am thankful that you are back! Reminder, you only have thirteen minutes and then I need you in the kitchen!" Looking at the clock, two minutes had passed. Abraham quickly made his way to the meeting room and started to eat his lunch. Two other employees, Jenny Masterson and Victor Esquivel, were also present in the room.

"Why hello Abraham?" retorted Jenny. "I have great news! Juan told me that I was going to get a new position with a higher salary and benefits! I don't know what it is, but I am really excited!" Nervous and anxious how to respond, I knew she was talking about my position. I could have revealed the news to her, but I knew it was not protocol for me to inform her about her job. I knew that Juan would give her an update! "Well, Jenny I am happy that you got a promotion; you certainly have grown in these last two years since taking your chef classes and are ready for more responsibility." "Well, thank you, but I never told you about the classes! How did you know?" "Well, Jenny!" "Abe, do you know something that I should know?" "If so, please tell me!"

I could tell that Jenny was very anxious, and she was more like a sister to me. I could not hide anything from her. It felt as if she had superpowers and could read my mind. Might as well tell her right now. "Well, Jenny this is going to be my last day at Servantes Dining! "Abraham, what are you talking about?" "Well, Jenny I happened to arrive five minutes late! And because of this, Juan informed me that he was going to give my position to you! "Abraham! That is awful! Why were you five minutes late? Was it traffic?" "No! I was getting some breakfast at Ruben's House and noticed a homeless man at the drive through. I was going to pass him, but I felt led by the Lord and gave him some money. He and I chatted for a while, but I did not keep track of the time!" "Well, Abraham, I think that Juan should give you another chance!" "Well, he did not want to hear it and informed me that he needed somebody responsible!" "Well, he is going to hear it right now!" "We cannot lose you! You are a key component here at Servantes Dining! Without you, we can do nothing!"

I could sense that Jenny was upset with the redness in her face. Jenny was a hard worker and had talked about moving up in the restaurant business and opening her own franchise. This new position, chief chef, would be a step in reaching her goal. Man! If she ever did open her own store, I would love to work for her! She had such great people skills and knew how to come up with a solution to every problem. She also knew what songs to play on the radio to keep us engaged while working at Servantes. "Jenny, I don't want you to do anything! You are ready for this responsibility! I have been here for thirteen years, and I was blessed to serve here, but I need to start looking out for my children! Ricky is about to graduate from high school! Carlito wants more father-and-son time, and Isabel needs some guidance in school! It is time for me to embark on a journey with my family." "Well Abraham, when you put it like that, the only thing that I can tell you is that I wish you well!"

"Have you thought about what you are going to do for a job?" "Well, not right now, but Luis at Ruben's House told me about a night shift at Taylor Grocery Stores!" "What?" "Abraham, you must be crazy!" "If I were you, I would try to look for a chef position closer to home!" "Well, Jenny, it might be a good fit!" "Have you even worked a third shift? My brother, your sleeping schedule is going to change! You are going to sleep during the days! You might as well just call yourself a vampire!" "Okay, Jenny, I think that you are overreacting! Esquivel, you have been quiet for a long time! What are your thoughts about me working at nights!" "Well, Abraham, I would say that you need to consider the benefits! Will this job keep you closer to home?" "Yes sir!" "Is the pay pretty good?" "Well, the starting pay would be sixteen dollars! Now if I want to move up, then I can go through their training program to become a lead and get nineteen dollars per hour!" "Well, Abraham, that is only thirty-thousand dollars then per year! That is half of what you would make here! Do you think you and your family will be able to survive?" "Well, my wife did happen to get a full-time position at Vermillion Ship Academy as a teaching assistant! She is not going to make much, but I would reckon it would be around $20,000!" "Abraham! I wish to talk to you more, but I need to get in the kitchen!" "I truly understand Jenny! Hey for my last day, can we please play the song, The Eye of the Tiger?" "You bet cha! Catch you and Esquivel later!"