AllFreeNovel
Share Us
13
Timothy
The following Tuesday after our pole dancing class, Romy told me, “Marcus and I finally nailed down a date for our wedding. It’s in two and a half weeks, on a Saturday.”
“Awesome! What did you end up finding for your reception? Or giant-ass party, since you’re not going the traditional route.”
“You’ll see.” He seemed delighted with it, whatever it was. “You can make it, right?”
I pulled my phone from my messenger bag and said, “Absolutely. I’m going to put in my request for time off right now.”
“Excellent. You’re welcome to bring a date, and if you want a ride, the Dombrusos are renting a party bus. They’re driving down the day before, and I could tell them you’d like to join them.”
“Even though the bus sounds fun, I think I’ll probably end up flying. I want to ask Aleksei to go with me, and if he says yes he probably won’t want to miss work on Friday.”
I paused for a moment with my phone in my hand, and Romy asked, “Second thoughts?”
“Yes, but only about asking for time off.” I composed a message and sent it before telling him, “I just gave my two weeks’ notice at the restaurant.”
“Oh wow! You’ve worked there forever.”
“Yeah, over eight years. But I keep saying I’m going to make some changes by the end of the year, and that’s the first step. They just hired three new people, so it’s the perfect time to do this. I won’t have to feel bad about leaving them short-handed.”
“Well, congratulations. That’s major.”
When my phone beeped, I read the text from Alan Allen and frowned as I muttered, “Um, okay.”
“Is something wrong?”
“The restaurant manager just texted back. He wrote, ‘There’s no need to wait two weeks. My new hires are asking for more hours, so I’ll give them your shifts, effective immediately. You can pick up your final paycheck on Friday.’ That’s all I get? Not even a goodbye?”
“Wow, that’s cold.”
“It’s weird that it’s over, just like that. And yeah, I realize I just gave notice and was planning to quit, but I thought I’d have a couple of weeks to ease into it, say goodbye to the staff and my regulars, that sort of thing.”
“You know what? To hell with that place,” he said. “This just proves quitting was a great decision.”
“You’re right.”
“Let’s go celebrate with some iced coffees, my treat.” Since it was too early to go to a bar and do shots, I nodded in agreement.
I declined Romy’s offer to drive me home after the coffee house and rode my skateboard across town instead. When I arrived at the pink Victorian, I found Daniel waiting for me on the front porch, looking sporty in a hockey jersey, jeans, and a baseball cap.
I’d texted him earlier to tell him about quitting my job at the restaurant. So, as soon as he spotted me, he held up a bottle of wine and his phone. Then he started playing the freedom chorus from Think by Aretha Franklin, while singing and dancing along.
That made me chuckle. I picked up my skateboard, and as I climbed the stairs, I joined in with a few dance moves. When I reached the landing, he turned off the music and exclaimed, “Congrats on escaping from that shit hole, T! I’d hug you, but you’re super gross and sweaty right now.”
“Thanks, and I know. Come in and make yourself comfortable while I take a shower.”
I left him in the living room while I went upstairs to get cleaned up. When I returned a few minutes later, Lark and JoJo had joined him. Lark shouted, “Congratulations! Daniel told us the good news. I’m so glad you quit your job, because I know it made you unhappy.”
“Here’s some more good news.” JoJo smiled at me as she held up a large pitcher and announced, “We used the wine Daniel brought to make sangria.”
I murmured, “Excellent,” as I took a seat and she filled a glass for me.
Daniel asked, “How does it feel to finally be free of that place?”
“Good.”
He frowned a little and said, “I would have thought you’d be more excited.”
“I did too, actually.” I told him about giving two weeks’ notice and then immediately being let go, and added, “Not that I was expecting a party or fanfare, but maybe a thank you? Goodbye? We’ll miss you? Something.”
Daniel was livid. “That’s so shitty, after you gave that place eight years of your life!”
“Yeah, it didn’t feel great to find out just how little I mattered.” I paused before saying, “On top of that, I don’t know what’s next for me. I was supposed to be figuring that out, and now that I quit my job, I feel like I should have some answers. But I just don’t.”
JoJo asked, “If you could go anywhere and do anything you wanted to right now, what would you do?”
