“I know there is no straight road, No straight road in this world, Only a giant labyrinth, Of intersecting crossroads.”― Federico García Lorca
only an onion can make permeated the air around me as I chopped and diced. I brushed the tears off my face with a somewhat now grungy looking shirt sleeve. Usually, an onion didn’t make me cry like a two-year-old but a dozen onions, I was no match for.
“Tess, Cass is here.” The warning from one of the hosting staff was loud enough to be heard over the constant clatter and bang of the busy kitchen. Inwardly, I groaned. Outwardly, everyone else in the kitchen groaned.
“Why tonight?” I mumbled.
Two kitchen staff, one server, one hostess, and Vito Pagano, the head restaurant manager and owner of The Olive Tree, had been knocked down hard with the flu for nearly two weeks; me and the rest of the restaurant staff were running around like mad trying to cover for them. I joined The Tree as it came to be known when I was fresh out of college and the restaurant was just getting started. Now, I was the assistant restaurant manager under Vito. A small, yet high-end Italian restaurant, The Tree was finally starting to make a profit and hold its own in the extremely competitive Northern Virginia market.
Cassio, or Cass, provided Vito funding that he needed to get the restaurant off the ground and keep the doors open when COVID struck. But that money came with a steep price. He gets 20 percent of any revenue for the next 10 years or until the money that he invested is paid back with interest. Whichever comes first. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was a silent partner, but he had a habit of showing up, usually at the worst times, to make sure the restaurant was performing to his standards. Though, he had never worked in a restaurant in his life so some of those standards were somewhat questionable.
Cass was also Vito’s older brother.
“Luis, I’m heading out front,” I yelled to the head chef who was stirring sauce with one hand and sauteing chicken cutlets with the other. I prayed nightly that Luis did not catch the flu because we would be sunk. “Good luck with that boss,” he said with his characteristic grin.
I quickly washed my hands and went to greet Cass and see what he wanted tonight. “Please let him not be a colossal prick tonight,” I mumbled as I exited the kitchen.
“Tess, we need to talk, now,” Cass said, stomping toward me like a man on a mission as soon as I entered the busy waiting area at the front of the restaurant.
“Okay, come on back into Vito’s office. We can talk there.” I tried to quickly back out of the way so he didn’t run me over.
I went into Vito’s office with Cass on my heels. Once he was in and sitting down, I quietly took a deep breath and closed the door.
“I’ve been checking the website and there has been a wait, usually for well over 30 minutes, every night this week,” Cass said angrily. “That waiting area is full at 5pm on a Thursday night. What are you doing here Tess?! How many people went to The Olive Garden because the wait at The Olive Tree was crazy long?!” He leaned forward getting in my face and stabbing his finger down on Vito’s desk.
I put my hands up to create some space between us. I didn’t touch him, but I did try to create some physical space and get him to back off.
“Cass, we are short staffed. Half of the restaurant is out sick. Everyone has been holding down their position while also covering other positions all week.”
He glared at me. “I knew you were too young and inexperienced for this job. I told Vito he was making a mistake making you the second in command. This proves it. It’s all well and good to keep a business going during the good times, but your good people shine when the chips are down.”
He got up from the chair and opened the office door. Turning back, he pointed his finger at me. “Your shine has worn off.” Then he left, slamming the door, on his way out.
With shaking hands and fresh tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, I stood up and tried to get my emotions under control. Was I going to be fired? Cass was always an asshole to everyone, including Vito, but he had never threatened my job before. I would get through tonight; once the restaurant was closed, I would call Vito. He was the exact opposite of his brother. Passionate about cooking with a smile for everyone and an easy way about him that made you feel comfortable and at home, he was the best boss in the world and the closest thing I had to a friend in my life. Feeling marginally better, I took one last deep breath and headed out of the office and back into the hustle and bustle of the restaurant.
Four hours later, things were finally starting to slow down. Closing time was at 10pm and it couldn’t happen fast enough tonight. I was worn out from the busy, hectic week and then dealing with Cass and his tirade tonight. Taking a break, I got a glass of Diet Coke and went to go sit in Vito’s office to start adding up the night’s receipts. With any luck, I may be able to finish and get home by midnight.
Thirty minutes later, the forgotten glass of Diet Coke was dripping condensation all over Vito’s desk as I focused on going over the schedule for tomorrow to make sure we were able to cover everyone who was out.
“Hey, Vito, welcome back. Feeling better man?” I heard Luis say. I didn’t catch Vito’s reply, but it must have been brief because he was in the office seconds later.
“Hey Vito, you’re here! I didn’t expect you for at least another day or two,” I exclaimed. I stood up to move out from the back of the desk and let him have his chair, but he waived me down while he closed the door behind him.
The elation I had felt a minute ago started to seep out of me as I registered the look on his face.
He sank down into the chair in front of me. “Tess, there’s no easy way to say this...” He stopped talking, leaving the sentence unfinished, and stood up from the chair. He started pacing the office back and forth and running his fingers through his dark hair.
I could feel my heart breaking as I realized what was happening. My stomach was in knots. “Cass wants you to fire me,” I said barely above a whisper.
Vito stopped pacing and faced me.
“Damn it!” he shouted and kicked the desk. “Cass is the biggest asshole in the history of assholes. He didn’t give me money because he wanted to help me start my dream and get it off the ground. He didn’t even do it to make money. He did it so he had something he could hold over me. So, he could control me like he tries to control everyone in his life,” he shouted.
I sat there quietly and listened. I knew everything Vito was saying was true. Cass thought his money bought him the right to control everyone around him.
Unfortunately, he seemed to be right.
Vito sat back down in the chair. He hung his head, looking down at the desk. “If I don’t let you go, he’s going to invoke some clause in the contract that requires me to pay back all the money he invested, with interest, in the next 30 days. It’s some clause that he put in there if the restaurant is being mismanaged, he is allowed to collect all the funding he gave me. Apparently, he is the one who gets to judge if it is being mismanaged. I’m sorry.”
The sounds of the restaurant bled through the closed door. The kitchen staff and servers were joking around with each other. The stress of the day was starting to fade as the last of the guests finished their meals and left. I stared at my dripping glass of Diet Coke, unable to form words. I finally looked across the desk at Vito. He was sitting on the edge of the chair with his elbows on his knees and head in his hands, staring at the floor, completely dejected. His pose triggered a flash of a memory from long ago that I quickly stuffed back in the far reaches of my mind to be forgotten again.
I slowly stood up from Vito’s chair and came around the desk to put my hand on his shoulder.
“It’s okay Vito. I understand. There’s nothing you can do.”
He turned his head in my direction and the complete misery he felt shown all over his face. Being forced to do this was killing a piece of his soul. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to make it any better for him except to leave.
I grabbed my purse and coat that I had thrown in the office haphazardly earlier in the day, squeezed behind the chair Vito was sitting in and quietly slipped out the office door. Afraid that I would completely fall apart if I had to talk to anyone, I slipped through the bar and out through the front. The waiting area was thankfully empty since the doors were locked to any new guests tonight. In a haze, I walked the three blocks to my metro station and waited for the next train.
Luckily, my hours allowed me to miss the worst of the Metro congestion, so there were plenty of empty seats for me to choose from when the train arrived. Despite working in a busy restaurant, I wasn’t a fan of crowds or people really. For the most part, I tried to avoid them. I guess that would be easier now that I was fired. Leaning my head against the window, I stuck my hand in my pockets and found my cellphone. I hadn’t even thought about it when I left. Thankfully, it was in my coat. I pulled it out absently and checked the screen, not expecting to see anything. Normally, I only got texts or calls about work, so I was a little surprised to see notifications of two missed calls and a waiting text message from my brother.
I heard from Benny occasionally. He tried to keep in touch with me, but I hadn’t spoken to him for a long time. I couldn’t remember the last time I talked to him. But two missed calls and a text couldn’t mean good things. With a little trepidation, I opened my brother’s text.
Hey Tess, I hope things are going okay for you. I hate to tell you this over text, but you aren’t answering your phone. Leigh passed away. The doctors are saying it was an aneurysm. She collapsed at work on Tuesday and she never woke up. Call me if you have a chance. Her family is working on funeral arrangements. I think they would love to see you there.
My grandmother used to babysit to make a living when I was a kid. Leigh was one of the kids she used to watch along with me and Benny and probably half the rest of the kids in Crossroads, VA. Leigh and I were inseparable. She was my best friend. We liked to tell people that didn’t know better we were sisters. Though with her fire engine red, curly hair and my dark brown, straight-as-an-arrow hair, I’m pretty sure no one believed us.
I hadn’t seen her since the last time she visited me at college years ago. We were both finishing our senior year. Since then, I had reduced our contact to a couple of phone calls on birthdays and some posts on Facebook.
Everything that happened tonight faded to the background as memories of Leigh flooded my brain. Weirdly, I didn’t feel anything. It was like my whole emotional grid shut down. I watched through the window as the train pulled into my stop. I got up and waited for the doors to open and let me out into the world. On auto pilot, I walked the five blocks to my apartment. After getting inside, I locked the door behind me and dropped my purse, coat and phone on the floor where I stood.
I looked around at the bare white walls of the studio apartment. It was a nondescript place to live, in a high rise building in Arlington, VA. Calling it a home would be overselling it. It felt like living in a hotel. A bland hotel with no character. But, character cost money, especially in Arlington.
I finally moved away from the door and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the beige carpeted floor. My thoughts were eerily absent. I should be thinking about Leigh or even the loss of my job, the only thing I really had going for me in my life, but nothing would stick.
My phone buzzed, laying on the floor, with the rest of my stuff. Reluctantly, I stood up and walked the ten feet to get it. Staring at it a second, I picked it up off the floor. It was another text from Benny.
Did you get my text?
I texted back yes. Nothing more.
Are you coming home for the funeral?
I ignored that one. Picking up my coat and purse off the floor, I dropped them on the bed and went into the kitchen. I stared into the refrigerator like something would magically appear that would make me feel like eating. Giving up on that, I moved to the small hall closet that doubled as my pantry and stared in there for a few minutes.
At some point, my gaze landed on a box of trash bags and finally my thoughts settled onto a plan of action. Grabbing the trash bags, I pulled one out and started stuffing clothes in it.
Three house later, after making endless trips to my old car in the underground garage, I had crammed my car trunk and backseat full of my belongings. Luckily, my apartment had come furnished, so I could leave all the big stuff behind.
Sitting in the front seat, I pulled up the email app on my phone and emailed the building rental office. My lease only had one more month left and any living space was always in high demand in this area. My apartment would probably be filled by the weekend. Throwing my cellphone on the passenger seat, I put the car in gear and headed out of the garage. I had already dropped my keys and garage access card in the night drop box in the building lobby on my last trip into the garage.
On some level, I knew I was acting rashly. Still, at 3:00 a.m. I pulled out of the garage and headed west on interstate 66.