Anticlimactic, this final leaving, Friday, slow, Saturday, while by all appearances busier, equally slow. Goodbye to one of the regulars, gruff, "Good Luck", hug, he was the philanthropist who occupied the private room, the owner told him I was leaving, he knew, but the immediacy, "Tonight's the last night" surprised him.
The new waiter, he's catching on, slowly, by no means the brightest lantern, trying to teach him how to cash out for a week, he doesn't understand, and when the rudiments of understanding cross his brow he disagrees...the nephew, he takes over the cash outs, he's not so bright but he's better than this...
...funny, you can see the dissent forming, power corrupts, absolute power absolutely, and I can see the division of tips now, joking with the expediter/hostess that she'll remember these days...
The new waiter, lacking a sense of humour, takes offense where none is given, bad breath, telling me that he plans as well to move to BC, about a place called "Trout Lake" where you'll be safe from the Armageddon that surely must be coming...he's one of those...
Joking with the nephew, need a saddle for the new waiter so he can ride him about the restaurant calling himself king and introducing the new talking donkey that will be taking their order, he laughs, he gets it, he'll miss me, the old talking donkey...and threatens, himself, to be leaving soon, no later than January...the world turns.
The end of the night, early for me, hand over the keys, goodbye to the staff, most are new, there's no connection, the nephew, the chef, the owner, the salad girl, they all have plans as well, and I doubt the restaurant will be here in 3 months, a year, but I'll pop back in for a visit. A rare thing, this hat-trick of leaving, twice on good terms, but there has to be more out there than this, and I am off...