Tag Archives: waitress

MEGAN DEIGER: Summer Job

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Ticket in. Fryer down. Order up. Behind you. On your left. Serve the food, clean the mess, run the card. Smiles and thank-yous. Watch them leave—lousy tip. Bus the table. Side work: roll the silver, marry ketchups, stock coolers. Quitting time. Beers at the bar. Home. Bed. Wake. Repeat.

Megan Deiger writes fiction, wrangles her seven-year-old, and makes music with her husband in Chicago, IL. She spent many summers as a server slinging wings and beer. It was fun. And awful. Follow her on Twitter at @birchparkps.

PETER BLAU: Essential Worker

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

Sally works the late shift at the counter, and more. She makes coffee, mops floors, stocks shelves and greets everyone warmly, even drunks that wander in at 2:00 a.m. Sally wears her name tag proudly and never complains.

What does she do between shifts? No one asks. No one cares.

Peter Blau believes everyone has a story to tell and in his teaching he invites students to tell those stories with their writing. His work has been featured in 50-Words as well as Academy of the Heart and Mind, Paragraph Plant, and Five-Minute Lit. Peter sees writing as more than just a means to an end, but It is the end in itself.

Try Thirty-Seven

Odd, ,

“How long do you think it’s been since the waitress last stopped by our table?”

“I dunno. Twelve minutes?”

“Wrong. Try nineteen.”

“Wow, really? Nineteen minutes?”

“Nope. Try thirty-seven.”

“It definitely hasn’t been thirty-seven minutes.”

“True. You don’t have to keep guessing the numbers I’m suggesting.”

“…I hate this game.”

My Favourite Restaurant

Touching, , , , ,

“You know what I don’t understand? People who go to restaurants alone.”

“I go to restaurants alone.”

“I know. And I don’t understand you.”

“But you love me anyways, right?”

“Love is such a strong word…”

“Well I was going to tip you well tonight, but now…”

The waitress laughed.