“Restaurant Employee”

BY GEORGIANNA WELTY

She’s 23, working a job she never wanted. But she knows that without this job, her family would fall apart and her children would suffer, so every day she does the work, and then some. She’s saving up to go back to school, to receive a degree and to get a job that’ll make her kids proud. “I never imagined ending up here, but it’s quick money until I can earn enough to go back to school.”

I’ve been working at Parcello’s for nearly six years now. It was just supposed to be a quick fix until I had the baby, but I’m still here. I went to college for business back then, but I never got to finish my degree. That’s how I ended up here. It’s alright; we make good pizza though, and there’s always leftovers for the boys. I spend every afternoon running between the kitchen and the dining room for hours, and by seven my knees start to buckle. 

My boss is an old Italian guy. He only ever hired me because of the growing lump on my belly. I know he felt sorry for me. He’s loud, but he’s always kind, silently sliding pizza boxes into my arms after every shift. My job isn’t a passion or a dream, it’s what I do to keep my family afloat. I went to school for business, and now I bus tables. I wanted to be a businesswoman, someone who stood her ground, a leader. Instead, I lead waitstaff. 

People here don’t treat me like a leader or a business woman; they treat me like a robot. Everything I do, every day, is for other people. Some customers aren’t bad — the sweet elderly women, the young teens trying to buy their own pizza, but those are few and far between. Most people treat me like a prop, a bother, a personal servant. Every day, people yell, they bicker, they say horrible things, but I know I have to keep moving. I have to keep my family afloat, to keep them safe, so I don’t stop moving. One day, I’ll be something better. But for now, I just need to keep moving.