ruffling through the stack. When his hand landed on a paper, he removed it and handed it to her. She looked down at the pink slip. She skimmed through the notice stating that she was being fired. She looked up at him, but couldn’t find the words. “I’m sorry, Marisa. If I had any other way…I would take it.”
“You’re firing me?”
“I’m closing the restaurant,” he slowly spoke. “It hasn’t been good for us. You know the lack of hours and I don’t foresee it getting better.”
“When?” she asked, hoping that the tears wouldn’t start falling.
“The buyer wants us out in two weeks.”
She covered her face. She was at a loss for words. “So, you have already sold it?”
He nodded, “I didn’t want to spring it on you guys.”
She stood up from the chair, angry that her world was spinning out of control. She couldn’t fight back the tears much longer. “Spring it on us? Frank, we all have to look for jobs. Did you think of that?”
“I know, but…”
She brushed away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. “I’m sorry, but you don’t know.” She looked away, “I have to clock in.” She turned from him.
“Marisa, wait…” he began.
She just shook her head and glanced back toward him. “I need time to think.”
“Please don’t tell anyone.”
She turned around and sighed heavily. “Really? You want the rest of the staff to be shocked by the news more than they already will be?”
“I need to tell them and I will tell them.”
She nodded, “Fine. I’ll give you twenty four hours,” she headed out of the office and slid her badge through the time clock. She let out a slow breath, to calm down her nerves, before pushing through the break room door. She needed to figure out what she was going to do and she had no time to waste.
***
Marisa walked in her apartment and headed for the kitchen. She reached for the bottle of wine to pour herself a glass. She needed something to unwind with. When she poured the glass and lifted it to her lips, she found herself thinking about what she was going to do. She put the glass down and left the kitchen.
She went to her room and grabbed her laptop and then took it back to the kitchen. She took a drink and then turned the computer on.
She punched in a website to search for a job. As she narrowed it down to places that were based on location, she gradually looked down the list. She sipped her wine, taking in the positions. Many of the places she wasn’t qualified for, but then her eyes fell on a few positions that were in search of secretaries, assistants, or receptionists.
She jotted down their information, then closed her laptop. She figured it was too late to do anything about the eviction, but she needed to find a job. She downed the rest of the wine and put the dish in the sink.
She headed upstairs and turned on the water in the bath, pouring in his some bubbles. She pulled her clothes off and got into the bath, sinking down so that the bubbles were covering her completely. She could feel the tears falling down her face and she sniffled.
She hated feeling this way. She was alone and losing everything that was important to her. As she wiped a tear from her eye, she heard her cellphone ringing. She grabbed a towel, wiping her arms off and then reached across to her pants, where she removed the phone. She saw on the caller ID that it was her mother. She groaned, but quickly answered the call. “Hey, Mom.”
“How’s it going?” She asked. Her voice was cheerful, causing Marisa to try to push away her worries.
“Oh…same ol’ same ol’,” she lied. “How have you guys been?”
“We have been good. We were hoping you would come home for the Independence Day Barbeque this year.”
When she was living at home, she loved the barbeque. However, she was now twenty-five and