cosas

All the Above

“I’m not here to make friends.”

I actually said this to her. Two months after she transferred to my store, we’re finally used to each other’s personality quirks, having fun like we’re supposed to. It’s just coffee.

“If I do? That’s great. But mostly I’m here to work.” A few days later I had one of our semi-regular store family outings, with L, S, and R. We separate ourselves along distinct lines (mid-twenties, college educated, many months past ‘over it’ regarding anything that happens at work) and end up at places like the Astoria Beer Garden. The next day, she asked me how it was. Besides having closed that night, she is none of the above.

“Remember what I said the other day?” Clearly, I had made friends at work. “And,” I told her, “Even if I don’t talk to them much after I leave, I’ll still be close to Jo.” I’ve always loved the family aspect of my food service jobs. Everyone knows everything about each other, and having a built-in, guaranteed daily support system is what I’ll miss most when I finally leave the industry. But typically, the closeness ends the minute one of us quits, and we never see each other again. Having made one good friend from this job is amazing.

——-

Outside the show last night, I ran into one of my favorite customers.

“Sorry if this is weird: seeing me out of context,” I joked. He was with a sizeable group of co-workers from his good, solid office job. It’s in a creative industry, but it’s a “real” job. He has an office, and an apartment in a pricey neighborhood. We talk all the time, but know nothing about each other. He was drunk, or flirting, or quite possibly both.

“Weren’t they great??” he asked. I’d never seen the band before. They were alright.

“Yeah, it was fun.” Not great, but fun. Walking away, I furiously texted Caitlin about the interaction. But I didn’t tell her what I was most satisfied to learn: I don’t necessarily have to leave the family aspect of work behind. Maybe I’ll find that someplace else, probably I won’t, but seeing it exist in someone’s non-service industry made me happier than he could know.