All characters portrayed in this story are over, the age of 18 years old. There are no minor characters in this story. This story is a work of fiction.
A Different Kind of Employment Relationship
Initially written by Chessman, revised and edited by Barelin and Megansdad
Hi, my name is Jamie Williams. 29 and I want to share how drastically my life has changed in the past several years. Growing up wasn't easy for my mother struggled to work several jobs to keep the roof over our heads. My father left my mother when I was very young, and I do not remember him. Somehow my mother managed to scrape enough money together to keep me dressed, food in our stomachs, and supplies for school. In my last year of high school, I worked hard on my grades and managed to receive a scholarship.
The scholarship was to our state university, located over an hour away from the town where I grew up. I attended the university until the end of my second year after finishing my final exams. I needed to drop out to care for my mother, knowing that this could end my scholarship eligibility. My mother was sick with adult-onset leukemia, and about six or so months after she became sick, she passed away. After paying all of the funeral expenses, I couldn't afford to go back to school and lost the scholarship money.
There were a few families that I could depend on but no real friends that are still around here. The only work I could find that barely paid enough to cover the expenses was as a waitress in a local Clinton Family-Style Diner. As of this writing, I have been working there for about two years still as a waitress. I started getting some regulars, a middle-aged couple, that would always sit in the area where I was working the evening shift. I learned that they moved into that large estate near the outer part of the community.
I learned their names were Walter and Barbra Green both in their late sixties, guessing they looked like they were in their forties or early fifties. If anything, that stood out about that sweat couple, they were always good tippers every time both of them were at their regular table. I have never seen Barbra dressed in anything other than a flower hairpin. Public nakedness was legal just about everywhere before I was born. As time passed, being their waitress, I learned a lot about the couple through small talk. They were always good tippers, giving twenty percent to me even if they only came in for pie and coffee.
Later that evening, long after that couple left the diner, one of those wind storms swept through the area. The power to the Clinton diner flickered a bit then stayed on with some trees falling in the parking lot but causing no apparent damage. Walking back to my mother's old house, I noticed that an old oak tree had caused damage to the roof, resulting in an electrical fire that was a total loss. My late mother's insurance policy wouldn't cover the cost of the rebuild, something that I couldn't afford.
Somehow the word got out to Walter and Barbra Green that my late mother's house was a total loss. I was standing in front of what was left of the house simmering after the fire. I was startled to see Barbra standing next to me naked, comforting me with Walter nearby. Everything I owned was gone besides the clothes on my back. That night the Greens took me into their home for the night. While there, I learned that Barbra had not worn clothing since before I was born.
The following day, several of my coworkers and others chipped in and provided me with used clothes for me to wear and other things. I could afford a short-term furnished unit within walking distance of the diner. I planned on living there till I could get back on my feet after the total loss of the house. Able to get the insurance company to arrange for the removal of the old structure and foundation.
Several weeks after another rainy evening, I watched Walter with naked Barba leave the diner. Only to find out that there was an accident in the parking lot. I found out that an eighty-year-old lady accidentally pressed the acceleration instead of the brake. Both of the Greens were seriously hurt in the accident while walking across the parking lot. Barbra slid head-first into a curb and died at the scene from a traumatic brain injury. Walter suffered a shattered hip, knee, and ankle on his left side and a broken right arm.
He spent months in the hospital. After about six months of rehabilitation, he regained some of his independence. Due to the loss of memory, he didn't recognize those who did visit him. Almost daily, I would sit next to him to help him regain his memory. I learned through both his son and daughter, Walter was wealthy from the family trust. Walter's adult children weren't sure about why I was visiting him until they learned how Barbra and Walter assisted me after my tragedy and that I was the waitress. I learned to talk about myself with his family on how nice I was.
I know that I used their names earlier in the story but I didn't know their names at that time. I thought it would be easier since this is just a retelling of the story. I learned his name was Walter Green and his late wife's name was Barbra. They were married for over 40 years; I remember how much of a sweetheart she was to me. I saw her with nothing on her besides that small flower hairpin in her shoulder-length amber hair.
A year later, (six months in the hospital and six months of me helping with his memory) I still spent countless hours with that frailer gentleman helping him to regain his memory and mobility. Walking into the room he was sitting up watching something on the television screen. When he looked at me, he mumbled, "I do not recognize you," he said, "I know my name is Walter Green and my wife Barbra passed away."
I was ecstatic that he finally remembered his name and his wife. We spent several hours talking, and when he managed to remember me from that diner as his waitress, and that he and his wife always sat at my table. We talked for over an hour before his son and daughter arrived, along with a few others. He did ask me why I wasted my time being with him, something I really couldn't find the answer to that question.