A Fictional Tale Meant To Influence Reality
House of Convenience was a popular restaurant in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It catered to the needs of the morning and evening folks, who just didn’t have time to prepare their own meals. From a cup of coffee and bagel to a meal fit to end a day of productivity with, House of Convenience lived up to its name.
Not only was the food good, but the atmosphere was pleasant, and for the most part, so was the service. But like in most cases, there was an exception to this rule, and it came in the form of Jill Carson.
Twenty-five-year old Jill Carson was the evening manager of House of Convenience, and the cause of frustration for her co-workers. She earned her position thanks to two years of doing what was expected of her, which was brought to the attention of the owners, and by her former morning manager. Shortly after she was granted her current position, she lost sight of one of the key components that were responsible for her having obtained it, which was, “maintaining an overall great attitude.”
When it came to interacting with the customers, Jill’s attitude was impeccable, but it was the complete opposite when it came to her co-workers. It was as if her new position had magically elevated her from an employee to the employer, she regarded those “she worked with” as beneath her, and treated them as such. No one would dare speak about her bad attitude, because of the fact they thought no one would believe them, seeing how she masked her true self, oh so well.
Thursday, May 14, 8:oo pm
As usual, House of Convenience was busy. The crowd was a combination of individuals who had recently gotten off work, and families, whose wives/mothers decided that dinner would be prepared by someone else tonight.
Jill was making her usual rounds, greeting customers with pleasantries that were just as fabricated as her ever-present smile was. This was just a part of her act to maintain her position, she could care less about how these peoples’ day went, or if they were enjoying their meals.
Not watching where he was going, a busboy bumped into Jill, who was listening to a couple express how much they loved the overall appeal of the establishment. Normally she would have maintained her composure under circumstances like this, and unleashed her verbal displeasure in private, but she really didn’t like this particular co-worker.
“Stan’, you clumsy fool. Why don’t you watch where you’re going,” Jill said angrily, and in a tone where only her co-worker and the couple could hear her.
“I’m, I’m sorry Jill,” Stanley Jackson said nervously. The thirty-year-old man was looking into Jill’s angry face, with an expression that matched his response, on his own.
“You’re right Stan’, you are sorry. You’ve been here for eight months, and in that time, you’ve been more of a liability than an asset.”
“I said I was…”
“Stan, get out of my face. Go clear a table or something. I’ll deal with you later. Get!”
Stanley quickly moved away from Jill and made his way to the rear of the establishment.
“I apologize for that folks, but good help doesn’t come easy these days,” Jill said cheerfully.
“Young lady, your behavior was uncalled for,” the man said calmly, “Especially seeing that the young man apologized for the accident.”
“Yes, Sir. But he’s…”
“There’s no excuse for such behavior, young lady. Could you bring the bill, please? And I’d like to speak to the manager.”
Jill displayed an expression of disbelief, “I’m the manager, Sir,” she said nervously.
The man’s wife glanced at Jill, and then placed her eyes back on her husband, she slowly shook her head from side to side.
“You’re the manager?” The man said in disbelief. “Alright. See to it that we receive our bill, please.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jill said with noticeable displeasure in her voice. She walked off, mumbling obscenities under her breath as she did so.
Before all the employees of House of Convenience went home for the night, Jill ensured that they all knew Stanley Jackson would no longer be with them, as she fired him in their presence. Her decision was a combination of not liking him, and the interaction she had with the older man earlier. She really took offense to him checking her, as she concluded had been the case. The manner in which she fired Stanley was not only to embarrass him but also to serve as a warning the other employees, as in “this could easily be your fate as well.”
The next day Jill was asked to come to House of Convenience by the morning manager, and this was a fact she didn’t take kindly to. She only liked the establishment because it was a means of making her life easier, via her paycheck. Outside of work, she had never stepped one foot up in the place responsible for her livelihood.
“Pam’, what is this all about, girl? I was at home relaxing,” Jill said with to much attitude, and as she entered House of Convince. Seeing that it was just a little after 9:00 am, there wasn’t too much activity, but a few of the people that were present glanced at her and shook their heads.
“I heard about last night, Jill,” Pamala Osborn said softly, the thirty-five-year-old woman stared at Jill, with a disappointing expression on her face.
“Girl, Stan’ had that coming. Besides, he was just in the way,” Jill said, she waved a hand at Pamala as she made her way to one of the booths. “So, he called you crying about it, huh?”
Pamala sat across from Jill, “No, he didn’t call me, Jill. But, I did receive a phone call this morning, about an incident I believe is relatable to why Stanley was fired. It was from the older gentleman, who you so inappropriately disrespected Stanley in front of.”
“That was none of that old man’s business, Pam’. Sure, I could have waited to check Stanley, but I had had enough of his incompetence.”
As Pamala was about to address Jill’s response, she was stopped by the sound of a familiar voice, and from the expression on Jill’s face, even if she hadn’t heard the voice, she would have realized that the owner of the voice in question was approaching them.
“Good morning, Miss. Carson,” Jackson Jones said cheerfully, the casually dressed sixty-year-old man from last night stood smiling at Jill, who was staring at Stanely, who stood beside the mystery man, smiling uncontrollably.
“Who are you, Sir?” Jill asked, and the nervousness in her voice matched the expression on her face.
“Well, I’m the co-owner of this fine establishment. You unofficially met my partner last night, my beautiful wife of just over thirty-five years, Olive.”
“Oh my God. I’m so…”
Jackson raised his left hand, “The damage has been done, Miss Carson. I just wanted to personally let you know that your services are no longer required here at House of Convenience. Oh, and to introduce you to our new evening manager, Mister Stanley Jackson. I and my wife waited around until closing time, and for Mister Jackson here. We felt that you were going to fire him, so after he confirmed our suspicions, we decided that he would become the new evening manager. Pamala will be showing him all he needs to know, as she once showed you.”
Jill glared at Pamala angrily, slid out the booth, and then stormed out of House of Convenience.
The moral of the story is this: Karma is real. Like with everything else in life, karma has two sides, negative and positive. What we put out in the atmosphere, karma will ensure that it comes back to us. It may take a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, or even a year but trust you me, it’s coming. So, it would be in our best interest to be a representative of positivity, and not just to avoid the wrath of karma, but more importantly, because it’s the right thing to do.
Thank you for reading my words.
May all we deserve and desire flow abundantly into our life like a river into a sea.