September 6, 2009
"Debra," says Victor, "it's absolutely not personal, and I hope you understand that." He's sitting on the desk in the back room, with Lanie behind the desk in the chair ( Read more... )

Let me explain ( Read more... )

It's about half past seven on a Saturday in early November. I've been on since four, and I'm still not used to the fact that it's already starting to get dark by that time of the afternoon now that Daylight Saving Time is over. It makes me feel like it's later than it really is, so even though I'm a night owl, I keep checking my watch to see how ( Read more... )

What would it take, I wondered, to bring me out of hibernation? Ten weeks of working, dating, writing my novel, and living my life without worrying about the instantaneous judgment of strangers ( Read more... )

Two Weeks Ago (Friday, August 31)
It's a warm, busy Friday evening. The Devil Rays are gradually having their way with the Yankees, bending them over just a little bit more each inning. Maya and Kira and I are holding our own; another couple of dozen customers and we'd be in the weeds, but it's the beginning of Labor Day weekend, so a lot of ( Read more... )

I'm nervous.

It's Sunday evening, the first time I've been scheduled to work a shift with Todd managing the Bar since the incident at the end of February that upset me so much. As part of the deal we worked out with Lanie and Victor, the owners, there were things Todd had to do before we'd work a shift again, and he's taken care of that ( Read more... )

It's Thursday afternoon. I walk out of the back room trying to process everything that's been said, and I stick my notebook back in my bag. Later in the afternoon I'll send an e-mail to my lawyer describing everything I talked about with Lanie and Victor and asking whether she thinks what they've proposed is fair, but I already have a pretty good ( Read more... )

For a while, it feels like Tuesday is the first day of the rest of my life.

Mid-morning, I sit down with my father in the office of one of his classmates from law school, who's a labor and employment attorney at another firm. We thank her a few times for taking the meeting on such short notice, and then I tell her about what happened ten days ago ( Read more... )

It's chilly but not freezing as I walk the few blocks up Central Park West from the subway station to Dara's and Dennis's new apartment. I keep my head down and my mittened hands in the pockets of my coat, and I barely notice as a cab turning left cuts me off. When I arrive at the building, before I face the doorman, I take a deep breath and ( Read more... )

It's Thursday night, and Sophie and I are working a pretty good crowd. She and I haven't really worked together before; she used to work mostly daytime shifts until Lanie and Victor consolidated the Bar's operating hours. She seems to be a thoroughly competent barmaid, which is a relief - I guess I had always suspected she and Kira were stuck on ( Read more... )