'Good morning, Mrs. Wang. Did you sleep well last night?' I greeted my employer happily. Mrs. Joy Wang, a 65-year old widow.I was concerned because she often had severe headaches which made it difficult for her to sleep at night. Mrs. Wang owned a little coffee shop where I got my daily bread from. I worked there from 8a.m to 8p.m, Monday to Friday as a cashier. The place was understaffed, so I had to do most of the work, from waitressing to coffee preparation and sometimes I cleaned the place after work. The workload was massive but I couldn't complain 'cause Mrs. Wang paid me enough to put food on my table on a daily basis.
'Hi Anna, yes I slept very well 'cause of the pain relievers I took last night'. She smiled at me. 'And what did the doctor say?' I asked while flinging my worn out leather bag into the closet. ' Well, he said it was a migraine, nothing serious. You know these things are common among people my age' she said, still smiling. I was happy that she finally contacted her doctor. I had been persuading her for the past two weeks to see a doctor, but she won't budge. 'John called in sick and so he won't be coming to work today' John was the janitor and him not being around meant a lot of dirt everywhere.
'Oh! That's so sad. I hope he gets well soon enough to get back on his feet'. I retorted. 'And so, would you mind filling up for him?, ' she asked. ' Well! Well! Well! It won't be a problem,' I said. damn! another beautiful day to multitask. Just when I thought I would rest. Mrs. Wang smiled again ' thank you dear. That would be of great help to me'.
'Anything for you Mrs.Wang… I smiled back. To be frank, it wasn't going to be an easy task, taking orders, keeping account and cleaning the place. whew! I exclaimed.
'My mom is a retired high school teacher and my dad is a drunk and a brute. Sometimes I just feel my dad should be given an award for 'best wife beater of the year' every year. He goes out in the morning and comes back late at night, wasted and in a complete state of scorn. Searches for anyone to vent his anger on and unfortunately, my mom is always the prey'. I thought.
'Hello there, pretty!' He smirked. Good morning, I'll take a cup of black coffee please'. Mark was a regular customer and he always managed to put a smile on my face whenever he was around
'Good morning Mark,your coffee is coming right up in five minutes'. ' I trust you had a pleasant night' I asked. 'Yes I did. I had a very pleasant night, guess what I dreamt of'?
'Uhm, let's see. You saw yourself reading documents and typing on computers?'
'Hahaha' he laughed. No, on the contrary, I saw myself on the beach, with a lot of ladies' he smirked.
Oh! How did I forget? Mark was a ladies man. He particularly liked thick, blond girls. 'That must have been a splendid dream. A lot of naked girls and all'.
'It was more than splendid, I even woke up with a bon…'
'There you go mark, your coffee, black, just like you like it.' I cut him from his speech, I knew too well how it would end.
He smirked 'thank you Anna, we have an unfinished conversation, I'd be back'.
'Oh get lost already'. I said within. ' come back again Mark'. And thanks for your patronage.
Work went smoothly apart from the fact that I was lost in my thoughts for almost half of the day. My dad got involved with the wrong set of people. The Russians were very dangerous. He owed them a large sum of money. How would I clear the debt 'cause the burden was obviously on my shoulder. My dad wasn't even working. How would I even go about payi….
'Where is she? Where's that lil daughter of an unfortunate father?' the person who looked like the Russian gang leader asked.
' I.. I.. I'm right here' I couldn't even construct a proper sentence. I was so scared. I never asked for any of this. I didn't ask for such a karma.
'Oh! There you are. The most unfortunate child. '
His face was scarred. He looked like a product of pain and hard life, but I also smelt fear buried deep down his scarred face and husky voice. 'Your piece of shit father hasn't paid us yet and we're beginning to get very pissed. Next time we come here, I'd chop off your fingers, one after the other till you can provide my money. One month. Only one month, and if you can't pay us by that time, then you, my dear, are going to be history'. He laughed in an evil way .'only one month'. They eventually left the coffee shop after damaging a few pieces of equipment. My terrorists left, but my moment of terror just began. One month. How was I supposed to come up with ten thousand dollars in one month? My monthly pay was merely 100 dollars apart from the tips that I gathered only on good days. I was doomed. Seriously doomed.
'Anna, what just happened?' Mrs Wang asked.
Yes! She didn't know anything about my family. No one did! No one knew my brute father was a drunk. No one knew he owed the Russian ten thousand dollars when we could barely afford three square meals. No one knew I was tied up in this mystery alone, with no help whatsoever. The mayhem the Russians caused had pursued all the customers. All but one .
Tears started dripping down my cheeks as I was enveloped in fear. I had to face the reality of things and I also had to answer Mrs. Wang 'cause she was staring at me with so many questions in her eyes.
'Mrs. Wang, my dad got involved with the wrong kinda people and now he's ten thousand dollars in debt, but that all falls on my shoulders because he's as good as useless'.
Mrs. Wang looked at me with so much pity. I wish I could help you child, but there's nothing I can do for you right now.' I didn't expect any help though.' It's okay ma'am. I'd be fine'.
'That man actually threatened to kill me. I could report to the police and get protection or coil's I?. That' s actually a really dumb idea. That would just worsen the whole situation'. I thought. 'Anna! the dirt will not clean themselves up! You should get to work and snap out of your thoughts ' Mrs. Wang said. Yes, I had to clean up the mess the Russian gang members created. I got to work. There was still this man sitting at the far right corner of the shop, just staring at me. 'Could he be a cop, a spy or what? ' I thought out loud. I just waved it off and got to cleaning.
'Bye! Mrs. Wang. See you tomorrow and do well to take your pain relievers tonight' I said as I was about going home. Have a good night ma'am. I smiled, a very plastic smile as I walked out of the shop. Plastic smiles were all I could give at this point in my life when I had it in mind that I may or may not die in a months time.
'Excuse me. Hello there'