Low Carb Highly Strung

The lemon in my tea wasn’t enough to please my senses.

This low-carb diet was not as easy as I’d hoped, and I questioned whether the sidewalk café was the best setting to wait it out with all its temptations.

The job interview stuck in my mind like a horrendous movie, all the things I could have done, should have done, now too late to do. A total nightmare.

My belly rumbled adding to the discomfort. In an unconscious gesture I wave the waitress over.

I take the menu as the overworked waitress scoots away. A skinny young girl, wearing an apron several sizes too big tied around her waist with a ribbon. Oh, to look that skinny again.

Again, my belly rumbles as I check the menu for something to abate the cravings.

Nope. Full of sugar.

Nope. Don’t like coriander….

Eggs maybe?

Voices interrupt my train of thought. A man at a nearby table is chastising the waitress for his food. She apologizes quietly and rushes off to get his order with more than a tear in her eye.

“Take it easy she’s trying her best” I interrupt. “Well it ain’t good enough”, is his response. “Jackass”, I mumble to myself as he sits stewing in his own anger. He looks the typical CEO, you know, the arrogant misogynistic type that is too hard to please. Sitting smugly in his expensive suit, an Icon at the top of the corporate ladder barking orders at us plebs. It makes me mad. It makes me wonder why I even bother looking for work in this part of town.

The waitress returns with his food.

“I asked for scrambled eggs, not fried. Get it right! Get me the manager” he bellows.

On impulse, I swing around in my seat, “Sir, will you please stop bullying that poor girl…. You’ve done nothing but give her grief from the moment you came in here, either SHUT UP or leave”. His face turns a pigment of red. The customers murmur in applause.

I turn back to my menu expecting a tirade of abuse. Moments pass, nothing…. I sneak a glance. He is eating his eggs. His fried eggs he so rudely complained about.

The waitress comes to take my order. I have decided on the eggs and spinach, keeping within my dietary guidelines, though I’d much rather have toast and beans with them.

I give the girl a warm smile of reassurance, she awkwardly smiles back and scurries off with my order.

My phone rings. I recognize the number; it’s the job call back.

“Hello, Angela speaking”, I reply.

I get the job, they want to meet me…..at a nearby café….. Sure, I am here already, so are they…. Sweet!

I scan the room; our eyes meet. A moment of realisation. It’s the CEO guy, the jackass customer.

He gets up and heads my way. I force an embarrassed smile. Angela? He asks as he stands above me. I nod. Well, I’ve looked over your resume and I must say I am rather impressed.

For a moment I have a thought that I may have misjudged him. I smile briefly as he continues. “But, under the circumstances, we both know this isn’t going to work out, Goodbye Angela”. And off he walks. I sigh.

I contemplate the nightmare I just avoided. The constant belittling, the late-night work ethic, the ongoing anxiety, and feelings of inadequacy. Yep, I’ve dodged a bullet there.

I tuck back into my eggs without another thought.

A car hits a pothole in the road. SPLASH! All down his corporate suit.

Double karma, I feel warm inside.