Author: Restaurant Gal
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Rouletta Gets a Job
I am working six days a week and eight shifts, now. This is a good thing. A very good thing. What to do with Rouletta when I am working so much, however, was becoming not such a good thing. “Just bring her in with you,” said one of the owners. Really? “You can put her…
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Dancing the Circle
“Joe died. Just an hour ago,” said one of my regulars as he placed an empty Miller Lite bottle on the bar. “I wasn’t sure if you’d heard.” Joe? Joe who always called me “pretty lady”? Whiskey and water, “Mist is fine” Joe? Joe who came in to my bar with his pal and sort-of…
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One Last Time
He sat on a bench in the shade, smiling at my best sister friend as she lugged their suitcases and plastic bags filled with T-shirts and sandals and other items bought in hopes of preserving a memory in time of a magical time. More than one passerby gave him a second glance, clearly wondering why…
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The Misplaced Text
Texting: You either love it or hate it. On the one hand, it’s easy to zap or receive a quick message when you can’t talk on the phone. Last night, for example, I received a text wishing me a happy Fourth from a guy who’s just started to show some interest in me. I was…
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Homecomings
At first, you have no clue who the person is who is standing in front of you with his hand extended. “Hey, Bruce Carlton. We had so many classes together in 7th grade.” You smile the dumb smile of one who has no clue, one that conveys that you pretend to have a clue, but…
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D.C. Bound
“Do you think we can function in normal society after six months in the Keys?” asks my girlfriend who,like me, hails from big-city, civilized northern climes. We are lounging by a pool, sipping girlie drinks. She is going home for a few weeks. I am going to D.C. for a long weekend and a Jr.…
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Good Cat
“One of the farm cats had kittens. So cute. Do you want the orange one?” asked my friend. We were petless at the time, and my kids were at good ages for a cat to come into the home–four and six–so what the hell? I’d grown up with cats. Cats are easy. “There’s just one…
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The Bar Raised Between Us
She always compliments what I am wearing. She is from D.C. She always says she and I could be friends, and we should have a drink together sometime. Except we are not friends. We likely never will be. A vodka tonic with extra lime will always be between us–the one I make, the one another…
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Worst of the Worst from the Front Dating Lines
“You talk a lot about your girlfriends, you know, how great friends they are and all. So, do you, um, you know, like them a whole lot? You know, like that?” “I mean, so, I just want to be your friend. I like you and all, just not like that. So, can we be friends,…
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It’s a Keys Thing
I had only been open a few minutes when they walked in: a police officer, one of my regulars, and a friend of the regular. “Good morning!” the officer said, broadly smiling. “Hey, morning to you,” I said. “You working a new beat, now?” I was surprised to see him in my bar. This particular…