And the owner's girlfriend, she's been in every night for the past week. Every night from when we open until we close. She makes her reservations surreptitiously, under the assumed identity of "friends" - she eats, drinks, for free, her guests get a deal. She's the princess, she arrives early to peruse the reservations, spots the people she might know, hangs about waiting for them to arrive, ...
She's a nightmare. She lends out his truck, then seeks out his permission in front of the guests she's promised it to, she promises them space at "our villa in Italy", he has to show up dutifully and rubber stamp his approval, it's not "our villa", it's his, it's not hers to lend out, but what little he has left is slipping away,..
...hearing him scream in the kitchen at special requests, wooden faced, before recommending her own special menu "modifications" to her friends...she's been the girlfriend for what, 2 years, we've all seen a lot of whores come and go, she knows his triggers, knows we'll bear the brunt of her recommendations, she has no manners or class....
The good customers, the ones we've liked, they've made their goodbyes, come in, teary eyed, decent people to whom the the restaurant meant a lot of good and shared memories over the years. But, for the most part, they've come and gone, others won't be given the chance, space is tight and the girlfriend, she's in every night using it up, inviting her friends and co-workers The real, paying regulars, the ones that have been coming for 20 or 30 years, their place is usurped by her momentary fame. The owners friends, they're polite with her, conceal their contempt, for the most part, their only seeing her once a month, once a week tops. She's been in every day the past week, and all this getting along, it's one-sided and I'm arriving early at the finish line.
"I'm just white trash" she tells us, but she overstates it, the nephew, he dates white trash, but she's a few levels below even him, the owner's friends, they all see through her, hater her guts, the staff the same, gritting my teeth, 4, now 3 long days to go, she'll be in every night.