My sister, who lives out of town, visited for the Thanksgiving holiday. She's a journalist, too, so I trust her reporting. I have, however, changed some of the details in the following story to protect the drunk.
While she's waiting for me to get off work, my sis goes to a mall to do some Christmas shopping. She stops by a cheese-and-candy kiosk. It's around 11:30 in the morning. A couple of guys are in line ahead of her, maybe a father and son, and the woman behind the counter, who's in her early 20s, keeps talking to them -- long enough that my sister can tell they're getting a little annoyed, though they're too polite to do anything about it. Finally, the woman finishes ringing them up, they pay, and my sister is next.
She steps up to the counter, and it's immediately obvious that the young woman behind the counter is drunk.
She reeks. She's slurry. The manager comes into the kiosk, and while the woman is getting my sister's order, she gives the manager some story about how, when she's done with this customer, she needs to go out to her car to get something for her boyfriend.
"No way you're going out to the parking lot," the manager says. "You're on the clock."
"My boyfriend's on the clock, too," she says. It's uncertain where the boyfriend works. The exchange doesn't really make any sense, except that it's obvious the employee wants to go out for another nip.
My sis pays and heads on to the escalator. She looks back and sees the manager in the face of the woman, who's giving him the standard obstinate What are you talking about? What'd I do? defensive drunk look.
Happy holidays! — C.J. Janovy
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