Years Later, My School Tormentor Walked Into the Restaurant Where I Work as a Waitress and Started Teasing Me – I Didn't Even Have Time to Defend Myself Before Karma Struck Her
Enduring.
Then my mom got diagnosed with cancer.
After graduation, I left high school behind in every way except emotionally. I went to a state school because it was what I could afford. I got a job as an analyst at a logistics company. Nothing glamorous. Spreadsheets, deadlines, okay pay, decent insurance. I paid my bills, helped my mom when I could, and built a life that was small but steady.
Then my mom got diagnosed with cancer.
And none of that steadiness meant much anymore.
If I had to work every day to keep my mother alive, then I was going to work every day.
Insurance covered some of it. Not enough. Never enough.
Chemo, scans, meds, copays, rides, food she could keep down when treatment wrecked her stomach. Bills stacked up fast. I picked up waitressing three nights a week at an upscale restaurant downtown because the tips were good and I stopped caring what anything looked like the second I saw what treatment actually cost.
If I had to work every day to keep my mother alive, then I was going to work every day.
It happened on a Thursday.
And there she was.
I was wiping down table twelve after a couple had left. My feet hurt. My back hurt. The kitchen was behind. I was doing mental math about what I could pay this week and what would have to wait.
Then I heard a laugh.
Sharp. Fake. Familiar.
I looked up.
And there she was.
For some stupid second, I was 17 again.
Madison.
She looked expensive. Perfect hair. Cream coat. High heels. The kind of woman who entered a room expecting it to rearrange itself around her.
For some stupid second, I was 17 again.
Table 14.
