How many
years has it been since this happened? I remember being in my early twenties,
worrying about work and college, not a kid anymore but not really an adult. I
had been working on this restaurant as a waiter for a few years already and got
to meet quite a good number of characters.
Some of them came to eat, and some of them worked there.
This day was
like any other, I’ll come in and meet my manager, say hi to my friends and get
all my supplies ready on my station so that I’ll be ready to meet the guests.
The first thing that I would do was to prepare a pitcher of iced tea and some
regular coffee. You need to have those ready from the get-go or you will find
yourself in the very awkward position of telling somebody who still hasn’t have
any caffeine to wait for 10 minutes. Not the best way to give a good first
impression.
The first
few people would usually start coming in as soon as the smell of coffee would
get out the door. I would introduce myself and get to work. I should use this
opportunity to clarify that this restaurant was a buffet, so my main duties as
a waiter were drinks, special orders and clearing the tables. It never failed
that someone would ask for a modified dish. The cooks were never very happy to
see us go to them since it meant more work out of the usual.
It was
probably around noon when it happened. I had been talking to my manager about
her trip to another country. She was very excited to be back, although a little
sick, but full of energies to keep dealing with us and the guests. We were
talking at the register and one of the cashiers and another waiter had joined
us. Then it happened, coughing could be heard from one side of the restaurant.
Usually this is not something to worry, but when one cough turns into two, and
then three, you know something is going on.
Next thing
we know our manager was coughing too, joining one half of the restaurant. At
that moment we started to move. We ran to the location of the tables and
realized that there was a subtle smell around. We followed the smell to one of
the vents in the restroom, and at that moment we got affected by this. We knew
something had happened.
During the
same time that we were looking for the source of the problem our manager was
talking to the people and asking them to step outside the building for safety.
We came back to her and told her our findings and proceeded to the nearest
phone. We needed to call 911. The other waiter and I got to the phone and had a
small discussion on who was going to call. He was chosen. He quickly dialed 911
and explained the situation to the operator. Once that was done, we headed back
to the manager since we were ready to leave too, but at that moment I noticed a
couple who was still at the table eating alone in the restaurant.
I quickly
made my way to them and explained to them that they needed to step outside both
for their safety and to follow the instructions of the emergency personnel that
were coming. To this day I still remember how the wife turned to her husband
and proceeded to tell him that she was right, and they should have stepped
outside. I was really surprised to see that the priority had been their meal in
this situation.
Finally, it
was time for me, the other waiter and the manager to step outside. We could
hear the sirens approaching and the sound of helicopters above us. It was
surreal. The ambulances came in and started to help people, taking some of them
back to the hospital. At the same time the firemen were inside the building
quickly checking what had happened. People were scared and didn’t know what to
do.
You could
see all the employees on their phones calling their loved ones to let them know
what had happened, to reassure them not to get scare when they saw the news
about the restaurant. It was a small chaos.
Once I
finished making my phone calls I turned to my fellow waiter and noticed that he
was calm, not worried at all. I asked him about it, and he told me he was
pretty sure that the culprit was pepper spray. Apparently, he had been sprayed
in the past by his sister, an accident he reassured me, so he knew the
symptoms. A few moments later a fireman agreed with him. We were safe, but at the same time this
experience had created some scars for people and for the business.
Days later we were talking about it and wondering what happened. Could it have been some kids? A disgruntled employee? A random act? We would never know. The only think we knew was that this experience had become a memory, an experience that will continue to shape us and prepare us for our future. After all, we are shaped by our experiences, and by them we move forward into a better future.
Copyright
2019
