"I could help you with that."

Jeongin (1)

"Alright so only tomatoes on this? Was there anything else I could get you tonight?" I spoke towards the customer on the other side of the glass window, patiently awaiting additional instruction. Given the all clear, I took the serrated knife in my right hand and cut the sub sandwich in half. Wrapping both halves separately and quickly shoving both inside a sub bag, I tagged it for the customer and wished them a good night. "Come back and see us!"

That was all I did. From the afternoon to late at night, that same process of greeting the customer, assisting the customer, and sending them on their way was how time passed here. The local deli I worked at was a fairly busy place, seeing the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinner rush. Today however was pretty slow which allowed me to keep the various areas and stations clean.

"Hey Seungmin!" I called towards the register where my coworker was also wiping up the counter space and scales.

"I'm gonna start rounding up trash cans and taking out garbage ok? Call me if you need help." I gave a half smile when Seungmin threw me a silent thumbs up. Seungmin was among my favorite coworkers at the deli. He was a very diligent worker and had worked at this deli on and off for many years. Seungmin was actually the one who trained me during my first week on the job. Some days he was silent, and other days you could hear him cutting up with some of the regular customers. His laugh made me chuckle under my breath fondly.

I did one more check to make sure no other customers were coming up to the counter before taking my serving gloves off. I adjusted my apron as I surveyed the lobby. The large glass windows showed off our small and somewhat empty parking lot. Decals that advertised our specials on the various meats and cheeses we offered littered the glass, also drawing attention with bright neon signs with flashing lights.

The inside of our deli was quite spacious for just a local establishment. We could comfortably seat upwards of 50 people in our booths and smaller coffee tables. The booths were a more personal space with high seating and one low hanging amber light for those wishing solidarity, while our square coffee tables sat further back and tucked in the corner with bright lighting and stools that could be moved around with ease. This section was always the loudest, and also the worst to clean some days.

I made my way past our payment counter and double checked our waiting tables. We had two smaller circular tables with two wooden chairs each. Typically people that called ahead an order would wait here until it was finished. Both tables were shiny and clean of food debris.

I walked up to our front door trash can and began taking it out. It was silent nights like this that allowed my brain to either work on auto-pilot or to overthink. Unfortunately it was the latter.

Many times throughout school I was asked where I imagine myself. I could never answer them. I had just never given it any thought. Nothing had piqued my interest enough for me to devote my own personal time into it. I didn't not want to do something with myself. I mean, that's why I got this job. So I could start my life off and hopefully find that spark of passion I needed. But that was almost 2 and a half years ago now.

I put a new bag in the can and snapped the cover back on, hoisting the full bag up and taking it behind the counter. I then pulled over the trash can behind our service case and the can where Seungmin was previously. He had already finished  cleaning up the payment counter and had started to wipe down the outside windows of the deli case. I watched him as his eyebrows furrowed while he paid careful attention to the smudges on the glass. It was extremely quiet when it was just me and him up front. Well, us and one other person.

I put new bags in both cans and dragged them back to their spots. Since they both had been emptied throughout the day the bags were light. I quickly ran all three of them to our back door and washed my hands. I came around the front counter once more and checked on the farthest back booth that held its only sleeping occupant. My boyfriend Hyunjin.