Bullies Spit On A Waitress — Unaware She Was A Commander For 10 Years!
Chapter 8
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Claire stood where she was for a moment. Then she bent down and picked up the apron from the floor. She didn't shake it out or look at it; she folded it once, neatly, and set it on the counter. Then she started clearing the table they'd sat at."Claire—" Donna said."I'm almost done with the closing list," Claire said."Stop. Stop for a second."Claire stopped. She looked at Donna. Donna's eyes were wet—not from sadness exactly, but from something older and heavier than sadness. From the particular grief of someone who has worked their whole life to build a place that's good and decent, and watched something indecent walk right through the middle of it."Are you all right?" Donna asked."Yes," Claire said."You don't have to be," Donna said. "You don't have to pretend you are."Claire was quiet for a moment. "I know," she said. And something in her voice shifted just slightly—not breaking, but acknowledging. "I've seen worse than that," she said. "I know how this goes."Donna searched her face. "What does that mean?"Claire almost answered; something moved across her expression—a door opening and then closing again. "It means I'm okay," she said. "And I'll finish the closing list."Donna nodded slowly. She let it go for now.At 11:47, the phone behind the counter rang. Donna picked it up. A brief conversation; her face changed during it, tightened. She set the phone down."That was Dale Mace," she said.Claire looked at her."He said there was a complaint from Tyler about a hostile employee." Donna's voice was flat with disbelief. "He said he's sending someone over to document it."Claire didn't move."He can't do that," Donna said. "There's nothing to document! Tyler is the one who—""Donna," Claire said. "It's all right.""It is not all right!""It is," Claire said. "Let them come."Donna stared at her. "Claire, Dale Mace can make my life very difficult. He's done it before to people. He's very good at it.""I know," Claire said."Then why are you so calm?"Claire picked up a stack of menus and began sliding them back into their holders behind the counter. Her hands were precise, unhurried."Because calm is a choice," she said. "And I choose it."Deputy Sheriff Amanda Ray arrived twelve minutes later. She was young, clearly uncomfortable, clearly following orders she didn't entirely believe in. She took a statement from Donna. She looked around the diner. She wrote things down. She never looked directly at Claire.When she was done, she said, with the stiff formality of someone reading from a script they haven't memorized yet, that a formal complaint had been filed and that Claire was being placed on administrative leave from the shift pending review.Donna started to object. Claire put a hand on her arm, gently."Okay," Claire said to the deputy. "I understand."