The Night of the Gnat

It was epic...I'm thinking blog-worthy here. Maybe. It was the evening of Tuesday the 18th of August.

I was very elated to be working three more hours than I had been scheduled for. The sun had set and the time for locking the doors and swallowing the key (not really but does it add to the dramatic affect of my writing?) was drawing nigh. I was preparing for lock down. Was everything in its place in the proper increments? Had the smallest shred of lettuce escaped my notice? For the moment, the dining room was spotless. My heart wanted to slow down for a minute just revel in the beauty of "my lobby." I thought to myself, "I'd dare even Dad to find anything to be unsatisfied with about my lobby." But the countdown was upon me. One hour to closing.

He came through the door. My reflexes have become acutely responsive to the slightest sound of the door moving. With the agility of a feline and the friendliness of a dolphin, I looked up to greet my middle aged customer. He announced to me in the most serious of drama that the city construction workers outside were going to kill all of our business tonight.

Despite my keen focus upon my lobby, I had noticed large vehicles with flashing lights outside of the building. I had excused it as a tow truck in the parking lot of the next door Dari Mart. Upon closer scrutiny, I found it was true. Only the most determined of customers were going to find their way around all the barriers to our fine establishment. I acted according to the proper procedure and informed my manager. Her steel-like stamina began to fray at the thought of being there till 2 am without any business.

Either way, the show must go on and my lobby must be finished by 10 pm. I proceeded to tackle the sweeping, observing a sudden increase of bugs in the dining room. Had I just not noticed how many were in there all night? What I found next was incomparable to any previous experience in my extensive career in the field of Mexican dining.

To my horror, there were swarms of gnats crawling under each door. Also they were hovering thickly around every window. Swarms. It was a plague like the days of Moses in Egypt. I could hear it in my head, "Let my tacos go." Upon informing my superior officer, she immediately brought out the bazookas attacking the perimeter of our building with bug spray. They were swarming everywhere. My skin began to tickle with both the real and imagined bugs upon it.

But the show must go on. My lobby had to be closed by 10 pm. I decided to attack the bathrooms. This is a chore that takes much courage. Fortunately I have the bravery of a lioness. The keys and the dispensers gave me heartache. The paper towels exploded on me and the cleaner resisted spraying. But it was all in vain as I was a determined master.

Once that was completed, I surveyed my lobby. It was nearly time. And then it came. 10 pm. I locked the doors. Valiantly swept and mopped. It was a sweeping like none other. A dance really. Sweep the area into a centralized location and then stomp. I did my best. The lobby couldn't have looked finer.

Mission accomplished.

Note: Obviously, this one is for family and I won't be posting it on Myspace as I don't wish to be sued by my employers. Also this does not confirm Cy's notion that the proper pronunciation of my employers is "Taco Hell." lol

Think outside the bun.