Chpt. 5: Ana's POV
I wake up Saturday morning a little stiff from sleeping on another uncomfortable cot in a shelter. Although the bed at the boarding home wasn't the best, adding a piece of foam helped make it easier to sleep at night and prevented me from waking up stiff. Unfortunately I had to leave the foam pad at the boarding house since that's not something that you can easily bring from shelter to shelter. Plus, it's not something I can store in a locker at school; even if I could store it there how I would explain that to everyone? My day starts the same as every other day as I ride the bus to campus to shower and work in the computer lab before my shift starts at the restaurant. I'm pulling a double today, working the lunch shift before switching to the private event in the evening hours. I'm bringing an extra uniform with me today as Antonio expects you to be spotless when you work a private event. He doesn't host many private events but when he does he expects only the best.
After I finish working in the computer lab, I change into my lunch uniform opting to wear the pants for the lunch shift which allows me to wear the dressier skirt uniform for the private event later this evening. I eat lunch on campus and grab a few granola bars to stuff in my book bag before heading to the restaurant. Sometimes it gets so busy that you don't really get a full break to eat a meal so the granola bars should tie me over until I can have dinner.
"Thank you again for helping us out today Ana!" Antonio states while greeting me as I walk into the restaurant a few minutes before my shift starts.
"No problem Antonio! What can you tell me about the private event tonight?" I ask realizing all I know is that it's a holiday party.
"It's your typical holiday party for approximately 100 guests. Mark will be the bartender exclusive for this event so you will not need to wait for your drinks very long. All food and beverages are being covered by the hosts of the party just be sure to place all drink orders into the computer system so they are logged. There will be 10 tables set up with each waitress covering two tables. We have servers who will bring out the food so you won't need to worry about getting all the food out at the same time. Your main tasks will be to serve drinks during cocktail hour, take food and beverage orders during dinner and assist with any tasks the hosts may have. Many of the guests attending the party tonight are influential members of the community so there opinion of the establishment could boaster business for us" Antonio explains.
"That would be wonderful, I know you are looking forward to hosting more private events in the future" I respond before punching in and beginning my shift.
The lunch shift is pretty slow today which I don't mind since I am working probably close to 12 or 14 hours. The customers today are pretty easy going, most seem to be stopping in for a bite to eat while holiday shopping. I catch myself day dreaming for a moment about holiday shopping; even if I had the money I'm not sure who I would buy gifts for. Obviously Kate, but I already planned on buying her something small for the holidays given that she is my best friend and helps me in more ways than she will ever know. Honestly, there is no one else I would shop for.
"Ana, I would like to meet with you in about 15 minutes to introduce you to the hosts of our private event tonight. Susan can take over whatever tables you still have at that time" Antonio says walking up to me while thankfully interrupting my personal pity party.
"Of course Antonio. I will speak with Susan now about the two tables I currently have. Both have their main courses so she will only need to concern herself with drinks and possible desert" I respond and quickly find Susan to review the details with her.
I then change into the uniform I set aside of the private event: a knee length black skirt, white long sleeve button down dress shirt, stockings and black dress shoes with a small heal. The shoes are not the most comfortable shoes for waitressing but when you work private events they don't expect you to be wearing sneakers. I know my feet will be sore tomorrow but the money I make from this one party will give me what I need to finally get out of the shelters and have a small place to call my own again. It will be a couple weeks until I receive my paycheck for tonight but I plan to start looking for rooms for rent tomorrow. Once I graduate from college I plan to find a full time job in publishing and then in a few months look for an actual apartment to rent instead of a room in a shady neighborhood.
"Ana please come here," Antonio says ushering me into the private banquet room. "Ana this is Mr. and Mrs. Grey the hosts for the holiday party this evening. Mr. and Mrs. Grey this is Anastasia Steele my most competent waitress who will be your contact throughout the evening." I gulp…Antonio left out that key piece of information when he explained the job to me earlier this afternoon. I've worked many private events over the years for Antonio however I've never been the key contact person as that's usually reserved for one of the full time staff.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Grey," I respond quickly forgetting about my nervousness.
"The pleasure is ours Ms. Steele" Mr. Grey says as we shake hands.
"Ana, please" I respond.
"If you will excuse us I need to explain the set up and schedule to Ana," Antonio states as he leads me to the corner of the room. "This room will be used during the cocktail hour this evening. We will have several severs walking around with appetizers and beverages for the guests. During the cocktail hour, I would like you to handle the behind the scenes issues. Work with the kitchen staff to insure all the food is ready to go and that the servers always have food to bring out. I don't want any guests waiting for appetizers so I would recommend we rotate the appetizers this way there is always a food being served. Mark will take care of the beverages for the wait staff but it wouldn't hurt to check in with him to insure everything is running smoothly. If he needs additional bottles or if something is needed please notify me immediately and I will have one of the staff bring it to him."
Antonio leads me into the kitchen introducing me to the kitchen staff who were exclusively dedicated to tonight's event. We then enter the main room where dinner will be served tonight. I am honestly blown away by the transformation of this room. The room is usually a very nice looking room but tonight it has been transformed into an elegant winter wonderland. The room is decorated in white and cream colors which looks like snow fell everywhere. There is a small amount of snowflakes scattered around the room but not too many to look cheesy.
"Antonio…this looks amazing!" I exclaim truly surprised at the room before me.
"I would love to take credit for this but Mr. and Mrs. Grey had a designer come in and put this room together for their event. As you can see we have all the tables set up around the room complete with dinner settings. The bar is right over there for the wait staff to get the guests drinks or for the guests to speak directly with Mark about a certain drink they would like. The large table in the front will be the head table where Mr. and Mrs. Grey will be seated. Again for the most part I would like you take the key role in managing the behind the scenes tasks to see that this event is a success. Work with the kitchen and the wait staff to insure all dishes are brought out for the entire table at the same time. I don't want half the table to have been served salad while the others on their main course. Everyone should eat at the same time if they are seated at the same table. Mr. and Mrs. Grey's table will be served first of course since they are the hosts for the evening. Please touch base with Mr. or Mrs. Grey periodically throughout the evening to see how everything is needed. The key thing here is to not appear like you are interrupting them so don't ask them too often. Occasionally walk through the dining area to insure everything is going well at the tables and the guests are satisfied. This will give Mr. and Mrs. Grey an opportunity to discuss something with you if needed. "
"Of course Mr. Antonio," I respond. "Can I ask you something?"
"Ana, I already know what you are going to ask," he answers with a gentle smile. "Yes, I think you are ready for this. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this morning about your role this evening but I knew if I did you would spend the day worrying needlessly about it. You are an exceptional server and you know this place almost as good as I do. All the staff respect you and even when faced with difficult customers you always remain professional. I am confident that you can handle this, but should something arise I will be in my office or in the main dining room all evening. I am not leaving until this event is over tonight."
"Thank you Antonio. I appreciate the confidence you have in me" I respond shyly and make my way to the kitchen to see who is working this evening. While I'm glad Antonio has such confidence in me, I just wish I was as confident as he was. Everything he said was true, but I still find myself a nervous wreck as guests begin to arrive for cocktail hour. Throughout cocktail hour I spend the majority of the time in the kitchen insuring all the appetizers are going out as needed. Surprisingly everything goes smoothly and I go to check on Mark.
"Hi Mark, how's it going?" I ask. Mark and I have worked several shifts together over the years and a couple private events in the past.
"So far so good. The bar is fully stocked, we have plenty of glasses and ice so I think we should be okay for awhile. I will probably need more ice about half way through dinner service but I will let you know in plenty of time and won't let us run out ice" Mark says laughing.
"I appreciate it. I spoken with a couple of the guys in the kitchen and David will be handling the ice and glasses for the bar. I asked him to check in with you as the servers bring the salads or soup at dinner and then again as desert is being served. Of course if you need anything at a different time I can grab him for you," I explain.
"Wow that's great Ana. Very organized," Mark says before returning to filling up glasses with champagne.
I take a deep breath and begin walking around the cocktail hour room stopping every few minutes to pick up a dropped napkin or straighten a table cloth. I briefly see Mrs. Grace and pause for a moment to see if she needs anything as Antonio suggested. She smiles in my direction but continues in her conversation with a guest so I assume all is well. The room is filled with men and woman dressed in very expensive clothing most of which are engaged in business discussions. A laugh to myself thinking what they spent on one outfit for tonight is probably more than I make in an entire year.
The rest of cocktail hour goes smoothly and it's time to begin moving to the main dining area for dinner to be served. I approach Mrs. Grey who is in a conversation with a guest I immediately recognize; the blond bitch from a month or so ago who gave me the lousy tip. Most of the customers in the restaurant I barely remember but sometimes they stand out. Some will chat for a few minutes which I try to make it a point to remember because those are the customers who usually return. They appreciate you remembering small things that they discussed with you during previous visits which makes their dining experience that much more enjoyable. And then there are the customers like the blond bitch who are rude and either don't tip at all or tip like this woman did which was a pile of change. As Mrs. Grey pauses in her discussion after I signal to her that I need to speak with her.
"Excuse me Elena" Mrs. Grey says to the blond bitch she was speaking to.
"Of course Grace, I see someone I need to speak with anyway," Blond bitch says before glancing my way. She gives me a dirty look and I see her walk towards a small group of people gathering at the bar.
"Mrs. Grey, if this is a convenient time I would suggest we invite everyone into the main area for dinner," I say.
"Of course, thank you Ana," Mrs. Grey says.
I inform the wait staff to begin asking the guests to make their way into the main dining area as I open the large doors connecting the rooms. Guests begin to slowly make their way into the room and find their tables. I stop by and briefly check on Mark who reports everything is going well. I return to the kitchen to begin discussing the salad and soup courses with the kitchen staff. Each guest receive the same salad and soup then they have a choice of 3 entrees for their main course. I assist the kitchen staff in setting up the trays with the salads just as the servers come into the kitchen. I assign one specific server to the head table to serve the hosts for this evening.
I step over to the bar for a few minutes so I can watch the salads be served to all the tables. Mr. and Mrs. Grey are seated at the table near the front with several others including the blond bitch I saw earlier this evening. Also at the table are two younger men and younger female however from this angel I can only see the younger female. My breath catches for a moment when I see the one gentleman at the table has the same hair color as the stranger I ran into several weeks ago. I convince myself it can't be him and return to the kitchen.
Dinner continues without an issue all guests at each table are served at the same time. The kitchen staff planned well and has more than enough food prepared in advance so thankfully we do not run out of food. I laugh remembering one of the first private events Antonio hosted here in which we ran out of steaks during mid service; Antonio vowed that it would never happen again and he has lived up to his word. Half way through dinner I return to the dining room and check on Mr. and Mrs. Grey who are now seated at a half empty table.
"Mr. Grey, Mrs. Grey how is everything this evening?" I ask.
"Absolutely perfect. You are doing an wonderful job Ana," Mrs. Grey responds.
"Agreed. Everyone hasn't stopped talking about how good the food is!" Mr. Grey says smiling.
"Thank you both for allowing us to share this holiday celebration with you. If you need anything for the remainder of the evening please do not hesitate to find me," I say as I leave to walk around the dining room checking on everything.
Although I am checking all the tables, I am secretly looking for the gentleman with the cooper hair I saw earlier sitting on the head table. I scan the entire dining room before disappointingly returning to the kitchen to oversee desert being served. It's probably not the same guy, but I can't help but want to get a second look at him to see if it was. There's still some time left in the evening which means I have a couple hours left to see if I can find him. I have no idea what I would say or do if it was him and I saw him here. I've thought about him ever since we bumped into each other but even I can tell just from that one meeting that he is way out of my league. Not that I even have a league, I think laughing to myself. I haven't dated much and never really had a boyfriend. How do you explain to guy that you are homeless or living in a boarding house? No one wants to date a girl with the amount of baggage I have. How do you explain the childhood I had after my dad died?
I take a break and go to the bathroom before my thoughts get the best of me. Sitting on the toilet I take a few deep breaths and begin to relax. Lately the memories have been creeping back into my head and I need to find a way to bury them. I've had a couple nightmares at the shelters already and now I'm barely sleeping because I feel so unsafe there. At least at the boarding house I could lock myself in my room but that is not an option when you are staying at a shelter. I sigh, take a deep breath before washing my hands and returning to the dining room.
"Watch where you are going!" Someone says as I open the bathroom door.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware anyone was behind the door," I quietly state before looking up to see who I almost hit with a door. Of course the person standing before me is the blond bitch who is attending the private event tonight. It couldn't have been anyone else.
"Well next time watch what you are doing," she says before nearly pushing me aside to go into the ladies room.
I return the dining room and check on the kitchen staff who now have desert ready to be served. I instruct everyone to serve the last course of the meal and ask David to take more ice to Mark at the bar as I'm sure he is running low. As the servers make their way to the tables with desert, I take another stroll through the dining room. I pick up a few stray items from the floor, stop and chat at a few tables and debate checking on Mr. and Mrs. Grey another time. Antonio warned me to not interrupt too often so I elect to take a back seat and just make occasional eye contact with Mrs. Grey.
Just as I'm about to return to the kitchen I take one last look around the dining room and I see him! He is walking out the door with Ms. Blond Bitch; I refuse to call her anything else since this seems more fitting then Elena does. For a brief moment he looks up but I can't tell if he is looking at me or just in my general direction. Just as quickly he turns and walks out the door taking Ms. Blond Bitch with him. I feel my heart sink as I return to the kitchen. I don't know what I expected to happen since neither of us made a move to approach one another but I can't help but feel sad and disappointed that he just walked out.
As the evening comes to close just after midnight, I stop by to do a final check in with Mr. and Mrs. Grace who are saying good bye to some of their guests.
"How was your holiday celebration Mrs. Grey?" I ask as Mr. Grey appears to be in a deep conversation with another guest.
"It was wonderful, thank you for being a part of it Ana!" Mrs. Grey gushes and then hands me a card "Happy holidays!"
I thank her before returning to the kitchen. I put the card in my book bag and don't give it a second thought as I help the wait staff clean up the dining room. As I predicted, my feet are killing me and I know they will be worse by morning. Overall though the evening went very well and I surprised myself pulling the event off without a hitch. Antonio stops by and congratulates me on a job well done for the evening. He tells me to get some rest and that he will see me in the morning.
I glance at my watch and realize it's just after 1am which means all the shelters will be full for the night already. Most close their doors by 10pm as they don't want people wandering in drunk or high. Oh well, I gather my belongings and head to the bus stop. I can ride the bus for a few hours and after that I will stay the bus stop for awhile before the college offices open. Once they open I will head over to the commuter lounge which has soft chairs and small couches that I can probably take a nap in.
Author's note: Don't worry…Ana and Christian will meet! Next up is Christian's point of view of the holiday dinner and what he thinks about seeing Ana again.