Midnight
A decision at the end of a shift.
Dropping the Keys
Todd and I had run the Coralville store for six months.
Assistant managers. Paid hourly.
Managers got salary and twenty percent of the profit.
Insurance.
Vacation.
I covered a Cedar Rapids store while the manager attended the national meeting.
I saw how numbers could be “managed.”
That wasn’t for me.
Last course finally done.
Microbiology degree, fresh in hand.
Research jobs were calling.
The manager returned. “You’re staying at this store.”
At the end of my shift, I dropped the keys on the counter.
“Don’t put me on the schedule.”
I traded a Domino’s hat for a white lab coat.
The Shift Ends
the clock ticks midnight
I’m done echoes in the store
keys hit the counter
I walk into something else
glad yet not knowing its shape
Part 4 of a four-story series from my Domino’s days.