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Y’all I got a story to tell. Gotta get this off my chest. No real jokes in this thread or me calling anyone a motherfucker (probably). Trigger warnings in this thread for mentions of abuse, trauma and death.
Hired a new girl at work recently. Good person, good worker. BAD luck.
Hired a new girl at work recently. Good person, good worker. BAD luck.
Getting hired is just about the only luck she’s had at all. Just out of an abusive relationship with a real gaslighting scumbag, abusive ex boss that constantly threatened to fire her and showed up to work wasted and hit on her and shit. Real top notch stuff.
Day before yesterday as she’s leaving she tells me how grateful she is for the job, that I’m like the older brother or dad she wished she had. Guess I do generally give that vibe if I don’t have a good reason to be swearing at you. I thank her, tell her she’s doing good work.
So then last night she calls me in utter hysterics. Hyperventilating, can’t put words together. Her mom just died. And I mean JUST died. Like, there are paramedics in the house and the body is still cooling. Is she on the phone with me because I’m this big bro figure? Nope.
She’s on the phone with me because she’s reacting to trauma from her old job. She’s TERRIFIED I’m going to fire her for needing time off to bury her mother. Thinks she’s on the verge of losing EVERYTHING. She’s having a really hard time talking and I have to piece this together.
And I just can’t stop thinking about this. About the chain of events, the culture and society that would teach someone that this is a rational fear. Something that even needs to be considered. And normally this would make me angry as hell. Y’all know. But I’m just sad.
Like. Imagine that. Your fucking parent dies and once the ambulance is there your first thought is to call your boss and beg them to not fire you. What the fuck even is that. How do we live like this? How is anyone confused about what a broken and traumatized people we are.
So yeah. I calm her a bit and get on the phone to MY boss and then proceed to beg and bully anyone I can get my hands on to take her shifts. My store is tiny. There’s only three of us, only one person working at a time for the most part. But I pull folks from other stores.
My other guy, he’s celebrating his anniversary this weekend, has spent hundreds on a special fishing trip for his girl. I’m normally available 24/7 but this just happens to be the first time I’m leaving town to see my youngest for the first time since I wrecked my back YEARS ago.
But I get the people in, Monday when I’m covering her shift I need to give her a call and find out how she’s doing, what she needs. Because she does need to come back. Not because I’m going to fire her, but because she’s gonna need the money. Having a loved one die is EXPENSIVE.
And THIS is the part where I start getting angry. Fury building under the tears because goddammit. It shouldn’t be like this. It doesn’t HAVE to be like this. Fuck anyone who says otherwise. No one going through this should have to worry about their job, or going broke as well.
Y’all the responses to this are way beyond anything I expected. They are beautiful, haunting, touching, compassionate and harrowing. Thank you all so much for your stories, your kind words, and your solidarity. Y’all are incredible comrades and incredible people.
Some folks have asked if there is a place to donate funds and the answer is “not yet”. That’s something I’d *like* to do for her, but I’ll talk it over with her on Monday and see if that’s needed/wanted. And I will keep y’all updated. Love and solidarity forever.
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