Deli Story

I can’t remember how old we were exactly, but I believe I was 18 or 19 and Jareth was 19 or 20. We lived in a small town and were desperate to find jobs. We were trying to get out on our own, had bills to pay and were also paying for college.  We sent out applications and resumes at every business we could, hoping for something, anything. Weeks passed, finally Jareth got a call for an interview  at a local deli and restaurant. A couple hours later, I received the very same call! The deli was tucked behind a few other buildings and was rather out of sight of most other places in town. It was small and quaint. We were both excited to finally have an interview but were unsure of how it would work if we both got the job, as we had heard that most places did not like to hire people that were related or together (at the time we were engaged). We figured though, that since it was such a small place they would only hire one of us, if either at all. Jareth had his interview first and a bit later, I had mine. After which, we received the very same phone call again, we had both got the job!

At the time, we were living in my mom’s house in a small, country community in the mountains just outside of the town. We were both overjoyed and so relieved to have finally each gotten a job, as we were running very low on funds and hardly had enough to even pay for a bus to get to the college in the next city over. We were very nervous though and were terrified we’d be fired if our new employer discovered we were together. Being young, desperate, and naive, we concocted a plan. We would simply not tell them and would even pretend we did not know each other…

Because of our college schedules I ended up starting the new job a few days before Jareth. I found out that there were only 3 other girls (about our age) working at the deli. They had stayed on when the business had switched to the new owners. The only other employee was the janitor, who was our employer’s father.

I quickly learned the ropes and rather enjoyed my new job. Almost a week had gone by and I began hearing the other girls talk about this other new employee. Apparently he was very good looking and they could not wait for him to start work. I heard them tell our boss they each wanted a chance to work with him (I knew there was only one man they could be talking about). Now, you have to understand, I have always been very shy and NEVER outspoken, but in this one instance I felt it was necessary and really could not help myself. Our boss, came up to me and called me into the back room where the woman who did the schedule and billing sat. They asked me what days and shifts worked best for me with my college schedule. I told them and then added, “I’d also really like a chance to work with this new, cute employee you’ve hired. “ I knew I likely turned a thousand shades of red in that moment, but there was no backing down now. Our boss laughed, sighed, rubbed his face and said, “I have a feeling I may end up regretting hiring that young man.” (He never did end up regretting it 😉) He shook his head and the kind, older woman giggled and wrote down my schedule.

By now we had both received our schedules and found that our boss and the secretary had been kind enough to grant each of us, eager girls a chance to work with our dashing new employee.

The day came when Jareth and I finally got to work together. We of course were introduced to one another by our boss and to tell you the truth, I don’t know how I held it together or did not give anything away. I was always that kid that could never play hide-and-seek because I would giggle too much and give away my spot, so pretending to not know my own fiancé was certainly not something I would have thought myself capable of. Somehow, we were believable though and over the course of the next few MONTHS, we played it off. Our boss found out very quickly that we worked the sandwich line and kept the place going very efficiently together. He soon began having us work nearly every shift together, even having us close together. Of course, there were difficulties at times, we always had to remember not to show our affection for one another and pretend we did not know a thing about each other outside of work. We also needed to take the same car to work to save on gas money, but could not let them see us driving together. Sometimes, I would drop him off first and wait until my shift began about an hour or so later or if it began at the same time, I’d drop him off around the block and he’d walk in. All in all, it was going smoothly and we were really enjoying our job. We thrived on Sierra Mist with lemons in it, as well as the delicious sandwiches (Seriously the best deli sandwiches out there! We have yet to come across any as good). Jareth was a pro at making the chicken and grape salad and pasta salad, which were both huge hits with the costumers. We made and served the sandwiches, soups, salads, cookies and more. We also helped figure out how to use and plug in all the orders on the new computer system. We enjoyed just about every moment of the job and always had lots of laughs with our boss and his wife.

One day though, things took a slight turn. We were both called into the back room to speak with the secretary. She looked at us kindly and smiled, then said, “I noticed on your information for the billing that you both have the exact same address.” Her smile widened, “I do not know of any apartments in that community.”

I swear my heart stopped entirely and my stomach leapt to my throat. Neither Jareth nor I were ever the kind of people to do anything wrong at all.

We had no choice but to confess our façade. We then had to speak with our boss and his wife and let them know the truth of the matter.

They were utterly shocked! We expected them to be angry with the tall tale but instead they couldn’t stop laughing and told us that they had been scheduling us together not just because we worked so well together but because they hoped we would start dating. They had hoped they could get us together because they believed we were perfect for each other.

In the end, we all had a good laugh at the twist and surprised reveal of our relationship.

To this day, this story and that job was one of our best.