ASHES OF THE FORGOTTEN

Twark! the beautiful young woman gave the waiter a deafening slap that shocked everyone.

“I'm sorry, ma,” Jake, the waiter apologized.

“You good for nothing fellow! How dare you spill drinks on me! Why are you so clumsy?”

“I'm sorry ma,” he apologized again. Sadly, that was all he could do. He didn't have a say even when it was crystal clear that he wasn't at fault. Rachel and her friends had ordered for more drinks which he brought. As expected of him, he poured wine in their wine glasses. Rachel raised her hands to pick a piece of meat from her plate and she hit him mistakenly. The expensive bottle of wine and the wine glass fell down as a result and shattered into several tiny pieces, spilling the contents on Rachel.

“Goodness me! Look at our fine wine! You can't afford it even if you are given ten lives!” one girl sneered and they all laughed at him.

“Clear this mess! And call me your manager. This is the height of it, I can't tolerate this.”

Jake knew it would only get worse of his manager came.

“Please ma…” he began but Rachel shot him a death glare. He picked up the broken glass and made to leave only to see the manager in front of him.

“It's good that you are here, manager Tan. Look at my expensive dress. This dress cost a fortune but your unfortunate waiter has ruined it! Including the wine I savour it's pleasant taste.”

“I apologize, Miss Rachel. I'll look into this and I can assure you it will be properly handled. I'll ask them to get you wipes. I'm sorry.”

Manager Tan turned to Jake and his tone changed.

“Hey! You scum bag! See me in my office right now!”

This was the life of Jake Frederick. He was the life in son in law of the Kent family. He got married to his wife two years ago but had never gotten approval for anything in those two years. To them, he was poor and miserable, too low to be a part of their prestigious family. His wife, Sky, loved expensive gifts and jewellery which was way above his means. To please her, he did all sorts of jobs in order to get her expensive gifts but she never appreciated him or his efforts. He was only her husband on paper.

Jake sighed in pain as he looked down at the paper in his hands. He was fired and was also asked to pay for the wine and the wine glass he broke. As if that wasn't enough, he had only a day to pay the money. He pleaded for mercy but the manager mercilessly threw him out.

Just then, his alarm rang, reminding him of his second part time job. He was already late. He dipped his hands into his pocket, but there was no money. So, he half walked and ran to work. Of course, he was late and his boss didn't waste time to remind him of how stupid, miserable and incompetent he was. He even threatened to fire him next time. He bore everything in silence. His only consolation was that it was finally pay day and he couldn't wait to receive his wages. His wife had admired a flower at a florist shop some weeks ago and he wanted to get it for her. Maybe he would get her approval with that!