It’s also why my moms have always required me to have an after-school job, because they “will not raise a child who does not understand the value of hard work.” Before Katie’s and my brief stint at Hollister, I worked as a hostess at the Chili’s in the strip mall down the street, and until the pandemic, I had a monopoly on babysitting for families in our apartment building. It’s not easy to balance work with school, but I like the independence and freedom that comes with earning my own money, even if I’ve had to do it since I was fourteen years old.

After contributing to our rent, I don’t have to feel guilty about using the money I have left over to buy the more expensive tubes of oil paints, canvases, and brushes. The metal springs on the left-hand corner of my mattress are starting to poke through, but at least my job at Katie’s Diner affords me the art supplies of a very well-fed artist. Not to mention it helps replenish my dismal college savings fund, which we dip into regularly.

But even if my college fund never affords me a higher education and I’m still counting tips when I’m forty, I’ll take pride in bringing people food and making them feel like someone is taking care of them. I love letting Joy get home early to her kids—because Parisa is more than happy to help me close up shop. And I love getting to help Andres with his ESL homework during our breaks. We are a family who cried tears of joy when Katie and Billy told us she was pregnant, and then we all cried even more when they told us they had lost the baby. The diner is not just a job. It’s my sanctuary. So right now it hurts like hell when Katie calls to tell me she can no longer keep me employed.

“What does ‘furloughed’ even mean?” I ask.

“It means that we officially have to let you go, temporarily. We have no choice, Gabriela. They’re extending the shutdown, and the restaurant has to stay closed. We really don’t know how long it’ll be before we can open,” she explains. “We’re hoping to do curbside service at some point, but that just means people pick up their food outside. We won’t need all our employees for that.”