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Tomasi
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73\TE:__AUG _
"Se...ay," the waitress. drawled, "am I tired! There's only two of us
on this late at night. And Lou, she's the other waitress, parks herself in
the kitchen most of the time. She's kind of sweet on the cook. Always
hanging around back. It gives me a pain. There's no use squawking about
it. This restaurant's a sort of family affair, I guess. The cook's cousin
to the boss. Cousin to the kitAlen helper, too. It's a wonder the boss's
daughters don't work here. He'd like them to, I bet, but they're just too
stuck up for that. have to hop around plenty when they core in for a feed.
Expect us to wait on them hand and foot. They're Italian. I'm French- Irish.
Lark like my father's folks, and ready for a little fun like my father's
folks. He came down from Canada. When we were kids he'd hold kitchen
junkets at the house every Saturday right. The house'd be full till three
in the morning- just farmer folks dancing, and singin4, and having a good
time.
"I was born in Tunbridge in 1914. There certainly wasn't anything
exciting in that dump. The only excitement was the Tunbridge Fair they hold
every year. They call it the World's Fair and the Lrunkards' Convention. All
the big shots that don't give you a tumble or their hometown streets
up there, they fall all over you. On the fair grounds everybody hails every-
body else, big shots and little stuff, and if you meet them the next day on
the street and they stare right past you well, you don't care 'cause you've
grown to expeot it.
"I see my people every week or so. ky own father's dead. I've fret a
stepfather now. As far back as I can remember my father did farmdrg and
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carpentering, but my mother tells me he'd worked in the Barre sheds until
his health failed him. I've got three sisters, two half-brothers and one
helf-sister. Lord, I was §:lad to get out. That place was dead. I'm trying
to get one of my sisters to come and live with me. Only trouble is she's
been through high school, studied typing and short -hand, so she wants an
office job. There aren't so many office jobs in town. She's kind of talk-
ing of going to Montpelier. There's the State House there and the National
Life, and plenty of W.P.A. sobs, too. It'd be fun having an apartment
together. Allie she's my sister has a boy friend lives in M*O.ntpelier.
He works up here in the quarries. Lakes pretty good money. If she got a chance
in town and see him oftener I bet they'd be married in three months. Lord,
I couldn't see myself getting married to one of those Tunbridge farmers and
settling down to nothing for the rest of my life. Not me. I been in town
two years new, and I been having a pretty good time for myself. Nothing
swell, but a sood enough time. Riding, dancing, stopfing somewhere for eats
and drinks.
"If Allie insists on going to Montpelier, I Opose I could manage to
get a job in a restaurant there. The other day I was talking to a girl that
waitaon.table on State Street in M‹,ntpelier. She says there's an awful
enooty crowd around there. Some of those office girls act as if they were
the Que.,7.n of S1 -b, and I guess they don't make a helleof-a-lot more than we
do. I've always figured 1ontpeuier that way. I mean artifinial and putting
on airs. Barre's more honest,
"Lord, here's a couple of customers. They come here a lot. 'Specially
when it's hot. Bet you it's beer for them. See, I knew that's what they'd
order.
"They'll keep having rounds of beer till ()losing tips. Beer and chips.'
Saturday nights they have sandwiches. Regular as clock work. Boer and chips
during the week. Beer and sandwiches Saturday nights. They been doing that
for a long time. When I first cam here he was a better spender. But I
guess he could afford it then. y sister's boyfriend knows him. Le runs cee
of the engines that roes up to the quarries. I've heard him talk in here of
haw it's ono of the steepest railroad grades in the country. Seems he's
been having tough luck lately. The Mother died last fall, and richt after
that his father took sick. Les in a hospital somewhere. Be used to week in
the quarries, toe. I don't know if it's his lungs or not. Anyway, there's
two sisters and a brother at home. Only the brother works. So all -in -all
you can't blame the fellow for beirg ti -ht with his meney. Eis ,eirlfriend
ought to feel lucky she's getting her beer and chips. She always looks
satisfied. She's kind or pretty.
*We don't serve many regular dinners and suppers. 14ot unless someone
plans a party. Aost of our business is in -between -tine lunches. Lots of
people who come here like Italian food, even it they're not Italian themselves,
i'unny„ isn't it7 I go for seadletti ane meatballs, and macaroni, myself. We
serve a lot of those Italian sausages salamini they're °ailed. And salami
sandwiches. We serve a lot of those with beer. It's funny e the other
Italians 111 stick to Italian f000, but their kids so about fifty-fifty for
Italian and Anerioan oorkin_. The Scotch o for exTensive foods, they
aren't a bit Scotch when it comes to fillin their stomachs. Chicken's a
favorite with thrm.
"If my sister and I ro to work in leentpelier, I'll kind of edes tlie
food. They drn't woke so much of Itelian eats on there. If they want a
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good feed they come up here* Italian food's tasty. It makes you want to
drink. That's our biggest besiness beer.
nAallit's boyfriend likes working itt the quarries. Hes a orasy kid.
Likes danger anyway. He's always speeding along in that old car of his.
Quarrying's a job that pays well, though. Pays well when they're working.
They lose a lot of time in winter. When there's snow and ioe. And even in
the summer when it rains* Wet granite's pretty slippery. They don't have as
many aooidents there as you'd naturally expect. Derricks and everything are
run by signals, and everybody watches 'ea pretty close. The workmen are
careful. Just the same I'd rather not pick a boyfriend that has to go 'down
in those quarry holes all year round. Ouess I'd be worrying all the time.