The Accidental Son in Law

Hospital bill

Jaxon stood still with his head lowered. There was nothing he could do to appease the young man before him who was bent on causing trouble.

“How dare you serve me chicken curry? I asked for spicy sauce, not this!” the young man spat at Jaxon and struck his head with the menu book.

“I do apologize, sir,” Jaxon said.

“That was what you ordered for.” The young man smirked. “Are you saying I ordered wrongly? I remember what I ordered and you won’t turn me into a liar when you are the liar.”

He hit him again on the head with the book. Jaxon said nothing. According to the law of the restaurant, the customers are always right. He had no right to talk or get angry — he must always accept the blame, even when it wasn’t his fault.

“I do apologize for this, sir. I made a mistake with your order.” He bowed his head and corrected himself. “I will get it to you as soon as possible.”

Now that he had accepted his fault, the young man turned back to the customers watching them. “It is too late. I will never come back here, and I will post on my blog about this poor service. This place will go down in a few hours. I have up to 200,000 followers — imagine what will happen if they keep sharing and it goes viral. Your life would be ruined.”

Jaxon bent even more. “Please forgive me, sir. I am sorry for the mistake I made. It was my foolishness that caused it. Please do not do this,” he pleaded.

But the young man wasn’t ready to listen. Ryan — that was his name — shoved a glass plate to the floor, scattering shards everywhere, and thundered, “Then apologize properly!”

The manager rushed out of his office to the scene. “What is going on here?” he asked, looking from Jaxon to Ryan. “What happened, sir?”

“What has your staff done? Your staff is incompetent and should be fired.” Ryan reported loudly, glaring at Jaxon as the manager faced him.

“What do you think you are doing? Apologize properly or leave and don’t come back,” the manager ordered, threatening that leaving would ruin Jaxon’s life.

Jaxon had a lot of mouths to feed on his meager salary. He needed to pay for his father’s medication and his sister’s school fees. He carried many burdens and did not want to be jobless.

Not arguing, he went down on his knees. “Please forgive me, sir. I won’t make this kind of mistake again.” Ryan laughed and sank back into his chair.

“In my country, we don’t let people go until they do something to please us,” Ryan said, forcing Jaxon to meet his gaze.

“What do you mean, sir? I already apologized on my knees,” Jaxon wanted to say, “for a crime I never committed,” but he kept quiet.

“I haven’t accepted your apology,” Ryan continued. “I will surely post this on my blog and ruin your life and the restaurant.” The manager gave Jaxon a light kick on the foot. “Do as I say.”

“If something happens to my business, you will pay dearly for it.” Jaxon swallowed hard and bowed until his head touched the floor. “Would you accept my apology, sir?” he mumbled.

Instead of replying, Ryan clapped in excitement and took out his phone. “Remain that way and don’t move,” he said, and began taking pictures of Jaxon kneeling.

“No, you can’t do this — it’s against the law,” Jaxon protested, trying to hide his face, but the vicious man wasn’t ready to stop. “Just let me take the pictures already. This is just for fun and nothing more.”

“I will charge you for this if you don’t stop,” Jaxon warned, trying to control his anger, but it was getting harder and harder.

One more move from Ryan and a blow would land on his face and probably break his nose. “Do not talk to our customer this way, Jaxon!” the manager screamed. Ryan gasped loudly. “Your staff dares threaten to kill me!” he accused, moving around dramatically while Jaxon clenched his fist, ready to punch him if he didn’t stop.

“I never threatened you,” Jaxon tried to explain. “I only want you to stop taking pictures of me — it is against my wish and illegal.” But Ryan wasn’t having it. He began a live video, claiming Jaxon had threatened to kill him because Jaxon refused to give an autograph.

A total lie.

“I will lose my cool right now and make you suffer for this,” Jaxon burst out. Ryan gasped and pointed the camera at his face. “Did you guys hear him? He just said he would make me suffer. He is after my life, so stop him!”

Jaxon faced the manager, but the man looked away as if not recognizing him. “Enough with this, Jaxon. Just let him do what he pleases. The customers are always right,” the manager said angrily as he walked further into the dining area.

In a sudden move Jaxon grabbed Ryan’s phone from his hand and smashed it to the ground.

Ryan felt his world crash. The manager’s mouth went wide open. “How dare you?” Ryan demanded and angrily lunged at Jaxon. He threw a punch, but Jaxon slapped him, forcing him to the floor.

“I have kept quiet for so long, and this feels good — to hit you and see you on the floor,” Jaxon said, release and anger mixing in his voice. “You can’t keep messing with me like this. I will make life miserable for you.”

“You will never get a job anywhere. I will ruin your life and make you miserable. Just watch and see what I will do to you,” Ryan threatened as Jaxon held him by the collar. The young man was all talk, but he had no strength to fight back.

“Stop this at once!” the manager yelled. “Or you’re fired.” Jaxon sneered. “You’ve always wanted to fire me, so make this day your best day to do so.” He let go of Ryan.

“I am leaving anyway. You have always been an evil boss who never cared for the welfare of your staff. You never cared and you overwork us.” He poured out his heart without minding the consequences.

Ryan crossed his arms. “He should be fired. He is mannerless.”

“You don’t need to fire me. I am leaving anyway.” Jaxon pulled his apron off and dropped it on the floor. “I can’t be treated like garbage.” Now that he didn’t work there anymore, he had nothing to lose.

He moved closer to Ryan and stepped on the broken phone, destroying it further. “If my pictures go online, I will take you to court for it. So be careful what you do.” He glanced once more at the manager before walking out of the restaurant.

It wasn’t until he had walked far enough that his stomach grumbled and he regretted leaving his job like that with no plan B.

He had no job anywhere, no money, and no food. His rent would expire soon and he needed to send money to his family. He had become a mess.

Sitting down on a road bench, he smacked his forehead. “Why did I leave like that? I have no money or anything with me. I am such a useless idiot,” he cursed, attracting the attention of passersby, though he didn’t care. All he could think about was how he would live with nothing.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Bringing it out, his heart skipped a beat. His mother was calling and he was sure she wanted to ask for money again. He ignored the call and covered his face with his palm.

What job would he get?

Again the phone rang — his mother. He let it ring until it stopped. It started a third time.

Frustrated, he angrily picked up the phone, about to throw it away. That was the only thing he had left — so why destroy it?

He sighed and answered. “Mom, I have nothing to—” He was cut off when his younger sister cried into the line.

“Jaxon! We need your help!” she wailed. “Danny got stabbed in a fight and right now we need money for his treatment or he won’t make it.” Her words made his heart drop.