My Friend Gabby

A Special Friendship

In my last job, before retirement, I had an opportunity to work as a systems analyst for a large logistics company.  It was in a third-tier suburb of Minneapolis Minnesota.  I served as a mid-level manager of the electronic data interchange (EDI) team.

It was a job I very much enjoyed as it was rewarding in many ways.  One of those ways was as a person who lives to eat, I had many wonderful choices of a large variety of restaurants to choose from for my noon time lunches.

One of my favorite places for a quick, tasty and inexpensive lunch was the local Wendy’s.  I could always count on being served a fast-satisfying meal.  I particularly like Wendy’s Hot and Spice Chicken Sandwich.  It consisted of a piece of fired chicken breast covered with spicy fried covering served with a slice of tomato and a mayo sauce.  I generally had it with a side of French fries and a soft drink.

This Wendy’s was quite popular as they seemed to always have lines of dozens of people waiting to be served during their noon rush. I guess I must have become a Wendy’s Groupe when the employee at the cash register one day asked me “Do you want your regular?”  I replied “Yes, thank you very much.”  The order taker was a young lady named Gabby.

It eventually got to the point where she would see me arrive at the restaurant and nod with a smile when I first walked in.  I would nod ‘Yes’ and she would have my meal ready by the time I reach the cash register.  I would pay and quickly select a table to have my lunch.

Gabby was always glad to see me, and I was always pleased to be welcomed to Wendy’s.  I often took great pleasure in complimenting the manager of the store about Gabby’s service.

I was fascinated with the relationship Gabby and I had established around the singular aspect of her service to a customer.  There was no other motivation or expectation between us.  I was surprised how the friendship was one of mutual respect which we both exchanged.  We were two people who had become friends in a very special and unique way.  Nothing more. Nothing less.

Then it happened. After several months of us sharing our greetings two or three times a month, one day I came in and there was no Gabby there.  “She must have the day off” I thought.  When I reached the order counter, I simply asked the manager, who was manning the cash register, if Gabby had the day off.  He replied “No, she resigned last week and no longer works here.”

I didn’t know how to feel about that.  I told the manager how I thought he had lost a great asset to his store.  He agreed, stating he was sad to see her go.

I was hopeful she had found something better than her Wendy’s job and thankful that I had enjoyed being recognized and served by her.  I never expected to see Gabby again.

About four months later, about four of us made the choice to go to a new Culver’s restaurant in a nearby suburb.  What a surprise to see Gabby behind the counter when I walked in.  She recognized me quickly after that and ran around the end of the counter and greeted me with a big hug.  The guys I was with wondered how I had such special service.  Gabby told me she was much happier at the new place and was in training for a manager position.

Being this new Culver’s restaurant was farther away from where I worked, I didn’t get to see her as often.  I was happy to see her excited about her new opportunities.

Time passed and I retired from the logistics company in 2009. I seldom thought about Gabby after that.  It was a over a year later I was visiting the church my wife and belonged to, when visited the new Culver’s across the street.  What a great surprise when I walked in and received a scream and a hug from Gabby who was a shift manager.  My wife and I moved to a suburb East of St Paul sometime later, so I don’t get to visit that Culver’s very often.

But whenever I am in the part of the city, I try to go to Culver’s and have lunch with Gabby.  I got to see her again yesterday. She bought me lunch.

What a wonderful friend.