Sevela would have written a more interesting piece 3
10-07-03
1673

Sevela would have written a more interesting piece 3

Continued.

Parts 1 and 2 were published before.

  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • It is very difficult to imagine how the famous greengrocery gradually turned into the first and then the second restaurant. It all started from the Pan-Pizza section, where Sasha and Olga made and sold several hundreds of pizza slices a day. The section expanded in a while to cover around 50 square metres.

Then Sophia Akopovna offered to open a confectionery section near the pizza one, and a month later first tables and chairs appeared in the grocery, displeasing old women, who kept asking, why on Earth beetroot and carrots were now sold in 10 metres from the place, where they used to be several decades in a row. Sophia was a great pastry-cook, that's why it did not take long for customers to get used to the fact that huge baskets with cabbages, cucumbers and potatoes had been substituted with several dozens of various brandy snaps, petit fours and tartlets that she wrapped in Italian paper and packed in Italian boxes. After a while, she decided that Sophia was the best name for her section and ordered a rather big sign with her own name.

Then Raya appeared. The whole history of the section can be divided in two parts: before and after Raya came around. First thing she did was to inform all personnel and then guests as well that she would leave for the United States quite soon with some ex-Misha and now Michael, and that she was mainly responsible for the perfect service management and delivery. Actually, Raya learnt about service management mostly from Michael, who had moved to Brooklyn 4 years ago and was visiting Odessa for a while. Raya and Sophia used to drink espresso, eat truffles and discuss difficulties of service provision in Ukraine. With that, the first got some knowledge about services when she worked at Black Sea Shipping Company and the second — from Michael's stories.

Meanwhile, Sasha gradually became an experienced and confident manager and was addressed by his full name Aleksander. Raya was sure that those were her decisions that triggered such significant changes. However, at work Raya most of the time talked about Misha, who turned out to be a scoundrel, because he had left for Brooklyn without introducing her to his parents. Nevertheless, nature abhors a vacuum, and soon Raya started dating former Marik who became Robik and was also an immigrant, but living in Germany. Why was it Raya who was caught in the meshes of an immigrant net? One could think of her as pretty only in darkness (by darkness I mean complete, thick darkness.) But her constant half words and broad hints confused even hard-boiled local machos. She told stories about Vienna Opera House, she had never been to, or about immigrants’ favourite restaurant in Brighton Beach, she had learnt about from Misha's stories. Well, to cut it short, Raya knew how to impress. Actually, some local modest guy would do for her, but officially she was looking only for a wealthy foreigner.

Usually it took a month or even less for Raya to find out that those 'foreigners', just like she, were more in pursuit of wealth, than passion. However, Raya told about each knew boyfriend in such a manner that everybody thought she would get married soon. After a while, Raya's endless boyfriends became the most discussed topic of the store. By that time, Aleksander's efforts expanded the section by 30-40 metres more. Vegetables were gradually losing their ground. Raya gave up her hopes. Sasha bought a motorcycle and married Olga. They had a ceremony with bridal dress and veil. Then Olga put on a bit of weight, either because she got pregnant, or because she ate too many chocolate-glazed choux pastries, and quitted her job. Sasha started running after a new seller from Tiraspol, who was also not that beautiful, but anyway...

To be continued next Saturday: