Sunsets and Silencers

Melanie Griffith
"Mango and the Guinea"

I was a summer sandwich slave. Luis assembled the sandwiches, I packaged and distributed them. I wore my bikini under my clothes and was at the beach by three. My boss, Frank, was an Italian Long Islander who valued meatballs over "i modi," ragu over "il respetto;" manners and respect were reserved for paying customers. Frank painstakingly picked the "perfect" name for each of his sandwiches. He'd sit in his office and run his fingers through his greasy black hair, exposing finger-width valleys of sweaty white scalp. When he thought of the ideal name-sandwich combination he'd come out of his office and lean coyly on the counter until someone asked him about his latest stroke of brilliance.

My favorite lunch time clichés: The Guinea (pastrami, salami, proscuitto, provolone on ciabatta), The Border Jumper (black beans, yellow rice, jack cheese in a tortilla), The Oriental (teriyaki salmon, baby corn, snap peas and crunchy noodles over baby spinach). Frank named the sandwiches and I served them with a smile and a stifled groan.

The Memorial Day heat wave drove customers out of downtown. Frank couldn't handle not making money. He set his sights on Mango, formerly known as Menor, until Frank changed his name.

"Who smells!?" Frank rushed into the kitchen, gleaming with sweat. "Oh my God, Mango! Luis, explain to this kid that he needs to take a shower before he comes to work, for Christ's sake! I know it's fucking hot in Mexico!"

Frank had uncovered the source of his odor induced rage. As the white, Irish corned-beef-and-cabbage honor student, I was never a suspect. Menor stared at his beat up Nike's. The door swung shut after Frank, barely disturbing the stagnant heat. I thought back to fifth period Spanish, searching my brain for the right name for Frank.

Melanie Griffith is a student and writer hailing from Long Island, New York. She studied English and Writing at The College of St. Rose and will be moving to the Bronx to work on her MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Sarah Lawrence College in the fall of 2009. She is a self-professed anglophile, germaphobe and carbohydrate addict.