"They were the only place that would hire me with an employment gap like that."

The author and her parents celebrating a recent writing success at the Olive Garden where she used to work.

Melinda Copp is a writer based in Bluffton, South Carolina. Her work has been published in newspapers, magazines, and literary journals, including The Rumpus, The Cleveland Review of Books, and The Petigru Review. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter for more essays on reading, culture, and life athttps://melindacopp.substack.com/ and connect with her on Instagram@melindacopp.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost in 2023. We are republishing it now as one of HuffPost's most loved personal essays.