That had to be the Look-Again Cigarettes doing their thing.
Every time Julio lifted a finger at his new restaurant, someone seemed to notice and appreciate it. Not just the owner but all of Julio’s coworkers were full of praise for him.
“Mr. Julio, you’re the most thoughtful person!” said a junior staff member, eyes shining.
“Having you around makes life so much easier,” a veteran chef told him with a pat on the shoulder.
“I just love working with you!” said a young waitress, her face flushed.
I knew it! Julio thought, savoring his joy. I knew I was doing the right thing all along! He saw that a little acknowledgment was all it took to make him want to do work that lived up to everyone’s expectations.
He passed the probationary period with flying colors and was promptly hired on as part of the restaurant’s main force. Julio continued to smoke his cigarettes on a daily basis and receive people’s adulation with equal regularity.
Yes, the Look-Again Cigarettes had exactly the effect he had been promised. Everyone around him took note of everything he said and did.
And then, about a week into his new job, the Look-Again Cigarettes he’d bought to try ran out.
“It seems everything is going well for you.”
Julio didn’t even have to work to summon Antiques Carredura; practically the moment he wished he could talk to her, she appeared.
Julio was surprised, but he thanked her. “I feel like I’ve been reborn!” he said.
When he walked around town, people took notice of him; at work, his colleagues greeted him with smiles. The owner continually praised his talents; at every opportunity he got, he would pat Julio on the back and say, “You’re going to be running this place one day!”
It was a life Julio could hardly have imagined after the cold treatment he’d been used to.
Carredura smiled as Julio gleefully told her about all this. “That’s wonderful,” she said. “If I may, it seems you’ve used up your trial cigarettes. What do you say? Would you like to buy some more?”
Julio already knew the answer to that. “Please! I would love to.”
He was only just getting used to this new life of his. Most importantly, he still hadn’t made his old manager and his coworkers regret their decision. He would work harder, achieve even more, and make them wish they’d never run him out of their restaurant.
So Julio practically begged for more cigarettes.
“Of course. Of course,” Carredura said, and she granted his wish.
Every day, Julio would smoke one of the cigarettes and go to work. This continued for a while.
One day, the owner patted him on the back and said, “Hey there, Julio. Good to see you.” But there were no special words of praise to speak of.
He went ahead and got to work, when the veteran chef came up and said, “Ah, Julio. Think you could take care of this for me?” and gave him something else to do. Again, no particular expression of gratitude.
“Oh! Mr. Julio. Let’s work to make our customers happy today, just like we always do!” That was the young waitress, who smiled at him—but didn’t say anything especially appreciative, either.
Julio was quiet. Somewhere along the line, his days of being outstanding had become just…ordinary, and now no one really had any words of thanks for him. The effect of the Look-Again Cigarettes didn’t seem to be enough anymore.
“Maybe,” Julio said slowly, “I’ll try smoking one more.”
He went out to the smoking area in front of the restaurant and lit up.
The moment Julio came back from his smoke break, the other employees were full of praise for him again.
Amazing! Fantastic! Such a performer!
It felt so good to hear those words. “Oh, I’m just doing what I always do,” Julio said modestly. But modest or not, he enjoyed hearing them recognize his work.
No sooner had Julio started smoking more cigarettes than things around him changed again.
“Please let me interview you!” A reporter showed up at the restaurant, heaping praise on Julio’s appearance and work ethic and excitedly talking about how they wanted to write an article about him.
“Ha-ha-ha. Do I really stand out that much?” Julio asked. He hadn’t done anything special to make himself look different. And he really was working about the way he always had. But the reporter insisted, “I’ve never covered such an incredible person!” and produced a rapturous article about him.
Evidently, increasing the number of Look-Again Cigarettes one smoked also strengthened their effect.
Within a few days, people who had seen the article were forming a long line outside the restaurant.
“Is that the Julio?” some asked.
“Wow! Talk about handsome.”
“Maybe I can get his autograph!”
The restaurant was packed for days on end. The customers could be heard all the way in the kitchen. With every shout, the waitress would puff out her cheeks and say, “How nice for you,” jealous. Julio would reply with a wry smile.
This went on for several days.
Not too long after the newspaper had introduced him to the world, Julio heard some customers talking:
“Huh? Is that the guy who was in the newspaper?”
“Somehow he doesn’t look quite like I imagined.”
“Yeah. He’s kind of…plain.”
That was strange—until a few days earlier, he’d been getting spontaneous applause for doing pretty much nothing at all. Maybe the effect was wearing off again? On his break, Julio hustled to the smoking area.
“Bah,” he muttered as he lit another cigarette.
When he went back inside, the customers were once again looking at him with starry eyes. He did his usual job. The owner patted him on the back. “I always know I could count on you.”
Ahh, there was that recognition of his worth. Although he was privately relieved, Julio replied with his customary humility. “Oh, I’m just doing what anybody would do.”