Moving On?

I found another scene starter, so I decided to see where it led. I hope you enjoy...

Only I would get lost in traffic on my way to my new job. To be honest, I’d worked this job so long that I didn’t remember when I started. It just felt like a new job since the company recently moved to a bigger office building that happened to be on the side of town.

Deep down, I knew I should have driven the route a couple of times over the weekend. I ignored those promptings, woke up at my normal time on Monday morning, and headed out. With carefully printed directions clutched tightly in my left hand, I guided my car through early morning traffic with confidence that would quickly fade. As I circled the block for the third time, my eyes finally rested on small sign declaring that parking waited to my left. I sighed and circled the block again because I didn’t have time to get over.

When I finally stepped out of my car, I longed to stop for a moment to take a deep sigh of relief, but I was already late. My heels clicked on the recently poured cement with determination. My hands clenched around the couple of files in my hand as I raced toward the elevator. A tall man smiled understandingly as he held the door for me. He looked as if he was about to say something, so I pointed my eyes to the ground.

He remained behind as I stepped out onto the tenth floor. A piece of paper on a display board warned me of wet paint, so I made myself as small as possible as I made my way toward the open door at the end of the hallway. Stepping through the door, I was relieved that no eyes turned toward me. My relief quickly faded away as I made my way to where my new cubicle should be. As I passed by Carolyn’s cubicle, I stopped and stared. A short, balding man named Jeffrey leaned over his keyboard, peering at his monitor with watery eyes. I felt my mouth drop open a little as I surveyed the room and my eyes returned to Jeffrey’s cubicle.

“Sarabeth, why are you just standing there?” A tall blond woman with rich blue eyes paused beside me.

“My desk should be right here, between Carolyn and Jeffrey.” I barely looked up at her long enough to recognize her.

“There isn’t an empty desk there. Find yours.” Valerie frowned disapprovingly before turning away.

Sighing, I turned toward a bank of offices. My director’s name graced the opaque glass of the door closest to me. I stepped inside without knocking. My director glanced up.

“What are you doing in here?” His rough voice didn’t display annoyance, just weariness.

“I don’t have a desk.”

“What?” He pulled a file from a pile on his desk and began to sift through its contents.

“Is this your subtle way of telling me that I’m fired?” I forced a laugh.

“Of course not.” He didn’t look up from the papers on his desk.

I waited for him to say something more as he thumbed through a sheaf of pages thicker than my thumb. 

“Well, that is odd. It looks like we lost your paper work. I’ll have to see what I can do.”

It turned out that all he could do was find me a small desk in the corner of the mailroom. I’ve been assured many times that as soon as someone quits, I will have a real desk of my own. I can’t say I haven’t pondered helping someone reach the decision to retire, but I admit that I haven’t done anything about it yet. Yet…

Christmas Rendezvous

This present to my faithful readers was inspired by a writing prompt from my friend Sheila. I hope you enjoy it and remember to make your holiday and every day special.

The darkened house flooded with light, one room at a time. Tessa stepped from room to room, turning on lights and inspecting every possible hiding place. She looked behind curtains, under tables, in closets, and even checked behind the couch. When her eyes revealed nothing, she turned to her other senses.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head to the side. The soft sound of her own breathing entered her ears first. The sound of her fingers drumming on the bare mantle followed. She stopped self-consciously, closing her eyes and listening more intently for sounds outside herself.  Only the soft plop of a leaky faucet a few doors down broke the near silence.

She let out the air trapped in her lungs with a heavy sigh and opened her eyes. Looking around the room once more, she tiptoed back to the open door. She surveyed the empty hallway one more time before tiptoeing from room to room one more time. Her shoulders slumped as she resigned herself to the fact that her boyfriend hadn’t made time for their rendezvous.

Faltering steps carried her down the stairs. The click of her heels echoed across the foyer. She paused for a last glance around the rooms visible from this vantage point.

“I can’t believe he isn’t here.” Her soft voice echoed through the spacious room.

She placed one hand on the doorknob, pulling her coat closer around her with the other. As the door opened, snowflakes swirled in to meet her. And then she saw the ukuleles. Without thinking, she closed the door, shutting out the cold. In three quick steps, she stood before three gleaming ukuleles. Lifting one crafted from dark wood, she strummed the strings gently.

“You called?” John stepped from behind one of the floor length red, velvet curtains that hung on either side of the door.

“Why were you hiding from me?” Setting the ukulele down to cross her arms, Tessa put on her fiercest look.

“I wasn’t hiding. This was.” His grin softened her, but the box resting on his outstretched hand melted her completely.

Before she could speak, he was on one knee before her. “Will you share this Christmas and all of those to come with me… As my wife?”

She paused, wanting to refuse him because he had worried her so, but one word escaped her lips in a raspy whisper.

“Yes.”

“What was that?” He half rose, tilting his head a little.

She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Yes.”

He smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger before pulling her into his arms. When he finally let her go, he picked up the ukulele. As his fingers strummed the strings, John began to sing. Tessa added her soft harmonies to his, filling the foyer with the echoing refrain of “Silent Night.”

The Power of Fish

I expanded the topic that I was given for this piece. What do you think?

A tall slender girl, barely distinguishable from a hundred other girls in long, blue robes and a mortarboard with a golden tassel dangling from its left side begins to speak. “The simplest things can make the greatest difference in your life…”

As a hush falls over the assemblage around me, the whole auditorium fades away and time moves backward.

Younger eyes carefully scrutinize the little girl across from me. Dark hair hangs in knotted clumps about her face. As her attempts to hide behind it fail, she leans over until her nose rests inches above the battered metal table. I clear my throat and sit down across from her with exaggerated slowness.

“My name is Larry. What’s yours?” I introduce myself in the softest tones my deep voice can produce.

The little girl flinches slightly, wrapping her hands around her shoulders protectively. A soft hum emanates from her throat as she rocks gently back and forth. Eventually, she soothes herself enough to drop her arms to her sides. Her hands slide under her thighs as her eyes continue to focus on the table that separates us.

I lean back in my chair, looking down at my elbows as I cross my arms across my chest. Silence stretches out before us. I determine to wait her out. She’ll talk to me eventually. Her determination proves stronger than mine. As my patience wanes, an idea strikes me.

I reach into my pocket, feeling around until a soft noise reassures me that I have found what I am looking for. The soft crinkle of plastic finally lures her eyes upward. They stop on the sliver of yellow poking out of my immense hand. One eyebrow lifts slightly as her lips twitch curiously.

I smile and pour a couple of small red shapes into my other hand. I place one on a napkin in front of her. The other, I raise to my own mouth. Her eyes follow this movement. As I suck gently on the gummy red candy, her eyes move from my lips to the napkin. After a moment, she flashes me a tentative smile. One hand slowly comes up over the table to pick up the tiny gummy fish. She draws it closer to her face, inspecting the grooves on its body for a second.

Her tongue pokes tentatively from her mouth as she moves the candy closer to her mouth. “Medicine?”

Startled, my question takes a moment to form though it is only one word. “What?”

“Tastes like cough syrup. Cherry cough syrup.” Crying has roughened her voice.

“It’s not medicine.” I set the bag down on the table and push it toward her.

She still hasn’t looked at my face, but her eyes scan the words on the package avidly. “Swedish fish?”

She looks up at my face now with dark eyes full of curiosity as I open my mouth to speak. “It’s candy. I promise. May I have another one?”

“Uh-huh.” She pulls one out and hands it to me before turning her attention back to the package in her hand.

As the fish disappear, she opens up to me. I get to know that her mother named her Maura before passing away. She has every right to be afraid of me with how she has been treated. Life has been unkind to her, and I feel I can change that.

Applause awakens me from my memory. I stand to join the applause. Graduates, their family, and their friends rise to mingle and rejoice. I seek out Maura, finding her waiting for me outside the double doors. She holds her cap in her hands nervously, smiling up at me as I approach.

“Hello, daddy.” She embraces me.

“I’m proud of you.” As she releases me, I hand her a small wrapped package.

She smiles up at me as her deft fingers pull the paper away. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Another small thing.” I smile as plastic crinkles.

She rips open the package and hands me a small gummy fish. I smile as my teeth sink into the sticky substance and a burst of cherry flavoring covers my tongue.