Good morning one and all. It is amazing what a good nights sleep will do. Last night I dropped off like some one hit me with a rock. I woke up at six and was able to drift in and out until my alarm went off. It made for a surprisingly easy wakeup and I feel really good about today. So let’s get the day started shall we? Writing implements at the ready? Timer wound and set? Fabulous, Let’s see what comes out of the brain today.
I think a little bit of the real world intervened here. When trying to get the death certificate for my brother we got the run around. Basically they made a clerical error and didn’t bother to check their records. It was resolved on Monday so I think it was still in my thoughts and inspired my take on the prompt.
October 12th: She isn’t in the office today.
“She isn’t in the office today,” the receptionist told us. Her lips were pursed as soon as the words slipped past them and into the air around her. It made her look as though the words left a bad taste in her mouth. Or perhaps it was us leaving the bad taste. This was the fifteenth time we had been in the office.
Each time we asked politely to see Ms. Lucas and each time we had been told she was out. While I was certain she was a very busy woman with much to do and many meetings to attend, the odds of her being out each time we called were slim to none and I knew it.
I was pretty certain the receptionist knew it as well. Perhaps that was what caused the sour look. Perhaps the receptionist disliked lying for her boss as much as we disliked hearing the lies. I heard the soft shifting of a chair. The receptionist hadn’t moved and the sound came from the other side of the office door. In the office that was currently empty as Ms. Lucas was out at the moment.
I knew this building well. Outside of the current dilemma and need to speak directly with Ms. Lucas I had been in this building quite a lot and knew the internal layout. There was no secondary door to Ms. Lucas office. And like all of the other offices situated like hers the one window it possessed was too small for someone other than a child to crawl out of.
‘And we are five stories up,’ I reminded myself. The fire escape was behind me. If Ms. Lucas was in her office and wanted to leave anytime soon, she would have to do it through the main door.
“I think I’ll wait,” I told the receptionist. I looked at the one stingy little visitor’s chair. It was molded plastic and looked dreadfully uncomfortable. Still I was tired of these games. I looked at th others. “Leave the paper work with me and go run your errands,” I told them. “If she comes back before you are finished then I will meet with her. If you finish the errands you can come back and join me in waiting.”
Either the others hadn’t heard the soft creaking of the chair or were tired of this office and tired of getting the run around. I suspected they just wanted the situation concluded by whatever means necessary and were happy to leave it in someone else’s hands. I might not be their favorite person but here at least they were happy to let me take charge.
Without even a minimum of protest the papers were passed over and they departed. I walked over to the one chair and sat down. It was just as uncomfortable as I expected it to be.
“She could be quite a while,” the receptionist told me.
“Luckily I cleared my schedule for the day,” I replied. “I have nothing to do but wait.” I smiled politely. I received a nervous smile in return. The receptionist’s eyes shifted towards her bosses door and I knew I hadn’t imagined the sound I heard coming from within. Ms. Lucas was in and avoiding us. I wiggled a little trying to get more comfortable. It was an impossible task but I tried anyway. I was done being ignored. If Ms. Lucas wanted to leave her office she would have to walk past me. And I would be waiting. I was determined that if I accomplished nothing else than today would be my last visit to this office.
The minutes ticked by and my butt grew numb from the plastic chair. I stood.
“You are leaving?” The receptionist asked, a hopeful lilt to her voice.
“Perish the thought,” I replied. I merely wanted to stand a moment.”
She looked crestfallen.
Ten til Midnight 