Morning all. This morning I watered the garden just before the sun was fully up. And then a the sun came up it was as though I turned my back yard into a 1950’s monster movie set. There was so much fog as the water vaporized it looked like I had snuck a dry ice machine in somewhere. Very strange. The leaves of my squash plants looked like they were towering over the swamp things prehistoric landscape. (Okay the evaporation fog maybe have only been about two inches off the dirt but it was still spectacular, like a mini movie set maybe) But lets ignore the ground fog around the planting beds and just go for the morning prompt before some miniature swamp monster lurks out of the shadows of the squash.
I am not quite sure where to go with this. I suspect the family company is about to fall apart, or need some major restructuring, but I can’t see the story yet.
Tuesday, June 25th: Not everything was as it seemed.
Not everything was as it seemed. There were smiling faces all around him, but behind them were hard, jagged eyes. It was as though everyone put on masks for the event. Jim felt like he had walked in on an argument that stopped as soon ass he arrived. He could practically feel the hard words staining the air. He had always felt like an outsider at these sort of events.
It was almost inevitable really.
Most of the board and upper echelons of the company were taken from the family ranks. It was after all a family company. Jim was not family. He was a trusted friend and when the company felt it needed new blood, as it occasionally did, it was to their trusted friends that they turned. Often times the trusted friend hired, ended up marrying into the family. It seemed to make the core of the family feel better.
‘As if the newcomers were family who hadn’t realized they were family yet.’
It had not escaped his notice that after he passed his vetting process and was accepted into the corporate ranks, there had been social invitations that were partially business. They were family gatherings but business was always discussed. ‘And in between business I meet the eligible ladies of the family.’
It was vaguely amusing and still somehow horrifying. He could see looks of understanding from those who did marry into the core family in this way. He knew the looks were meant for solidarity but the fact was, Jim thought it was more like being caught in a spider’s web and having the first flies caught welcome him in.
As he had no interest in any of those presented, Jim was finding the lure easy to resist. It amused him that after he found none of the eligible daughters of the house ideal companions, a few of the gay men in the family were trotted out in similar fashion. They didn’t ask who he might be attracted to, they just made sure he knew there were options.
Their egalitarianism in this regard was somewhat refreshing in a way. ‘If also a bit repugnant’
Jim was certain that even if they managed to find his ideal mate he would do his best to refuse. ‘Or maybe kidnap her and make my escape from this place.’
He may have passed the vetting process and satisfied all of the trial requirements they had, but the truth was that while they were now comfortable with him, he was not comfortable with them. He knew they were having issues and that was why when his friend Anders asked him for help, he agreed. He was between assignments so it seemed the appropriate time. He was in fact, starting to think about not picking up any more assignments and slowly edging into retirement.
‘Or at least find a new venture.’
He started his company young, and enjoyed the thrill of building it up. He then sold it for far more money than he would ever need and started again with another company. After his third company sold, he decided it would be better to lean into consultancy. He was good with problems and with dealing with unexpected situations, but he didn’t really enjoy the day to day of corporate culture. So he made a name for himself fixing the messes other people got into, corporatewide.
Ten til Midnight 