Morning all. The streets are all cleared of snow but the yards remain white. I love that you can see the prints of the veritable hoard of feral cats that pass through our yard. Or maybe it is not a hoard. Maybe it is one cat hosting his own strange dance party in the night. Either way it looks a bit like those cartoon maps where you track a characters’ world wide journey. But soon enough it will melt. For now, we write. So timers set and off we go.
I’m going to need to think about Johnny for a bit.
Tuesday, January 14th: His smile was strained.
His smile was strained. He could feel the unnatural stretch of his lips but couldn’t make himself relax enough to make it seem more natural.
“Isn’t that great, Johnny?” Mike Asked. It was a rhetorical question. Mike was radiating enthusiasm out of every pore. He was clearly excited by the prospect.
“So we would be folded into the Western Division?” Johnny asked. He tried to look pleased about it.
“Nothing would really change” Arlo assured him. “It is mostly for administrative purposes and to share resources, of course.” His smile seemed to come more natural to him than Johnny’s did.
“Of course,” Johnny said. “Sharing resources.”
Johnny’s smile slipped from his face as Arlo flashed him a frown. Mike’s giddiness at being included in the grand Western Division was what Arlo was after not an actual commentary on the reasoning.
“The paperwork is complete,” Arlo continued. His smile returned but it looked a little sour around the edges. “You have the week off as we finish the final transfer and then when you return it will be with the Western division, We will have your offices set up for you.”
Johnny nodded while Mike gushed about the transfer. Arlo finally left and Mike and Johnny went back to their small offices in the now defunct division headquarters. The others were already packing up their offices. He and Mike were just sent to get timelines. Mike relayed any details to the others as Johnny put the last of his gear into a box. While all the official things would be transferred, they were each responsible for their personal items.
Johnny kept very little personal in the space. He slipped the last of the things in the small box he was taking with him. The others were soon finished as well and he followed the last of them out. They closed the door and locked it. Johnny, along with everyone else turned in their keys. Johnny felt a great deal of relief in letting it go. It felt like he was untethered. He walked down the street, his feet taking him in the opposite direction from the rest of his co workers. Once he was out of sight, Johnny put his box of personal work items into the nearest trash can.
He would not need them in the new office. He simply didn’t want to leave anything of his behind. He knew why they were being transferred and he wanted no part of it. He knew however that they would not let him go easily. He had been planning this ever since he first heard whispers of a possible merger, That was several months before the negotiations even began. He took this job because he had been assured that he would not be required to work within the Western Division.
He also knew that he was one of the resources the Western Division wanted to secure. His plans were in place and he hoped to have a week’s head start. Anything personal had been taken out of his apartment weeks ago. He had been living in the skeleton of his home for a while now, everything not essential for daily life removed. He suspected there would be someone waiting for him to ensure he didn’t balk. Johnny had no intention of going back to his apartment. He made certain he was alone on the street before turning into an alley to cut over to a different street. He had a much different path to walk tonight.
Ten til Midnight 