Note: I was having one of *those* days when I started writing this.
Actually, I was on the phone, holding for a customer service representative
after wandering through the endless maze of automated answering services so
I could straighten something out... and that wasn't the end of my fun that
day, either! No names are mentioned, so you can interpret it however you
like ;)
******
[Listen to your heart and proceed with confidence.]
"Okay. Whatever that means," she grumbled to the computer as it flashed a congratulatory fortune for winning a game of Taipei. She really should have been working, but her head needed a break from all of the little lines that had started blurring together on the computer screen. Not that playing a computer game was much better, but at least it was something to break up the monotony.
Pushing the rolling chair back from the desk, she closed her eyes and mentally calculated how long till the aspirin should start relieving her aching head. It was just one of those days. Too bad she couldn't just go home, crawl in bed, and start over again when she woke up.
She jumped slightly when she heard a knock on the door, but kept her eyes closed.
"What do you want?" she asked tiredly, not particularly caring who was at the door or what they wanted for that matter either.
"You okay?" asked a familiar friendly voice. His voice was way too cheerful for a Tuesday afternoon. It made her want to scream, but screaming would make her head hurt even more.
"You sound too happy. Do me a favor and let me wallow in misery on my own."
"Now what sort of a friend would I be if I did that?"
"A good one," she immediately replied, looking at him through slitted eyelids as she leaned back in her chair. "I'm tired, I'm cranky, I have a headache and a lot of work to get done..."
"Sounds like someone's..."
"You better not say I'm PMS-ing because I promise that you'll be sorry if you do..."
"Whoa! Where'd that come from? I was only going to say that you seem to be having a bad day!" she heard his voice moving closer to her desk, followed a minute later by his fingers on her shoulders. She immediately tensed up at his touch. He sighed in exasperation at her defensive response, "I'm not going to strangle you. Loosen up a little! You've still got half a day to go."
"Don't remind me!" she groaned. She was on the verge of protesting further, but he had already started massaging her shoulders. She sighed deeply as her head rolled to the side. Her eyes opened a crack as she looked up at him. "Have I told you lately how much I hate Tuesdays?"
He chuckled, realizing that she was finally starting to relax a little. "Only once a week."
"Well, it's true," she smiled and let her eyes close again. She allowed herself to enjoy the feel of his hands working the knots out of her shoulders for a minute before speaking again. "So, what brings you here besides the desire to play masseuse?"
"It's lunchtime. I saw you working away at your desk, completely oblivious to the time. I didn't want you to get so absorbed with your work that you forgot, not that you could forget about food..."
"Okay, smart guy. I promise that I'll eat." She leaned back as his fingers withdrew and swiveled the chair around to face him. "I think there's something in the fridge I can heat up, or you could do that for me so I can keep working."
He tried to look sufficiently appalled. "There is no way I'm going to let you have a working lunch! You're going to leave this desk and let me treat you to something a little better than last night's leftover gourmet Ramen recipe. I think the paperwork will keep while you're away." With this assertion, he grabbed her hands and pulled her up out of her chair.
"I really can't..." she tried to decline again. She really wanted to leave the endless stack of papers behind and go with him, but couldn't afford to leave for that long. Then she made the mistake of looking back at him--one look at his puppy-dog eyes and she couldn't help but smile at how pathetic he looked.
He smiled back. "Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.
"You're incorrigible!" she accused, trying not to laugh. She knew he wasn't going to leave her alone till she promised to have lunch with him. She shook her head at her weakness to resist and his ability to talk her into just about anything. "Okay, let me save my files first, though."
[Listen to your heart and proceed with confidence.]
She smiled at the fortune still displayed on her computer screen as she read it this time. Maybe she did need to take a break. After all, there are more important things in life than work. Satisfied that her desk would be fine without her for a while, she walked past him, calling out behind her, "Let's go. I'm starving!"
******
April 18, 2002 - April 19, 2002
******
[Listen to your heart and proceed with confidence.]
"Okay. Whatever that means," she grumbled to the computer as it flashed a congratulatory fortune for winning a game of Taipei. She really should have been working, but her head needed a break from all of the little lines that had started blurring together on the computer screen. Not that playing a computer game was much better, but at least it was something to break up the monotony.
Pushing the rolling chair back from the desk, she closed her eyes and mentally calculated how long till the aspirin should start relieving her aching head. It was just one of those days. Too bad she couldn't just go home, crawl in bed, and start over again when she woke up.
She jumped slightly when she heard a knock on the door, but kept her eyes closed.
"What do you want?" she asked tiredly, not particularly caring who was at the door or what they wanted for that matter either.
"You okay?" asked a familiar friendly voice. His voice was way too cheerful for a Tuesday afternoon. It made her want to scream, but screaming would make her head hurt even more.
"You sound too happy. Do me a favor and let me wallow in misery on my own."
"Now what sort of a friend would I be if I did that?"
"A good one," she immediately replied, looking at him through slitted eyelids as she leaned back in her chair. "I'm tired, I'm cranky, I have a headache and a lot of work to get done..."
"Sounds like someone's..."
"You better not say I'm PMS-ing because I promise that you'll be sorry if you do..."
"Whoa! Where'd that come from? I was only going to say that you seem to be having a bad day!" she heard his voice moving closer to her desk, followed a minute later by his fingers on her shoulders. She immediately tensed up at his touch. He sighed in exasperation at her defensive response, "I'm not going to strangle you. Loosen up a little! You've still got half a day to go."
"Don't remind me!" she groaned. She was on the verge of protesting further, but he had already started massaging her shoulders. She sighed deeply as her head rolled to the side. Her eyes opened a crack as she looked up at him. "Have I told you lately how much I hate Tuesdays?"
He chuckled, realizing that she was finally starting to relax a little. "Only once a week."
"Well, it's true," she smiled and let her eyes close again. She allowed herself to enjoy the feel of his hands working the knots out of her shoulders for a minute before speaking again. "So, what brings you here besides the desire to play masseuse?"
"It's lunchtime. I saw you working away at your desk, completely oblivious to the time. I didn't want you to get so absorbed with your work that you forgot, not that you could forget about food..."
"Okay, smart guy. I promise that I'll eat." She leaned back as his fingers withdrew and swiveled the chair around to face him. "I think there's something in the fridge I can heat up, or you could do that for me so I can keep working."
He tried to look sufficiently appalled. "There is no way I'm going to let you have a working lunch! You're going to leave this desk and let me treat you to something a little better than last night's leftover gourmet Ramen recipe. I think the paperwork will keep while you're away." With this assertion, he grabbed her hands and pulled her up out of her chair.
"I really can't..." she tried to decline again. She really wanted to leave the endless stack of papers behind and go with him, but couldn't afford to leave for that long. Then she made the mistake of looking back at him--one look at his puppy-dog eyes and she couldn't help but smile at how pathetic he looked.
He smiled back. "Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.
"You're incorrigible!" she accused, trying not to laugh. She knew he wasn't going to leave her alone till she promised to have lunch with him. She shook her head at her weakness to resist and his ability to talk her into just about anything. "Okay, let me save my files first, though."
[Listen to your heart and proceed with confidence.]
She smiled at the fortune still displayed on her computer screen as she read it this time. Maybe she did need to take a break. After all, there are more important things in life than work. Satisfied that her desk would be fine without her for a while, she walked past him, calling out behind her, "Let's go. I'm starving!"
******
April 18, 2002 - April 19, 2002