I believe... the credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
"Tonight we would like to award Mr. Burton Guster for his dedication to his route in Central Coast Pharmaceuticals this past year."
Gus stood on the podium, accepting the award from his boss of Central Coast for their annual dinner event with the other pharmaceuticals companies in Santa Barbara.
He smiled as he held the award. It felt like a real accomplishment. He chatted with his fellow sales representatives and enjoyed the rest of his evening.
When he got home he immediately placed the award on his shelf with all his other awards that he had proudly gained over the years. His shelf was cluttered with the first prize ribbon from when he was a kid to his degree in pharmacy to last months favorite sales rep.
He wanted to call his best friend to hear him make fun of him for winning such a silly award. He didn't bother. Shawn hadn't answered his last twenty voicemails. He was pretty sure Shawn's voice mail was full due to his constant calling.
He sighed as he changed his mind like he usually did, dialed the number and waited for the familiar voicemail.
"It's Shawn. Gus, you know what to do after the beep."
He waited and then he spoke. "Hey Shawn, just wanted to let you know you missed another prime opportunity to congratulate me on my new award for having the most boring job in the world. Later."
He chuckled to himself as he viewed the awards sitting on the shelf. For every award on the shelf, he seemed to leave a new voice mail on his best friend's phone.
He hoped there wasn't an award for Best best friend because he certainly didn't deserve it. He didn't even think he would be in the running for that one. He thought to himself as he changed and climbed into his bed, to be in the running, a best friend probably had to know where their best friend was and for the last 10 years Burton Guster had definitely no idea where his better half was.
