5. Thanks, Marcy
Friday. The Bell Lap of the work week. The last door the student opens before bursting outside the school , free.
William reached over and tapped his alarm, sat up, and reached for his glasses. The first thing he noticed was that the uneasiness he had felt ever since meeting Angelica - was gone. Nothing now but his normal morning hunger. He touched his hip. The dull soreness was gone, and it was barely tender to the touch. Chalk one up for the proverbial "they," William thought to himself. Time really does seem to heal all wounds. He stood up, stretched, and went to the shower.
William even felt well enough to deviate from his usual breakfast of a couple pieces of toast, adding two eggs, sunny-side-up, and some oatmeal. He stopped at the mirror on the wall next to his front door, checking his hair and tie one last time while putting on his long coat, and stepping out for the walk to work.
The morning went quickly for William. He was working to correct any mistakes he had made the day before, and everything appeared to be meshing seamlessly. I might even be able to get out of here early, he thought. Marcy wasn't in the office today, and that was a mixed blessing for William. On the upside, there would be no one asking about his health or suggesting he take a day off. On the other side, there was also no one else at the office who would notice and compliment his work. Marcy was the only one in his department who even noticed his work. And most of the time, William liked it that way. Most of the time.
In the mid-afternoon, a soft metallic click interrupted the flow of light music from the overhead speakers. An announcement was being made. Everyone cocked a subconscious ear while they worked.
:::The Meridian Company, in its long-standing policy of promoting from within, is pleased to announce that the Supervisor of Claims and Reconciliation, Marcy Alvarez, in recognition of her dedication and hard work, has been promoted to be the newest member of the Board of Regents for the Meridian East Division. A party to celebrate Miss Alvarez's acheivement will be held this evening at the Shoreside Hilton ballroom. This is by invitation only for employees of the Claims and Reconciliation Department, so check your mailbox on the way out. In further celebration, the Claims and Reconciliation Department will be closing two hours early today. Miss Alvarez extends her thanks to all the people she's worked with in the department for their hard work and support.:::
William smiled. Marcy worked tirelessly in the department for the entire time he'd been there, and she had depended on him more than once to help her get the job done, often asking him to do research on the side for projects, and even calling him at home to help her complete a report or look something up. He felt good that his work made that kind of difference, even if behind the scenes.
Three O'clock came, and everyone was closing down their workstations and gathering their coats. A low buzz hummed throughout the office with people talking about Marcy's promotion and how if anyone deserved that kind of advancement, it was her. William made his way down the hall to the grid of cubbyholes that served as mailboxes for the department. They held varied amounts of paper and notes. It was basically the way employees communicated with each other, since corporate email was not allowed for personal business.
Each of the cubbyholes also held a light blue envelope with the words "To A Valued Employee and Guest" across the front in frilly script. William reached for his mailbox. No envelope. He pulled out a small stack of papers and reports, and flipped through them. No envelope. "I hope the people in the mail room never wonder why they only make $7 an hour," William muttered to himself, and started further down the hall to the mail room.
William tapped a tiny bell that was on the shelf of the half-door. A perky boy, no more than 18, came out from between two stacks of boxes. "Do you have the mailing list for the Hilton party handy?" asked William. The boy rifled through a stack of papers in a tray on his desk. "Here ya go," he replied. "Don't take that anywhere, it's mail room property."
William nodded, half-acknowledgingly, half-appeasingly. He flipped through a couple of pages to the H's. Harrington...Harris...Healy...Hennings...Hickman...Hoagland.
Hollingsworth.
He looked on the last page, where names were sometimes listed that weren't included in the initial alpahbetization.
Young.
William put the list on the door shelf, put on his coat - and started the long walk home.
to be continued...