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Lacey

I was staring across my desk at my boss who’d pulled a chair up to have lunch with me, like always. I don’t think his mother liked him very much, because who names their kid Edward Edwards? It was just one of many oddities about this pudgy, arrogant man who never stopped talking.

Trying to eat my lunch while chatting with Mr. Edwards was an impossible task. The list of reasons I didn’t particularly like dining with him was long. At the top of that list was the fact that he had no table manners. He also had a habit of monologuing instead of having a two-way conversation. And then there was also the fact that he had a nasty tendency to share too much information about his personal life. Since I got paid for lunch and that cut my workday by an hour, it meant I was still officially on the clock, and I couldn’t really tell him to buzz off.

It also made me uncomfortable that he complimented me nonstop over really insignificant things, while talking shit about his soon-to-be ex-wife. I didn’t know what his problem was. I always liked Sandra. They were both in their mid-forties and when I first came, they seemed like a match made in heaven.

Now that they were getting a divorce, he had pushed her out of the business. He was the one sending his electricians out to do jobs. None of his employees liked him. His wife had been the oil that soothed the friction between Edward and his staff. Now, he was trying to run the office himself and failing so badly that I had to step in and help. It was clear to me that he was one of those men who thought his wife’s job was easy compared to his, so taking over her part was gonna be a no-brainer for him. Even now, it was clear he didn’t even realize he was in over his head because I was picking up the slack.

If it hadn’t been for me, he’d be close to bankruptcy right now. Since my father was an electrician, I’d grown up in the business and helped my mom run my father’s office during the summers when I was out of school. I knew everything there was to know about being an office manager. I was supposed to be extra help but went full time when he booted his wife out of the office.

He just talked and talked and talked every day at lunch—and as it was only the two of us there most of the time, I couldn’t escape.

“And you know what I told her? I said that at this stage in my life, I’ve got no room for dead weight. Since she can’t carry her share, we’re finished.”

“Umm, that was harsh,” I told him.

“In the business world there is no such thing as too harsh. Now, she was a good housekeeper. I’ll give her that. But housekeeping is in a woman’s blood. She don’t get extra bonus points in my world for doing what comes naturally to her.”

“Oh wow. Do you really believe all that, Mr. Edwards?” I asked, shocked at some of the things he was telling me.

“Of course I do. I’m a lot more experienced than you are when it comes to relationships, Lacey. I told Sandra that it takes more to keep a man satisfied than being a good cook and housekeeper.”

His gaze turned lecherous as he added, “Things have been dead in the bedroom for years and I’m not going to tolerate that anymore.”

My eyebrows flew up before I could stop myself. Hearing about his sex life just crossed the line for me. He was still blabbing about his personal life when my phone rang. It was the ringtone I assigned to my mother’s number.

Thankful for the interruption, I quickly grabbed my phone and said, “It’s my mother calling. She only calls me during work hours if it’s really important. I’ve got to take this.”

He made a gesture with one hand towards my uneaten food. “Of course. Family comes first. Just be sure to make it short so you can get your lunch down before your hour’s up. Just because I like you doesn’t mean you get to skirt the rules.”

“Yes, sir.” My tone was worlds more docile that I felt when it came to this man.

I excused myself and took the call as I walked outside for some privacy.

“Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”

“We’re doing just fine, dear. We are. Nothing is wrong here in Griffinsford. Nothing at all.” Her panicked voice did not match her words.

“Are you sure?” I asked cautiously. “You sound a little stressed.”

At that, she broke down crying and I rushed to my car so my boss couldn’t overhear our conversation. “Mom, tell me what’s wrong.” At this point my own panic had risen a notch.

“Nothing. I just needed to hear your voice,” she stammered, still tearful.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on but if there is anything I can do to help, you know I’ll drop everything and do it.”

“That’s what’s so painful. We do need you, but I feel terrible asking you to drop everything to help us out. You finally got a job you love and living in the big city has always been your dream.”

My mind was working overtime as I tried to wrap my head around what she was hinting at. I told her cautiously, “Los Angeles isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. It’s expensive, crowded, and everyone here is so superficial that it’s hard to make friends.”

“What about your job? That’s going well, right?”

“When I applied for it, I thought it was the perfect part-time job to hold me over until I could find a full time one. My boss owns an electrical firm, just like Dad.”

“It can’t be that different working for a small business in Los Angeles as opposed to Griffinsford,” she responded, sounding less tearful.

“It’s not the job itself that’s difficult. It’s more that my boss is an arrogant, condescending prick who’s in the process of divorcing his wife and he keeps giving me outrageous over-the-top compliments. It feels like his romantic attention is shifting to me and I don’t want that.”

“Are you sure about that, sweetie? If he’s doing stuff like that, it’s not professional conduct for the workplace, especially for a boss towards his employee.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m pretty sure I’m not misinterpreting the situation because today he started talking to me about his ‘dead bedroom’ and how men have needs.”

“Oh no. No, no, no. Do not put up with that behavior! Quit if you have to, but don’t ever let a man put you in a situation you don’t want to be in to keep your job.”

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about putting in my notice and looking for another job.” There was a short pause before I offered something I suspected she would consider a blessing. “I’ve even been thinking about coming back to Griffinsford, where people talk to you when you say hello and things actually make sense.”

Cue the waterworks again, only this time when she spoke, she sounded relieved. “We need you, Lacey. We need you here with us badly.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to pick it out of you?”

In a gush of words she told me everything. “Your father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s two years ago. The doctors told us with the new treatments and medications, he could live a normal life for many years.”

Shock roiled through my gut. “He’s okay, right? Tell me he’s okay.”

My mom could hardly get the words out for crying. “He’s fighting it hard, Lacey. But the disease has progressed much faster than the doctors anticipated. He had to give up doing jobs about six months ago because he couldn’t remember certain things. It’s gotten to the point that I have to stay right with him, or he’ll wander off. He tried to make himself eggs one morning when I was asleep and nearly burned the kitchen down.”

Sympathy welled up in my heart for both of them. “So, the two of you tried to fight the good fight together and it’s getting impossible to for care for him on your own, right?”

“Oh we don’t need you to help take care of him. We do okay when it’s just the two of us. I unplugged the stove so he can’t cook for himself anymore. When a problem pops up, I always find a solution for it. Anyhow, I can still take him places, go on walks with him if he decides he has to walk, and I can distract him when he gets anxious. For now, we’re okay together.”

That all sounded dodgy as hell to me considering she just said he almost burned the house down, but I asked, “What do you need? Just tell me and I’ll be all over it in a heartbeat.” My voice was firm and decisive, because I truly would do anything for my parents. I loved them and they’d always been there for me, so now was my chance to return the favor.

“The problem is financial, Lacey. We spent our entire savings paying off the house and cars right before your father was diagnosed. The rest went towards his care before his disability was approved. The office should be earning enough to cover our expenses, but it isn’t.”

“Why not? Livingstone Electrical is the only licensed electrical company in Griffinsford. Business has always been good. Who did you put in charge of the office?”

She hesitated long enough for me to suspect that my father’s favorite technician was put in charge. She finally confirmed my fears, “Your father decided putting Mark Shepard in charge was the right move when he had to retire.”

I reminded her angrily, “Mark couldn’t manage one big box install on his own. The store’s grand opening had to be pushed back by a week. Dad was none too happy with him over that cockup.”

“Oh I remember all about that. I tried to talk your father out of it, but he insisted Mark was the best and the brightest of his employees. Mark had also been there the longest. Your father said loyalty should be rewarded.”

“So what do you need me to do?” I asked.

“Having you back working for the company would be a great help,” my mom said.

I thought things over for a few moments before I responded, “If I come back, I want full authority to do what needs to be done to get the company operating again. I’m telling you right now, Mark Shepard has got to go. Do you think Dad will fight me on that issue?”

She got tearful again before admitting, “Some days he doesn’t even remember he had an office. One day he asked me whatever happened to his students, like he thought he’d been a teacher at some point.”

Shock rolled through my mind all over again. I just couldn’t imagine my father that far gone. “Jesus, Mom! You should have told me what was happening.”

“I know. Looking back, I feel so foolish for thinking we could do this on our own.”

“Okay, I’m coming home right now. Don’t you worry, I’ll do whatever it takes to get the company back in the black.”

“What do you mean by right now? You can’t just walk out of your job.”

“Wanna bet? If my boss is left in the lurch, maybe he can start treating his wife right so she can come back to work for him.”

“What about your apartment?”

“I’m paid through to the end of the month. I’ll pack whatever my car can hold and come back for the rest later this month.”

“I hate to ask, but how soon can you come?”

“Today is Friday. I’ll work the rest of today and turn in my resignation at the end of the day then I’ll head straight to you. I’ll have to spend the better part of the weekend in the office, trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.”

“Oh, Lacey. Are you sure this is what you want to do? I’m not pressuring you, am I?”

“Of course not. I was thinking about coming home as one of my options. Running Dad’s office just gives me a good reason. To be honest, even if by some quirk of fate, Mark was managing the office perfectly, I’d come home just to spend time with Dad. He needs his family around him right now. That means both of us. You should never have had to shoulder this burden alone.”

My mom was sobbing as she spoke. “I really appreciate you giving up your dream of living in the big city to help us, Lacey. You’re a good daughter, much better than I deserve.”

That was a bizarre, fucked-up thing to say, but I didn’t get into that because now was not the time. Instead I told her, “I’m going to pack my car right after work and leave. That will have me arriving in Griffinsford around eleven tonight. Is that going to be okay? I don’t want to upset Dad’s routine.”

“That’s sweet of you to be concerned about your father, Lacey. I think if you use your key and slip in quietly, he’ll probably sleep right through it. I’ll help you unload your car in the morning.”

“Alright, that sounds like a plan. I love you, Mom. Just hang in there a few more hours and I’ll be there to lend a hand.”

Before she could respond there was a loud knock at my window. When I glanced up, Edward pointed to his watch. The angry expression on his face made me grateful that I was leaving today. Something about this man triggered my Spidey senses in the worst way.

“Sorry Mom, I have to go. My lunch break is over. I’ll call you when I’m on my way, okay?”

“Yes. Drive safely, ladybug.”

I smiled that she used my nickname from when I was little.

When I got out, I had to listen to a lecture all the way back into the office building about how I didn’t get paid to gab on the phone, how he was gonna have to dock my pay for the time I spent outside, and how he was forced to answer his own phone while I was out. Christ on a cracker. This man was downright obnoxious.

***

The rest of the day flew by. I organized everything so it would be easy for Mr. Edwards to find stuff after I’d gone, and I even typed out a paragraph on each of the jobs in progress, which electrician was assigned to them, and basic details of the jobs. If he couldn’t get by with the information I was leaving, then I didn’t know what to tell him.

Right before I left for the day, I typed out my letter of resignation, thanking him for the opportunity to work for his company, and explained I was leaving because of a family emergency. Then I signed off on it, snapped a picture of it with my cell phone and put it into an envelope. When I went to deliver it to him, he had his door shut.

A chill shot through my body when I heard him screaming and cursing at his wife, calling her a stinking whore and worthless piece of shit. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t know how horrible he was, but I just never really understood how deep the hate ran between him and his wife.

Unsure how long he’d be on the phone with her and not wanting to talk to him after such a heated conversation, I shoved my letter of resignation under his door and beat a hasty retreat. The moment I pulled out of the parking lot, my anxiety clicked down.

As I drove away, a tiny, crazy little part of my mind told me that I had dodged a bullet and warned me that after he read that letter, he might lose his shit because it’d be one more huge problem to hit him, right after the blow out he just had with his wife.

Then the rational part of my mind kicked in and I realized that I was nothing to this man, just a peripheral person who existed only in his work environment. I wasn’t worth a personal visit where he begged or coerced me to stay. Nope. He was likely going to just call the employment agency that sent me and ask them for another person to fill my spot. I laughed a little at the thought of him being upset over losing such a good worker. Employees were all interchangeable and I was certainly nothing to write home about.