Once in the car she berated herself, pounding the steering wheel to punctuate her words, “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” She rubbed her eyes only to realize an instant too late that she had smeared her eye makeup. She quickly grabbed a tissue and flipped the mirror down to try to fix the damage. The mirror reflected not only her image but that of Angelo advancing on her parked vehicle. She froze with the iron fingers of panic clutching her heart and squeezing her throat. She did her best with the streaks of mascara. The tapping on the window sounded louder than gun shots. She rolled the window down and gave Angelo a feeble smile. All she could think of was how silly she must look.
He presented her a manila file folder through the window, “You dropped this in the elevator. I put all the papers back in and I promise I didn’t look at any of it.” He looked at her kindly. He wasn’t mocking her and there wasn’t a trace of meanness in his voice. Lu realized that her own insecurities were working overtime. She sighed audibly and thanked him. He waved her off as she drove away.
The offices of Polder and Swale were her next stop. Once inside she set to organizing the papers. It wasn’t difficult as most of them had been stapled together. She looked over her performance reviews. All of them labeled her a ‘top performer’. She had achieved all the set goals and went above and beyond in every category except one, social engagement. She hadn’t joined the golf outing, participated in the tug of war, or volunteered to play on the dodgeball team, but neither had most of the other women in the department. She handed the file to Lily. It was satisfying to get things started.
She made it home before she got the shakes. She sat in the cold garage trembling and asking what she had been thinking when she gave her phone number to Angelo. He was nearly a stranger. She struck the seat with her fist and it bounced up just missing her face. She managed to get into the house before her phone rang. It took just a second for the words to sink in. The call was to remind her that “Stinkerbell” was ready to be picked up at the shelter. Lu assured them that she would be arriving shortly. She then proceeded to do a happy dance through the kitchen before dashing to the car only to have to go back inside to get the carrier. In no time she was home again. She left him in the carrier for an hour while she let him settle down from the trip. After she opened the carrier he began to explore.
He was bold. She remembered Mister examining the house when they first moved in. Mister had walked like the floor might fall out from under him. Eventually he owned every inch. This cat strutted, peering under and behind the furniture. There was no trace of fear or uncertainty in his demeanor. Once he had made a grand tour, he approached Lu as a sovereign would his favored servant. He sat squarely in front of her and stared into her eyes. She sat on the ottoman and waited for a name to come to her but there wasn’t anything popping into her head. She felt as if she were missing something. In a fit of impatience she blurted out, “Just tell me your name already!” She instantly felt foolish but this regal cat didn’t flinch. He stood, turned, and leaped onto the bookcase knocking off a single tome. He sat on the book casually. The book was an old college text from her philosophy class, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. She softly spoke the name Marcus but he only turned his ears slightly back. With a whisper she said Aurelius and he leapt light as a feather onto her lap. Lu was stunned. He looked at her smugly with an air of satisfaction. Lu felt a wave of peace. She was starting to feel better.
We are often our own worst critics. We criticize our work, appearance and even our actions. We are harsh judges of others but doubly hard on ourselves. At least she got the name right!
As already said, Val, you have the style of a great American writer .
I appreciate also your ‘ morale ” at the end .
Love ❤
Michel
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Thanks Michel! I’m so glad you are enjoying this story!
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Lovely story, thank you
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Thanks for commenting and the nice compliment too! Come visit anytime!
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Sounds like a smart companion. I worked in an office where I was the only woman. I would not socialize out of work with the guys. Only one of them has spoken to me since I left when I have ran into them while doing errands.
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Some work environments are welcoming and others not so much. It is obvious to me that it was their loss not to have made you a friend. I bet the one guy that spoke to you had bowed to peer pressure and once away from the rest of the pack is likely a decent person…
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When he messed up and I had to clean up his messes he would bring me chocolate to try and make my day go better.
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Hehe! Chocolate – the universal love language. Have to admit that chocolate makes everything better!
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I am a chocoholic. When I am stressed it is what I want.
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I like chocolate when I’m stressed too. I just got Mounds bars for 25 cents each and Oreo chocolate bars the king size for 50 cents each! Such a steal!
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I can go two days unstressed without it but when I get stressed it’s like I need chocolate. Throw that and a mountain dew together and I become this really calm person.
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Hehe! I can’t imagine I’d be calm with all that sugar and caffeine coursing through my system… If it works for you then it is all good!!
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It calms me down and once the sugar wears off its nap time lol
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I think if I drank a Mt. Dew it would be a couple days before I could successfully nap!! I used to drink Dr. Pepper all the time but since I’m decaffeinated if I so much as smell caffeine I’m wired!!
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I dont drink it that often but some days it’s what I need
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you write very well, I feel like I’m right there with her!
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We’ve all had those self-recrimination moments! I try to tap into the universal experiences… Glad you liked it!
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you’ve achieved it well!
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Thanks!
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Attention-holding writing! Nicely done!
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Thanks! The story is wrapping up but I’ve been posting an episode every Wednesday so you can (if you are interested) go back and read the thing from the start…
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One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain’t nothin’ can beat teamwork. (Edward Abbey).
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.
(Albert Einstein)
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As always another good chapter…I still miss Mister though. 😉
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There will never be another Mister. Isn’t that the way it is with pets? There is always that one special heart pet that you will never forget…
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Aurelius is a great name for a tomcat!
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as the author I get to name everyone – including the cats!
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