There I was again, nose deep in a sales report on the New York to DC air shuttle for my
bi-weekly trip to our head office. "Thank God for business class." I thought as I stretched my legs in advance of the hour and a half flight. I was careful, however, not to wrinkle my skirt, since I was expected to go straight to our staff meeting after arrival. I had done this so many times before, that I begun to recognize some of the flight attendants, and gave half a wave to a few of them as they scurried by, readying the cabin for take-off.
My life seemed like an endless blur of meetings and paperwork. Buttoned up in my most conservative of suits, I considered whether I was in danger of losing myself in the sterility and repetition of my corporate existence. I sighed aloud and wondered what had happened to the unpredictable firecracker I used to be.
I glanced sideways at the reckless looking man sitting next to me in expensive sunglasses and a skater tee. What a contrast between the two of us, though he looked to be about the same age as me. He removed his sunglasses and placed them on the tray table along with his cell phone, then smiled at me momentarily, when he caught me stealing a glimpse of his bad boy looks. I immediately returned to my papers.
The flight attendant announced that the weather in DC had taken a turn for the worse, causing us to delay our take off by an hour. A united sigh of disappointment flooded the cabin and I called the office to let them know I'd be late. It seemed everyone was making calls, including my temporary neighbor. When I was finished, I couldn't help but overhear the X-rated things he was saying. I pulled my papers up to my face and smiled privately to myself, assuming he was talking to his girlfriend. I thought it odd, however, that he didn't seem to say goodbye or end the conversation in any recognizable way. He simply finished by saying, "Then, I will lick you clean." and he hung up.
Noticing that I had overheard, he told me not to worry, that he was not a serial obscene phone caller. At least not per say. I looked even more quizzical and he divulged the details of his rather unique career. I learned how he'd discovered that many wealthy women were willing to pay generously for the pleasure of hearing all about the make-believe sex he wanted to share with them. He was, for lack of a better term, a phone whore.
I was intrigued by this and leaned forward to see if he would share anything further, it was fascinating. Turns out that he had been doing it for the past five years, and though it had started out as a fun and easy way to put himself through grad school, lately it had really become a drag. I put down my papers and asked him why. He told me that it had become just like any other job, monotonous and boring. And, it was turning into more and more of a chore to make his daily calls to his more than twenty clients.
I empathized with him and told him about the suffocating feeling I had been experiencing lately in response to the assimilative nature of corporate America. We laughed lightly at the irony of our situations. I looked around and noticed that the passengers across the aisle were all busy with their magazines or dozing off. Impulsively, I leaned in closer to him and asked him if he might like some fresh inspiration. It was his turn to look quizzical, and I placed my hand on his leg to clarify my meaning.