Monday morning came far too soon for Mallory; she sat in her car at the Starbuck's drive-through waiting for her venti Chai Tea Latte made with a shot of raspberry and non-fat milk. I am so predictable, she thought to herself, as she gave the barista a five dollar bill and dumped the change in the tip jar sitting on the ledge of the window. The cute young brunette handed her the hot drink along with a straw, she knew Mallory requested a straw every Monday when she indulged in the high calorie sugary treat once a week. "Thank you," she said, smiling at the girl as she drove away, placing the drink in the cup holder, turning up the volume on the radio and driving off to the plant just north of town.
Mallory pulled up to the parking lot, slowly easing into the same space she always did, third space from the last in the furthest row from the building; it was not an assigned space, just force of habit. She sighed as she sat in the car for a moment collecting her things, tea in one hand, purse strap slipped over her wrist, and the strap to the polka-dotted square lunch cooler grasped in her right hand. As she stepped out of the car, she looked at the beige stucco building where she had worked for almost two years as an accounting specialist, it was not the worst job she had ever performed, but she was getting bored.
She took a deep breath as she started across the parking lot; well, she thought, I cannot put it off any longer, I guess my vacation is over and it is time to get back to reality. As she walked in through the glass front door past the receptionist, she smiled warmly, "Good morning, Elka," she greeted the ageing woman behind the desk. Elka, the rotund German woman always had a ready smile for anyone who came through the door. She may not always transfer the phone calls correctly, often getting accounts receivables and payables mixed up, and screwing up all the mail, but she had an incredibly friendly personality and visitors and staff simply adored seeing her at the desk.
"Oh, velcome back, dear," she responded to Mallory in her thick accent, pushing the button under her desk, buzzing her through as she saw Mallory fumbling in her purse for her key fob to get through the locked door. "Don't you vorry... I buzz you in."
"Thank you, Elka. You're a life saver," Mallory winked, "I'm afraid I would be late if I had to dig through here trying to find it. I think my mind is still on vacation."
With that, Mallory walked through the door and headed back to her cubicle to get settled in for her work day; she knew it would be challenging as everyone would want to know what her vacation had been like. She was not even all the way down the hall and at her desk when the parade of co-workers asking after her had begun, "Hey, Mal, did you have a fabulous time?" it was Suzie, the customer service woman who sometimes loved, sometimes hated Mallory.
It put her on guard every time Suzie spoke her name; she was not certain who was talking to her, Evil Suzie or Angel Suzie. She was not the only one who had this issue with her, most people in the office had the same challenges with her, and behind her back she was called ES and AS when others referred to her wondering what her mood was that day. So when she heard her voice that day, she cringed, not knowing if it was ES or AS with her singsong comment about her vacation; Mallory did not even want to acknowledgement, but out of politeness, she did.
Pausing in the doorway to her cubicle, she turned to Suzie and said, "It was great, Suzie, too short, of course," indicating the fact she was only out of the office for a week. "But, I had a fabulous time. Guess I better get settled in now and start playing catch up, though," she stated, turning her back to the woman as she put down her belongings and pushed the power button on her computer.
"Well, I guess you don't have time to talk then," the woman said icily, clearly proving that it was Evil Suzie in the plant today. Just as well, Mallory thought as the woman walked away, I seriously do not have the energy to deal with her.
