It was the final lousy day in a lousy week. My husband had been in as rotten mood because his bloody football team had lost a big match (oh boohoo!), my 16-year old daughter suddenly hated me for no particular reason I could work out, my 11-year old son was fretting over exams and some girl at his school, my mother had taken it into her head to divorce my stepdad after 32 years, I'd put on three pounds, and my sodding boss had been working my arse off all week, arranging meetings, phone calls around the world, rearranging the meetings I'd arranged, minuting the meetings, zoom calls, typing up contracts...frankly I was knackered, and really needed the weekend to come.
At 5.55pm I stood at the window of our 34th floor office, staring out at the rain pissing down on the City, urging the last five minutes of the working week to pass, and not looking forward to getting drenched in my five-minute walk to Fenchurch Street Station. When I heard the boss office door swing open I assumed he was on his way out, but no, he had a shock for me: "Jackie, I need this contract typed up and mailed to New York before you go home." Darren couldn't have missed the rage on my face, and my meaningful glance at the wall clock. Flashing me what he considers his boyish grin (yeah, maybe ten years ago, bucko), he said, "Sorry, but that's why you're paid the big bucks. Well, quite big" he added before I could snap back at him."
I stalked over to him, snatched the thick sheaf of papers out of his hand and, muttering that I don't get paid enough for this shit, smacked my bum down in my swivel chair. Darren returned to his office and reemerged a moment later pulling on his coat. Seeing my poisonous look he tried to look contrite and told me "Sorry, I'd stay to give you moral support but we have tickets for the opera -- Bartoli and Bryn Terfel." As the outer office door clicked closed behind him I muttered a prayer to the god I don't believe in that the fucking opera house would collapse on top of him.
At around 6.30 our office cleaner appeared. I'd seen her before, a skinny Indian-looing girl around her mid-20s, barely five feet tall, but I'd never spoken to her beyond an occasional nodded greeting. She gave me a pretty smile and started her vacuum cleaner but, seeing my shoulders rise in tense irritation at the noise, she switched it off again and said, "Sorry, I come back later."
At about 7.15, as I finally finished typing the bloody contract, the office door opened, flooding light from the corridor into the room, lit by only my desk lamp and the glow of my screen. I saw the cleaner silhouetted in the doorway. She switched the room light on and said in surprise, "You still here? Time to go home I think."
I managed a tired smile, and replied "Yeah, another two minutes and I'm done." It was the first time I'd raised my head from my screen in over an hour, and I felt a tense ache in my neck. Closing my eyes I rolled my head and shoulders to try to ease it. When I opened them again I was surprised to see the woman rounding my desk and moving behind me.