"Stebbins, we need those algorithms finished," my boss said on my speaker.
"Yes, sir, I'm working on them now," I told him.
"Working on them isn't good enough. If they're not done by five, your fired."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Beard," I told him, and turned my attention back to the computer. It was 4:30 already, and I wasn't even half-way done with the algorithms. I mean, these algorithms are for the entire company, and the other five people who normally help me with them were hospitalized in an accident that their car pool was in, leaving me to do the whole damn thing by the hard-coded deadline!
And what's worse, it was my birthday! Trust me, there's nothing worse than loosing your job for a stupid reason on your birthday! Of course, I'm used to it. My kids didn't even know when my birthday was until they needed it for the FAFSA (they're both away in college). Then again, maybe people are better off not knowing that I'm 45 years old today. God, I miss being young.
My wife, however. Now THERE is the woman that old age forgot about! I'm serious, at 43 years of age, she is still a dead ringer for the 18 year old I fell in love with. She was kind, modest, and absolutely gorgeous! As an Asian, she could hold her own in a beauty contest against Gail Kim, the wrestler, and she's FOURTY FUCKING THREE YEARS OLD! Oh, and no, I'm not just looking past her ugliness because I'm in love with her, no. My best friends, Will and Steve, tell me that if I ever divorce her, they'd bone her before I even finished the sentence. The only thing wrong with her, they say, is her random mood swings. They only last a few minutes, and she's always sorry afterwards for being so irrational, but they're scary when they do happen.
"Stebbins, it's five o'clock. We need those algorithms!"
I pressed the button and told him, "Mr. Beard, I haven't moved from this chair in seventy-two hours except to pee. I can't even remember if the highest selling tie was Lavender's Black or Black's Lavender! If I could just rest-"
"Fine, go home and get some rest, but don't come back."
I took fifteen minutes to get my things out of my desk and walked for what seemed like an eternity to my car. God, why couldn't I have car pooled? At least then, I'd have an EXCUSE for not getting these algorithms done! I mean, you can't fire someone for work they didn't do while taking out workers' comp! It's just not fair!
How would I tell Jing (my wife)? I decided to use my last paycheck to buy her some chocolates and roses. I went down to the Valentine's Store. After browsing for about ten minutes, Steve, one of my best buddies, who works in Human Resources over at a video game store, found me looking at roses.
"Hey, David, your car has all your office stuff in it. Did you get canned?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to butter up Jing before I break the new-"
"Dude, put that shit down! One of our algorithm guys just stormed out earlier today! I need to fill that position ASAP!"
I was astonished. "You don't mean-"
"Well, you'll have to apply and I'll have to interview you and all. You know, just to make it all LOOK legit, but hey," he reached into his manila office folder, "here's the questions, aaaaand" he reached back into his folder, "here's the answers!" He whispered "between you and me, okay?"
I smiled from ear to ear! Now, I could go home and tell Jing I got fired and not have to sweat bullets about it!
So, I drove home to our house and opened the door, but the little sliding lock on the inside was in place. Oh god, is she having another one of her mood swings? Looks like I won't be able to tell her about my new job yet.
"Honey, what did I do this time," I asked her in a voice with faked sincerity?
She undid the lock and stuck her hand out with a blindfold. "Put this on. I've got a surprise for you!"
Oh, goodie! She had a surprise waiting for me! She remembered my birthday, AND the fact that it was the deadline for the company's algorithms! We normally just go out to a steak house to celebrate that!
I put the blindfold on and, when I told her that I was wearing it, I heard the door open. She took my hand and led me over to our bedroom (it's only one story, so I didn't have to climb any stairs). I could smell that she had lit some scented candles. Wow, what surprise did she have in store?!
"Honey, what's going on?" She put her finger on my lips.
"Don't speak," she said in a soft, seductive whisper, "I've been practicing this on a mannequin for the past three days. I hope you enjoy it."