The alarm clock went off at six o’clock as usual but unlike most days I couldn’t manage to pull myself out of bed. There was a reason I didn’t want to go to work today, and it had been eating me up inside all night. Questions ran through my mind and I couldn’t get them out. How should I ask her? How will she take it? She had lived in this area her whole life and was I going to take that away from her? Her parents live 2 blocks away, the kids are settled in and happy with their friends and teachers. I forced myself to see the other side of the coin. This is going to be so beneficial to my family; we could move into a beautiful house and never have to worry about our finances ever again. This had to be the best scenario for our family.
Yesterday, I was called up to my boss’ office, and to my surprise the man asked me to sit down. I didn’t have much respect for him. He always seemed to talk down to his employees and I had been singled out many times and been publicly humiliated by the man. My wife, Joyce had always wondered why I would never consider quitting my job and I am actually quite surprised that I have lasted so long. He seemed different though; the usual sarcastic smirk that he wore so well every day of the week was non-existent. He seemed genuinely happy. I was starting to feel somewhat uneasy. I had never seen him like this, I always felt that I was one mistake away from being fired but there he was, sitting up straight in his leather chair and staring straight into my eyes, a big smile on his face. “Luke, I am very impressed with your work”. There hadn’t been a punch line yet, but I was ready for it. “You have made friends with some very important people that are essentially the grease that keeps the well-oiled machine that is our company running smoothly.” I finally knew where this was going. My boss had always been jealous of the relationship I had with Mr. Christensen. Mr. Christensen is a very wealthy investor who had started off with practically nothing and slowly made his way up the ladder. He is now one of the richest men in the country. Every time he stops by on business he, strangely would always ask for me. This infuriated all of my superiors. “I just got off the phone with your buddy Mr. Christensen.” I could finally catch the anger in my boss’ eyes. “He has asked that someone from our organisation be stationed in Manhattan so that he doesn’t have to travel over here so often. He, of course mentioned that you would fit this role perfectly.” The sarcasm was rampant by this time and he had given up on hiding it. “You will not just be doing business with your buddy; you will also be working alongside heavyweights such as Mr. Cavalucci and Senator Dawson. He wants an answer by tomorrow, but until then you’re still mine so get back to work.”
The beeping was finally getting to me. I pulled myself out of bed and began to get dressed. I turned around and looked at my wife who amazingly was still fast asleep. The loud noises of the city would definitely not bother her I thought. I started towards her very slowly. I’ve got to tell her. I couldn’t go to work and accept the offer without running it by my wife. She definitely wouldn’t have a problem with it. Or would she? I shook her gently to wake her, seeing as the loud beeps of my alarm clock didn’t do the trick. On my third go around I finally managed to wake her up. I wasted no time and immediately began to break the news to her. I had only just finished telling her the basics
when I noticed the shade of her face go from beige to white as snow. I could tell she
wanted to be happy for me but she just couldn’t. She hadn’t known anything else for her whole life. She had grown up here and never had any plans of leaving. This was the only place she had ever called home.
It felt as though we were standing there for hours staring into each others eyes. She was trying extremely hard to hold back the tears. She told me she was happy but I could tell what her true feelings were. I couldn’t go any further. I didn’t want to make her feel any worse than she already did. I walked downstairs and took a quick look at the clock, it read 6:48. On any given work day I would have been out the door at quarter to 7, but today I was going to take my time. I had a huge decision to make. My mind was racing and Joyce had still not come down from our room. There was no doubt in my mind that she was not taking the news so well. I sat down and looked out my window. My legs gave off the sensation of being made of jell-o so it felt good to sit down. Why did life have to be so hard? I missed the days when I was a young kid, living on my Uncle Henry’s farm. I remember spending hours laying on the grass, watching the clouds with my dog and not having a care in the world. Actually, after thinking about it, I realized my life had never been care-free. My uncle was a very practical man. He rarely got attached to anything enough to not let it go. That was the case with my dog, Dan. To me he was not just a dog, he was my only friend. When he began to get older and started to lose his sight, my uncle saw no use for him and planned to have him killed. I can still remember that day like it was yesterday. “Luke, would you mind going into town to buy me some cigars?” “Can I bring Dan?” “No leave him here”. My Uncle was not a mean man, he was just too logical for his own good. He took emotions completely out of the equation. He did not see the point in keeping an old dog around. He was useless in his eyes, but definitely not in mine. From that day on I swore I would never be like him.
This choice would have been much easier had Uncle Henry been the one making the decision. Taking the job was easily the most practical decision, but was it practical that I wanted? If I took the job I would be living in much better conditions than where I am at the moment. I would never have to worry about paying bills, and the kid’s could probably even go to a nice private school. Though these would all be nice things to have, I had finally decided what must be done. I stood up from the chair, my legs feeling a lot stronger now. I knew I was making the right decision. I picked up the phone and dialled my boss’ number.
Yesterday, I was called up to my boss’ office, and to my surprise the man asked me to sit down. I didn’t have much respect for him. He always seemed to talk down to his employees and I had been singled out many times and been publicly humiliated by the man. My wife, Joyce had always wondered why I would never consider quitting my job and I am actually quite surprised that I have lasted so long. He seemed different though; the usual sarcastic smirk that he wore so well every day of the week was non-existent. He seemed genuinely happy. I was starting to feel somewhat uneasy. I had never seen him like this, I always felt that I was one mistake away from being fired but there he was, sitting up straight in his leather chair and staring straight into my eyes, a big smile on his face. “Luke, I am very impressed with your work”. There hadn’t been a punch line yet, but I was ready for it. “You have made friends with some very important people that are essentially the grease that keeps the well-oiled machine that is our company running smoothly.” I finally knew where this was going. My boss had always been jealous of the relationship I had with Mr. Christensen. Mr. Christensen is a very wealthy investor who had started off with practically nothing and slowly made his way up the ladder. He is now one of the richest men in the country. Every time he stops by on business he, strangely would always ask for me. This infuriated all of my superiors. “I just got off the phone with your buddy Mr. Christensen.” I could finally catch the anger in my boss’ eyes. “He has asked that someone from our organisation be stationed in Manhattan so that he doesn’t have to travel over here so often. He, of course mentioned that you would fit this role perfectly.” The sarcasm was rampant by this time and he had given up on hiding it. “You will not just be doing business with your buddy; you will also be working alongside heavyweights such as Mr. Cavalucci and Senator Dawson. He wants an answer by tomorrow, but until then you’re still mine so get back to work.”
The beeping was finally getting to me. I pulled myself out of bed and began to get dressed. I turned around and looked at my wife who amazingly was still fast asleep. The loud noises of the city would definitely not bother her I thought. I started towards her very slowly. I’ve got to tell her. I couldn’t go to work and accept the offer without running it by my wife. She definitely wouldn’t have a problem with it. Or would she? I shook her gently to wake her, seeing as the loud beeps of my alarm clock didn’t do the trick. On my third go around I finally managed to wake her up. I wasted no time and immediately began to break the news to her. I had only just finished telling her the basics
when I noticed the shade of her face go from beige to white as snow. I could tell she
wanted to be happy for me but she just couldn’t. She hadn’t known anything else for her whole life. She had grown up here and never had any plans of leaving. This was the only place she had ever called home.
It felt as though we were standing there for hours staring into each others eyes. She was trying extremely hard to hold back the tears. She told me she was happy but I could tell what her true feelings were. I couldn’t go any further. I didn’t want to make her feel any worse than she already did. I walked downstairs and took a quick look at the clock, it read 6:48. On any given work day I would have been out the door at quarter to 7, but today I was going to take my time. I had a huge decision to make. My mind was racing and Joyce had still not come down from our room. There was no doubt in my mind that she was not taking the news so well. I sat down and looked out my window. My legs gave off the sensation of being made of jell-o so it felt good to sit down. Why did life have to be so hard? I missed the days when I was a young kid, living on my Uncle Henry’s farm. I remember spending hours laying on the grass, watching the clouds with my dog and not having a care in the world. Actually, after thinking about it, I realized my life had never been care-free. My uncle was a very practical man. He rarely got attached to anything enough to not let it go. That was the case with my dog, Dan. To me he was not just a dog, he was my only friend. When he began to get older and started to lose his sight, my uncle saw no use for him and planned to have him killed. I can still remember that day like it was yesterday. “Luke, would you mind going into town to buy me some cigars?” “Can I bring Dan?” “No leave him here”. My Uncle was not a mean man, he was just too logical for his own good. He took emotions completely out of the equation. He did not see the point in keeping an old dog around. He was useless in his eyes, but definitely not in mine. From that day on I swore I would never be like him.
This choice would have been much easier had Uncle Henry been the one making the decision. Taking the job was easily the most practical decision, but was it practical that I wanted? If I took the job I would be living in much better conditions than where I am at the moment. I would never have to worry about paying bills, and the kid’s could probably even go to a nice private school. Though these would all be nice things to have, I had finally decided what must be done. I stood up from the chair, my legs feeling a lot stronger now. I knew I was making the right decision. I picked up the phone and dialled my boss’ number.
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