They would be reading each other's stories to the class tonight. She couldn't...what ifshe started to cry in front of all those people? It made her lips tremble just thinking about it.
When class was over, she decided to walk across town to the office before calling Nicole. None of the booths were working. Severed telephone cord after another appeared on the crowded sidewalks. It was taking forever to get across town. She descended into the subway. When she climbed up the stairs, she realized she still had several blocks to go. How could it take an hour or two just to walk across town?
She dialed Nicole from her office phone. It rang twenty, now thirty times. No answer. She slammed the phone down and left the darkened office, dragging her heavy suitcase with the bottle of Frexchenet and the Coco Chanel wrapped and tissued and cushioned within it. She walked up Sixth Avenue. She wanted to take a bus, but it was a pain. Finding the stop, digging for change, waiting. She wanted a taxi, but she needed to save her money. No lit cabs were going her way. She walked up and down the hilly avenue in back of the highrise apartment building overlooking the East River. The streets were deserted. Why was she doing this? Her suitcase was heavy. She marched up the canopied sidewalk and announced herself to the doorman. She spied a cardboard box with the aroma of pepperoni pizza narrowly escaping.
She followed the pizza man up to the 14th floor. NIcole had obviously given up on going out. Nicole greeted them, in a neat white turtleneck, her long blond hair brushed neatly away from her face.
"Did you still want to go out?" Debbie said.
"Not really. It's late," she said. She frowned gravely.
"Weren't you...wondering where I was?" Debbie said over the counter.
"After ten o'clock, I said, hey, it's too late," Nicole stated firmly as she reached for a couple of dishes.
Debbie had left class at 8:30. It had taken her two hours to walk from her uptown class, and to go across town to her office. And another forty minutes to walk back uptown to their apartment.
"I didn't realize..." Debbie said. But she did. She had been mad at Nicole for the annoyance in her voice, mad that she never returned phone calls, and now she was mad because Nicole had not picked up the phone.
But she joined Nicole for pizza.
"Are you tired?" Nicole said.
"No! I feel relaxed, invigorated," Debbie smiled, thinking of all the racing around today, of the flowers and champagne and perfume, of the controversy her story had caused her classmates.
"One thing, I hate, more than anything, is when he says he'll call and then he doesn't!" Nicole exclaimed. "I meant, just with boyfriends," she added.
"Oh, my God. This is a mess," Debbie mumbled.
"Don't worry about it," Nicole said. And then they were laughing and joking like little kids, likesisters. But when Debbie left the next morning, she did not awake Nicole to say goodbye, but instead, slipped quietly out of their apartment with the view of the East River.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Better Luck Tomorrow!
Better luck tomorrow, both in finding love and putting it out there on my book blog! But, after doc's appt at 9am, perhaps a road trip??? (Especially if the scale is higher than I thought it would be!)
THE HOTTEST DAY IN APRIL
At long last, a love scene, but not quite yet..."If you're looking for Prince Charming, he ain't out there," Amanda told her.
Debbie looked outside the window of her friend's Long Island apartment. Oh, yeah? Well, I'm going to find him, she vowed silently. How she was going to do that was a mystery, even to her.
"I think you'll get married soon," Amanda said.
I hope so, she thought.
"And it's not going to be to Prince Charming. Every guy you go out with, you've said something about his looks. Too this or too that..."
"Oh, yeah? I didn't know that," Debbie wondered aloud.
Asleep on the velvety couch late at night, she thought of Amanda's words. She heard a car drive quietly but surely into the parking lot and stop beside its home. As surely as that car had stopped, Mr. Right would finally come home to her and she would wake up from her sound sleep and say, "Oh, there he is." It would be as simple as that.
She met her roommate at Madison Avenue, near the address of the prestigious Conde Nast publishing company.
"Who knows where I'll be? California? London?" Debbie gazed across Madison Avenue, breathless with the excitement of Secretary's Week. Her boss had given her perfume, Coco Chanel. She did not have the guts to take her to lunch!
Stop, Debbie had wanted to say when her boss thanked her and told her why she had chosen Coco Chanel.
"I used to wear it on Saturday nights when I would go out with Rick," she said. "Don't you agree that some perfumes are not meant to wear in the office?"
Too bad I don't have anyone special to wear it for, Debbie thought wistfully. And today, Mary had given her a bottle of Frexchenet champagne in addition to the vase of tulips. Then she hugged her lightly before Debbie left for her three-day weekend. As if she knew, this would be goodbye...
And then, she remembered, the rent for May was due! She called her roommate, Nicole, looking up her number at Conde Nast.
"Well, I guess I'll have the apartment to myself," Nicole said.
"Yeah...it's kind of spooky, isn't it? All winter long..." All winter long, Debbie had spent the weekends alone.
Then she asked Nicole, from a working phone booth, "I don't want to go to class. Let's just go out."
"No, you should go," Nicole said.
"I'll call you when I get out," OK?"
"All right," Nicole sounded impatient, as usual. Well, Debbie did not have to call her at all.
They would be reading each other's stories to the class tonight...
DARN IT! Time's Up! Way too short --- like, 5 minutes???
Debbie looked outside the window of her friend's Long Island apartment. Oh, yeah? Well, I'm going to find him, she vowed silently. How she was going to do that was a mystery, even to her.
"I think you'll get married soon," Amanda said.
I hope so, she thought.
"And it's not going to be to Prince Charming. Every guy you go out with, you've said something about his looks. Too this or too that..."
"Oh, yeah? I didn't know that," Debbie wondered aloud.
Asleep on the velvety couch late at night, she thought of Amanda's words. She heard a car drive quietly but surely into the parking lot and stop beside its home. As surely as that car had stopped, Mr. Right would finally come home to her and she would wake up from her sound sleep and say, "Oh, there he is." It would be as simple as that.
She met her roommate at Madison Avenue, near the address of the prestigious Conde Nast publishing company.
"Who knows where I'll be? California? London?" Debbie gazed across Madison Avenue, breathless with the excitement of Secretary's Week. Her boss had given her perfume, Coco Chanel. She did not have the guts to take her to lunch!
Stop, Debbie had wanted to say when her boss thanked her and told her why she had chosen Coco Chanel.
"I used to wear it on Saturday nights when I would go out with Rick," she said. "Don't you agree that some perfumes are not meant to wear in the office?"
Too bad I don't have anyone special to wear it for, Debbie thought wistfully. And today, Mary had given her a bottle of Frexchenet champagne in addition to the vase of tulips. Then she hugged her lightly before Debbie left for her three-day weekend. As if she knew, this would be goodbye...
And then, she remembered, the rent for May was due! She called her roommate, Nicole, looking up her number at Conde Nast.
"Well, I guess I'll have the apartment to myself," Nicole said.
"Yeah...it's kind of spooky, isn't it? All winter long..." All winter long, Debbie had spent the weekends alone.
Then she asked Nicole, from a working phone booth, "I don't want to go to class. Let's just go out."
"No, you should go," Nicole said.
"I'll call you when I get out," OK?"
"All right," Nicole sounded impatient, as usual. Well, Debbie did not have to call her at all.
They would be reading each other's stories to the class tonight...
DARN IT! Time's Up! Way too short --- like, 5 minutes???
Saturday, October 9, 2010
See ya Tuesday!
I will see you here Tuesday, live from the Groton Library, as rain is predicted and the L's are all closed on this Holiday Weekend. Drive safely, everyone! Don't drink & drive. Have a desig driver or stay home!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Next Up: THE HOTTEST DAY IN APRIL
Things are really starting to heat up for Debbie! HINT: It's not in the office....Stay tuned for THE HOTTEST DAY IN APRIL as the call home to Debbie continues with the corporate layoffs and stress of Manhattan in the late 1980s.
LAYOFFS II
"Benefits, Debbie. Not privileges." Her boss corrected her. What was the difference, Debbie thought. Of course, she did not voice her opinion to her overly aggressive, attractive female boss.
"You will have to walk to the zerox room to pick up your mail," the office manager told her. "Alexander will not be delivering it to your desk anymore. They are cutting down on the mailmen." The office manager told her.
"I never dreamed I would get to be a mailman, too," Debbie said sweetly. "What next?! What are they going to take away from us next?!"
In the cafeteria, Debbie was full of ideas.
"Are we having a Depression or what? Stores are having outrageous sales at Christmas time. All these layoffs, everywhere..."
When she first entered the doors of McGrath & O'connor, she had never dreamed this would happen. It was such a great, well known company, a household word. Could anything save it?
"The VP is hiring new people. I asked him why he doesn't put a freeze on hiring right now," Amanda said. "I think someone upstairs doesn't know what he's doing."
"If people weren't given so much credit, charging up a storm, the stores wouldn't be going out of business. Everyone owes thousands. No one wants to spend their money," Debbie said, thinking of her own Mastercard bill, which she had wracked up before she received her raise. "And then, the waste. We waste so much paper. Look at the stationery and supplies we order. And then, we change our name, or phone number and throw everything away. It's such a waste," she said. She did not know if she were making sense or not.
"Everyone wants power for themselves," she said, in between mouthfuls of chicken, rice and mixed vegetables. "They do not care about the company."
"Did you sign up to attend the benefits meeting? It is imperative that you go," her boss said.
"Yeah, I think you should," the office manager said.
Chairs were set up in rows, facing a small podium. Almost every seat was filled. Two young secretaries sat together, gossipping about work and shopping. A group of young men were discussing sports. Two elderly men were discussing the effect the new benefits package would have on Medicare. Debbie sat with her boss, Mary, and two salesmen, close to the front row. On her yellow notepad, she doodled fanciful scenes, feeling far away from the place where she was. A woman stepped up to the podium.
"Welcome to the McGrath and O'Connor annual benefits meeting. This is quite an ambitious group we have here this morning. First, we will watch a short film and then we will be on hand to answer all you questions," she spoke professionally into the microphone.
Debbie watched the boring video with heavily lidded eyes.
"OK we are now ready for you to start asking questions," the woman announced.
Debbie's eyes were starting to glaze. She thought of the tall, handsome man in her office.
"Debbie? What did that man just say?" Her boss asked her.
"Oh...I don't know. I didn't hear him," she said. She looked at her boss and blinked, her mouth parted slightly, her gaze far away. She quickly tried to hide this from her boss.
"What is this? We have one month to choose from your list of doctors. This is like picking one out of a hat. It's like a dartboard," the irate bald man in the back said.
"Is this a tax write-off or something? We have only one month to make up our minds about the benefits package before 1989 is over?" a woman suggested.
"How do we pick a doctor?" the man demanded.
"Well, you can call them," the woman said.
"What credentials and criteria do the doctors on your list meet? How do we find out these credentials?" Her boss spoke.
"You can call their offices and talk to their staff, ask for reccommendations," the woman replied.
"There are only two doctors within New York State who are on that list. What if I need a reliable gynocologist?" one woman complained.
"You've had all month to look at the list of doctors and decide. If you opened and read your benefits package which you received in the mail," the woman replied.
Debbie waited until her boss got up to leave. Mary and the salesmen had already left for lunch.
"Want to have lunch?" Debbie offered.
"No, I have to meet with my boss," her boss said nervously. "How do you know which criteria these doctors meet? She didn't answer my question very well."
"I know. She expects us to call them and ask their secretaries?" Debbie said.
"If you like the doctor you have, you should keep him. It's hard to find someone you can trust," Debbie said to Mike.
He sat at the typewriter.
"Yeah, I love my doctor. Why pay $300 a year for their insurance? I don't go that much. I can do without it."
"You really should stay with him, because it's hard to find a doctor you like," Debbie advised him, although she did not have a doctor herself since she had moved to New York.
0953D
"You will have to walk to the zerox room to pick up your mail," the office manager told her. "Alexander will not be delivering it to your desk anymore. They are cutting down on the mailmen." The office manager told her.
"I never dreamed I would get to be a mailman, too," Debbie said sweetly. "What next?! What are they going to take away from us next?!"
In the cafeteria, Debbie was full of ideas.
"Are we having a Depression or what? Stores are having outrageous sales at Christmas time. All these layoffs, everywhere..."
When she first entered the doors of McGrath & O'connor, she had never dreamed this would happen. It was such a great, well known company, a household word. Could anything save it?
"The VP is hiring new people. I asked him why he doesn't put a freeze on hiring right now," Amanda said. "I think someone upstairs doesn't know what he's doing."
"If people weren't given so much credit, charging up a storm, the stores wouldn't be going out of business. Everyone owes thousands. No one wants to spend their money," Debbie said, thinking of her own Mastercard bill, which she had wracked up before she received her raise. "And then, the waste. We waste so much paper. Look at the stationery and supplies we order. And then, we change our name, or phone number and throw everything away. It's such a waste," she said. She did not know if she were making sense or not.
"Everyone wants power for themselves," she said, in between mouthfuls of chicken, rice and mixed vegetables. "They do not care about the company."
"Did you sign up to attend the benefits meeting? It is imperative that you go," her boss said.
"Yeah, I think you should," the office manager said.
Chairs were set up in rows, facing a small podium. Almost every seat was filled. Two young secretaries sat together, gossipping about work and shopping. A group of young men were discussing sports. Two elderly men were discussing the effect the new benefits package would have on Medicare. Debbie sat with her boss, Mary, and two salesmen, close to the front row. On her yellow notepad, she doodled fanciful scenes, feeling far away from the place where she was. A woman stepped up to the podium.
"Welcome to the McGrath and O'Connor annual benefits meeting. This is quite an ambitious group we have here this morning. First, we will watch a short film and then we will be on hand to answer all you questions," she spoke professionally into the microphone.
Debbie watched the boring video with heavily lidded eyes.
"OK we are now ready for you to start asking questions," the woman announced.
Debbie's eyes were starting to glaze. She thought of the tall, handsome man in her office.
"Debbie? What did that man just say?" Her boss asked her.
"Oh...I don't know. I didn't hear him," she said. She looked at her boss and blinked, her mouth parted slightly, her gaze far away. She quickly tried to hide this from her boss.
"What is this? We have one month to choose from your list of doctors. This is like picking one out of a hat. It's like a dartboard," the irate bald man in the back said.
"Is this a tax write-off or something? We have only one month to make up our minds about the benefits package before 1989 is over?" a woman suggested.
"How do we pick a doctor?" the man demanded.
"Well, you can call them," the woman said.
"What credentials and criteria do the doctors on your list meet? How do we find out these credentials?" Her boss spoke.
"You can call their offices and talk to their staff, ask for reccommendations," the woman replied.
"There are only two doctors within New York State who are on that list. What if I need a reliable gynocologist?" one woman complained.
"You've had all month to look at the list of doctors and decide. If you opened and read your benefits package which you received in the mail," the woman replied.
Debbie waited until her boss got up to leave. Mary and the salesmen had already left for lunch.
"Want to have lunch?" Debbie offered.
"No, I have to meet with my boss," her boss said nervously. "How do you know which criteria these doctors meet? She didn't answer my question very well."
"I know. She expects us to call them and ask their secretaries?" Debbie said.
"If you like the doctor you have, you should keep him. It's hard to find someone you can trust," Debbie said to Mike.
He sat at the typewriter.
"Yeah, I love my doctor. Why pay $300 a year for their insurance? I don't go that much. I can do without it."
"You really should stay with him, because it's hard to find a doctor you like," Debbie advised him, although she did not have a doctor herself since she had moved to New York.
0953D
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
UP Next: CORPORATE LAYOFFS, Part II
Life as we know it? A sign of the times...tough times, indeed. For the next two decades of her life, A Journey in the making...!
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