The Promotion

 

The Promotion

 

“Haley, you’re a good worker, you show up on time, and your co-workers respect you.  It’s about time I gave you a promotion.”

            “I can’t accept, Ms. Taylor.  I’m so good at my job that no one else here could replace me.”

            “But this is a great opportunity, Haley.  You’ll have your own office instead of that little cubicle.”

            “I’ve decorated my cubicle just right. It’s so cute. It’s perfect for  me.”

            “Haley, there’s more.  You’ll travel all over the country to meetings and conferences. You’ll meet interesting people.”

            “Sorry, but I hate to fly, and I don’t make friends easily.”

            “Haley, our firm needs you to move up.  I need you, too.  This could be the big turning point in your career. Think about your future.”

            “My answer is still No.  I’m perfectly happy where I am.”

            Ms. Taylor said “Haley please.  I’ll give you a twenty-five percent raise.”

            Haley said “Fifty.”   

The Cute LIttle Old Couple Across The Street

 

The Cute Little Old Couple Across the Street

When we moved into our first home many years ago, the cute little old couple across the street was there to greet us at our door before the first packing box was unloaded from our moving van.  They gave us a bottle of wine and sneaked a peek inside our door to see if our house was as nice as theirs. 

            Years passed.  The cute little old couple across the street sent us old-fashioned greeting cards on all of our birthdays and holidays.

            More time passed.  We crept from our twenties to thirties, then forties.  Some neighbors moved away to bigger houses when they got better jobs.  But the cute little old couple across the street stayed put. They were lifers.

            Everyone on the block invited the cute little old couple across the street to our parties and barbeques, but the reply was always “No thank you,” because they had this ailment or that injury, but they watched us from their porch, waving and joining us vicariously from a distance. 

             When we hit middle age, the cute little old couple entered their eighties.  Their grass grew long and their hedges lost their shape, so we helped them with their chores when we could.  One by one, our other neighbors retired and moved to warmer weather.   

            When we got older, the cute little old couple across the street was near one hundred.  They slipped away quietly, one to nursing care and the other to hospice.  Lucky for us, a new young couple bought the old house and moved in.  We rushed over the moment their moving van arrived, gave them a bottle of wine, and managed to get a glimpse inside.  The old house had been painted and carpeted over. The cute little old couple across the street was gone, along with all their memories. 

            The young new couple that moved in was so grateful for our warm welcome that they sent us a thank-you card addressed “To the cute little old couple across the street.”