Saturday, October 24, 2020

Short story: "The Big Rock"

 

The Big Rock

 

Brenda was on her coffee break, and Cathy and Cindy we’re shocked by Christine’s profane outburst. An old-fashioned Roman Catholic, who still harbored the illusion that her religion was the only true religion and the Pope the infallible spokesman of God, it was out of character for her to display such outrage; but she couldn’t help herself.

All Brenda did was show the girls her new diamond ring. But this simple gesture, in the context of the deep emotional undercurrent of office personalities, was enough to set Christine off— “As if that big rock is going to change anything! It’s not, you know! She’s still going to treat Gordy like a piece of shit! That’s no way to treat your husband! No wonder he goes on those big benders! She drives him to drink!”

Cathy laughed, and so did Cindy. They had never seen Christine so upset. Her face was so red it looked like a chilly pepper.

Gordy Henderson, a grossly overweight elementary school teacher who took an early retirement at fifty-five and Brenda’s husband of twenty-seven years, had just called the office at the St. Jude Memorial District Hospital. It was his second call that morning.

The first call Christine, whose job was to mind the switchboard, picked up and switched him to his wife Brenda; but Christine was on her coffee break when Gordy called the second time, and Cathy answered: “Good morning. St. Jude Hospital. How can I help you?”

“Is that you Cathy?”

“Yes.”

“This is Gordy.

“Oh, hi Gordy. How are you today?”

“Fine, thank you.”

“That’s good. I’ll put Brenda on—”

“No,” Gordy quickly said. “I don’t want to talk to her. I want to ask you something.”

“What?” Cathy asked, curious by the sound of his voice.

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. “So, what do you think of Brenda’s new ring?” Gordy finally said, sounding like he was confessing to an indiscretion.

Taken aback, Cathy didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t noticed Brenda’s new ring. No one in the office had, despite the fact that she had worn it for the past three days. She had even taken off all of her other rings for her new diamond to stand out. Cathy stammered, “Oh, does Brenda have a new ring?”

“Yes. I bought it for her last week,” Gordy said, apologetically.

“She never said anything.” Cathy replied, glancing at Brenda.

“Well, look; don’t tell her I called,” Gordy said; but Cathy could tell that Brenda knew it was her husband on the phone. In fact, she sensed that they had set it up during his call earlier; but she played along. “Okay, if that’s what you want,” she said.

“Yeah, I don’t want Brenda to know I called,” Gordy added

“Okay,” Cathy said, with another glance at Brenda.

“Thanks Cathy. So, I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Brenda pretended to be working, but Cathy knew she was listening. “Bye,” she said, and hung up the phone and went back to work.

Later, when Christine returned from her coffee break, Cathy made like she needed something from the filing cabinet next to Brenda’s desk. “Brenda, do you have that invoice for McAllen? I can’t find it,” she said, flipping through another folder.

“I’ve got it here,” Brenda said.

“Oh good. I need it,” Cathy said, knowing she had it.

Brenda picked it up and handed it to her with her new diamond ring hand.

“Brenda, is that a new ring?” Cathy asked.

“Oh, that thing? Gordy got it for me last week.”

“And you never said anything?”

“No. Why should I?”

“My God, it’s beautiful! Hey girls, come and take a look at Brenda’s new ring!”

Brenda’s face lit up. In a mock display of movie star glamor, she flashed her hand for the girls to see her new big diamond ring.

“Wow! That must have cost a fortune!” Cindy exclaimed.

“I’m worth it,” Brenda said, like the woman in the L’Oreal commercial.

“Where are your other rings?” Christine asked, her brow furling.

“I left them at home,” Brenda said, with a casual shrug.

“I never take my wedding rings off. Just when I’m washing dishes,” Christine replied.

“I don’t do dishes,” Brenda said, in that same pseudo voice that mimicked the woman in the L’Oreal commercial.

“Humph,” Christine huffed, and returned to her desk and put her head down and pretended to be busy. A few minutes later, Brenda went for her coffee break; and when she was out of the office, Christine lost her cool— “Who in the fuck is she trying to fool? They don’t even sleep together!”

 

But Brenda was petty that way. One Christmas, I gave Cathy a new watch. It was an Alfred Sung, with a locking gold bracelet band with a black stripe running through it, very striking and original, and the girls loved it so much that Brenda hunted all over the city until she found an Alfred Sung watch just like Cathy’s, but she never wore it to the office.

One day, however, she forgot herself and wore it to work. Cathy noticed it. “Brenda, you have a watch just like mine—”

Brenda’s face flushed red. “Oh, that? I got that a long time ago,” she stammered.

“You had to go out and buy one just like mine, didn’t you?” Cathy said.

“Gordy bought it for me,” Brenda stammered again. “I mentioned to him how I liked your watch, and the next thing you know, he bought this for me. I had nothing to do with it. I swear—”

She could have sworn on a stack of bibles for all Cathy cared, she knew Brenda was lying. “Well I don’t care,” Cathy said. “I’m not going to stop wearing mine.”

But Christine’s disgust was more personal. She resented the way Brenda treated her husband. Marriage was sacred to Christine. That’s why her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary meant so much to her. Her husband had recently booked a weekend at the Blue Dolphin Inn on the north shore of Lake Superior just across the border in Minnesota for their silver wedding anniversary, and Christine couldn’t stop talking about it—

“It was so romantic. We had a room with a window overlooking the lake, and we signed the guest book and had a candlelight dinner—”

“No wonder my marriage failed,” Cindy mocked, putting her hand to her heart. “I didn’t have a window overlooking the lake, and we didn’t sign the guest book—”

Cindy was single again. She had left her husband for good this time, and to prove it she went back to her maiden name; but Brenda didn’t have the courage to leave her husband, despite how much more miserable she was in her marriage than Cindy, and she made Gordy’s life hell. Sometimes she didn’t speak to him for months at a time, which only drove him to drink more, locking himself in the basement for days at a time and only going out for more booze; but her nasty behavior spilled over into the office…

 

When Cathy beat Brenda out of the office Lead Hand position, Brenda refused to speak to her for five weeks. She only spoke to her if it was work related. Otherwise, it was the same stony silence that she gave to her husband.

“How long are you going to keep this up?” Cathy asked her one day, when she bumped into her at the lobby in the post office and Brenda deliberately snubbed her.

“Until I’m good and ready,” she icily replied; and taking the mail out of her mail box, she strutted out of the post office lobby.

Brenda was slighted by Cathy’s promotion. She had been given the Lead Hand position by the new CEO, expecting no one to challenge his decision; but Cathy did.

“This position has to be posted,” she told Colin, the new CEO. “Brenda can have it for six months, that’s what the union allows; but I’m going to grieve it if you don’t post it after six months.” And when the position did get posted, it was tailor-worded for Brenda to get the position; but Cathy had more seniority, and she was equally qualified. So, Colin had no choice; he had to award it to Cathy to avoid a union grievance.

But try as she may, Brenda could only suffer the burden of her grudge for so long, and she finally broke her silence; but it was Brenda at her petty best—

“Oh, I see somebody’s been shopping,” she’d say, when Cathy walked into the office with something new. “It must be nice to have money to spend on new clothes,” implying that she would also afford new outfits if she had been given a raise like Cathy; but it was only a dollar an hour more, and Brenda was just being spiteful.

But she felt she had good reason to be spiteful. Her position used to be management (general ledger clerk and office manager) before Cathy was hired on at the St. Jude Memorial District Hospital as a cost analyst accountant—a position that never materialized because of office restructuring that made Brenda’s management position bargaining unit work which, to her bitter disappointment, forced her wages to be reduced to what the union allowed for that type of work—a drop of three dollars and twenty cents an hour.

Brenda felt cheated by Cathy, who had five weeks more seniority than her because Brenda’s management position was restructured after Cathy was hired for a position that never came about because of office restructuring; but Brenda could have applied for the cost analyst accountant’s position,” Cathy explained to me. “She felt threatened by that job, that’s why she didn’t apply for it. She suspected that management was trying to get rid of her, which they could have if she got the cost analyst’s job because it wasn’t a union position; so, she has no reason to feel that I cheated her. It just so happens that the cost analyst accountant’s position never came about because of the restructuring, but I had nothing to do with that.”

So, the new Lead Hand position meant more to Brenda than the simple one dollar an hour raise; it meant that she could get her authority back in the office.

Brenda had worked at the St. Jude Memorial District Hospital for nineteen years, much longer than Cathy; but because all those years were management, her seniority meant nothing when the new CEO, who was Director of Financing, cleverly restructured her position to bargaining unit work; but try as she may, Cathy could not get Brenda to see that she hadn’t cheated her. She was simply going by union rules, so she stopped trying.

 

I was flabbergasted. “To think she would get her husband to call just so you girls would notice her new ring,” I said to Cathy, when she related the incident over dinner that evening. “She can’t be that desperate for attention, can she?”

“She must be. But that’s just her karma coming back to her, that’s all it is.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Brenda never gives compliments. Never. Anytime one of us comes into work with something new, she never says anything. All she says is her annoying little ‘Ummm.’ And now she wanted her big rock to be noticed. But no one did. That’s karma.”

“The civil servant mentality never ceases to amuse me,” I said, and laughed.

“Hey, I’m a civil servant too!” Cathy said to me, in mock defense.

“Yes, you are; but your values are different. And believe me, sweetheart; that sets you apart from the self-serving ethic of the civil servant mentality.”

“Thank you for clearing that up for me,” she said, and laughed again. Cathy hated being labelled a civil servant. She had witnessed too many occasions of flagrant abuse at the hospital to be defined by the self-serving ethic of the civil service mentality, especially management; but just to keep her on her moral toes, I teased her every now and then.

“It’s not like she didn’t try to get her ring noticed,” Cathy said, reflecting on Brenda’s behavior. “I couldn’t understand why she was making such a big fuss over her mood watch the other day, but it all makes sense now.”

“Mood watch? What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s supposed to show the color of your emotions, or something like that. Anyway, Brenda came over to my desk the other day and put her wrist in front of my face and asked me what color her mood watch had turned, but that was just a ploy to get me to notice her new diamond ring; but I didn’t. Honest, it just didn’t register; and that must have really got to her. That’s why I think her and Gordy set me up.”

“With the phone call?”

“Yes. I think she got Gordy to ask me if I had noticed her new ring.”

“Unbelievable. Can people be that small?”

“You wouldn’t believe how small they can be up there.”

“Brenda can’t be that desperate for attention, can she?”

“There’s no love left in her marriage. But she pretends there’s nothing wrong. That’s what makes it so sad. I feel sorry for her. I really do.”

“Why? She makes her own choices, let her live by them.”

“I know, but it’s so petty,” Cathy said, perplexed by Brenda’s behavior.

“Look, Cathy; it’s not complicated,” I replied. “Brenda envies you. You have a life, and she doesn’t. That’s what bothers her.”

“I know. It bothered her when I lost twenty-four pounds with Weight-Watchers in six months while she’s still trying to lose weight with TOPS, and she’s been in TOPS for twenty years. And it bothers her whenever I come in with a new outfit. But what really bothered her this time was my new emerald ring. I’m not bragging, but everyone at the hospital just loved it, and Brenda couldn’t stand it. She must have told Gordy, that’s why he bought her that big rock. Christine’s right; she didn’t’ need a new diamond. But can you imagine going home every night for three days and telling Gordy that no one had even noticed it? That’s why she had him call to ask me about it. She couldn’t stand it any longer.”

“I can just picture it. Brenda walks thought the door, and Gordy says, ‘So, how did they like your new ring?’ Brenda would be so pissed off that she’d blame Gordy for not buying her a bigger rock and then make him cook his own dinner.”

“Again,” Cathy said, and laughed.

But it wasn’t Cathy’s new emerald ring (and matching necklace that she wore to work now and then) that bothered Brenda; it was the love that imbued the gemstone.

“So,” Cindy said to Cathy, all excited. “Is that your engagement ring?”

I had taken Cathy to Duluth for her fiftieth birthday the previous weekend, and I finally asked her to marry me; but we decided to keep it secret, so Cathy replied, “It’s a birthstone ring, not an engagement ring.”

“But it’s on your engagement ring finger!” Cindy exclaimed.

“It’s my coming-of-age ring,” Cathy calmly replied. “I turned fifty, and Oriano wanted it to be a special day for me; that’s all.”

No, it’s not! It’s an engagement ring, I know it is!”

“It’s a coming-of-age ring, Cindy; so, don’t try to make anything more of it.”

All the girls were waiting for Cathy to come back from Duluth. They thought for sure I would propose this time, because she was turning fifty. Whenever Cathy and I went away, especially on our yearly leafing getaways, Cindy or one of the girls in the office would ask if I had popped the question yet, but when Cathy wriggled out of it this time by telling them it was a coming-of-age ring, it excited their curiosity all the more, and Brenda couldn’t stand for Cathy to get all of that attention.

“That’s ridiculous!” Christine exclaimed, letting it all out. “Spending that kind of money on another ring! She’s got more rings than Carter’s got pills! They could have gone on a real nice holiday and enjoyed themselves! But not her! No way! She has to have another big fancy diamond to show off! No wonder her daughter can’t keep a relationship—”

For Christine, a diamond meant forever, and Brenda’s pretentious display of Gordy’s affection pushed the wrong button, and she continued to rant— “If I was Gordy, I would have left her the moment I found out she was screwing around! She’s got no ethics at all! And she pretends to be such a good Christian! ‘Oh, I’ve got choir practice tonight. Choir practice, my ass! She was screwing his principal, and everyone in town knew it!”

“Christine, get a grip,” Cindy said. “You’re going to drive yourself back to the other side if you let her get to you.”

Cathy smiled. Cindy was referring to Christine’s breakdown, which Doctor Jamie diagnosed as Postpartum Depression that kept her in a hospital bed for three weeks.

“I don’t care! She’s just a big phony, and she’s not fooling anyone around here!”

“Calm down, Christine,” Cathy repeated.

“Why? Why should I?”  Christine replied.

“Because your face is all red. Your blood pressure must be going through the roof.”

“Is it? Is my face all red?” she asked, her brow furling.

“Like a lobster,” Cindy said.

“Well, someone had to say it. She makes me so sick sometimes—”

 

Only four people worked in the office, Cathy, Brenda, Cindy, and Christine, and one would think they would all get along, and they did; but not really.

Colin Hamilton, who was the Director of Finances before he became the new Hospital Administrator (the old CEO had taken an early retirement with two years full pay and a twenty-thousand-dollar buy-out, leaving him free to double dip as temporary administrator for the hospital in the northern community of Sioux Lookout, an egregious example of civil service ethics that drove independent workers like myself insane), can’t make a decision and stick to it, because he wants to please everyone; consequently, everyone is left frustrated, like Colin’s inability to deal with what everyone referred to as “the Christine situation.”

After her breakdown, everyone tiptoed around Christine, making sure not to push her over the edge again; but the girls in the office finally decided that if she couldn’t do her job, she shouldn’t be there, because all the extra work from the fund-raising department had to be absorbed by them because after the office restructuring they had eliminated that position, which meant that Christine had to help out. But Colin didn’t want to stress Christine with more work, and he let her off the hook. In her job as receptionist and switchboard operator, she had more than ample time to help the other girls out, especially during audit and year-end, but she refused to offer a hand, and she always got away with it.

It was flagrant favoritism, and the other girls resented it. So much so that Cindy, who was normally very timid when it came to speaking up about her job, lost it with the overload of extra work, especially when they dumped fundraising onto them—

“And don’t give me that nonsense about no money in the budget!” she blew up at Colin. “If you really wanted to save money, you’d cut Christine’s job! Job! What job? It’s a goddamn joke! She doesn’t do a damn thing out there! All she does is write up a few receipts and answer the phone, and she doesn’t even do that half the time! It’s not fair Colin, and you know it! She’s getting away with murder out there!”

Shocked by Cindy’s outrage, Colin didn’t know what to say. Finally, he told Cindy that he would have a talk with Christine and ask her to help out with the extra workload; but, as usual, he waffled and never said anything to her.

“I’ll bet he wouldn’t treat her like that if they didn’t go to the same church,” Cindy said to Cathy one day when Christine was on her coffee break.

“It’s the Catholic connection,” Cathy said, and laughed.

“Well, I can’t keep up this extra work load,” Cindy said, with a determined look on her face. “I’m just going to go on sick leave and see how he likes it!”

And Cindy did go on sick leave. She used the excuse that the stress of her marriage breakup was too much for her, and Doctor Jamie gave her sick time, so she was off work all summer and Colin had to hire a temp until Cindy returned; but when she returned, nothing had changed. Christine still refused to help out with the extra workload.

“That’s why Christine blew up, you know,” Cindy said to Cathy. “She’s just as big a phony as Brenda. Even bigger. She sits there all day pretending to be busy when we all know she’s not doing a goddamn thing. It’s a joke. Her job’s a big fucking joke! I mean, how long does it take to write up half a dozen receipts? One hour?”

“If that,” Cathy said. smiling.

“Yeah, right!” Cindy replied.

“She’s got a big skunk on her conscience, Cindy,” Cathy said. “That’s why she lost it when she saw Brenda’s new diamond ring.”

“Yeah; maybe, eh? I couldn’t figure out why she got so mad. I mean, she really lost it,” Cindy said. “I thought for sure she was headed for the other side—"

Cathy laughed, but as unresolved as it was, the girls managed to live with “the Christine situation.” But that didn’t bother Cathy as much as Brenda’s work ethic.

Unable to come to terms with Cathy’s promotion to Lead Hand, Brenda did everything she could to sabotage Cathy’s job—withholding information; or giving Cathy just enough information for her to complete some work but which would all have to be redone when Brenda gave her the rest of the information that she was deliberately holding back. That finally got to Cathy, and one day she confronted her—

“I’m not playing games with you, Brenda. If you continue to withhold information from me, I’m going to Colin—”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Go to Colin. You’ve got nothing on me.”

“We’ll see about that,” Cathy said; but she couldn’t bring herself to lodge a complaint about Brenda’s sabotaging behavior, she wanted to work it out between them. “But she won’t change,” she confessed to me over dinner at the Mosport Inn (a quaint old inn on the shores of Lake Superior half an hour’s drive from St. Jude). “She’s too stubborn to change.”

“That’s sad,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“I know. And it’s so damn frustrating. But what can I do?”

“Grin and bear it, I guess,” I said.

“I’m going to lose it one of these days,” Cathy said.

“Sweetheart, do your job as best you can and let the universe take care of the rest. You know how karma works, don’t you?”

“What else can I do? But it’s so damn petty. I mean, can you imagine having her husband call and ask me if I had seen her new ring? My God, if I ever become that small and desperate for attention, I want you to tell me.”

Are you out of your mind? You’re so thin-skinned that if I ever hinted at anything like that you wouldn’t speak to me for months. No thank you, dear; you can work out your own karmic relationship with her. I don’t want that responsibility.”

Cathy knew only too well what I meant, and didn’t respond; and after a moment’s silence, we continued with our Trout Hemingway dinner.

 

——

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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