A Life Reset

Frank Miller was working late for the fourth time that week. The hum of his hard drive sang in the late afternoon silence. It was Friday, everyone else was trying to get out of the office or never came in at all. Just worked from home. But not Frank Miller, he comes in. He feels like he can get more accomplished at the office, just like in the old days.

*Ping* Frank opens the 6 p.m. email that just came in.

Hi there,

We need to send this document out tonight. Could you please prioritize this proof? It’s for an important client meeting in the morning and we assured them last week that they would have it by tonight.

Thanks. I’ll be out the rest of the evening so please refer to the on-boarding manual to cross-reference information about their company.

-Cathy White

Frank puts his computer bag back down. The past hour of no emails gave him hope of returning home in time to watch his favorite shows and take his dog, Percy, for a walk. His heart sank at the thought of Percy. He had been wanting to take him for a walk while the weather was good. But he constantly had to work late and so usually Percy is let out to the backyard and then immediately to bed.

Well, it can’t be helped, Frank thought. They need me. If I don’t get this proofing job done, that would impact our client relations. I don’t know why they couldn’t have given it to me last week though.

His eyes water looking over the document. 78 pages to proof plus an introductory page about their own company needed to be written. Cathy could’ve mentioned that in her email but Frank was used to it. He knew more about the company than anyone and most departments relied on him to fill in the blanks. It was a thankless job but, as Frank tells himself, They need me.

Every job has an oracle, the one person who knows more about the company history than even some of the managers because they’ve lived it. Past CEOs, past department heads, when mergers have happened or even why they work on that floor, Frank knows. However, his cube isn’t stuffed to overflowing like one might imagine of a person who has worked for the same company for 32 years. Frank’s cube remained blank except for a few knick-knacks that people have gifted him after they’ve cleaned out their own desks on their last day at the company.

Frank wants to be somewhere else too. Even just for a vacation. The thought of wanting to take a vacation surprised him. But how will the work get done? I don’t have time to get away when there’s so many projects to get done. Who will proof the documents before they’re sent out? No, I can’t go.

But if I could go somewhere, Frank thought as he rounded page 54, it would be to Guanacaste in Costa Rica.

Frank has loved the idea of Costa Rica ever since he saw a picture of it in a travel pamphlet he picked up from Costco during his Saturday grocery trip. It was next to the exit. Frank was standing next to the fully occupied picnic tables near the concessions, eating his hotdog with one hand and holding on to his receipt with his other. He had just bought an economy jar of mayonnaise and knew the drill of getting it out of the store. He saw the display of pamphlets and picked one up. Once he saw the warm sandy beaches and waterfalls of Guanacaste, he was hooked. The pamphlet is faded and torn now, but he still thinks about Costa Rica nearly everyday.

****

9:05 p.m. Frank shuts down his computer and heads to the kitchenette to clean out his coffee cup. The coffee, untouched since about 2 p.m., came splashing out to reveal a dark brown ring around the inside.

*Ping*

Hi Frank,

I hope this message finds you well. We have a proofing request for an in-person presentation on Monday. No worries about looking at it tonight, tomorrow works fine.

Thanks.

Cliff Rumberger

Frank sighed and set the cold cup down.

Tomorrow’s Saturday…

He let his mind trail off. It doesn’t matter. Frank didn’t have any plans tomorrow anyway. He could work on it at home with Percy. That wouldn’t be so bad.

****

Frank’s apartment was dark when he got home around 10:30 p.m. The lamp he had on a timer must have burned out. He fumbled in the darkness to turn on his desk lamp.

“Percy!”

“Percy, where are you boy?”

Frank got the light turned on and turned to see Percy curled up on his pillow. His eyes were vacant and unblinking. Looking at Frank’s armchair.

“Percy…”

Frank could hardly breathe as he knelt down next to Percy and gently tried to shake him awake.

“No Percy. No buddy you’re ok, you’re ok, you’re alright. You’re alright!”

Percy didn’t move when Frank scooped him up to hold him in his arms. Frank had noticed Percy was getting slower than usual these past few weeks, but thought it was due to lack of activity.

“When I get home early tonight, we’re going to go on a big walk,” Frank had told Percy that morning.

Frank muffled his sobs into Percy’s soft gray fur. He slept on the floor that night, with Percy in his arms.

****

Frank woke up stiff on the hardwood floor that morning. The call to the vet was equally unfeeling as Frank told them the news.

“We have some availability this afternoon,” the receptionist replied. “You can bring him in around 2 p.m. and we’ll take care of him then. Have a nice day.”

“Yeah…you too.”

Frank heard a familiar sound as soon as the call ended.

*Ping*

Hiya Frank,

Just a friendly reminder about the presentation proofing. Needs to be done by Monday morning.

Thanks pal.

Cliff Rumberger

For the first time in as long as Frank could remember, he laughed. He laughed long and he laughed hard. He slammed his work phone down on the desk, picked it back up again, and threw it at his desk lamp which smashed to pieces on the floor. He fell into his armchair, laughing.

“No. No, no, no,” was all that Frank could say out loud. Tears rolling down his face.

Frank felt a crunch beneath him in the seat cushion. He pulled out a wrinkled torn up piece of paper. It was the Costco Travel pamphlet still folded open on the page all about Costa Rica. Frank stared at the picture which became the only clear thing he could see in that moment. He rushed over to his desk, stepping on the surrounding ceramic piece on the floor, and fired up his personal computer.

He hadn’t used his personal computer in ages. No need since his email, along with anyone who would email him, was on his work computer. No thoughts entered Frank’s mind. He had a singular motivation to just go. To leave. Maybe never come back. Back to a life that meant nothing.

His first step to leave town: check on his savings account. He had contributed to his savings account for years and kept it in a different holding than his regular bank, so he could just leave it alone and let it accrue. Frank began to pound on the keyboard.

Access denied. Reset your password.

Frank jammed in another possible password.

Access denied. Reset your password.

Frank clicked on “Reset Your Password” to find out that every email he knew wasn’t a match. He couldn’t login despite all of his efforts. Everyone he knew, his mom’s name, the street he grew up on, nothing could pass the security tests. He even made one last attempt at a password: Percy.

Nothing.

****

Frank’s account information is under review now as he continues to attempt to prove who he is to verify his identity. It’s been a few weeks and he hopes to go to Costa Rica someday soon. Until then, he has the pamphlet hanging on his cubicle wall next to a picture of Percy.