Retirement

Harris walked into his office that morning with an uncharacteristic smile plastered across his face. He sauntered through reception, waving cheerily at Sandra as she checked ID cards.

“Morning, Mr. O’Loughlin, big day, huh?”

He nodded. “Sure is!”

“Enjoy it, then. We’ll all miss you round here!”

He headed for the elevators, riding to the 8th floor. He checked his reflection in the mirrored walls, straightening his striped navy tie, adjusting the cuffs of his navy suit. His shoes were polished and his hair was smartly gelled in place, just as it had been on his very first day, though considerably grayer.

When he stepped out of the lift party poppers exploded overhead, showering him with colored streamers and confetti. A big banner hung between the water cooler and the conference room, announcing “Happy Retirement!” in giant red letters.

“Aww, you guys. You shouldn’t have!” He told them, tearing up a little as one by one his colleagues came over to shake hands.

“Nonsense, Harris. I don’t know how we’ll run this place without you!” His boss said warmly. “We all chipped in to get you a token of our gratitude and affection.” He opened a velvet box, revealing an elegant gold pocket watch. Attached to the chain was a small heart shaped locket, engraved with the company logo.

“I know it’s an old-fashioned idea, but you’re such a traditional guy, we figured it was right.”

“It’s wonderful,” Harris told them, and meant it. “Every time I look at it I’ll be thinking of you guys, stuck here, working away in the office!”

Everyone laughed, and Jillian from Accounting cut up a sheet cake and passed pieces around the room. For an hour work was forgotten, and they sat around on desks to chat about Harris’s plans.

“Are you really going to travel the world, Harris?” Lyndsey from Sales asked.

“Absolutely! My plane ticket’s booked, I leave tonight!”

“Where will you go first?”

“Egypt, I’ve always wanted to see the tombs of the Pharaohs. I have a whole stack of tour guides, I’m even taking a paddleboat cruise along the Nile!”

“Wow, I didn’t know people still did that, couldn’t you just take a VR vacation and save yourself all the travel time?”

“Ah, I could, but I think no matter how good VR is, it can never be as good as the real thing. I want to feel the sand under my feet, smell the street food in the Souks, watch the sunset over the Pyramids of Giza.”

“You make it sound magical, maybe I’ll go there myself on my next vacation day.”

“I hope you do, Lyndsey. Don’t wait till you’re old and achy like me to live your dreams.”

Harris left the party, stepping through the door to his office. He ran his finger over the door plaque, “Harris O’Loughlin, Senior Shipping Clerk.” Soon someone else’s name would be there instead, Malcolm perhaps, he was a bright lad. Reminded Harris of himself when he was younger, eagerly working his way to the top.

Inside the office he started clearing his desk. There wasn’t a lot to pack up – a photo of his wife Edith, gone these past five years now. He looked at the photo fondly, remembering how upset she had been with her hair that day, the curls wild and unmanageable in the heat. ‘What was the point of a VR vacation’ she had asked, ‘if you couldn’t at least look perfect for the photographs?’ ‘It’s part of the realism,’ he told her. ‘Makes you feel like you are truly there, in the moment.’ She had planted a huge kiss on his cheek, and told him ‘There, do you feel like this is real now?’ He stroked his cheek, then placed the photo gently into the cardboard box. What he wouldn’t give for one last kiss.

The drawers were mostly empty, he’d given all the documents and files to his secretary to file. He found an old pair of spectacles, one arm held on with tape. A pack of playing cards – how had they got there? Then he remembered the day school closed early due to broken air conditioning. Carly had sat in his big office chair spinning it round and round until his head ached, and his secretary had offered to teach her Solitaire. He put them into the box. Carly was married now, with three sons of her own. Funny how time passed so fast.

On the wall was a poster of Machu Pichu. Harris had always wanted to go there, but it would never happen now. He was too old for all that climbing, and his lungs weren’t what they used to be. No, he’d leave that dream for the next Senior Shipping Clerk. He took a last look out of his office window. The bustling city street below was a sea of umbrellas, and raindrops traced paths like tears down the glass. He could hardly believe it. This time tomorrow he would be in Egypt!

***

Eric checked his clipboard, checking the retirement schedule. “Do you have a Harris O’Loughlin?” he asked Bernice.

“Yeah, he’s the third one on the right. Is he on the list for today?”

“Yeah, he’s already been through the whole leaving party program. Does it say on his notes what his retirement plan is?”

Bernice tapped away on the stasis pod’s keypad. “Yeah, looks like the standard world tour. I’ll load up the Nile cruise program, that one runs, what, a week?”

Eric frowned. “I think it’s only five days. Might have to add in another one – do we have a copy of the Greek islands tour still? Bung that on the end, that will see him through the retirement process.”

Bernice loaded the files into the virtual reality bank, while Eric unhooked the feeding tubes. Together they wheeled the unit out into the hallway ready for collection by the end-stage crew. By evening there’d be a new pod to take its place, an eager 17-year-old perhaps, ready to start a career in the big city. The real cities had been filled up centuries ago, for most of Earth’s 40 billion humans the stasis pod was the only life they ever knew. Eric was glad VR had come such a long way. It made his job a lot less sad.

***

Harris sat on the top deck of the Nile Queen, watching the green waters churn around the bright red paddles. It was still hot, though not as bad as it had been earlier. Out here on the water there was a pleasant breeze. He took a sip of his cocktail and watched the last orange rays of sunset light up the ruins and hotels along the riverbank. You couldn’t get an experience like this from a VR headset.

He smiled. Retirement felt good.