Day Two, Morning
Innocent intentions and harmless indulgence appear to be the fuse on the powderkeg...
From this morning...
It was a wonderful ride into work. One of those mornings where traffic and timing seemed to serendipitously coincide in that way which parted the vehicles in front of me like a Red Sea of metal, glass and rubber...
I had no overly intense need to indulge in speed or shows of acceleration and manueverability (not that I could do any of those things very impressively), but instead rode at a leisurely pace and got to the office even more relaxed and energized as usual. It was a beautiful morning.
As I got off the bike and was removing my gloves I looked up and down the lines of cars in the front lot and saw Amy's black S2000 and smiled coyly in my helmet. She's very fun to talk to, all other physical issues aside, and I was looking forward to chatting about nothing when we eventually ran into each other in the halls. I made the decision not to overtly seek her out.
I walked toward the doors with helmet in hand and checked in at the desk... With the "tock tock tock" sound of the Astar boots on the hardwood floors of the main entrance I swung left toward my office and in a few more seconds was at my desk getting out of my boots and searching for my dress shoes.
Within about 30 seconds of that, Nora was standing in my doorway; A long time friend that I've worked with for quite a long time and who's husband and I have worked on the last 3 projects together before he transferred to San Francisco. She and my wife are close friends.
"Ease up ok?"
"What? Oh, Good-morning-Nora..."
"She's not the girl next door"
"So now I'm not able to have conversations with people in the office? You're being alarmist"
"Would you have the same conversations if J (my wife's nickname)were around?"
I thought about that one for a little bit... Imagining a situation involving perhaps a dinner party and the small social cliques of after dinner converations that would arise.
"Yes, I would Nora"
That answer seemed to surprise, but not dissuade her.
"I hear her talking when you're not around, when she's gabbing with other people"
"...and"
"I just don't get a warm fuzzy about it, that's all"
"I thought it was a good idea to mention to her that you were married..."
"I told her that as well, almost from the start"
By this time I was feeling a little uncomfortable about the whole line of questioning statements. I started searching for the guilt in myself that they seemed to imply, but could honestly find none. I had no intentions of "doing" anything with her but talk, laugh, and enjoy her company.
"her comment to me aside from being a bitch, was that you're 'married, not buried' "
"Just a funny saying, you two just hit it off awkwardly, that's all"
"Last time I heard a woman say that in an office setting, it meant something and turned into something alot more than a 'saying' "
"Nora, what do you want me to do? Ignore her?"
"Just try to imagine J standing behind you when you're talking to her that's all"
At that point I sighed pretty heavily and leaned forward in my chair; A sign of mild exasperation.
"Have you mentioned her yet?"
"...no, but I will"
"That's your first danger sign"
Nora seemed to relax a bit as if on cue and took my sign as her invitation to leave. She stood there a few more seconds, as if conflicted heavily about what she would say next, and then said one more thing before disappearing that did not sound like it was meant to be comforting...
"Don't make me make a call, because I will"
It's a good thing I was slightly more energized this morning coming in, looks like I needed it...
But I'm not so daft as to realize that however she sounded, Nora is probably doing me a favor...
I haven't seen Amy yet today... It feels strangely calm...
Feanor