One Bad Omen

*Click-click* “Come on. Are you really going to do this? After everything we’ve been through?” *Click-click* “Please don’t! I have so much left to do...” *Click-click-click-click-click-click-click* “Gah!” Stacey hopped out of her chair and walked away from the frozen computer. “You!... You..!” She stomped and took a deep breath in and a slow one out, “You lovely piece of equipment that gives me so much information at my fingertips. Thank you for being so wonderful. Please take a rest. And I will just hope you sent that email...” Her rage heated like a stove in her mind, spoiling the air. Still thinking of the lesson, she took a few more breaths, then went to get ready for work. She placed contacts over her hazel eyes, changed her top when she noticed it made her eyes more green than usual, stuck a few bobby pins in her hellish frizz, and walked out the door. She got all the way down to the first floor and half through the parking garage before realizing she left her keys. She grimaced, clenched, breathed, and smiled. “It’s okay, just good exercise, right?” Before heading back up, she took out her phone and clicked on the last number dialed. 

“Hey, girl.” The voice on the other line said, “Gonna be late?” Stacey nodded then shook her head, but before she could respond, the voice said, “I can’t hear you nodding.” Laughter echoed through the garage from the other side of the phone.

“Yes. I forgot my keys and had to walk back up all five floors to get them.”

“Girl, they still haven’t fixed the elev...”

“Hello? Hello? Johnathan?” Stacey looked at her phone. Call Lost flashed on its screen. “Damn garage!” She gritted her teeth and took a breath. “Oh well. I can talk to him when I get there.” While climbing the stairs, she noticed the lack of burning and agony in her legs and smiled. “After two years, I guess I have gotten used to it.” But the uncomfortable feeling of hot, swollen muscles infested her legs by the third floor and all the way back down. Finally, passing through the muggy, cold, cave-like garage, she hopped into her car. “Please, baby. Give me something good about today.” She said, rubbing the dashboard while turning the ignition. The car squeaked and rumbled, “Come on...” She turned it again. Rumble, pop, squeal. “Please!” And on the third turn, it started. “Oh, Thank You!” The garage was filled with the sound of the engine belts screaming, but by the time she got onto the main road, it had ceased complaining.

Once on the quickly crowding roads, Stacey began blindly searching for her phone. Gripping and groping, she sifted through her purse. Her eyes began to drift down over to the purse. A car swerved out in front of her. Grasping the wheel and veering to the shoulder, she laid on the horn. Two curses flew from her mouth before she took the time to breathe once more. “Well… You’re already late. There’s nothing you can do. You should just enjoy the drive. And don’t let Fuu… IDIOTS… get to you!” Watching her breathing, she took a moment to take the day in as all the cars passed her. The sky was almost clear, minus three small clouds clustered together to her right. The grass was already beginning to die, and some of the trees were hued in red and yellow. “A beautiful day indeed.” A smile crossed her face, then a frown. All the way across the median on the other side of the road, there was a black cat perched on the guard rail. It sat watching as cars flew by and licked its paw. A semi flew past, and the cat was gone. Stacey shook it off, and slowly, over what felt like ten minutes, she finally managed to squeeze back into the morning rush.

With only fifteen minutes left before getting to the office, she dialed the only other number in her recent call list. As always, it was answered in the second ring. “Hello there, Stacey. How is the day going so far?” Stacey scrunched her face and waggled her head, “Words, Stacey. We have to voice our emotions to deal with them.”

“Sorry.” Her face still scrunched, “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster already today, Dr. Richard. But I really feel like I’ve done… well. I’ve been breathing and taking time to look around, and I’ve even been trying to find the positive in things. I’ve really been trying…”

“That sounds like great progress. And please, I told you before to call me Dave. Has it been working? Have you cursed anyone, or thing, out since Tuesday?” There was a long pause. “Or worse…”

“Oh no! Nothing worse. I had some slip out this morning. The guy!” She caught herself, but Dave was quicker.

“The anger came from you. You have to learn to push past what...” Dave paused.

“What others do around you. Others may be selfish and angry. But I must stay open and positive.” Stacey finished for him. But still, he was silent. “Dr. Richard? Dave,” Stacey glanced at her phone. Call Lost flashed on the screen, “Oh, Mother Fu..!” Gritting her teeth, she strangled her phone with one hand before just dropping it into the cup holder. “Wonderful piece of technology. And if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to him in the first place.” She rushed through the words, not even thinking of them. Then, I flicked on the radio and tried to absorb the song, truly listening. After two songs, she flicked it off, unable to handle their simplicity and repetitiveness.

An hour and a half later than it should have been, she pulled into the parking lot, caught an elevator going up, clocked in, and crashed into her chair. “Want a cold coffee I got you on the way here?” Johnathan peaked around the cubicle wall on her right. “Thought you might need it after working so late last night.” Stacey flashed a pouty face at him and nodded. “Did you at least finish the reports?”

She sipped the room-temperature bitter liquid, then dropped her head backward, “Well, I got really close. But my computer was moving like a snail’s ass this morning. So I don’t know if the file was sent, saved, or lost in the ether.” She lifted her bolder-sized head to take another sip. Johnathan stared at her, his fine brown hair as poofy as ever.

“Well, at least you don’t have to deal with Jackson. After your little...” He cleared his throat. “Show. I don’t think he’ll ever bother you about late reports again.”

Stacey winced, “Please don’t remind me. It’s been just over a year, and I’ve been doing well to put it behind me.” Johnathan smirked and wagged his head, “I know you’re happy I did it. But...” She took a breath, “No, you know what, I’m glad I did too. This mandatory time with Dr. Richard has been really good for me. Hard and annoying at times. But good.”

“Anger is the death of people, girl. That’s why simply stop at passive aggression. I don’t care enough to get all hot and sweaty. Plus, frowning gives you wrinkles.” He forced a shudder through his whole body. “Apathy is the true ageless cream.” He snapped and got hushed by the person across from him. “Hush yourself, Tyler. Not everyone enjoys work like you.” Johnathan waited two seconds before turning back to Stacey. “Speaking of anger kicking people, did you see the wreck coming in?” Stacey shook her head and took another regretful sip of the coffee. “This guy flipped his car like three times. Apparently, he was feuding with his wife over the phone. Driving way too fast, lost control, and hit the guard rail at like ninety-five.”

“Oh my goodness!” A head peeked over the wall in front of Johnathan. “Do you ever stop talking?”

Johnathan glared at him, “We’ve been cube neighbors for four years now, Tyler. Answer that question yourself.” Tyler scoffed, but with another glare, he slowly disappeared back behind the wall.

“No. I didn’t see anything. There was an id... A person who pushed me off the road this morning.”

“Nah. It was the other direction. Just wonder if you passed it. The reporter said that he had a bundle of lilies in the trunk. So, he was just asking for it.” He spun around and pulled himself to his computer. “I don’t ever want to see a lily. Even if I’m already dying, those things are just… bad luck.”

Stacey signed in to her computer and was about to check her mail when someone cleared their throat behind her. “Excuse me, Miss Noland.” Stacey’s body froze as her heart quickened. Slowly, she turned to see the man. “I am expecting those reports… first thing tomorrow.” Her superior stood over her, adjusting his tie. His tone was demanding, but his voice wavered with nerves. This was their first meeting since their… event, and still, her blood boiled just at his voice.

Breathe in, breathe out. Slow in, slow out. Through the nose, through the mouth. “Mr. Jackson. I did a week’s worth of work last night. Clearing up... the mess. I hope to have everything solved for you by the end of the day.” She said and gave him a forced smile.

“Careful, Steve.” Johnathan popped around the corner, “There’s a lot of passive there, but it can switch to plain aggressive real quick. You remember, don’t you?”

He grumbled to himself, face beginning to redden, and stomped off down the hall.

“I still don’t understand how you didn’t get fired,” Tyler said from behind his wall. “I was scared for my life that day. Can’t imagine what you put him through.”

“A lot of groveling. Plus, with my resume and backlogs of things I’ve done for this company, my extra hours – with great results.” She frowned and shook off the humble brag. “They knew I was too much an asset to discard. So, two months unpaid absence and anger management until seen fit by the... doctor.” Still unable to bring herself to say the t-word. “And here I am. Better than ever.” Even to her, that sounded weak.

Johnathan scoffed, “I think you both should’ve been fired. He was yelling twice as loud and didn’t he throw something?”

“A lamp, a stapler, and tipped over his chair. Not at me – just around the room.” Stacey said. Tyler slowly lowered back down. “But yeah. From what I understand, he didn’t get as much as a slap on the wrist. I think he has some connection to the department manager or someone else. I don’t really care.”

Johnathan gave her a big hug before they both started back to work. Stacey checked her work email, but there was no sign that the reports had come through. Okay. That’s fine. She clicked away and opened her email. Nothing there either. “Perfect! Lost in the ether!” Johnathan crept his head around the wall; she took a deep breath. “I’m okay. I should still have them on the computer at home... Hopefully! I’ll just... I’ll just start where I think I left off. If I finish that, I’ll just start back up from the top.” She sipped the cold coffee and gagged. “Johnathan...”

“I’m on it, girl!” He practically leaped out of his chair. “I figured you’d asked a lot sooner than that. Tyler, you want anything from Steal-Bucks.”

“Where? What?”

“The coffee shop down the street.” He shook his head. “Do you want anything?”

“Well... Yeah, that’d be...”

“Too Late! Kindness time over.” Stacey smirked and shook her head, knowing full well that Johnathan already knew and was already going to get Tyler’s regular. He walked away, towering over the cubicles.

With a nod and the knowledge that her caffeine fix would be here to save her soon, she began burning away at the keyboard. The slow drone of the vent just above her helped drown out the quiet chatter of the office. Numbers, rows, and columns were imprinted on her eyes. The sweet smell of Johnathan’s coffee pulled her out of her trance, but only long enough to enjoy the hot, black coffee he dropped off for her. She skipped lunch, both because it’d make up for her being late and because she didn’t even register the time. Around two o’clock, she completed the last line, paused long enough for a breath, and started back at the top. There was no way for her to know if her computer at home had saved her work last night, so it was better to have it all done twice than not at all.

At about an eighth of the way down, there was so much commotion it broke her concentration. She moved her mouse up, clicked the save icon, the computer made a noise, and she went to find Johnathan – never too far from office drama. “Hey, what’s going on? If it’s a birthday, just bring me a piece of cake. I don’t want to...”

"Ssh!" Johnathan put a finger up. “Comeuppance.” He beamed. It took Stacey another second to register where they were.

“What’s going on with Jackson?” Stacey tried to lift herself to Johnathan’s level, but no matter how she tried, she still lacked almost two feet compared to him. The crowd started to scatter as two EMTs pushed their way through. Mr. Jackson lay motionless on the gurney they pulled with them. “Wha... What?”

“Seems like a heart attack,” Johnathan said, “Apparently, he was yelling at one of the interns and just collapsed.”

“Is he?...”

“Don’t know. I’m guessing not yet since they aren’t performing CPR. But fingers crossed.”

Stacey peered through the dispersing crowd into Steve’s office, and for the faintest moment, she would have sworn there was a black cat out on the window seal. Not even a cat could climb six stories up. Must have been a bird.

They went back to their desk and talked for a few moments before Stacey returned to work. There was just over an hour left in the day, but Stacey didn’t want to have to pull another all-nighter. She went to click on the next line, but the mouse didn’t move. “No...” She rattled on the keyboard, but nothing. “No.” Ctrl, Alt, Delete Nothing. “FU... NO! Come on!” Johnathan whipped around the corner. “It’s a... The Fu... Gah! It’s frozen!” She clenched her fist and placed her head on the wall behind her desk. Johnathan took her place in front of the computer and began clicking and tapping away. “I don’t even know if it’s saved. Again!”

“When you clicked the save button, did it bing or bong?”

Stacey stared at him, “Bing, I think... I don’t know!” She let out a heavy sigh.

“I thought I heard a bong.”

“Shut up, Tyler!” Johnathan clicked a few more times, but still nothing. “I’m sorry, girl. But I have to restart it...” He held the power button, but still, the screen stayed on. He bent over and yanked out the cord. The monitor and tower died at the same time. “I think it’s quitten time!” Tyler went to say something, but Johnathan interrupted him, “Look, our computers are down. Our boss just had a heart attack. We’re emotionally distraught. We are going home an hour early.”

The two of them walked down to the coffee shop and talked over a quick brew but decided to go ahead and split before rush hour started. “No point on leaving work early if you don’t beat everyone else home,” Johnathan said, waving as they parted ways in the parking lot. Stacey hesitantly agreed, not wanting to find what she feared would be on her computer at home. Or, more accurately, wouldn’t find.

Taking a moment to breathe and center herself, preparing for the greatest trial of her anger. Being only twenty-five minutes from the capital, some days being worse than others – of course, made traffic hell on earth. She hopped in the car and gave the key a turn, nothing, not even a putter. Letting out a sigh, she tried again, a few clicks, then nothing.

She patted the dashboard, “Come on, girl. You can do it...” She turned the key again, squeezing the steering wheel. Nothing. She punched in Johnathan’s number; it rang twice and then dropped. She punched it in again, this time not even ringing once before dropping it. “SSHhhii... sshh... It’s okay. We’ll figure something out.” But all she could do was sit there and think about not being mad. As soon as she started to think of something to fix her situation, the anger of her situation boiled up again. So she sat and sat and sat.

A knock on the window sent her through the roof of the car, heart bursting and anger demolished. “Thought you might need me,” Johnathan said with an evil grin on his face, knowing what he had done. “Need some juice?” He held up a bundle of jumper cables. Stacey nodded furiously. “Pop this puppy open.” He said, walking over to his car. In just a few minutes, her car was up and running again. Stacey gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Stop it, girl. You’re making me blush.” He closed the hoods and put everything away. “So much for getting a jump on traffic.” He shrugged, gave her another hug, wished her safe travels, and drove off.

Stacey took a deep breath, got back in the car, looked at her phone – its service bar flashing full to nothing – let out another sigh and put the car into gear. “So much for calling anyone if I need help.” It wasn’t long before the cars began to close in on her. The traffic was slow but moving, which was just a minor inconvenience. I’ll still get home at a decent time. The traffic slowed and slowed. Came to a crawl. Then stopped all together. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands, letting out a slow, harsh exhale as she read the sign saying her exit was only two and a half miles away. “Yaaay...” She turned on the annoyingly repetitive music of the radio, made it through about a song and a half, and flipped it back off. She gained a few inches. Her anger warmed. Next, she tried watching some people in the cars around her. She got a good chuckle at someone absent-mindedly picking his nose but then became very self-conscious when she made eye contact with the same man. Traffic moved another few inches; she was having trouble not making her breath sound like huffs.

An hour into her twenty-minute drive, she was beginning to feel crazy. The war between staying calm and nice and hating everyone and everything raged on. At least three cars had managed to wedge themselves in front of her for no apparent reason because it Definitely Didn’t Help Them Go Anywhere! And more annoyingly, at least four cars had gone flying down the shoulder. “It’s Illegal! Stupid! And doesn’t help anyone! You Selfish PRI...” She choked the wheel and huffed – banging her back in the seat. “Nothing good can come of it. They can’t hear you anyway. They are idiots that aren’t involved with my life. Their wrong choices aren’t hurting you.” She shook her head, “You gotta let it go.” She took a controlled breath, in and out. “At least it’s a cool day.” She looked at the A/C, “I really need to get that fixed.” Then, the wall of stress collapsed on top of everything else around her. She strangled the wheel and began shaking, teeth clenched. “Come OONNNN!!”

“NO!!” She stopped herself, “No. No. No. You are being a child. Stop it. Throwing a tantrum won’t pay your bills or get you promoted. It barely even makes you feel better.” After more controlled breathing, she closed her eyes and swept up the rubble of the stress, moving it aside. “I can’t do anything about those things right now anyway. I can’t do anything about the traffic. All I can do is relax, take things how they are, and go somewhere happier.” She took off the boiling anger and put on a thing of jasmine tea. Her mind recreated the lovely smell. She looked around to see what else she could clean. Dust off some childhood memories? Maybe that one wild night in Vannesco? Or how about…

HHHHOOOOONNNKKKK!!!

Her white knuckles couldn’t squeeze any harder on the leather circle. She moved up the two inches the truck behind her was so eager to gain. “He won’t get to me. I won’t let him.” His horn blared again. She moved another pointless inch. “Just forget it.” She closed her eyes again and began tidying up once more. Letting the smell of the imaginary tea clear her mind. Breathe in, One, Two, Three. And out, One, Two, Three. Blood and color rushed back into her hands, and she released the tension in her neck. One, two, three. Out, one, two, three. A Thud-Thud sound resonated through her car, but her world stayed clear and neat. “Just get his insurance info and leave it at that. Let him do the yelling; don’t stoop to his level.” She slowly opened her eyes.

“What The?!” she said jumping back in her seat and stared at the cat standing on her hood. Its green eyes pierced through the window and her. Stacey watched its black fur flowing in the chilled wind. But her eyes were drawn to the single white patch on its proud chest. It looks like a... “A Lilly?” her own voice rang through the car. The cat seemed to nod in confirmation, and a shiver ran down her spine. The honking rang out behind her again, but she couldn’t hear it anymore. They stared at each other for a long time. Finally, she managed to form a thought and mouthed one word, “Me?”  

The cat’s eyes narrowed like it was trying to smile, and it shook its head. Stacey exhaled for the first time in what felt like minutes, and the ringing of the honk came back into focus. The cat stood, climbed onto the windshield, thudded across the roof and down the back window, leaping onto the hood of the honking truck. Stacey watched as the screaming, red-faced man jumped out of his truck and tried to nab the cat. Who casually walked to the other side of the hood and hopped down. The red-faced man yelled at the cat so loud that Stacey heard him, “Oh No, You Don’t! Get Back Here!” Later, when the shock settled, Stacey would swear the cat shook its butt in response. The man stomped after the cat as it walked over to and jumped up on the guard rail. Stacey heard a horn blare, but it was too late. The red-faced man tumbled over a white car flying down the shoulder.

Three hours later, Stacey got home. She placed her copy of the police report on the table and collapsed on the couch. Waves of hundreds of emotions still crashed over her. She worried for the man in the truck, but they said he’d make it. But…

The scent of real jasmine tea brewing filling the apartment eased her mind, and she got up to pour herself a cup. Taking some deep breaths, she sipped the tea and played back the day. And decided it was time to call Dave. One look at the flashing service bar, with more ease than she would have even a few hours ago, she thought, maybe an email.

She booted up the computer, and there, still open, was her previous long night’s work. She exhaled, easing the forgotten tension in her chest, and sent it to her work email before sending a very wordy email to Dave.

As she walked back into the living room, she noticed movement at her window. She walked over; I guess four stories would be easier than the six. With a smirk, she unlatched the window and opened it, letting the black cat in. “Come to check up on me?” Petting his fine fur was more relaxing than any breathing exercise she had ever done. “Lilly, hu? Maybe not bad luck after all. Just an omen. A warning.” Scratching his chin, she said, “Gonna stick around to keep an eye on me?” Lilly winked and let out a long purr.

The computer let out a chime, signifying an email. “Odd for Dave to respond so quick, this late.” She read the subject: “Application necessary.” Her brows scrunched. The email was from her office’s HR. Relaxed, she opened it.

Ms. Noland,

In light of… It becomes apparent… Mr. Jackson… And with his tragic… Leaving a vacancy… Seeming a perfect fit…

Please submit your resume in order to make your transfer to Supervisor official. Manager Dickson will meet with you in the morning for more details.

Hope you’ll accept…

“Definitely,” She smiled at her new furry roommate, “not bad luck.” He let out a meow and tossed his head back and forth.