please put a good word up there for me when you see God and Saint Pete?”
“I sure will,” he says with a smile in his voice. “What is your name again?”
“Madison Lee,” I say and he’s the very first caller to whom I have disclosed my full name.
“Will do,” he says kindly.
After transferring him over to the payment center, I turn to Hillary. “See!” I say steadfastly. “It’s not possible to sell on every call. Sometimes, it’s just not right. He’s a dying man Hillary.”
The Führer is without a soul. “If you did not make the offer, then how would you have known if he would have said ‘Yes’ or ‘No’?” She raises her unibrow, making her meaning quite clear.
I drop it. It’s pointless…just like talking to a brick wall.
She’s clearly brainwashed like the rest of them.
Anxiously, I sit and wait for another call to come through.
It’s summer time and the call volume tends to drop during the warmer months, and spike during the colder ones. And right now, it’s super slow.
Hilary seems annoyed that it has slowed down. She glares at me belligerently, as if it is my fault that there aren’t any calls in queue. Gosh. Her eyes are ablaze like red hot coals.
Squirming in my seat, I mutter, “Um, Hillary...will you please stop yelling at me?”
“I’m not yelling at you,” she snaps.
“Yes you are. You-you’re yelling at me with your eyes.”
Beep!
I sag with relief. “Thanks for calling…”
By the end of my shift, I am having serious thoughts of suicide, and for some odd reason, my left eye hurts like crazy. I briefly close my eyes, hoping that the mere act of shielding it from the bright lights will offer some sort of relief from the acute burning sensation. It feels like someone is stabbing my eye with a blunt screwdriver.
I’m stumbling down the stairs with my vision impaired, when Mika is suddenly beside me.
“Hey,” he says, slowing down to match my pace.
I squint. “Hey.”
He immediately notices something amiss. “Are you okay? You look a little tired.”
I sigh. “I’m all right. Hillary’s been doing side-by-sides with me all day.”
He makes an apologetic grimace.
“Mika, is it okay with you if we skip your tutoring session this weekend? I don’t know why, but my left eye is bugging the hell outta me.”
“Sure. Of course we can skip it.” He stops and gently tilts up my chin. Bending his face to my upturned face, he studies my left eye. “Hmm. It looks pretty red.”
Instinctively, I touch it and wince. “It does?” I ask, squinching my mangled eye. I probably look like a mad Mongoloid.
A look of concern clouds his face. “Yeah, you better go home and get plenty of rest, okay?”
“Okay,” I mutter, bumbling my way down the stairs. “What about you? What are you doing tonight?”
He props the door open. “Nothing exciting. I have a hundred page thesis to write.”
We stroll out side by side into the sweet, balmy summer night and a welcoming breeze kisses my cheeks.
Mika escorts me to my car. “I’ll call you tonight?”
“Sure.” I stall for time, swinging my bag from side to side. “Are you heading home right now?”
Another breeze sweeps in and tiny wisps of hair tickle his forehead. “Yeah.” He smiles. “Why?”
I clear my throat. “Um, don’t you have to wait for Tatiana?”
He rakes a hand through his wind-rumpled hair. “As a matter of fact, I don’t. Tatiana’s hooked up with Adnan, so he gives her a ride now,” he says with a hint of relief in his voice.
“Adnan? The security guy?” I ask, surprised yet undeniably pleased. “Are you for real?”
Mika confirms this with a nod, and waits for me to slide into my car before firmly shutting the door after me.
I roll down my window. “Do you want to go hiking up in Cherry Creek tomorrow?” I ask on a whim.
“Sure.” He leans forward and lightly brushes my hair from my eyes. “We’ll figure out the details when I call you tonight, ‘k?”
“Okay.” I find myself grinning stupidly.
For a brief moment, our eyes lock and he gives me a strange, serious look. The moonlight flicks on his face, and after several beats he steps back and says, “Take care of that eye of yours.”
“I’ll try.” I switch on the ignition.
Although there is an acute burning sensation in my left eye, and the earlier part of my day was total crap (thanks to Hillary), I feel my spirits soar. “Ta-Ta, Tatiana,” I think out loud.
As I’m driving away in a haze of