Life Is Truly Good

Lexington Avenue is far below me.

         From inside my apartment, the Avenue is a long way down. From the ledge, it’s even farther. The apartments across the street are filled with people, not even noticing me here on the ledge.

         But I’m getting ahead of myself. Please allow me to explain how I came to be here, here on this ledge.

##

My name is Corey Madison. I’m 23 years old and I work as a production assistant to the art director of a large advertising agency in New York. I consider myself very plain. I don’t have a boyfriend or even the prospects of one. I don’t go out at night, just head straight home from work and watch a video or walk down to the corner deli for a sandwich. My life is planned out for me and I feel powerless to change it.

I’ve been working at the agency for nearly three years. The name of this agency is of no consequence to my story.

But this hectic work day started out particularly disastrous.

My alarm never went off; the dress I hurriedly threw on had a tear in the hem; I spilled coffee on my white coat as I waited for the bus, which was late coming to the bus stop; all this made me late for work, as usual.

I hurried off the elevator and was met by my boss’ secretary, Andrea. She looked annoyed as she made a point of looking at her Tag Heuer watch, a gift from our boss on the tenth anniversary of Andrea’s employment with the company.

“You’re late – again,” said Andrea, purposely emphasizing the word “again.”

“I know, “I said, as I juggled my gloves, my purse, my briefcase, my knit cap and my coffee. “My alarm didn’t go off and the bus was late.” 

“Too bad,” sniffed Andrea. “The boss has been here for 2 hours and has been looking for you,” she said over her shoulder as she walked away from me. “I think you better go to his office right now!”

As I hurried toward my cubicle, several of my co-workers chided me as I walked by. Some even teased me, again, about being late for work. It just seemed like I couldn’t catch a break here at work.

I rolled my eyes and thought, “what else is new?” I hurried to my cramped cubicle and put down all my various paraphernalia. I took a deep breath and hurried to the boss’ office.

I knocked on the door and heard a gruff, “come in.” The boss, Mr. Gruber, was on the phone, but motioned for me to sit in one of the two chairs angled in front of his desk.

I didn’t really want to hear what he was saying or didn’t care who he was talking to. I just wanted to take my admonishment and get the heck out of there, so I could start my own work day.

He soon ended his phone conversation and said gruffly, “you’re late again, Corey! This is the third time you’ve been late this month! What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I am sorry, Mr. Gruber. My alarm didn’t go off, the bus was late and…”

“Stop," Interrupted Mr. Gruber. “I’ve heard enough of your excuses. It’s always the same with you. Everyone else seems to get to work on time, except you. I’ve warned you before. I’m very sorry to have to tell you that you are being let go for cause.”

“But, Mr. Gruber, I really need this job. Please give me one more chance!”

“I’ve already given you three chances,” Mr. Gruber said. “Check the HR manual. Being late for work three times in one quarter is cause for dismissal. You’ve been late three times just this month. I’m sorry. Please leave my office and go straight to the Human Resources office. They will finalize your paperwork and advise you how your final paycheck will be disbursed. I’m sorry to see you go. My decision is final.”

My heart sank. “Oh no,” I thought. “Now what am I going to do?”

Bad things just keep happening to me.

##

This is my third month of unemployment and I don’t have any job prospects in the offing. I’m really feeling sorry for myself. I’ve asked everyone I know for help and there’s just no one who can come to my aid. They’re all in the same boat.

         My parents can’t help. They’re old and retired and I haven’t even told them yet that I got fired from my job.

         The rent is overdue by 2 months and is due in another week. My landlord said if I don’t pay the rent this month, he will evict me. Evict me! Holy smokes, then what will I do, where will I go? The bills are piling up and my future is looking dim. What am I to do? I’m so scared and feel like I’m out of options.

         Maybe there’s a way to make all my problems go away, I thought. The more I thought about it, the more I came to terms with the idea. I can make all this go away. Getting fired from my job, all the fruitless job interviews, job turndowns, all the taunting and bullying from my former co-workers, all the past due rent, the bills and everything can just go away.

All this brings me back to how I’m going to solve my problems once and for all.

I’ve written a note to my landlord and included all the money I have in the world, $42.58, to go towards my past due rent.

I wrote a note to my mom and dad and apologized for their loss, but I saw no other way out.

Okay, everything is complete.

I open up the window, take a deep breath and walk out on the ledge.

I never noticed it before but there are two cute guys across the street. I wonder why I never noticed them before. Oh well, it’s too late now. They’ll be sorry when I’m gone. Eleven stories below me there is a newspaper stand with people milling around.

         One last look before I jump: the window of my apartment, the apartments across the street, the guys, the newspaper stand, and last, the pavement coming closer, ever closer now, and then nothing…

         I am awakened by my alarm. That steady loud buzzing sound annoys me and I shut the darn thing off with a one-handed swat. Wow, the crazy thing goes off when I’m not working and doesn’t go off when I am working. Go figure.

         As I lay there and rub the sleep from my eyes, I suddenly remember a strange dream that I had. I don’t recall all of it, but I do remember that I felt very sad and lonely and lost and powerless and that it ended very badly.

         No matter. It was just a bad dream.

I get out of bed and walk to the kitchen and press the button on the single-brew coffeemaker. I open up my laptop and see that there are several emails from names that I don’t recognize and one from my mom. I had turned off my cell phone and had forgotten to turn it back on last night, which explains how I missed all these emails and calls.

I click on the first email and see that it’s from a recruiter that I interviewed with – twice. And the email says the company wants me to start on Monday, if I’m available. If I’m available? Heck, I can start today if they want me to! I call the recruiter right back and advise that I can indeed start the new job as floor manager for their growing art department! And she advised me what the starting salary is and it’s $10,000 a year more than I was making at the company I got fired from. The company is a major competitor of the advertising agency I used to work for and the recruiter said the company was very excited that someone with my agency experience was available to them at this time.

“I’ll be the best advertising floor manager that company has ever had,” I said excitedly to the recruiter! 

“The company is looking forward to having you join their team,” the recruiter answered.  “See you Monday.”

I couldn’t have been more excited at the new job prospect!

         Next I called my mom back. She assured me that she and dad were both fine. She did have some news, both good and bad, however. 

         The bad news, she advised me, was that my grandmother had passed away. This made me very sad, but granny had been very ill for a long time and it was not unexpected.

         “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that mom,” I said sadly to my mom. “Oh dear, I know you loved her and one of her very last thoughts was of you,” said my mom.

         The good news, however, my mom continued to explain, was that granny had left me some money. As the only grandchild, granny had left me $50,000. Wow! $50,000. This was a fortune for me.  I could pay off my bills and maybe put a down payment on a used car, buy some pretty new clothes for my new job, and get my hair done, too. And I would still have plenty of money left over to add to my savings account for a rainy day.

         “Oh mom, I’m so sad granny is gone, but I’m so very grateful that she left me that money,” I said.

         “Me, too, dear,” mom said. “I have to go now, but I’ll call you back later, I need to fix breakfast for your father.”

         “That will be great, mom, because I have some good news to tell you, too,” I said. “Bye, mom,” I said. “Goodbye, dear, we’ll talk later,” mom said. Then we hung up.

         The next message on my phone was from Tom, that cute guy I met down by the newspaper stand the other day. He and I had met for coffee last week and now he wondered if I would like to go to dinner at the new pizza place and then see the movie, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” this Friday night. Wow, a date, a real date! 

I was nervous, but I took control and called him right back and accepted the date. He seemed very happy and said he would pick me up at my apartment at 6:00 pm Friday.

         Wow, I felt like I had just won the lottery. My luck and my life had all turned around in one day, one email and one phone call.

         I thought how wonderful things suddenly were. I knew there was so much living I still had to do because I’m me. I’m an important person to my mom, my dad, hopefully Tom and my new employer. 

         I still have a lot of living to do and I intend to live it to the fullest, I thought as I dressed to go out for breakfast and then clothes shopping for my date on Friday and my new job starting Monday.

         I’m back in control. Life is truly good, isn’t it?