Daily Grind

The cards shifted in his palm. The subtle sensation of rounded corners bumping and gliding along the edge of card stock as they slipped into randomized placements. The sputtering drip of the coffee maker tossed the scent of Colombian dark roast into the air until it dominated the cozy red kitchen. He placed the deck upon the maple table pulling it into three piles of staggered heights. He considered each pile before recollecting them in a different order so he could give them another few shuffles. Finally, content, he drew the top card and placed it on the warm yellowed wood. A witch holding a crystal ball, half-eaten apples at her feet upon the cave floor with a scene illuminated by two flaming poles.

“The Two of Wands. Looks like it’s going to be a good day, but I better allocate my resources better. I don’t want to use up what I need for tomorrow today. And… huh, I’ve never noticed the symbols on the wall before.” He pulled out the deck’s book and flipped through to the appropriate page. “Ancient alchemical symbols. Let’s see… Alchemy was about the transmutation of energies, right? But it was also ritualistic.” There was no one here to hear his musings but that had never stopped him from listening to his own voice before. “I better be careful about protecting my own energies and plan the day carefully.” He shuffled the card back into the deck and slipped them into a small, arcane emblem-pressed leather box that made a softened click from the magnetic connectors that held the top flap in place.

Walking to a collection of polished stones in his living room that decorated a hutch farthest from the window he started to look over what he had. Work had been particularly troublesome these days. He was tasked with training a new team member for his old department. Desk-side training wasn’t his favorite job in the world, to begin with, but this trainee took the cake. She knew everything already, despite having never worked an office job before. He had begun to show her how to set up an email to send a client, only to be cut off mid-sentence because she already knew how to write emails. There was more to it than just hitting the button to compose a new email, but she didn’t want to hear any of it. It wasn’t like he was trying to talk down to her, it was just part of training. Why the Universe had saddled him with her was his only question.

“Onyx should be good. I am going to have to deal with her again today. That should give me the extra strength I need while helping me seem confident and helping me keep my mouth shut so I don’t say something untoward. Quartz, of course. You’re going to help me a lot today, aren’t you? I am going to need you to help keep my energy levels stabilized. And…” his eyes scanned the shelf. Where was it? He situated the two stones into his left pocket and gave them a small pat. “Right! Where are the pants I wore yesterday?”

The growing pile at the footboard of the bed was his first stop. Combing through half-worn-out socks, the same dark T-shirt three times, and a few other items growing in their ripeness. He made a mental note to do the laundry when he got home. A melodious tone echoed out from the kitchen; coffee was done. Taking a deep breath, he thought about his card. “Better allocate my resources. Time is a resource.” The reminder floated through his thoughts. Kicking aside the remains of the strewn laundry pile he marched to the bathroom to wash and remove whatever might have grown in the pile from his hands. The water never seemed to get warm enough until it was suddenly scalding but he never needed to wait that long to get all the soap from his digits. Reaching for the towel he instead touched the silky fabric of a pair of black dress pants hanging by a belt loop from the back of his closet door. He barked out a laugh as he dug into the left pocket pulling out a pointed purple crystal.

“There you are Fluorite! How would I get through my day without you?” He slipped the third crystal in with the others before he finished drying his hands properly. His mood was much improved as he poured his coffee into his travel cup and pulled his car keys off the hook.

“Today is going to be a wonderful day!” He spoke to the reflection of himself that grinned back from the thin window beside the door.

He clicked the key fob inside his pocket and placed his coffee beside the large chunk of sun-faded yellow jasper in the cup holder. Sinking into the old gray fabric seat, as he did almost every day, he drew the belt partway across his chest. Holding back a grumble he released the safety device and let it retract before drawing it again, this time slower so it didn’t lock up. Listening for the fine snap of metal hooking the cut shape of the belt latch to ensure it had him securely before heading off to work.

Everyone on the road seemed to drive as if their house was on fire or that they were the only vehicle on the road. He wanted to ask, “What’s wrong with people today?” but it was a moot question because this wasn’t just today’s problem. The highway was always the worst part of the commute, it was why he had placed the stone in his car. He needed some protection from the maniacs who were too busy using their steering wheel as a breakfast table or vanity but who also insisted on going 20 miles an hour over the posted limit on the two-lane interstate.

“It’s not my place to judge. I don’t know what’s going on in their lives. I just wish the Universe would hurry up and teach them before they get someone killed. That would be the worst type of Karma.” He grabbed his coffee cup, taking a cautious sip but the travel mug was very efficient at retaining the temperature of its contents. Sputtering and hissing through his teeth he placed the mug aside once more. The tip of his tongue was made raw and numb from the scorching liquid. The shake of the wheel and distorted grumble of the tire made him aware that he was starting to drift into the next lane and eased his car back onto his own side.

His office was just off the next exit, and he was grateful when he pulled into the parking lot. He slowed his vehicle, wanting to be vigilant for co-workers walking randomly from between cars. A distant rumble of thunder and a gray nest of clouds spoke of oncoming rain. Per usual the spots nearest the door were taken, not that a touch of rain was much of a bother. He came to a stop at the main crosswalk waving to folks from his department as they were heading in to start their day.

“Ah! A spot.” His eyes had caught a vacant square near the building just ahead. The far-off squeal of a tire made him hesitate to remove his foot from the brake once the crosswalk cleared. Not seeing anything he rolled forward turning on his blinker. Tapping out the melody to a favorite song on his steering wheel to the rhythmic timing of the blinker tick he just barely had time to react to the old gold Buick SUV that swerved into the spot at the last second. He took a timed breath as he felt his temper flare. It took an extra minute, however, as the brightly colored bumper sticker that read Namaste in a fake Hindi font seemed to glare back at him. “Conserve your energy.” He took another breath and continued his drive through the lot and found another spot where he angled his car into the lines.

The car door gave a low creak as he pulled himself out onto his feet. The air had a crispness to it, he would normally associate the smell with a brisk winter day where it is so cold it’s almost sharp. Thunder roared seconds after a crackling ribbon of light hit a lamppost across the parking lot. A torrent of rain clambered toward the ground as if the strike had been the signal flare to call the start of a race. His back soaked and rain dripping down the inside of his sleeves he grabbed his things to make a run for the front door.

“Oh my Gosh! It’s awful, isn’t it?” A woman he didn’t recognize stood in the entrance trying to shake the rainwater off her clothing, hair completely bedraggled by the deluge.

“It’s crazy out there. Did you see that lightning? That’s why rainy days are my favorite! You just never know if it’s going to be a quiet day for reading a good book or if you are going to be breaking out flashlights.” Ignoring his own watery discomfort while passing by her. He didn’t have time to wait for her response. Though to be honest he wondered if she had even registered what he said to her as another group came in immediately after he walked away and he heard her repeat the same trite sentiment to them.

He found his way through the network of cubicles to his desk, an athletic woman with a hotbed tan and short spiky blonde hair was standing just to the right of the aperture of his personal space.

“Ellen is having trouble with sending correspondence. She’s saying it’s because no one showed her how.” The woman spoke abruptly as if she had a hundred better places to be. “I thought, that can’t be right because I know you and you’re very thorough.”

He thought for a moment, fingers jammed into his left pocket. He could be accusatory and tell his manager that the girl wasn’t working out already. He felt the cool of the black stone on his knuckle.

“We talked about it, but she sounded confident that she knew how to use Outlook. Once I settle in, I will head over to her desk and see if I can’t find where the disconnect is.”

“Thank you! You’re the best.” The click of her heels was muted by the rough woven carpet as she bustled away.

He rushed to log into his system and get the meter running for the day. Leaving the coffee that he now eyed suspiciously instead of sipping, reckoning that it hadn’t really cooled at all from that last sip that burned him. He walked through the field of thoughtless good mornings and small-talk platitudes responding with equally fruitless prate until he got to Ellen’s desk. She looked frazzled, a compact in her hand as she was trying to fix her make-up.

“Good morning, Ellen. Are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh. Morning.” She snapped the compact closed. “As for okay? No. Some asshole nearly hit me in the parking lot while I was parking my car. And then I thought I had gotten a good spot but then there was this lightning and I was scared to get out of my vehicle. I don’t know why we don’t have a covered lot! And then there was this horrible rain!”

He nodded along trying to seem sympathetic to her plight but he also had to finish training her so he could get back to his own work.

“I’m sorry to hear that your morning hasn’t been very good so far. By the way, are you clocked in yet?”

“Clocked in? Clocked in?” she was aghast. “No, I am not clocked in yet.” Her voice was thick with annoyance. “Can’t you see, I am dealing with other things?” She set her makeup on her desk and pulled out her keyboard. Out of respect, he turned his back so that she could log in without him looking over her shoulder. “There, now I am clocked in.” Her voice was full of enmity while picking her compact back up.

“Ah. Thank you. Ms. Hill mentioned you were having trouble with your correspondence emails?” trying to keep his tone understanding and level.

“Oh. Yeah. Where’s the plus sign?”

“E-excuse me? Plus sign?” It took him aback. What the heck was she talking about?

“Yeah. To compose a new email. There is always a plus sign in the bottom right corner of my phone.”

“Outlook doesn’t have any plus signs. I am not sure what it looks like on a phone because I’ve only ever used it on my PC. But if you read the navigation ribbon there is a large square on the top left that says, ‘New Mail’ and it’s also got a picture of a…”

“OH! This thing. I’ve only ever used Google. Okay, that’s all I needed.”

The vein in his neck twitched and he forced a customer service smile that could win an Oscar.

“If that’s all you needed then I am glad we could clear that up. Just send me a ping if you have any other questions. Your success is the team’s success, so we’re all here for you.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” She got up from her chair and walked out of her cubicle leaving him there as she disappeared into the stairwell.

He felt like he was going to scream but simply turned and walked back to his desk. The seat groaned under him as he tried to restart his morning. Conjuring the image of the card in his mind he thought about the half-eaten apples and realized that was exactly what his spirit felt like at this moment.

“I guess some things are just meant to be.” He turned on his monitor and let it flicker to life hoping that his Fluorite wouldn’t let him down today.