The Waiting

Nobody ever gets my name right, I should be used to that. Choose your battles, Sam. Just choose your battles. You have more important things to worry about right now!

This job can really get me ahead in life for once. No more always being behind the eight ball. For once I can get ahead and move on. I mean, damn, that’s a lot of money! Think of what I’d be able to do with this salary!

Emma won’t have to worry about working that second job. Our kids can finally have a real Christmas that doesn’t come from the discount bin. Kyle can finally have that bike he’s been eyeing for the past 2 years. Hell, we could even save up enough to finally buy ourselves a house instead of always renting from these places.

But honestly, is it so hard to pronounce the “t”? It’s Johnston, not Johnson. Why can’t anybody ever get that right? 

What am I doing? Just calm down, and chill out. They can still see you from the doorway so stop looking like a spastic ball of energy. See that? He just looked at me. I bet that’s the hiring manager. 

Oh boy, now what do I do? Should I smile back and say some… no no no. Just smile and give a quick nod. Let him know you appreciate the recognition. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Can’t seem too desperate!

Jeez, I said a quick nod, not a freakin’ head bow! What’s wrong with me? Great, now he’s going to think I’m some straight-laced religious fanatic like a Buddhist monk or something. I have to think of something to say when I meet him now. 

Maybe a “Hey man, how’s it going?” will break the ice and ease the tension? Oh God no! What’s wrong with you? Who the Hell starts a formal job interview like that? Here comes this bum off the street wearing these 5-year-old work boots trying to double as shoes, and the first words out of my mouth are those?

Speaking of boots, these things sure are chaffing! I can barely move my ankles in these. Better cro… nope! Can’t cross my legs. Can’t let anyone see the boots go all the way up. I think they can pass as shoes if nobody looks carefully. Let’s hope nobody’s looking over my shoes. I mean, they’re shoes after all, who looks at shoes, right?

What’s she telling him, I wonder? The same assistant who mispronounced my name. I hope she isn’t saying “Mr. Johnson” right in front of his face. Why? Why do they always do that though? I really hope he gets it right. Should I correct him if he doesn’t? I think I should. This might be one of those times when first impressions mean something.

I’ll do it. I’ll correct him if he mispronounces my name. I need to show him I’m assertive and pay attention to detail. Emma would want me to since she’s always telling me to stand up for myself. I’ll do it for her.

I wish she was here right now. God, how I miss her! She’s my moral support, my partner, my best friend. I can tell her anything and she always has a response, no matter how idiotic I sound. She just makes it all better. 

It’s unfair to her to work 2 jobs just so we can get by, and here I am with none. I need to do this for her, there’s no other choice. I need to walk in and ace this interview right from the start. I’ll look him in the eyes, shake his hand firmly, and tell him how much I love the company. I need to butter him up and let go of my ego. I need to tell myself to be open to his opinion and not just shut him out like I did to my boss before.

Maybe I should talk about my previous experience too, but I should hold off until he asks. I don’t want to bombard him by over-sharing everything all at once. Let me just ease him into it.

You got this. It’s simple. It’s just a quick, “Hi Mr. whoever you are. It’s nice to meet you and it’s a great honor of mine to finally come here in person.”

“Great honor”? There I go, sounding like a monk or something again. Who actually uses that phrase anymore? No, I have to think of a better line.

I got it! “Hello, Mr. whoever you are. It’s my pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face and be here in person” Yes, much better! I can get those words out easily enough, but what about him asking about my past experience? I have to think fast and make something up for these 4 months I’m between jobs!

Maybe I had an accident? I know they can’t question that. Anything medical they can’t question if I remember right. I can just say I had an accident at home and didn’t have the sick days to cover the absence so they let me go. That’s entirely plausible around here. I mean just look at the traffic outside! How hard is it for someone to get nailed by a car or a bike while just trying to cross the road?

OK, so I had an accident that left me out of commission for a while and I didn’t have the sick days to cover it, so they let me go. Now that I’m fully recovered, I can come back to work and your company has always been the envy of everyone in my field, so I was amazed when I received the invitation to be here today.

Sam, you’re a genius! You have this. You have this interview. The job is going to be yours! “Mr. Johnston” will be able to go home tonight and treat everyone to a celebratory dinner! No leftover pizza for us tonight! I think that little steakhouse Emma likes might be calling us for our family celebration! 

He’s coming over! Deep breaths Sam, deep breathes. You have this!

“Mr Johnston? I’m Dan Baker, the hiring manager...”

“It’s Johnson.”