Lunch Break

The tall ships began firing their cannons around noon. The booms reverberated around our floor. Don’t they know some of us are trying to work here?

I went outside to enjoy the sun and mild weather. Picking up a plate of asparagus chicken at the Chinese take-out restaurant, I spotted two former co-workers lunching together.

P. is a retiree who’s saved enough to go on cruises to exotic locales several times a year. She rarely drives her new German car because she’s hardly at home. She looked tanned and trim. I complimented her on her appearance, and she returned the favor. I scanned her face for any hint of insincerity, but she’s not the dissembling sort. She complained about the cost of retiree health insurance. I said that if she’s looking for sympathy she’s come to the wrong place.

L. is a star at a business that we spun off two years ago. She just returned from having her second child and looks as svelte as ever. Her husband works full time, and the kids are watched by grandma. The ladies are a generation apart, but both seemed to be in control of their lives, no mean achievement in a decade of disruptions. After ten minutes of banter, I withdrew. P. didn’t come to the City to see me.

After lunch the cannons continued their booming. I needed to concentrate. It was time for the Serenity Prayer.