The Never Ending Night Part 2

 

Macy was sure she could sleep, especially since she yawned constantly before bed. However, going to bed was a different story. Thinking about what her Gram had said about the car worried her. She couldn't get it out of her mind, even after a warm shower, a fifteen-minute face mask, and brushing her teeth. It all came back to haunt her that she was definitely not adulting.

Of course, she went back to the kitchen to see if there was a yogurt. If only she could calm down. Yogurt usually helped, but she seemed more awake now than earlier. Still, after brushing her teeth one more time, she finally bedded down, trying not to worry. She kept the lamp on for a while, but staring at the ceiling felt like a punishment, so she turned it off. About two minutes later, her phone lit up. She had it on DO NOT DISTURB, but someone was calling. Her luck, it was Dean. Sometimes, he'd call her out of the blue. 

Macy imagined him with some guys from work out at the bar, drinking. She knew he wouldn't be sober, but then she noticed it was Jake, someone she used to work with at the library. She smiled as if it were a late Christmas present or maybe early Valentine's. Deep down, she'd missed their conversations, which generally were during breaktime. Although they'd eaten lunch together a time or so. Those were moments she wished there had been more of. But they were just friends.

"Is it too late to call?" He said he almost hung up. 

"It's fine." It had been ages since they last spoke. He'd wanted to know if she'd made it home back then when she'd left Colorado.

"So everything is going OK?" His question was gentle. "I don't know your new address." As always, he was apologetic. 

"Yeah, it's cold."

"Same." There was a pause, and he then said. "Do you like it there?"

"I want to." 

Jake was the kind of guy she could tell everything to. He wanted to know about L. "That's so great you found someone in the building where you work. Amazing." Macy sensed the smile in his voice. She sighed happily listening to him talk about all the troubles at work and about how many librarians it took to find a book.

"I didn't get in trouble, but almost," he told her. "I had the key to the study rooms and the book sale room and didn't even know it. You think I'm going mental?"

She laughed softly. "No, I think you're overworked and underpaid." 

There was something soothing in his voice, and she asked him if he could call her this time tomorrow night. He said, "Of course."

Macy went to sleep that night without a worry in the world.

The never ending night

 Macy couldn't help but groan when Gram Jeanie called. She winced, wishing she were already in bed after her first day at work. This emotional stuff took a lot out of her. 

Macy was pretty sure she might have the flu after that intense lunch with Wren, who prodded her about Wade and his wicked ways. Wren evidently didn't honestly trust him. Still, Macy guessed they could or would be friends. Macy knew she had to trust Wren to navigate her through the Receptionist World. Now if she could take notes, but Wren talked too fast and always questioned Macy about Wade's eating habits, and did he fall asleep instantly?

Macy had no answers for Wade's fiancée, and at ten p.m., she didn't feel like answering Gram's questions about her first day at work.

"It was OK." Macy summed it up, hoping to make this a quick phone call. No way did she want to tell her how she'd dropped down the receptionist status.

"Why didn't you call me? You should have called me as soon as you got off work, or at least when you got home?" Gram always sounded worried, and her worries were always contagious.

"Well, it wasn't exactly what I expected," Macy told her, lounging on the couch just in her PJs. She yawned sleepily.

"What do you mean?" It was as if it were all foreign to her grandmother.

"I got there OK, because I met someone in the building who knew how to get me to work." Macy let slip with a sigh and a shrug.

"Don't you shrug me," Gram snapped. "Did you let this person drive your car?"

"Yes." Macy felt she needed to be honest.

"You didn't!" Wrong answer. Gram blasted back. Gram insured Macy's car, not this stranger she met in the elevator.

"But. But L is really nice and..and.." It felt as if L was the only friend she had. L brought her back, and they'd had a quick dinner of sandwiches and soup at the deli near the brownstone.

Macy felt estranged from Wade. Honestly, he'd been no help. And a lot of his stuff was left behind. It hardly left her room for her own things. 

On the upside, she did have a nice bed, and she thought the sheets were clean. But she might just sleep on the couch tonight. She was that tired.

"It's gonna be all right, Gram," Macy wanted to hush her up with a practical plea.

So this is what is left

 

Winnie looked like a beady bird as she studied Macy. Perhaps she was getting her ready for a Cinderella ball instead of showing her her workstation. No, not so. She shoved the notebook full of dos and don'ts at the reception desk.

"Do they still do things so old-fashioned?" L came to Macy's defense with a scowl. Winnie didn't have time to chat. There were things to do at her desk, evidently.

"You have no idea the life of a receptionist," Winnie informed L. "Aren't you supposed to be working?"

With that Macy was left on her own with Winnie, who gave Macy the cold shoulder. It felt like the beginning of a very ugly day. Macy was to read the thick manual, which hadn't been updated since 2019.

"Did you work through the pandemic?" Macy wanted to know as she skimmed through the intense document.

"Of course, I did?" Winnie looked back at Macy with a sour frown.

"How many used to work in this department?" Macy was curious, trying to make everything work-related.

"A dozen or so, actually," Winnie answered a phone call then and got on her computer to check a file.

Macy felt a little dizzy. It was all so strange. This was not the universe she was expecting. Even Wade didn't seem himself.  Macy did her best to be diligent with the reading. Still, the computer was cold. It wasn't even on.

"Do I need..you know, a password, perhaps?" Macy asked about thirty minutes later. Winnie was so busy transferring calls and answering questions. Macy listened, hoping she would remember the script for what needed to be said.

"Silly, you'll need a user name, as well," Winnie said she'd show her the computer after lunch.

"Oh." Macy hadn't really thought of lunch until her stomach woke up from Winnie's words.

"I'll take you to my favorite noodle place, just down the street. We can really talk then."

Macy looked at her wide-eyed, wondering what this meant.