Sphere 4: Fallout

Sphere 4: Fallout

December 14th 1998

Christmas is now my favorite holiday. It used to be Halloween. There was simultaneously a sense of satisfaction and amusement at terrorizing kids on Halloween. I felt an overwhelming rush of satisfaction, a rush of amusement and adoration toward the mere thought of Lori waking Christmas morning. The very idea of her being a zooming, over excitable bundle of joy was something I couldn’t wait for. She was still practically a newborn, too little to fully grasp such a festive occasion, but in a year or two, she would.

I was at Playtime’s main building. The storefront had been fixed up. You could barely tell it had ever been ruined if you hadn’t seen it. If you had seen it, you couldn’t unsee it, not when a multitude of toys were laying on the ground, each one broken in some way and rendered unsellable. That day had been a setback for the company, one of many in the past couple months. But we moved past it. The company and everyone in it had learned to roll with the punches, even if the punches took away your weekends and gave you overtime.

“Mr. Gramme, Mr. Catstooth‘ll see ya now.” That was William’s secretary, a less then lovely woman named Belle. Belle had survived the massive company wide layovers, the only one out of a few dozen to have done so. She was practically Stacey’s nemesis. I think that was why William kept her on, just to spite Stacey. Belle had an accent. I couldn’t quite place where it was from, even though it was on the tip of my tongue.

I stretched, rising from the uncomfortable plastic chair. I felt tired. More so then I normally did. There was a weariness within me when I moved, a weariness that accompanied every accompanied every thought and slowed progress. I forced a smile on my face. I never had to do that before when dealing with William. I marched into his office, sitting down in the chair across from him.

William seemed older then he was months ago. He was more rigid, his wrinkles more pronounced, his skin a few shades paler. Dark bags were under his eyes, and his whole body seemed smaller, narrower. “Hey, Alan.” His voice had a low quality to it, almost a hollow, sad sound, “What’s with the meeting?”

The words caught in my throat, struggling to get out for a few moments. I drummed my fingers along the table, swallowing, before starting, “I’m tired, Will. I’m tired and I need a break.”

William sighed, and he slowly shook his head. There was a pause, stretching long enough to be uncomfortable. “I know, Alan. We all are. Just hold with it for a few months longer. We can get through this, Alan.”

“You said that a few months ago.” My voice sounded colder then I thought, my words more biting then intended. I fought the urge to take them back. I couldn’t backpedal, I wouldn’t backpedal.

“I really mean it this time, Alan. If we don’t have another setback, we can get back on top. It just takes time.”

I sighed. William was a good guy, but couldn’t he see that this was taking a toll on me? Sure, he wasn’t enjoying himself either, but he didn’t have to split his income three ways. He didn’t have a family to feed. He didn’t have a child to provide for. “A lot can happen in a few months, William. We weren’t anything great, I see that now. We were a middling toy company, a local name, but we didn’t have the brand name that’s in every household. We aren’t the next Toys R’Us. We poured so much time and effort into this, and now we’re barely making even. You call me in every time something goes wrong, William. Every single little incident that-“

“It’s because you are competent, Alan. It’s because I can trust you to get the work done and do it right the first time. You’re my best option.” A frown was spread across his face, his eyes hard as he stared at me. One hand was clutching the side of his desk, his knuckles white from the strength of his grip.

“That doesn’t make me the only option. I’m not the only employee in this company. Tell one of the damn layabouts downstairs to stop lounging around and do their job. You’re the boss, so why does it feel like I’m the only who’s managing your employees? When did delegation turn into running the entire company for you? I can’t keep going like this, William.” I felt a stab of regret. I had come off way too harshly and I knew it. But I had a family to feed, to spend time with.

William looked somewhat deflated by my words. He had sunken deep into the chair, almost as if physically trying to hide from me. His head was down, eyes gazing at his clasped hands. His voice was quiet, and had a bitter tone to it, as if the words repulsed him to say, “Then you should be happy I won’t be your boss anymore.”

I blinked. What? William was retiring? “You can’t just leave the company. We’re barely breaking even, you can’t just abandon us!”

“Not abandoning anyone. We’re being bought out, Alan.”

Disbelief shot through me. This couldn’t be happening. No one told me. “When were you planning to tell us this?”

Will’s voice had taken a monotone quality to it. He looked up, back at me. “Sometime after Christmas. I wasn’t planning to hide it from you.  The Happy Smiles Corporation is going to buy Playtime sometime in January.”

“January.” My voice sounded far away to me, my mind muddled in a haze. They were buying us out. Happy Smiles was going to buy us out. “That’s so soon.”

“I know. We need everyone we can on deck and working harder then ever. This could very well be-“

I had to cut him off. If I didn’t he would keep talking. If he kept talking I would agree with what he was says, I would dutifully go to work. I would miss time with my family because I got guilt tripped into working, because William called upon my inner workaholic. “Will. I need a break. I need to take some time off for Christmas.”

William blinked, spluttering for a moment. He shook his head so vigorously I thought it might snap his neck, “No. Absolutely not. Christmas is the busiest time of the year, Alan. We can’t afford to slack off now.”

How could he not get it. I needed this break. “Will, I’m not about to miss my daughter’s first Christmas.”

He carried on as if he hadn’t heard what I said, “Especially not when we might not exist in January. We can’t afford-“

I had a card to play. I didn’t want to play it, it was the last resort, something that could backfire if I played it wrong. But I was confident I knew William. He would fall for the bluff. “Will, if I don’t get some time off, we’re through. I will be spending Christmas with my family, one way or another.”

William blinked slowly, as if comprehending what I said, “Alan! You can’t be serious!”

“I’m dead serious. I am spending Christmas with my family. End of story.”

William slumped back, taking on a defeated tone, “You wouldn’t really leave, would you? Not now, right?”

It hurt to see William like this, hurt to know I caused him to be like this. But I had my priorities in order. Family before friends. “I would. I’m sorry, but I would if I have to.”

William gave me a sad smile, shaking his head slowly. There was a long pause, a pause that filled me with worry. William wasn’t actually going to fire me, was he? He wouldn’t. I knew William, we were friends, we had been through thick and thin with the company. He didn’t have a family, but surely he understood? The next words hit me hard, “If you’re serious about this, Alan, then you can send in your two week notice. Merry Christmas.”

Did he just fire me? He was joking, right? He had to be. There was no way he called my bluff. “Are you serious? You’re letting me go?” My voice quavered. I hated that, I hated that it wasn’t a firm steady tone I used.

William firmly shook his head once, “I’m not firing you. If you’re going to force me to give you time off with an ultimatum, you can see yourself out. Friends don’t do that to each other, Alan.”

Friends don’t fire each other either, William. My family was important to me, Lori was the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to see them, I couldn’t afford to miss my baby girl’s first Christmas. A thought dawned on me. The ultimatum didn’t work, but I could still guilt trip him. “Will, don’t you have a niece? You mentioned her once. Her name was Lisa, wasn’t it?”

“Lauren. Her name is Lauren. I don’t see her often, and I’m okay with that. Sometimes you have to sacrifice your happiness for your family’s.” William paused, a strong silence falling over the room for a few quiet moments. “Alan, it’s late. I think you should go.”

Uneasily, I rose from my chair. The world felt like it was blurring for a moment. I nearly tripped as I made my way out the door. I shut the door loudly behind me, the noise seeming to echo in the room. I leaned against the wall, forcefully exhaling. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

I was working on Christmas. I had failed. My ultimatum had failed. I would miss Lori’s first Christmas. I couldn’t quit, I couldn’t keep up the ultimatum. I would be unemployed. I had no doubt I could get a new job, but I that would take time. I would start at the bottom, at minimum wage. And even if I didn’t start off low, I wouldn’t start off high enough. Catherine already had a job, but it was supplementary income at best. She would have to go full time if I left. She would have to cover for me because I failed to care for her, failed to care for Lori. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Yo, Mr. Gramme, anyone home? Earth to the good doc?” Belle, William’s secretary snapped her fingers a few times.

I blinked, shaking my head, “What? Oh, yeah. I’m doing fine, Belle.”

Belle pursed her lips, “I dunno about that, Mr. Gramme. Couldn’t quite make out what was goin’ on, but you and ole Mr. Catstooth in there weren’t exactly quiet.”

A burst of fear surged through me. Did Belle hear exactly what had happened in that meeting? That hadn’t been the most dignified meeting with Willy that I’d ever had. I didn’t want rumors of that conversation going around, of my ultimatum and it’s failure.

Belle shook her head, pointing to her ear, then laying a finger over her lips, “Didn’t hear anythin’, Mr. Gramme. Honest, the walls are too thick. Wouldn’t tell anyways, what goes on behind closed doors ain’t my business.”

I nodded, relaxing in relief. A hint of an idea came to mind, and I ran with it. “Good. We were talking about you actually. You see, William is considered promoting you.”

Belle’s eyes widened, “What? Really? Ya ain’t pullin my leg, Mr. Gramme?”

I let a slight hint of a smile settle on my face, “I’m being serious. You know those stadium vendors? The ones that carry the boxes around their neck and sell food so people don’t have to get out of their seats? Well we’re considering getting one for you. Just imagine, you could be wandering the streets selling toys to the kids.”

Belle blinked a few times. “What? Are you serious? You’re joking, right Mr. Gramme?”

I smiled sadistically, “Why would I joke about this, Belle?”

The black hair girl paled. “Oh god.”

I couldn’t help it, I let out a small chuckle. “Relax. We didn’t talk about anything like that. Just boring talk about the future of the company, that sort of stuff.”

Belle sighed in relief, “Oh thank god. That was mean, Mr. Gramme.”

I shrugged, “Guess that makes me a mean person, doesn’t it? Oh well, I can live with that. Take care of yourself Belle, have a nice night.”

And with that, I left the building, my worries briefly put out of mind.