Saving a marriage

The option in front of Harold Taylor was just about a no-brainer as one could get.

At 45 years of age, he wasn't exactly over the hill but he definitely felt the weight of all those years burdening him more and more.

The company had promoted him to a senior Vice-president position and put him in charge of a department, sure. That's what they all told him to look at. He knew better. The department was located in a subsidiary that was slated to be shut down in the next three quarters, though only he knew about and only because the assistant to the Senior V.P./C.F.O. was his best friend's daughter and he had always looked out for her. He still remembered her breaking down when she had found out the news of the switch and he did his best to comfort her. That was just like him, she said, always looking out for other people and ignoring himself. It still bothered him that it was probably the reason why he was on the verge of being let go at this point.

His marriage was also a bit rocky, his wife Sandra was also in a position where she was in a rut professionally. There was only so many opportunities for a 43 year-old female bank executive in the city and despite the recent in-roads with corporate diversity, the backlash to the #metoo movement had left her professionally marooned. She was too high up to merely ignore but she wasn't high enough to take seriously in any sort of capacity. She often came home ranting and railing against the glass-ceiling and, to an extent, took it out on everything and everyone.

Mixing that together, what sane person would want to associate with either of them?

Now, looking at the papers in front of him, he really didn't know what else they had to lose. The severance option was in front of him, supplied by Amber on the sly, and next to it was another stack of papers that represented the culmination of months work of bills.

"I don't see why not...if this program works as they say, it won't be anything left for us to deal with." Sandra leaned back in the chair and looked over at Harold. "I'm so fucking tired of it all."

He snickered at that, his once prudish and prime wife had resorted to dropping profanities recently, but instead of commenting on it went back to looking at the documents provided by the X-Change Corporation. "I dunno...it all seems a bit weird. But, as you said, I'm tired of all this bullshit." He looked at her. "What should we do, though? I've looked at some of these pill versions and I'm not sure I can make any heads or tails about which one. Plus? Resistance?" Harold flipped through the various pages. "If they do even half of what they promise, I'm shocked this hasn't gotten bigger than it already is."

Sandra nodded in agreement as she thumbed through the pamphlet in front of her. "That's true. But if it means we can get out of this place, this shithole of our lives, and get something done...wouldn't that be worth it?"