The Sign

Tuesday, June the 2nd

Most mornings you enter work from the back door that leads to the parking lot and take the stairs up to your office, but most mornings you grab Starbucks on the way in. Today you didn’t, so you see the sign, colourfully eye-catching , almost as much an art project as civic activism. Little things seem so random until suddenly they are not - you see the sign simply because, rarely, you don’t have an iced beverage.

~ Harbord Village, Annex, Palmerston, Seaton ~
COMMUNITY MEETING!
Provincial Budget Cuts Threaten
Bathurst Health Centre!
Concerned residents are encouraged to meet
Friday, June 19th, 1 PM
Common Room, BHC

The poster is on the public bulletin board just inside the entrance. Printed on legal sized paper it boasts some clip-art graphics of townhouses and a few more font and colour changes in the text than you think are aesthetically wise. Why is the first line in blue Times New Roman and the next part in dark red Arial Bold? There oughta be a law.

Sure, you may have paused slightly while walking past the poster because it was colourful and eye-catching more than anything else. It isn’t that you are not interested in the budget cuts and discussions about the future of the Bathurst Health Centre, but you have a lot going on in your romantic life just now. Also, in your secret trying-to-solve-potentially-dangerous-computer-magic life.

“Ah, I don’t blame you young man,” you hear Dr. Goodall approaching behind you before you turn to see the kindly old doctor, “it is quite concerning for the staff here, and for the whole community. I just hope it’s all just rumours and nothing comes of it… although if there is something to the rumours maybe this old fossil will know something?”

The last sentence had been said louder, and you followed Dr. Goodall’s wry look to see a new gentleman approach with a thin smile. He is around the doctors age, but taller and skinnier which combined with his grey fringe of hair and suit and tie gives him the look of a stern professor.

“Hello Dustin,” the taller man said. He spares you a glance that also takes in the poster and he seems to fight a sigh. “I’m sure you know I can’t speak about budgetary matters, even if I did know anything?”

Dr. Goodall leans in to you conspiratorially, and you can tell the crafty old doctor is using you as an audience perhaps to make his point. “This is Ward Kenning, a deputy minister who is seconded to work for Ontario Health, I know him from way back. He’s a doctor of something or other, but not an MD so I refuse to call him ‘Doctor Kenning’ and he returns the favour.” He gives you a wink to make sure you can tell the two men are on good terms.

Gesturing, Dr. Goodall introduces you, “This is Zachary Pritchard, he’s on the third floor and is a wonderful resource for the whole building. Computer fellow, always helps me out and keeps the technical nonsense running. A real asset to the BHC, like so many of the unsung heroes, the Public Health team alone has been responsible for so many positive health care outcomes in the past-”

With a half annoyed, half fond grunt Kenning breaks in, “Yes yes I know Dustin, this old place is a treasure and the city will burn to the ground if it’s shut down. Even though there’s a tertiary care hospital with an ER a 20 minute bus ride away. I already told you, I’ll go to that ghastly open house and pass along the community feedback to the ministry. You don’t need to sell me, I’m not making any decisions. If it was up to me this building would…” with a frown, he trails off and then shakes his head.

Clapping your arm in farewell, Dr. Goodall gives you a last polite nod and then leads the deputy minister away. You get the feeling doc won’t stop bugging his friend the deputy minister about the future of the BHC, and the thought sticks with you as you walk up the stairs to the third floor.

You have worked here for less than half a year. You wouldn’t think you’d have a tremendous fondness for the place, but you realize you do. Much of that must be Jayne and Karissa. Clearly. You’ve had your heart and your mind opened here, and damn it you feel a good deal of affection for your job, this building and the people who work here.

As you exit the stairwell into the third floor you see one of the nurses Alice hangs out with. She gives you a frosty look then walks away, pointedly ignoring you. Well ok, you don’t have much affection for the handful of the people who seem to hate you, but still.

Jayne is not in her office, but she had mentioned having a meeting in the morning. You get a bit of work done at your desk, hoping she is back soon so you can ask her to grab a coffee. Karissa too, for that matter. A glance at your Teams window on your second monitor shows she is still not logged in, but you get up anyway and wander down the hall like a lovesick high school boy. Yup, her office is indeed empty.

Smiling to yourself at how eager you are to see and talk to her again, you continue on to the washroom. You pause and push on it gently, finding it unlocked.

“Oh hey Zach!” Karissa’s cheerful greeting has you breaking out in a big smile as she walks up. You almost blurt out “You look great,” or something equally workplace inappropriate, but you barely catch yourself. She is wearing a light dress of the kind she favours, falling a few inches above her knees but being pleasingly tight around her ample chest. Her blonde hair goes well with the light yellow material, and you’re briefly distracted by her youthful beauty and radiant smile so you barely notice she steps up to you and gestures into the bathroom.

“Huh?” you start to say, but rolling her eyes she just motions as if to push you through the door so you go in and she, like it is nothing at all, follows you.

“I’ve been in here a few times now, Jayne told me you were complaining about the door being locked. I was actually in here the other day, and I was honestly a bit disappointed you weren’t here? I mean, not like I assume you’re going to be in here any time the door is unlocked! Come to think of it, it smelled of cigarette smoke, just a whiff, maybe I was just imagining it but how lame would that be, if someone was just using the place to smoke. Anyway, how are you doing Zach? Jayne isn’t in this morning, I checked her office earlier but you didn’t notice me walking by so I didn’t say hi because you looked like you were focusing really hard on your screen and you were doing that really sudden burst of loud typing thing. In the zone, I guess.”

Finally, the young woman takes a breath and pauses for you reply. You’re standing close to the sinks, and you wonder if you should reply about work or ask her if she is interested in a date tonight. You can't stop thinking about Karissa watching Jayne at the museum...

The bathroom door opens again and another woman walks in, Tessa Deleary. She seems somewhat surprised to see you there, and she pauses before saying, “Sorry, I heard Karissa talking and thought the washroom was, uh, you know…”

With a big grin Karissa nods, “You didn’t think a boy would be in here, I getcha. I just wanted to talk to Zach for a minute, but hey the sign does say unisex right? I mean, it doesn’t bother me at all, plenty of unisex bathrooms. Weird about the lock though.”

You suspect Tessa would have quietly left the washroom but Karissa’s comfortable chatter seems to change her mind. Giving an almost imperceptible shrug she walks past the two of you to enter the stall nearest the wall.

“What is up with that lock though?” Karissa muses, “I know you complained about it to Jayne when it got put in, like a unisex washroom is one thing but a lock so you can’t use any restroom if someone else wants it? Then it’s just one person using it and it’s a waste, honestly. Even worse if someone is using it to smoke on the sly, but how lazy do you have to be to not want to go smoke outside? Anyway, I’m sure you’re not actually here to listen to me talk about not going to the bathroom huh?” She gives you a wink and then makes a shooing gesture toward the urinal.

“Don’t worry there is plenty of privacy there, but I won’t look in the mirror.” A soft noise comes from the bathroom stall, sounding suspiciously like someone coughing to hide a laugh, and with that the young blonde turns away from you as you move over to the urinal. Karissa starts up a cheery conversation with Tessa in the stall, who doesn’t answer beyond some quiet replies, but you quickly do what you went there to do and then wash your hands beside her as she uses a finger to adjust her lipstick.

Still chatting with Tessa about something you know nothing about, your girlfriend purses her lips in the mirror so you can see and mimes a silent kiss at you while giving a saucy look.

Half in a daze, you head back to your office. You can tell Jayne is back as you walk up as she is standing next to her desk, pulling her laptop out of her bag. She gives you a bright smile but you don’t bother to say anything. You know no one was in the hallway so you simply take the steps and grab her around her waist.

She leans in and you kiss, hard, for several long seconds that is not nearly enough. You reluctantly disengage and take a step back. “Uh, I’d say I don’t know what came over me but I really do,” you say with a shy smile. You feel your face blushing and Jayne’s eyes dance as she glances over your shoulder to ensure no one has crept up out of nowhere.

“Zach, whatever it was I love it. Are you free tonight?” She is speaking quietly, but her expression is shouting desire.

Matching her low tone, you reply, “Definitely. And we need to text Karissa… if I can even make it until after work. I may need to book Meeting Room B after all!” You are only barely joking.

Jayne nods, “I saw her this morning, she mentioned she was free. It’s a date, my place, both of you, right after work. And don’t tempt me about the meeting room!”

Before you ask her if she’s actually maybe kinda perhaps serious about the meeting room - no windows, has a lock on the door, hmm… no stop it! - you leave your other girlfriend to get some work done.

It’s not even lunch yet, so it is going to be a long, long five hours. But you suspect this date night will be worth the wait.

==RESET:====RESET:====RESET:==

program Κασσάνδρα;
uses crt;
(* Mythological prophet and princess of Troy *)
begin
writeln('no no no no NO WAIT ANYTHING BUT THAT');
readkey;
end.

EXIT PERFORM CYCLE
BREAK:RESET