Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
By
Morgan La Femina
Mel slumped over his seat. He was at a Diner over on the south end. He was quite tired
from a long day at the office, having plenty to do that day and having had plenty accomplished
during his time there. Of course his boss did not think much of his work but then his Principle
was making a good two million off his sales reps. He still had more to do tomorrow and the next
day. He was thinking of traveling in on Saturday against his wife’s wishes. Mel would rise up in
the early morning sunshine, leave his friend and companion alone, routinely ready himself and
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“How many Saturdays?” Who knows, he would ask himself. They had bills to pay and
that is what he was there for; they did just keep on coming.
Jenny would awaken without him in their bed and look around to see still another
yellow sticky note. The note would be hastily written and she would get little comfort from it or
nowadays nothing from it. Jenny had faded just as soon as the yellow notes came into their life.
She would look out the window of her small starter home and see the cars pass by, a bird or
two with their spring chicks feeding about the overgrown front lawn. Mel knew when he
arrived home she would be inebriated again, drunk. He had to mow the lawn after he tended to
her a bit. He knew that she had slowly replaced him with a thick glass bottle of fire that burned
down her throat. It burned him down through his heart. Hell, he had to pay for it and Mr. JD
The server was cleaning some of the empty tables: the place emptier than not. There
was a man and a woman looking over their coffee at each other, in love. “What was love?” Mel
asked himself, long-suffering or through the pain or the upward descent toward accumulating
wealth? How far can you go to survive? How much money can you possibly make to pay off
your life? They had to live and he knew they simply just were not. He looked again at the
server; perhaps the bus boys were taking a break in the back. Mel rubbed the stubble on his
face he needed a shave. She took the weight of both now and for a time.
The waitress noticed him and came over, "Are you ready to order?"
Mel looked at the menu and rubbed his eyes, smiling at her. She was attractive with
long black hair, held back, "I will take a number two"
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"Two?"
Mel looked down at himself and his blue and black tie, "Two."
"Okay," She said, and he gave her the menu, "Be back shortly."
Mel watched her leave and then he glanced back at the other couple. Mel turned to
look out the large windows of the Diner from his booth. At first, he was more aware of the glass
than what lay beyond. He saw himself and then refocused; it was pitch black out with only a
dim street light and the Diner sign showing up in the wall of darkness. An occasional car went
by. Mel pulled at his cuff links, picking at them. He had his suit on much too long, his shirt
sticking to him from sweat, but he refused to undo his tie knot. Why he just really did not know
Mel took the drive home. He was half way to there and half way from work, between
both worlds but never in one permanently. Mel turned on his phone and put the clip in his ear,
listening to the message she left him two hours ago. He hurt as he forgot to respond to her
plea. He just did not have the time and he missed it by accident. It made the hole in him that
much deeper. He noticed the gas gauge was reading low. Mel took a deep inhale of cabin air
and pulled over to get fuel. He swiped his card and pressed no, which lit up black on a green
glow background. The fuel went in and his account went down. He closed his eyes...he was so
tired. An image of a piece of land upstate flashed before his eyes, all green and full of trees. He
could almost smell it. He needed to get home. Mel needed to hold onto his wife. A sound came.
It was soft at first, a low drone and then loud and bright, flashing red before him.
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He opened his eyes as it slashed passed him and through the night. The night returned,
the suffocating intensity of quiet, he knew well. It was gone just as it came. Mel slammed the
nozzle back onto the pump and fell into his car. Mel rubbed his eyes, yawned then his stomach
began to burn. He drove and pressed his shoe to the accelerator. The car pounded and he
Mel rushed out of his car tripping onto the ground, a rock tearing his pant leg, drawing
He ran up to his door, the door nearly split by a forced entry from the police, ambulance
and the sounds and lights of death swarming around him. He ran up the steps pushing a police
The paramedics threw the limp Jenny on the stretcher, covered her with blankets and
pounded on her chest. She had blood and vomit along the side of her face and mouth. Jenny's
blond hair was in clots. Mel ran over to her and fell onto the stretcher as they were moving her.
"Jenny!"
"She is my wife!"
"You can ride with us sir, but you have to get back!"
“Shit, Jenny!”
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He followed the speeding ambulance, down the road and around. The emergency doors
glided effortlessly open. They took her in. He closed his eyes and there was nothing.
Mel found himself in the first floor chapel of the hospital. He had brought her to the
hospital before but never like this. It was empty save for a bible and some well-worn seats. A
quiet place at least. He did not want to think, or even if he could what he should. He
remembered what he had said to the paramedic, that she was his wife. He wished things were
better. It had not started out this way but it rather got that way. Mel knew it did not. He wished
A man imperceptibly walked in. It was, he thought, the Chaplin. Mel turned his head
away to make him think he had not noticed. The Chaplin sat next to him, or at least Mel
thought he was. Mel looked down at his blue and black tie. The Chaplin spoke softly to him,
Mel felt uncomfortable. He turned to him at this point but still kept his head down; the
Chaplin was an older gentleman dressed in the traditional black, "Yeah, I've had enough noise
for a while."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Mel-" Bill said with a smile. He seemed rather at peace.
Mel wiped his brow for a second. There was a long pause and then a break in the
"Sure."
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"Can you just walk away?"
Bill ran his fingers over his graying beard, "What do you mean?"
Mel thought about it for a moment. "To just get out of the race and take the pain and
"Financially, losing what we have and what we worked hard for and just leaving- going
The chaplain looked at him warmly: "Mel, I think you’re talking to the wrong person."
Mel went up to the ICU unit full of glass, machines and a blue trim along the white walls.
He asked for the doctor who told Mel that Jenny was stable for the night, that he should get
some rest and come back in the morning. He went to her as she was on a respirator, kissed her
forehead, "Goodnight, princess." He loosened his tie, sat for a while and fell fast asleep.
Mel took off the next day and then with a very bitter conscience the next. His boss
Carter, the principal of the agency, was disgruntled about Mel’s hasty decisions. He stood in his
Principles office. Carter looked at Mel fiercely, “Mel, I don’t know what the hell you are doing
Mel stood up from his chair: “Mr. Carter, listen I need time for me and my wife. She has
because you’re out there bullshitting with your clients when you should be selling insurance!
Mel looked down at Carter clenching a fist, “Listen, I care about my clients first- sales
Carter had a mirror next to him on the wall, a big oval one. He stood and interrupted
Mel, pointing: “Mel, you should have told me this before you came on board.”
Carter nodded, “Go see her, take a few days off- then come back strong and we then
Mel had a proposal and four clients to meet by. Carter did not like this because it was
going to cost Carter in time and money. The wholesalers were arriving next week and the
principal was enthusiastic that Mel would close a sale or two before then. Mel just had enough
and no amount of money would bring back what he had lost. He needed to salvage his life,
some things money can’t buy and to hell with their debt.
Mel went to the front desk, "I need a pass to the third floor."
The elderly volunteer wrote it out and smiled, "Here you go, sweetheart."
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Mel rode the stainless steel elevator. He wore his jeans and polo shirts because he was
off work and he would be from now on. The battle inside was difficult, the war destructive. He
was so tired. The last time he had taken off work or did not have a suit on, he just could not
remember. Out of the steel elevator, he stepped and through the ICU doors. He found her
"Well I mean she is in and out, but as soon as she is more conscious and her stomach is
okay we’re going to give her some ice chips and then start her on soft food- Jell-O. I would like
to transfer her today to the fifth floor." The doctor looked at Mel sternly, "She dodged the
Mel found her room entered and stood over her. She was breathing on her own and the
warm color of life was returning. Jenny was covered with blankets and an IV was still stuck in
her arm. She was half-away awake but eventually noticed him. Softly, Jenny spoke to him,
"Mel?"
He caressed her hair, still matted but it seemed brighter than he had remembered it-
She smiled a bit then started to cry a little, "Mel I'm sorry."
Mel wiped away her tears and kissed her on her cheek, almost like the wind on a sunny
He was quite literally heartbroken. He had been for such a long time.
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"Mel, I know you work so hard, and-"
Something inside Mel simply collapsed, the weight on both scales fell shattering the
chains. Mel had enough of what they had become, with warmth that was called up from where
he just did not know, maybe from the depths of his soul, "Listen, remember that piece of land
upstate?"
"Well, I cashed in my retirement and our bonds and I bought it. We talked about buying
Jenny started to cry again, "Mel, how are we going to make it?"
Her eyes started to light up a bit, in hope in the last remaining threads of a bond of love
He pulled from inside him the last remaining authority over control of his life and family’s
Mel was tired...he had had enough, "I want to close your eyes."
She did simply in part because she was still exhausted from the fight.
"Green." Jenny opened her eyes, "I see some green-" and for the first time in a long
Jenny smiled, "I didn't know you had such deep blue eyes." still sobbing a bit, "Mel, I had
forgotten."
Mel held her as best he could, "Rest, it’s all over. Jenny, rest it is all over."
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