Cursing, I yielded to the inevitable and got up, showered and shaved. Then I headed for the subway station, stopping at a little coffee shop to get some breakfast. There was only one other customer there at that hour. Similarly, when I got to the office I was the first person there.
I tried to bury myself in work but I found my mind constantly drawn back to what had happened. Not knowing why she’d left kept eating at me, and I found myself growing increasingly angry as the time passed. Finally I convinced myself that I deserved some answers and I decided to act.
Glenda and I never visited each other during working hours – our jobs were sacred, not to be disturbed. Today would be an exception. I knew when Glenda normally went to lunch and I carefully timed my trip to arrive just before she would go out. I even splurged on a cab to her office to make sure I wasn’t late.
When I entered the law offices of Denison and Lowser, I didn’t recognize the receptionist, but since I’d met very few people there, that didn’t surprise me. “Hi,” I said, “I’m Alex Stevenson, Glenda Preston’s husband. I’m here to take her to lunch.”
The receptionist looked up at me with startled eyes. “Um, okay, I’ll just call her to let her know you’re here.”
“No, no,” I said hastily. “It’s a surprise. I’ll just go back to get her.”
She looked at me doubtfully, but I strode confidently passed the desk to the entry door, and she dutifully buzzed me through.
As I walked through the aisles, I thought I saw a few curious stares, but I ignored them and marched straight back to Glenda’s cubicle. She was chatting with another young woman, but when she saw me she stopped abruptly and her face went pale.
“What are you doing, Alex?” she demanded. “You can’t be here — I’m working.”
“Well, I am here,” I said combatively, “and I intend to stay here until you tell me why you walked out on me last night.”
“Keep your voice down,” she hissed at me, her face turning bright red. “I explained to you last night why I was leaving.”
I found myself growing more and more angry. “You didn’t explain anything, you just gave me a bunch of platitudes that meant nothing.”
She glanced around, and I realized that we had drawn a small crowd. Others working in the area had clustered in a semicircle round her, as if to help her repel an attack. I began to feel very uncomfortable but I couldn’t back down now.
Realizing that she couldn’t avoid a confrontation, Glenda seemed to embrace the opportunity. “You want to know why I left you?” she said, making no attempt to keep her voice lowered. “Well, I’ll tell you: I’m leaving you because you’re a nobody. You’re a weak little man who’s content to hold on to your pitiful job in hopes that some day someone will die so you’ll get a promotion. You’re dull and uninteresting, and you’ve grown fat and sloppy. That’s why I’m leaving you!”
I stood there in shock with my mouth open. I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. Who was this woman?
“But,” I protested weakly, “you never said anything before.”