Spirits in the Material World Pt. 12

Spirits in the Material World, Part 12 by storyteller0112

All persons are over the age of 18, and all characters and locations are totally fictional.

I must take a moment here to properly acknowledge and appreciate the feedback provided by RRC2, both online and offline. They have been nothing but encouraging and supportive and have provided a few additional points which have been included, to their delight. Thanks so much!

None of these parts or chapters stand alone. The narrative picks up where the previous one left off.

Wednesday, continued:

Alan was in a bit of panic. His girlfriend's father had turned out to be the VP of Human Resources of his current employer, which he was leaving in less than two weeks. Alan's ability to think on his feet was being sorely tested by the bombshell dropped on him that Wednesday morning.

"Uh, um, Mr. Reynolds, I believe we should have a more in-depth discussion, but later, please. I have to get ready for my daily tasks. I do not wish to be thought of as a 'slacker' during my last days here. May I please talk with you after hours, sir? I believe we have several topics to discuss, sir."

Elliott chuckled deep in his throat. "Yes, Alan, we DO have several topics to discuss, and after-hours may be an appropriate time for some of them. I would like to schedule your exit interview, though. Would Friday at 1:00 pm work for you?"

"Y-yes, 1:00 pm on Friday will be fine, sir.

"Excellent! Now, for our personal discussion... May I call you tonight, say 7:30 pm? Don't worry, I already have your cell phone number, Alan."

Then he remembered that he had updated the corporate personnel information when they had removed the old land-line telephone and just used their cell phones. So, he supposed that Elliott did have his cell number.

"Yes, Mr. Reynolds, tonight at 7:30 will be fine, sir."

"Wonderful! Please do try to relax some, Alan. What you tell me outside of the work hours will remain outside of the work. I am looking forward to speaking with you at greater length this evening. Thank you!"

"And thank you, sir." Alan's heart rate was slowly decreasing. "Until tonight then."

"Goodbye, Alan." And Elliott Reynolds disconnected the call.

With his hands shaking slightly, Alan returned inside to his desk. Noting it was just after 8:00 am, he got a cup of coffee and returned to his desk to ponder these recent revelations. He ended up with even more questions than he had before. He wasn't surprised that Corporate HR was aware of his having given notice. He was surprised that the VP a) knew who he was, b) referred to his being an Eagle Scout, c) knew about an Eagle Scout's promise on his "sacred honor", and d) knew about his family's involvement with the Lawson ladies. Then he started to think more about these items. His being an Eagle Scout was listed on his resume, so that was quasi-public information.

Alan considered texting Rose about the contact with Elliott, then opted to do it later. He needed to focus on work-things while at work. As one of his first bosses once told him, "do first things first and second things never." Well, the first thing on Alan's list for today was the 9 am stand-up meeting. Repeating his words from Monday, "Issues and blockers only, please," Alan guided the meeting to a quick eleven-minute duration and dismissed the team with the admonishment to supply successes for sharing with the team and management. By the end of the workday, Alan had received updates from everyone and his last action of the day was to send out the compiled responses.

Alan sent Rose a text once he'd gotten into his car to head for home.

Alan: * Do you know an Elliott Reynolds? *

His phone rang two minutes and forty-five seconds later. "Alan, why are you asking about my father? Did you know he is my father? To my knowledge, I've never mentioned either of my parents to you."

"Well, dearest Rose, I received an email overnight from my corporate HR about scheduling an exit interview before I depart. This interview is now set for 1 pm on Friday, which sort of concerns me about a possible early escort, but I did phrase things so they could end this early if they so chose. At the bottom of that message from HR was a request to contact Elliott Reynolds, VP of Human Resources, at a number that was not a corporate HQ landline number. Envision my surprise when this morning, before work truly began, he wanted to have a discussion with me about you and your daughters' relationships with my sons. I was able to put him off until this evening, but we are going to have to talk."

"Oh, no, Alan! No, no, no, no, no! I last spoke with Mother and Daddy before Thanksgiving, before Tom and Julie arrived that week to invite me to your place. I've never mentioned you, as we'd not even met then. This must be something the girls have mentioned, but I don't think they've spoken with their grandparents either. Alan, do you think this is going to be a bad call tonight with him?"

"I have no idea, Rose. Little is achieved by worrying about something beyond your control, as this call happening is beyond mine. All I can do is try to manage the words and emotions communicated during it. Very well. Depending on how this call goes and how long it goes, our discussion tonight may be impacted. I'll call you when I'm able. I do love you, Rose."

"And I do love you, Alan. Are you home yet?"

"About to start driving. Rest easy, love. I'll call you, one way or another, afterward."

= = =

Rose's Wednesday was very typical with nothing of great drama occurring at the bank. She held off informing Brad the manager that she might be available for the two Saturdays she had requested off; the deal with making the bedroom/bathroom combination in the basement was not yet certain. She did not stick around any longer than she had to once the tellers had counted down their drawers, and she arrived at her apartment to find a letter from her doctor's office. The test results were in and there was nothing unexpected. She was clean of STD's and a broad smile illuminated her visage as she entered the apartment.

"What's got you in such a good mood, Mom?" Maggie inquired.

"Just my blood test results showing that I'm all clean to have fun with Alan. Magpie, have you communicated with your grandpa and grandma since Thanksgiving?"

"Not directly, no. Why are you asking?"

"Alan had to call his corporate HR this morning and speak to a VP, Elliott Reynolds."

"Grandpa?"

"Yep. Alan's got to talk with him about personal stuff tonight."

"That may be on me, Mom. I know that Grandma keeps tabs on Julie's and my Facebook pages, and I put up some comments there about my new collegiate boyfriend. I think I also uploaded the picture of the six of us at the church that morning."

"Well, that may be the source of their information then. Oh well. Alan will call me tonight when Grandpa's done with him."

"Done with him? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure, sweetie. I'm not his little girl anymore, but my father can still be protective. And he's still in a chain of authority over Alan, at least until Alan leaves his current employer. We'll just have to wait and see. Say, how are you coming on your paper?"

"I can use one of the ten pages for my references, and one for the title page, so I really only have to write eight pages of text. The research is going, but there's competition for the same reference resources. Fortunately, much of that is now online and not limited to physical single check out. I don't know how you old folks used to do it, back before the Internet."

"Ouch! 'Old folks'?"

"You know what I mean, Mom. You 'old school advocates'. You know who you are."

= = =

Maggie put her head down and kept herself tightly focused on getting her paper written for Brit Lit and on acing her final high school final exams. She was so close to the end she could almost taste it. She limited her interactions with David just to brief text exchanges each evening with the promise of a "very nice" telephone call once she got her paper written and printed out to turn in. Rose had never seen her youngest so intent on a single goal like she was now, and Rose was amazed at the evident single-mindedness.

Part of David sighed in relief that his girlfriend was so distracted that she had to limit her interactions with him. He welcomed the concept and the reality of Maggie as his girlfriend, but he sometimes chafed at the perception that she wanted to be such a huge part of his day-to-day life. This was probably due to his very limited experience with girls while in high school, plus the majority of the girls at the Art school were all really artsy-fartsy and seemed to have a limited grasp on reality. Either that or they were all working to earn their MRS degree. How many Art History majors did the world truly need?

So, David took advantage of the break and focused on completing his final art project which was an interpretation of the photograph of the three Harrison men being kissed by the three Lawson women, the ladies' heels kicked up and the men's faces evidencing their surprise. He was doing the piece in a style very similar to his portrait of Laura, and this had earned his instructor's encouragement. The middle-aged lady instructor had been saddened when he had insisted on taking his mother's portrait home at Thanksgiving. She had had the presence of mind to get the Advanced Photography instructor to take several photos of the piece first. Expecting a similar outcome with his finals' piece, she had already lined up the instructor to take several well-lit photos for posterity. The remainder of his basic courses were not a concern for David, but he did put forth additional effort to study for those exams. Out of courtesy, David would haunt the library while not working on the art piece, if only to give Robert and Miranda room to act upon their carnal desires for each other.

Julia and Tom nicely balanced their study needs with their together time despite the fierce stares Julie would give any female who availed themselves of Tom's help in the Accounting lab times. All of the dominoes in their lives seemed to be lining up for them for a great exam week and subsequent Christmas holiday break.

Rose's days at the bank continued much as they did before her giving notice. She remained cheerful and helpful to the tellers and the branch management team, and she looked a little more closely at ways to improve the process flows within the branch. She found herself taking fewer and shorter breaks and occasionally opening an extra teller window if she noticed the customer wait line getting backed up. In short, with her new position in sight, she made her branch just a little nicer to do business in and to work in. She figured she would have the week between Christmas and New Year's Day to ghost the leadership of the AgCU plus start the cleaning process at the apartment.

= = =

Alan returned home and prepared a simple meal of a grilled cheese sandwich and a can of tomato soup. Made with a dollop of milk, the soup was warming, creamy, and comforting, all things that Alan needed right then. The memory of Laura making this for him soon after they were wed flooded his senses. He closed his eyes and he could practically smell her fragrance and feel her lips on the back of his neck. His eyes filled with his tears of longing for his wife, his lost love. Three of his tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped into his soup, adding a slight seasoning of salt. As much as he loved Rose, and he easily admitted that he did, no one would ever be able to replace Laura in his life.

At 7:29 Alan's phone rang with a call from the number he had called that morning.

"Hello and good evening, Mr. Reynolds," Alan began.

"Alan, let us dispense with the formalities right now. Do call me Elliott, please."

"Of course, Elliott. Thank you for that."

"And I, no we, should thank you ourselves. May I place you on speaker so my wife, Martha, might participate?"

"Certainly!"

"Hello, Alan," came a pleasant older female voice. "Please do call me Martha."

"Of course, Martha."

"I realize that much of this has to come as a surprise to you, Alan," Elliott stated. "I am just now piecing together fragments of information from multiple sources, and I wanted to get some answers directly from you if you please. For tonight, I am not your Vice President of Human Resources. But we are the parents of your girlfriend."

"I understand, Elliott, Martha. Please feel free to interrupt if you want more information. This morning, Elliott, you referred to three things you had questions about: one, my intended departure; two, my 'sacred honor'; and three, my relationship with your daughter and my sons' relationships with her daughters. I can understand your first line of inquiry, and I can deduce how you might follow up with the second. It's the relationships piece that has me puzzled and concerned, sir."

"Alan, I'd like to help flesh some of that out," Martha began. "While Rosie has not said anything or posted anything, Julia and Margaret are products of their age and environment. They don't post their every thought on social media, just some of them; and they talk to me far more than their mother does. I knew about Julia and Thomas probably before you did. I did not know, however, what it was about her that threw your son into such a tizzy, but we do now. She could be twins with your departed wife, Laura, is that correct?"

"At least in appearance if not mannerisms. She doesn't sound exactly like Laura did, and she likes her coffee 'adulterated' with flavored creamer. But it was the physical appearance that attracted Tom first. Her personality and caring really seemed to seal the deal for him, so he says."

Elliott chimed in, "so we know some things about your family, Alan. Would you please give us your 'summary'?"

"Very well, Elliott. Again, stop me if you need further explanation. I'm an only child and my parents were killed in a home invasion gone wrong about seven years ago. I'm an Eagle Scout as well as Wood Badge trained in Scouting, and my father was an Eagle Scout as well. Because of this, I felt I would do my sons a huge disservice by not pushing them to earn their Eagle ranks as well."

Martha interrupted, "Elliott may know about Eagle Scouts, but I'm not familiar. Can you help me?"

"Assuredly. The Eagle rank is the highest in the Boy Scouts of America, now called Scouts BSA as it now includes girls. To earn the rank of Eagle, a youth must earn all the ranks prior, complete at least 21 merit badges of which 13 are required, serve in multiple positions of youth leadership within their scout troop, and plan, design, lead, and document a service project of sufficient complexity, all before they turn 18 years of age. Of all the youth who get involved in Scouting, only four or five percent of them earn the Eagle rank. So far, only one U.S. President has been an Eagle Scout, Gerald R. Ford, and most of the men who have walked on the moon have been Eagle Scouts, not to mention so many of the captains of industry. Yes, it's a youth achievement, but it demonstrates their potential as adults and is often used as a deciding factor in hiring. Is that enough for now, Martha?"

"Yes, Alan, that's a gracious plenty. Thank you. Please continue."

"Both Tom and David are Eagle Scouts through our local troop. I served in a couple of adult leadership positions while they were involved, but since they have 'graduated' out, I've taken a big step back. That, plus Laura's illness and ..." Alan's voice trailed off and he took a couple of seconds to compose himself.

"We raised them both to walk the straight and narrow path, and our church village helped with that so very much. Tom is a senior at State, majoring in Business Management. He has a couple of job offers for this coming summer after he graduates. David is a freshman at the State Art Institute but has said he wishes to transfer to State. He's truly an awesome artist but acknowledges that art is not a likely secure employment option. I don't yet know if he knows what he wants to do. I strongly suspect that his decision to attend State is due to Maggie's intentions of accepting that free ride offered to her. I am quite proud of the young men that Tom and David have grown to become."

"And Maggie has fallen head over heels for David?" Elliott inquired. "Much like Rosie has for you?"

"So it would seem, Elliott. So it would seem. Now, about my 'sacred honor' reference. To what were you referring?" Alan asked.

"It's in your employee profile that you are an Eagle Scout, Alan. My daughter is likely unaware that I have been co-opted by my Masonic lodge into becoming a Merit Badge counselor, so I'm quite acquainted with the pledge you and your sons have made, on your 'sacred honor'. That counselor position, among other things, has led to my being recognized by many young men at their Eagle Courts of Honor as an Eagle Mentor. But it also references something you wrote down for Bob Ryan after Thanksgiving." That last bit sent a frisson down Alan's spine. Elliott was aware of Alan's refutation of Maria's claims. Which meant that Elliott was likely aware of much of the goings-on which had led to Alan's re-evaluation. Alan licked his lips and cleared his throat.

"Uh, yes, Elliott, all I could do was state, on my sacred honor, what actually happened on my date. It's a classic he said / she said scenario, with no way to disprove any allegations."

"And you are 'falling on your sword' for the good of the workplace environment?" Elliott inquired.

"I decided to use that as an opportunity to look around. It turns out that for what I do, I'm quite underpaid in the marketplace. Sam Roberts, our AVP here, hasn't thought to try to retain talent before it tries to leave. He seems rather 'interrupt' driven, only taking action when circumstances dictate. It may be that his hands are tied by policies coming from the corporate offices. That information is above my pay grade.

"Elliott, I don't know how much of this has been brought to your attention or had even made it to your ears. It is not my intention to throw anybody under the bus. The long and short of this is that I went on a supper date with another employee from the office. At the end of the date, she wanted unprotected intercourse. I insisted upon using protection and she screamed at me to get out of her home which I did without argument or drama. The following Monday she was telling other women in the office that I got her insensibly drunk, forced myself on her, and refused all contact attempts over the Thanksgiving weekend. And none of that was true."

"Oh, Alan, how horrible for you!" Martha exclaimed. "Does Rosie know about this?"

"I have shielded her from most of this. It wasn't her fight and she couldn't do much except sympathize and encourage. Because you cannot prove something didn't happen, I could only state my innocence on my 'sacred honor' and try to ease any workplace tensions. In so doing, I've been offered a position elsewhere at a huge pay increase."

"So, your chosen method of 'easing workplace tensions' is to run away and leave others to deal with the aftermath?" Elliott accused. "I would have thought that an Eagle Scout would have had more grit and perseverance."

Alan was starting to become angry at Elliott's words. Partially because they were true and Alan had been feeling some guilt being directed at him from Bob and Sam. And partially because he did not owe the company any more loyalty than its representatives (Bob, Sam, and now Elliott) had shown him. When Alan got angry, he did not blow up. He internalized it and his voice became harder and quieter and very precise. Alan's voice now lowered in volume and his diction became notably crisper.