Unless it Happens to be Her

"Even with the smaller house, things were still tight. I told Mom I would go back to work. She objected because she has a decent government pension and was able to buy this new house outright, but I knew it would help us build up a financial cushion faster. And I was getting stir-crazy."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters who can help?"

"An older brother. He's not married and he's sent us some money but he's in the military and deployed overseas for a year. He came back for a couple of days for Dad's funeral but couldn't stay." Cal raised her eyes. "You?"

"One sister, who's the oldest, and two brothers between us. They live around the valley in various places. They all followed mom and dad's footsteps: graduated college, got married, started spitting out kids, and are excelling in their careers. Big successes in their lives. I dropped out of college after two years and still live at home with my parents." Brittney smirked. "I guess I'm the failure of the family."

Cal blinked in surprise. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"No, not really. My folks are great. They both worked hard and are financially well-off, so I'm not cramping their lifestyle. They've never made me feel like I was letting them down. But I look at my siblings and I feel ... inadequate, I guess. My personal pride says I should get off my ass and make something of myself. Does that make sense?"

"Absolutely. But something I've figured out is that family is important. If your folks are okay with you being there, then take the positive from the time you have with them."

Brittney grinned. "Oh, you're right, and I do. It's just my insecurity talking."

Before any of them could say another word, Brittney's screen flashed. She pointed. "Showtime."

Cal adjusted her headset. "Let's do it."

The call turned out to be fairly boilerplate, with a polite older man who couldn't figure out how to reset the wireless connection from his modem. Brittney slowly walked him through it and after a few minutes, they had him back up and running. The man thanked Brittney, declined to participate in their customer service survey, and disconnected.

Cal waited until the CALL button on the screen grayed out. "That went easily enough."

"They won't always. Oh man, the tales I could tell ..." She laughed. "Work here for a few months and you'll have your own catalog of stories. I hope you have thick skin, Cal."

"Thick enough."

"So, why 'Calliope?' That's unusual."

She snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it. Mom told me that she and Dad just really liked the sound of it. My brother's name is 'Mercutio,' after the character in Romeo and Juliet. Would it surprise you that he always goes by 'Allan,' his middle name? I love my folks but they're weird. Anyway, I shortened it to Cal pretty much as soon as I knew that was an option."

"Well, at least people probably spell, 'Cal' right. Do you know how many ways there are to spell Brittney? I've pretty much seen them all and only about ten percent of people get it right the first time. Maybe fifty percent if I sit there and spell it out for them. I told my mother if I ever have children, I'm naming them Bob or Jane."

Cal chuckled. It was a throaty, sultry sound. Cal raised her metal coffee mug. "Well, here's to well-meaning mothers and their goofy names for their children."

Brittney raised her own mug and tapped it against Cal's. Cal smiled and sipped her drink. "So, who is John Raster?"

A bolt of ice fired down Brittney's spine. "W-why did you ask that?"

"I saw your face when Jim mentioned his name this morning. You looked like someone shot your dog." Cal peered at her. "Was he a friend? Did he get fired or something?"

"Or something." Brittney stared at the screen, hoping the damn phone would ring but the night stayed quiet. She took a deep breath. It's not like it's a secret around here. Better that I tell her than she hears it from someone else and gets a distorted version. "He was a floor agent, like us. He and I started dating two years ago."

"Is that allowed here?"

"As long as one party isn't supervising the other, it's okay. We were on an equal level, so no one cared. We were going along great, or at least I thought so. We were talking about the long term, about having kids, all the usual stuff. He asked me to marry him and put a ring on my finger. It was modest but because it was from him, I loved it. We started putting money together to buy a house. We each had our own bank account dedicated to saving for it. We would show each other our account balances and tease one another if we got ahead of the other in terms of savings."

"That's cute," Cal said, grinning.

"Yeah. I shifted to the night shift so I could work with him and save even more money. I even took a part-time job at the public library, on Friday and Saturday afternoons when I'm off shift here. It wasn't much but it gave me a little extra money and I really like the work."

She sighed. "Then, a few weeks ago, John comes to me out of the blue and tells me he's put in his two-week notice here at Three Spark, that he had accepted a job in Dallas with American Airlines. Worse, he told me had lost feelings, that he was taking a girl named Maria to Dallas with him."

Cal's eyes got wide. "No way."

"She was an agent on the day shift. I knew her but not well. I guess he had been seeing both of us since May, which meant he started with her like eight weeks after I accepted his proposal. I guess in my mind, two years with me couldn't top four months with her."

"Oh, wow."

"I admit, I was floored. I was so shocked I didn't say a word when he turned and walked away." Brittney shrugged. "I went through the usual reactions: anger, fear, despair. I called and texted him dozens of times a day. I put myself through hell, wondering what I did wrong or could have done differently. I cried non-stop and begged him to reconsider. I'm sure it came off as pathetic. He pretty much wouldn't even take my calls. The one time he did answer, he put Maria on the phone and had her cuss me out, telling me he was hers now. If he stuck to his schedule he left a few days ago."

"He sounds like a complete dick!"

"He's not, he's ..." Brittney paused. She fought the urge to let out a frustrated laugh. She'd had this same conversation with her mother and Monica both, and they had both had the same reaction as Cal. Her dad and Paul, the older of her two brothers, had both been stoic, saying John was not good enough for her. Her other brother Chris simply offered to find John and break his legs. She said, "John isn't a bad person. He's just very immature. I mean, he's responsible and keeps his job and his appointments and he's not late on his bills and has no record or anything. He's upbeat, has a great sense of humor, and he's a lot of fun to be around. But emotionally, he's very much a scared little boy. He doesn't know what he wants. If he had the money, he'd be that guy who traded in his car every year for a new one, just so he could have a different vehicle. I knew that when we got involved and figured I'd have to do the emotional heavy-lifting in the relationship, at least to start. I thought he might get better and grow with me but that was my heart overriding my brain."

"I assume he didn't change."

"Not at all. I should have known something was up, though. He started pulling away. He stopped talking and the last three months we didn't even ..." She blushed. "You know."

"I hope you kept the ring."

"He didn't ask for it back. It's in my dresser at home. That's probably a red flag for me, keeping something like that from an ex. Our whole relationship was red flags, all over the place, but I hung in there, hoping that he'd turn it around. Intellectually, I am glad he cut the cord and moved on before we actually got married. That would have been harder to untangle. I know it was probably best that he left. But you know what the sad thing is?" She smiled, though there was no humor in it. "If he came back to me and begged to take him back, I probably would."

Cal's brows furrowed. "What? Why the hell would you do that?"

"Despite it all, I still care for him. I wondered why I wasn't good enough for him. It only took me about five minutes after he told me he was breaking up to start blaming myself for whatever I did that drove him away." Brittney spread her hands. "It's what I do. Failure, remember? Applies to my relationships too."

Cal stared at Brittney a moment. Then, she placed her hands on Brittney's, pulled them together, and clasped them palm-to-palm between her own. "Well, that stops right now, okay? You seem like a very nice person, Brittney, and you don't strike me as a failure at all. Even if you are, that's irrelevant. Him cheating on you, then taking off like a coward... that was all on him, not you. You didn't cause it and you didn't deserve it. Do you hear me?"

Brittney started to scoff. She started to pull away, saying she'd already heard the same thing from her family and friends many times before.

But Cal's penetrating gaze pinned her in place, like a butterfly in a trophy case. Brittney's throat felt suddenly dry and a light sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead. She forced the words out over a raspy tongue. "I ... I understand."

One side of Cal's lips turned up in a quirky half-smile. She released Brittney's hands. "Good, I'm glad we got that straight."

The screen lit up with an incoming call.

Thank Jesus, Brittney thought, focusing her attention. If I had argued with her, I think she might have turned me over her knee.

Her skin flushed again and Brittney cursed to herself, wishing she had really, really not had that thought.

#

Cal looked at her. "So, what do you think?"

Brittney checked off the last item on Cal's training checklist. "I think you've got it down."

And she did. She'd watched Cal that week, riding shotgun on a handful of tech support calls and observing her coworker handle their customers. Cal had been as cheery and helpful on the phone as she'd been in person. She'd followed Three Spark procedures to the letter. She'd dealt with the bulk of her calls without issue.

When one customer had become hostile and uncooperative over the lag in his internet, Cal had stayed calm and tried to talk him down. When she'd been unable to do so, she'd calmly shifted him to the next level of supervision, just as she was supposed to do. The guy continued his verbal assault, screaming at Cal and questioning her intelligence, her morals, parentage, citizenship, and a host of other insults. She remained pleasant until he was off the line, though as soon as the CALL button had shifted to gray, she tore her headset off, glared at Brittney, and snarled, "What a fucking asshole," which had reduced Brittney to a laughing fit. Cal grumbled and announced she needed to get up and walk around for a few minutes.

She chalked up her giggles to the hour being late and feeling loopy, but on reflection, Brittney thought it was because she'd been struck by the sudden shift in Cal's demeanor—from collected and pleasant, to annoyed and crabby. It was the first time she had seen her friend lose her temper and Brittney thought it actually humanized her a little.

Friend? She blinked at that thought. Isn't she just a coworker? No, she's already become a friend. I've really enjoyed this week working with her. She's very sweet and funny. We've gotten along great so far ... and let's face it, Britt: you don't really have a lot of friends. Can't afford to slag off the ones you have.

Cal returned a moment later, flopped in her chair, and replaced her headset. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's okay. It's what those five-minute breaks are for, when you have a bad call. Did you walk off your grouchies?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now." A tentative smile crossed Cal's face. "People suck, don't they?"

"Too often, yes." Brittney stretched her arms over her head. "It's almost one. You want to clock out for our meal?"

"Sure." Without waiting to be told, Cal logged their station as "on-break" for the next thirty minutes. Brittney smiled to herself, happy that Cal seemed to have her job well in hand.

They strode through the dimly-lit cubicle maze toward the break room, where they had both stowed their lunch. They had eaten together each night of that week. A little sense of melancholy came over Brittney, as she realized she'd really enjoyed having someone to talk to at work—someone other than John. She hoped Cal would want to continue to take their evening breaks together when she finished training and started her own shift.

Cal retrieved a plastic container and popped it in the microwave. "Leftover pasta. How about you?"

"Turkey sandwich." Brittney pulled her insulated lunch bag from the fridge. "Apple, some crackers. Diet Coke."

Cal wrinkled her nose. "Kind of a skimpy meal."

Brittney chuckled. Feeling a little whimsical, she slapped the side of her thigh. "Not many calories, so these big hips aren't going to get any bigger."

"I didn't mean that," Cal said. "Besides, you look good. I wish I was that slender."

"You think?"

"Yeah, you have a nice figure." Cal stared into the microwave.

Brittney laughed. She knew she was in pretty decent shape but it was nice to hear it reinforced. "You're good for my ego. But it's not like anyone would notice me standing next to you. I wish I had your curves."

"No, you don't." She grabbed her chest. "I feel like a fat, unattractive heifer with these."

Brittney knew Cal wasn't fat at all, or even what they might have called "thick." She's stacked, that's all. Her waist is narrow, she doesn't have a tummy bulge, and it's not like she's out of proportion like some of those Instagram models. She's just fine. Maybe she has some body insecurity. I get that—what woman doesn't sometimes? Positive reinforcement, Brittney.

"Fat? Yeah, right. I'm sure your handfuls there are a massive—no pun intended—deterrent to male attention. I'm totally certain men leave you alone because you're—" Brittney hooked her fingers in the air. "—fat. Anyone who thinks that needs both head and eyesight examined."

Cal snickered. "Thanks, Britt."

"You're welcome. Speaking of being left alone, Jim said he was going to move you to your own workstation when I sign off on your training. I'm going to tonight, so on Sunday night, you'll be on your own. Think you can handle it?"

"I think so."

"But I have to say, Cal, that I've enjoyed our week together. You think we could keep eating lunch at the same time? I, uh, don't have a lot of friends here."

Cal turned her head and smiled. "I'd like that. It's nice to work with someone I get along with so well. I know you said you work Fridays and Saturdays at the library but if you ever had some downtime, I'd love to hang out away from work."

"I actually will be off Saturday afternoon. Now that we're in September, the library has to short-staff all month. Budget issues, until the start of the fiscal year. So I'm free. I'll give you my number. Text me if you're available and we'll do something."

"That sounds great."

The women stared at each other for a moment. Brittney's mouth went dry and her heartbeat increased.

The beep beep of the microwave finishing its heat cycle broke the moment of silence. Cal blinked and turned aside to fetch her meal.

Brittney sank into her chair and opened her bag. Why does that keep happening?

Cal joined her a moment later and dug into her dinner. She ate with unladylike gusto, which Brittney found amusing. They chatted about cooking, current happenings in Phoenix, and reality television. They swapped phone numbers and social media account information. Brittney discovered she was enjoying herself more than she had in a long time.

More than even the last few months with John. Hell, maybe the last six months.

Glen entered the break room and leered at them. "S'up, Britt?"

"Nothing." The corners of Brittney's mouth turned down and she lowered her eyes to the table.

Glen Jackson had been a thorn in her side the entire two years Brittney had worked there. He was tall, wore a cocky expression on his handsome face, and was pretty well-built. She would admit, in a grudging way, that he was attractive; even so, Brittney never warmed up to him. He'd also hit on her often. It was never overt or all that frequent but just enough to make her uncomfortable. By the time she was ready to file a complaint, she'd started seeing John. After that, Glen had not said another unprofessional word. Now that John was gone, Brittney felt Glen's eyes on her more often than ever. Glen considered himself something of an office lothario. She knew he'd fucked at least two other agents in the call center. Both women had complained he'd ghosted them immediately afterward.

I'd just be another notch on his bedpost. Her lip curled. I'd rather throw myself under a wheat thresher first.

Glen went to the fridge and plucked his lunch from inside. He walked past and paused at the table, taking in Cal, then extended his hand and put on a smile probably intended as charming but that Brittney only found slimy. "New agent? I'm Glen."

"Cal." She shook his hand.

"Welcome to Three Spark. Hope I get to see you around."

Her eyes narrowed. "Sure."

Glen left, sucking the tension from the room.

Cal watched him go. She tapped one finger on her chin. "He seems ..."

"He's an asshole."

"Yeah," Cal said, grinning, "that's what I was going for."

"Fortunately, he's a floater who moves between shifts, so we won't have to see him all the time." She paused. "I know he's hot but he's slept with a couple of other girls here and both of them said he ignored them afterward. Just be careful, okay?"

"No worries, he's not my type. You about ready to get back to it?"

"Yep." Brittney balled up her trash and tossed it in the wastebasket. They wandered back to her workstation and sat. Brittney logged them back in. "We'll go over a couple more things that aren't on the checklist and I'll sign off on your training. Do you know where Jim is going to put you on the floor?"

"He told me the desk across from you is open, that the guy on day shift who was there quit. I know you like having a buffer space from everyone on shift but ..." Cal gazed at her. "Would you be okay with me sitting that close to you?"

Brittney smiled. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

"Great!" The CALL button turned green. Cal winked at Brittney, then answered, beginning her opening monologue.

#

Brittney rang the doorbell and waited. A quick glance at her watch told her that it was only two, so they still had plenty of time to get to the movie. She smiled to herself, thinking the past eight weeks had been great.

They really have!

She and Cal had grown close. They'd spent almost every single lunch break at work together, chatted off and on across their cubicle wall every night, and tried to hang out when they had time. Brittney discovered that she and Cal had the same understated, cynical sense of humor and the two of them had spent more than one five-minute break laughing at a call together to the point they were both in tears. They both liked to dress nicely but neither felt the need to chase fashions, and both preferred biking and elliptical over running. Each of the women confessed to harboring suspicion for political, civic, and religious authority, and they both admitted they spent too much time on their phones. Brittney had even gotten a blushing admission from Cal that she liked to watch a little porn now and then, though Cal refused to discuss what material she liked. Aside from the fact that Brittney liked to read and Cal liked to watch television, their interests and views were almost perfectly aligned.

In some ways, Brittney was amazed that they had gotten along so well, and so quickly—like a long-lost twin she didn't know she'd ever had. It rapidly reached the point where Brittney considered Cal to be her best friend. She realized she'd never had one before and quite liked it.