Sabrina’s Surprise Visitor
Marcia Carrington
Copyright 2014 Marcia Carrington
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.
Credit for the cover image:
(C) Milkovasa - Dreamstime.com
Sabrina’s Surprise Visitor
“Another day almost over, and more paperwork to do,” Sabrina said, pen in hand. “Will this ever end?”
Sabrina Casey was seated at her desk at work, perusing some documents she had left to the side for a while now. There was so much paperwork to do it was not funny, but Sabrina knew she would eventually get through it. This was not what was worrying Sabrina though - she was feeling terrible for one main reason, and for once it had nothing to do with work. From what she gathered, her marriage was falling apart, as Sabrina and her husband led very separate lives. He seemed to be absorbed by his managerial duties at the restaurant, while she was doing the same with her occupation. They were avoiding the issue of their increasing distance from each other by plunging into work, but this was not working out in any way.
Sabrina wanted to put off going home as long as she could as she did not like the coldness which existed between herself and her husband. Their rare attempts at small talk never addressed the issues which were separating them, even though Sabrina tried her best to remedy the situation. This was not how it always was with them, though. Their marriage had been a very happy one up until a year ago, when it seemed that their paths were not meeting anymore. An unexpected sense of sameness seeped into their lives for reasons they could not entirely comprehend. Sabrina thought that maybe all couples went through this cycle, but a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach settled every time she was at home. Work was the only salvation for Sabrina, and took her mind away from her troubles.
Sabrina saw the time on her shiny stainless steel wall clock, and realized that it was time to leave, and go home. Thank goodness it was Friday; she did not know how she would manage if it was the beginning of the week. Sabrina’s stress levels over the past few weeks had been at their worst, and she had fluffed several matters both at work, and at home, and this had been bothering her. Being the reliable person she was, Sabrina tried to work through this with patience, but this was wearing thin for her. She and her husband had not had a vacation now for over two years, but she could not let her work slip - she just could not do this. Her supervisor Dale knocked on her office door, interrupting her musings, and waited for her to respond.
“Come in”, Sabrina said. Dale entered the office, and smiled at her. From experience, that tranquil smile he trotted out from time to time meant he had an important matter to discuss with her.
“Sabrina, I have something to tell you, and I’m sure you’ll be very interested in hearing this.”
Sabrina was all eyes.
“What is it?”
Dale sighed, and bit his lower lip.
“You’ve been doing a fantastic job, as always, but something has come to my attention which you have to rectify - pronto,” Dale said.
Sabrina stared at him in confusion.
“Come on Dale, what do you want to say? Don’t beat around the bush but just say it - am I being let go?” Sabrina said.
Dale laughed, his blue eyes filled with fun, to Sabrina’s disillusionment.
“How ridiculous,” Dale said. “I’ve never heard anything so dumb before.”
“Are you making fun of me?” Sabrina said.
“No, not at all,” Dale said, trying his best to stop laughing.
“But what?” Sabrina said.
Dale’s serious face was back with full force, perplexing Sabrina even more.
“You need to take a break - right now,” Dale said.
Sabrina was shocked - how did he know that she really needed time away from work?
“Why, what’s the problem?” Sabrina said.
Dale sat down, stretching his long limbs, and moved a stray tuft of his blond hair behind his ear. His pure wool suit glistened under the lights, its gray color shimmering beautifully as he moved. The man had great taste in clothing, and always looked the part; Sabrina imagined he may have worn a suit to take out the trash.
“Haven’t you had an urge to take a break from work, you know, stay at home for a while, laze around, do whatever you like,” Dale said.
“No, I’m quite happy going the way I am,” Sabrina said, shaking her head.
Dale arose from his seat, and moved to the side of her desk.
“You may think you are Sabrina, but I’m not - not at all,” Dale said.
“Why?” Sabrina said.
“Why?” Dale said, his eyes darting around the room. “I’m really worried about you. I’ve seen your state of mind gradually give way to work, and let it take over. While some other supervisors couldn’t care less about their employees, and don’t pick up any signals, I do, and care about you,” Dale said, watching her with great sincerity. They had worked together so long, and had such a good working relationship, that he was like a protective older brother.
“Thank you Dale, but really, I’m okay,” Sabrina said.
Dale paused, eyeing her as if she was being scrutinized under a microscope.
“Your performance is too crucial to the company to have it suffer just because you refuse to take a break,” Dale said.
Sabrina was boggled, and placed the papers she held on the desk.
“So, you’re saying I’m overloading myself?” Sabrina said.
“Yes, I am. For your sanity, and the sake of our business, whether you like it or not, as of right now you’re on vacation,” Dale said.
Sabrina’s jaw almost dropped to the floor.
“What! I’m being forced to take time off work I haven’t planned?” Sabrina said.
“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Dale said, nodding with great assurance. “You haven’t used any of your vacation time for, what is it, two years now, and that’s worried us. Everyone needs a break; you just can’t function any other way. Jessica was concerned as she spotted the signals in you, as she had been on the same overwork cycle a while back,” Dale said.
“Yes, that’s Jessica for you - always looking out for me,” Sabrina sighed, knowing full well that her workmate was one of the most diligent, caring people on this earth.
“Do whatever it is you have to do, and come back relaxed, refreshed, and ready for work again,” Dale said.
“But…” Sabrina said, raising her eyebrows.
“No buts. Just say goodbye, go home, and take a holiday, whatever you wish, and we’ll see you back when you feel the time’s right,” Dale said, as he smiled haughtily at Sabrina, and walked away, out of her office. Sabrina slumped back in her leather office chair, transfixed. She had just been involuntarily dismissed, and told that she needed to take a break. Was Dale right about her, or was he way off? Maybe Sabrina had been burning the candle at both ends, and was ripe for time away from the office. Any which way, Dale was one of the most perceptive people she had ever met, and qualified as the best supervisor she had ever had in her working career.
Sabrina looked at her watch, and saw that it was 6:00PM, which was past what the majority of employees in the company worked. Sabrina arose from her seat, took her jacket from the coat stand, grabbed her attaché case, and closed the lights in the office before shutting the door. She made her way through the glass corridors, and out to the car park. Being early autumn, the nights were becoming crisper after a humid summer, and evenings were arriving earlier. Sabrina did feel like she just wanted to go home, have a bite, and go to bed. She and her husband David hardly talked nowadays, and it was as if their lives were div
erging dramatically by the day.
Sabrina remembered their last conversation, which was characterized by silence and ignorance of each other, which was not the way it was before. They had a beautiful marriage, with many fun moments, but lately they had become painted into a corner. Was Sabrina’s marriage worth saving, or was it destined to end in a different manner than it began? Maybe it was a good idea for her to have a break, and also, to clear the air on her marriage. Her thoughts had taken up a good ten minutes, and Sabrina shook her head at her pensiveness, and started the car. Thankfully her ride home was only five minutes away, as she was not in the mood for driving, much less talking tonight.
As she approached her house, Sabrina pressed the remote control for the garage doors, and drove into the garage. She stopped the car, and looked in the rear view mirror. Sabrina felt a strange form of release she had never experienced before, and, it was a relief that she would not be