Truthtelling by Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Author:Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Delphinium Books
Published: 2020-08-17T15:32:19+00:00

A Few Days Off

A certain woman woke up one day feeling very tired. Burnt out, as they call it, as if the flame of energy had waned and finally succumbed to the ambient air currents. She had been working hard, the weather was gray and heavy, and perhaps, she thought, she was getting a touch of flu. She would spend a couple of days in bed. There would be no great harm done at work. She was director of Human Services, hiring and firing; a number of major shifts in staff had just taken place, and things were quieter. If anything came up, her capable assistant could take care of it.

She called in sick (rare for her), settled into bed with a cup of tea and a few magazines, and felt quite contented. After dozing on and off for a while, she discovered it was late afternoon and got up to make herself a sandwich. She turned off her phone, just in case. It was surprising how peaceful it felt, cocooned in bed, sliding in and out of sleep, thinking of nothing in particular.

In the evening she watched some television, read a bit, and ate another sandwich. She spent the following day the same way. The time passed pleasantly, and she didn’t relish getting up to go to work the next day. Her calendar showed she had two interviews scheduled, for low-level staff. Her assistant could easily handle those.

She called in sick again, saying she had the flu and might be out for several more days, and instructed her assistant to do the scheduled interviews; her assistant reported nothing of moment and hoped she’d feel better soon. Anything I can get you? she asked. No thanks, that’s kind of you, but I have all I need and everyone delivers anyway. If I’m not back by Monday check up on the new hires in Administration and see how things are going.

Gazing at the phone brought the familiar tug of responsibility, and so with reluctance she checked her email and texts. Nothing of importance: political announcements and petitions, a reminder of a dental appointment the following morning, two friends, one of whom wanted someone’s email address, and a text from a man she’d recently met reminding her of their date in a few days. She texted him to cancel the date and promising to get in touch when she felt better, and wrote to the friend giving her the information, telling both that she had the flu. She called to cancel the dental appointment. Would you like to make another appointment? the receptionist asked. No, I’ll call as soon as I’m up and about.

It was surprising how much energy these simple tasks demanded—before this week she’d been able to send a dozen emails in minutes without feeling the least bit weary. When she was done, she fell immediately asleep.

She remained in bed for two more days; the most active task she accomplished was making a grocery list and calling the supermarket for a delivery.

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