Come on, Ayleen

The Origin Story

    She lay awake in her bed like she did every night. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she assumed more of the same. Every day was the same. Get up, wash her face, a light dusting of make-up, and dress for the day. She took her commute to her job as a receptionist in an office. She saw the same people pass through the office park, ate lunch under the shade tree at the picnic table as long as the weather wasn't too cold or rainy, and then worked until the sun started to set before heading home. When she got home, it was a microwave dinner and a book. She would lay awake wondering what she could do to shake things up. She felt like she needed a little more action and interaction in her life, but she stayed out of everyone's way and didn't get involved. She lived a quiet life, alone. She wasn't interested in bringing another person into her life because she just wasn't comfortable around other people. The only reason she could work in an office as a receptionist was because the office wasn't busy. Her boss was an attorney who preferred to meet clients in public spaces where he could benefit from the meeting, mainly getting meals or coffee and then billing the client he met with for whatever he ordered. She didn't have to do anything, but answer the phone and add meetings to the lawyer's schedule. She knew his penchant for mealtime meetings, so the most exciting part of her day was asking if the client would be willing to meet at one of the handful of locations that the lawyer preferred and then finding a meal that the man was missing during the day. He mostly did tax and real estate law, so he didn't spend much time in the courthouse and he had an office at home, so he rarely came in to the office.

    She would bring her book with her to work and read during the day; she was always buying books online, never interested in visiting local bookstores or the library because of the possibility of crowds, which made her nervous. There were some days that she couldn't even remember if she had talked out loud to anyone. She wasn't homely, but she didn't put any effort to make herself noticeable and she definitely didn't put herself in situations where there were other people around. Needless to say, it was a hum drum existence. She had lived that existence for the last 32 years and it worked well for her. She thought she was happy. Life was lived around her, and she was okay with not being in the midst, until... she just wasn't. It was a few weeks after her birthday, which she didn't celebrate, but she had been increasingly uneasy about the fact that she had no real human interaction.

    She couldn't remember when it started, or why, but she hadn't really been a social child. Her parents had her later in life, so they retired right before she graduated high school, and moved to a retirement community after she graduated. She considered college, but didn't like the idea of having to actually get involved in making decisions about her future or maneuvering around large groups of people who were constantly changing. She felt pretty accomplished that she had avoided most people, flew under the radar, and passed grade school for 12 years. She never wanted friends over, because her parents were always in bed before 8pm and that meant quiet time for the entire house. Since she never had friends over, she decided it was just easier to not have friends. Books were her friends and they provided all the adventure she needed. Her parents had given her some funds to start her life as an adult, so she found a quiet apartment complex and moved her belongings a week before her parents sold their house and moved away to enjoy an empty nest that they had never actually intended to fill in the first place. She started perusing classified ads online for jobs, but wasn't sure what she could do with her life at that point, and had no desire to be anything, but an avid reader.

    For 3 months, she read books and looked for a job. One day, a job popped up on the community bulletin board that seemed right up her alley: Attorney needing a receptionist to mainly manage phones. Full time day shift and competitive pay. She called the number and waited through several rings, but no one answered, which made sense since he was hiring a receptionist. There was also an email address listed, and she wondered why she didn't try that first. She emailed the attorney and then waited. The next day, she received an email in return. She was told in the email to arrive at the office at 2 pm for an interview, if she was still interested in the job. When she arrived, Mr. Cameron Wentz, attorney at law, was waiting outside his office building for her. She introduced herself rather bashfully, and he let her into the office. Once inside, he showed her the set up of the office, explained the expectations of the position, and asked if she had any questions. She didn't, because she had never been interviewed or held a job before. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to ask or how this was supposed to work, so she said she didn't.