...And I Am Going Home

Oliver 27

As usual, Oliver arrived early at his new job, having to wait until another coworker appeared to be able to get into the building, who happened to be the boss who recognised Oliver. She showed Oliver around the office, introducing him to his new colleagues as they arrived before the person above Oliver explained how they functioned. Fortunately, there weren't too many differences from the previous companies Oliver worked for, though this place seemed more focused on using the shared office calendar for deadlines.

Within the first week, Oliver tried to establish himself quickly and firmly as someone to be respected and not messed with. In previous places, he had made the mistake of being more chilled and friendly to fit in, which resulted in some coworkers being more carefree about training deadlines. So, Oliver chased everyone who was behind, asseverating the consequences each day until he was annoying them all to complete the training refreshes. He was only in the office three times out of two, so he made those days count and worked out who was in and when to chase them up to find out who was hiding from him, as a passive-aggressive email wasn't cutting it. Oliver could never understand how anyone could miss deadlines for anything. Did they not feel stressed out? A sense of dread and guilt to the point that their stomach hurt or they could not sleep until it was finished? Once in university, Oliver had a full-on meltdown, believing that he had missed an assignment only to find out the date was wrong, the tutor's mistake. Not everyone had this reaction, as one of his friends taking the same course just shrugged and said, 'Whoops, oh well' when they thought they had missed the assignment.

Oliver heard a voice trying to catch his attention as he went up to refill his water. He turned and saw a vaguely familiar face. It was a woman, roughly the same age as him, with dyed blonde hair and an enormous handbag by the side of her desk. Where had he seen her before?

"Have we met before?" the woman asked, studying him.

"I was feeling the same, too," said Oliver. Then he looked at the bag, recognising it and... "you're Cody's... ex?"

Her eyes widened. "Ah, you're one of Cody's friends! That's why I recognised you."

"We met at his old workplace; I gave you his number."

"Yes, yes! Sorry, what was your name? Oscar?"

"Oliver."

"Ah, I was close. I'm Colene if you forgot too." She extended her hand. "Nice to see you again."

Oliver hesitantly accepted it; it wasn't as daunting since he had met her before, and she seemed nice.

"You just started working here?"

"Been here a couple of weeks now."

"Must have kept missing you. Our remote days must be different. But also, most people keep to themselves here."

"Yeah, there doesn't seem to be as much socialising as other places."

"Ugh, yeah, so glad. There's no talk about how 'we're all a family' crap. Don't get me wrong, there are still cliques, but you can do about your day without interacting with anyone. I email the person next to me even though I can talk to them in person."

"This sounds like my dream."

Colene chuckled. "Hey, do you want to eat lunch together?"

Oliver wanted to spend it alone; he was having one of those days, not to mention that this woman was Cody's ex-girlfriend, and Oliver was his... almost boyfriend? Surely, this would be awkward, but with how much her eyes lit up, he couldn't say no.

Once it was lunchtime, Colene dragged Oliver to a nearby deli, where they got sandwiches, salads, and drinks.

"Do you come here every break then?" asked Oliver.

"God, no," Colene scoffed. "I can't afford to eat out all the time. This is a treat day."

Oliver noted that Colene had scavenged the menu and chosen the cheapest options, which she considered a 'treat'. Though he tried not to make assumptions about people based on looks and rumours, Oliver had heard snippets from Darren and Sasha that Colene came from a well-off family who gave her plenty of money. Was that not the case?

They talked firstly about the company, where both of them used to work, and why Oliver left his job, which Colene was deeply sympathetic about, already ranting and complaining about people she did not know to support Oliver, especially regarding Miles Kendrick.

But then the topic came to Cody, as Colene asked if he had returned to the city yet.

"Are you not messaging him?" Oliver asked hesitantly, unsure if he sounded like a jealous lover.

Colene shook her head. "We just had that call the day I met you. I just wanted to ensure he was alright after going missing for so long." She paused, then said firmly, "I'm not interested in getting back together with him if that's what you're wondering."

"I wasn't."

He was.

"I just..." she sighed. "Recently, I realised that I have very few friends who care about me, which made me think about him. Cody was my only partner who genuinely liked me, too. Again, I do not want to get back with him, but I suppose..." She shrugged. "I guess it would still be nice to have him as a friend." She forced a laugh. "Though I doubt he'd want to still be friends after everything I put him through."

Oliver glanced down at his food, then looked up at Colene and said, "you should go for it. Ask him if he still wants to be friends."

"Really?" Colene's voice squeaked.

"He wouldn't have given you his number if he didn't want to talk to you again. I think you should try it; reach out to him."

Colene almost looked like she was about to cry. She smiled, cleared her throat, adjusted her hair, and attempted to compose herself. "So, how did you and Cody meet? Are you two close?"

We've fucked and almost went on a date.

Oliver had to take a moment not to cough up his drink. "I'm friends with the drummer in his band. I help out with all the tech and stuff."

"Oh, you're part of the band!" Colene clapped her hands together. "You know, I always loved seeing them perform. Are they continuing? Or because Cody is..."

"We're still performing. Had to find a temporary replacement for Cody, but we're trying to keep it going since we've had the whole year booked at places."

"That's good."

"You should come; they play every Friday."

What are you doing, Oliver?

"I don't know." Colene's nose scrunched up. "I don't think Darren and Sasha like me still after I broke up with Cody."

Oliver didn't know what the truth was concerning that matter. "Well, if you are interested, all the information is on the social media page."

Colene beamed. "I'll take it under consideration.