BAD WINE CRAPPY CHOCOLATE

CHAPTER ONE-3

"These people are enough to drive you to drink. Though on Saint Patty's day, that's not a very far trip. I'm going to change the sign on my door from office manager to complaint department."
"I could block off some of the vents in the ceiling," Brandon said after she explained the problem. "But there'll still be some people who are unhappy. Unless you can convince all the people who want it warmer to sit on one side of the building, and then move the hot ones to the other side. Then I could open the ceiling vents above the thin-blooded section. I'll have to close them in a couple of months when we turn on the air conditioning, of course."
Cori gave him an appreciative smile.
"That's a good idea. And the best part is I don't think we'll have to move any of them. When we tell them it's the only solution, they'll probably just let the whole thing drop. They're not going to want to change cubicles. I'll suggest it at next week's staff meeting. By the way, are you Irish?"
"Yes, on my mother's side."
"Good. I'm meeting some people at a pub after work. We're going to drink green beer. Why don't you come?"
Cori had asked Brandon to have a drink with her on several occasions. He had always politely declined, but now silently considered the current offer.
"Come on, it's Saint Patrick's Day. You're obligated to have a good time."
Brandon Cane had never mentioned any family or friends. Cori knew he lived by himself, and his loneliness, at least as perceived by the office manager, bothered her. Unable to bear his solitude, she was determined to help this man find a social life.
No one should be alone on Patty's Day, Cori thought to herself.
"I appreciate it, but I might feel awkward," he finally answered. "I'm a lot older than you." She gave him a skeptical look. Though Cori was aware that Brandon's employment application
indicated he was 50, she could not believe the youthful looking man sitting in her office had lived that long.

"You'll do fine. The people around here enjoy talking with you, and most of them are my age. Besides, I asked Greta to come, and she's pushing 50."
"I thought everyone in the office hated her."
"That's true, but she's also a supervisor who's really tight with Hardin and the rest of the higher ups. It's called job security."
"How could I say no?" he finally capitulated with a grin. "I can't wait to hang out with Greta."
They drove along the Chicago River on the way to their destination. The city had dyed the water green in honor of the occasion.
"Isn't it pretty?" Cori asked him.
"Yes, but I still prefer the natural color."
"I wish they'd keep it this way."
"That's because you've never seen the river in its pristine state, without the unsavory things that
human activities add to the water."
"And you have?" Cori asked him. "When was that?"
Brandon ran his hand over his closely cropped brown hair before responding.
"I'm a lot older than I look."
"You're an enigma, Brandon Cane," she told him.
Cori glanced skyward. There was an omnigenous assortment of clouds over the lake. Every color,
from the purest white to the darkest gray, was on display. The sky itself was also exhibiting varied shades, from the pale blue usually associated with twilight to the deep blue of a pristine winter day. Near the horizon, striking shades of orange and violet were beginning to appear as the sun approached the end of its journey across the sky.
This is every day that's ever been, Cori thought to herself.
"There's one of the new mercer jets," Brandon said, pointing to a plane climbing over the lake. "I heard about those. Aren't they supposed to be really quiet?"

"Yes, and it's because they're very efficient. The noise any machine makes is energy being wasted."
"Well, then my van is doing all right. After all this time I finally have one that's completely electric and doesn't cost a fortune. I wonder why it took the car companies so long to make one."
"What's good for the majority of people can still be bad for some very influential ones," Brandon pointed out. "And they wield most of the power in this world."
"I guess you're right."
They exited Lake Shore Drive and arrived at McGinnis's Pub, which was located near the waterfront. She parked in a lot behind the building. Brandon got out of the vehicle with his knapsack.
"You can leave that in the van," Cori suggested. "I like to keep it with me."
"Just like Linus with his blanket."
"Exactly. It gives me emotional security."
Two skyscrapers couched the pub, and when Cori looked up at them she experienced vertigo. "They're really tall," she remarked.
"That they are," Brandon agreed. "And I'll bet there'll be even taller ones
someday."
"It would take an hour long elevator ride to reach the top of these buildings if they were any
taller. Better remember to put a book in your knapsack if that ever happens."
The pub was crowded, and it took a while to work their way to Cori's friends. Brandon was
beginning to regret his decision to join her.
"Erin go Braugh!" exclaimed Arlene, a friend of Cori's, when they finally reached her.
"Same to you. You know Brandon. He keeps the office running."
"I sure do. Get the corned beef while there's still some left, guys."
They grabbed a plate of food and sat in a booth that had just become unoccupied. Cori noticed
that Brandon had only potatoes and cabbage on his plate.

"You can't pass up the corned beef," she chastised him, after swallowing a mouthful of the fare. "I'm a vegetarian."
"Oh, I didn't know that. Do you have enough to eat?"
"Absolutely."
"It's a good thing I like corned beef, because I'm supposed to stop at my parents' house later. They'll insist that I eat another plate of it. Do your parents live in Chicago?"
"My parents died when I was very young."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you remember them?"
"I remember my mom, mostly. Especially sitting in church with her on Sundays. I'd get bored
very quickly, and would constantly be snuggling up to her to get some attention. Mom never seemed to mind missing most of what the priest had to say."
A profound sense of loss was now evident on his usually inscrutable face. Brandon appeared to be searching for something in Cori's deep brown eyes before he suddenly looked away.
"I'm sorry I got so personal," she said. "We came here to have a good time. Here's to the wearing of the green!"
As they clinked their mugs of green beer together, someone played the song Danny Boy on the jukebox.
"Oh, I hate this song!" Cori exclaimed. "It's so depressing!"
"You'll lose your Irish-American status if you keep saying that," Arlene warned as she joined the two of them. Her friend Beth sat in the booth as well, across from Brandon.
"So what do you like to do when you're not working?" she asked him. "I read mostly."
"Why?"
"Because that's how you learn new things," he replied.
"Oh, right," Beth said in an uninterested tone. Then to Cori, "Do you have a cigarette?" "I gave them up for Lent," she replied.