Me After You

2

7:13am

I was supposed to be at the office by 6:30. Usually I'm there by 8:00 sharp but some big projects going on have taken everyone's time and nearly everyone is coming in early or staying late. This morning, however, that just wouldn't be the case for me. An overnight snowstorm and terrible visibility this morning along with crap roads have caused a significant accident on the highway on my way in. It doesn't look like anyone was severely injured but there's about eight cars blocking all but one lane which means I'll be lucky if I can even get in by 8am. I'm still a long way away and I can't even get out of the highway for another few miles. I'm quite literally stuck and it's starting to snow again.

My phone rings again and I hit the answer button on my steering wheel, hearing my boss's voice through my speakers.

"Hey, Angela. How's it going over there? Are you still too far out?" asks Dan. He seems a little calm though. Way calmer than he did earlier when I called letting him know what was happening.

"Hey Dan. I'm still stuck. I can't get out and I've basically been parked for the last twenty minutes. They're maneuvering traffic but all lanes but one are closed down right now." I sigh. "I have no clue how much longer I'll be here or when I'll be able to get to the office."

"That's terrible. Are you closer to home or work?"

"Home. I'm maybe not even two miles from home. I didn't make it very far at all."

"Ok Angela, don't worry about it. Why don't you just take the day off?" he says, catching me completely off guard.

"Are you sure? I'm already on the way."

"Yeah, you're closer to home anyway and it looks like this snow isn't gonna let up for a few hours. I think it's safer for you to just go back home. Besides, you've been pulling a lot of overtime lately, more than anyone else and you deserve a break. Take an extended weekend and we'll see you on Monday."

"But are you sure? I'm already taking PTO in a few weeks. I don't have anymore left to use for today and tomorrow."

"I'll take care of it. Think of it as an early holiday gift. Go home, kid. You did great work the past few weeks and our client is beyond thrilled with this contract. It was all thanks to you. So go home and take a load off, alright? Besides, we're just about done with all the preparations, the rest is just minor things to work through. The team can handle the rest."

"Alright Dan. Thank you. Have a good weekend and I'll see you on Monday."

"See you Monday, kid."

It used to weird me out that he calls me "kid" since I'm definitely not a child by any means. But I guess I am one of the younger ones at the office even at my ripe old age of 32, which I suppose isn't even that old. And he is older than me by a lot, so I kind of just let it go and got used to it.

I'm trapped in the middle of the highway for about another thirty minutes when a couple tow trucks finally move the majority of the cars out of the way and another two lanes open up, letting traffic go through. After another twenty minutes, I'm finally able to drive at a normal speed. I decide to get off at the next exit to avoid another parking lot situation even though that probably won't happen. Still, I feel better when I stop at the red light after I get off the highway.

It's still snowing a little but the snow isn't heavy just yet. I decide to stop at a little family owned breakfast place to get something to eat. This morning I had to rush out of the house because I overslept only to wind up in that mess from earlier. I should be grateful though. Maybe if I had left the house on time, it would have been me in that pile up.