"Why are you still here?"
Steve looked up from his laptop and saw Fred standing by at the aisle outside his work cubible. "Yeah, I'm just finishing some things," he said.
"But everyone has already left for the Halloween long weekend. There's nobody left here on our floor except for us and the janitor, and I think he's already packing up. The receptionist has already left, and in about thirty minutes there'll be nobody left here in the building except for some skeleton crew of security personnel," Fred said. "It is Wednesday, but it sure feels like Friday."
"How about you? Why are you still here?" asked Steve.
"Actually, I'm already on my way down. Come one. Get you things, I'll wait for you."
"You go ahead, Fred. I'll just finish these then I'll be on my way home. Whatever home there is that's left for me, anyway." Steve sighed.
Fred sat on the chair opposite of his friend's desk and said, "Don't go too hard on yourself about this, Steve. We already talked about this, remember? Just give Wendy some time to think things through, and then everything will eventually iron themselves out."
A month ago, Wendy decided to leave Steve along with their one-year old son, June. Steve said he never saw it coming. True, there might have been a certian coldness going on between them weeks prior to their separation, but he justifies that he did everything that he could to provide for his family, that he worked so damn hard to do so. Wendy said yes, he has been working hard, but also yes, that was her main reason for leaving. Steve has been working so hard that he lost time for his family. So now, Wendy and the baby are staying with her parents, while Steve is left alone in their house.
Steve either didn't know what to say or was just not in the mood to go through another conversation about this, so he just nodded.
"So what do you say, Stevie? Come on, we can grab a few drinks before I head home."
"I appreciate it, man, thanks. But you go ahead now, I'll just finish up these reports so that I won't have to think about them this weekend." Steve managed a smile, so Fred reluctantly stood up.
"Okay, then. But don't stay up too late. It's the halloween, for Chrissakes. Try to have some fun."
To this remark, Steve laughed. "I will. See you on Monday."
So Fred left, and a few minutes later, the janitor left. And by 9pm, Steve was the only one left in that building, except for the personnel on guard duty. There were no other lights left on in that office, except for those by Steve's station; no other sounds can be heard except those made by his fingers on the keyboard, or his occasional grunts and deep breaths.
Steve worked, oblivious to the world around him. At the back of his mind, a voice was saying, "What's the point? Wendy has left you now, and there's nothing you can do about it. So why stay in here and work your ass off when you can be partying outside?" But maybe that was why he was staying up late, working. If he goes home now, the only company he'll get is that nagging voice at the back of his head. At least here, with his papers and stuff, he can drown out the voice which can sometimes be sarcastic, sometimes be funny, sometimes be hurting, but is always true. We all have that voice that knows everything about us to the very depths of our soul, and that voice is never hesitant to slap us with the harsh realities we sometimes do not have the courage to face.
In fact, the documents he was preparing weren't really due for two weeks. But he worked on it, anyway. By 11pm, his eyes were so tired that he decided to rest them for awhile before finally heading home. He was only planning to close his eyes for a few minutes, but he eventually dozed off.
