Alex Returns Home

Day At The Beach

July 1990

Alex was finishing up a call with a client and finished filling in the client's paperwork for their mortgage applications. "Thanks very much for your time Mr. and Mrs. Cork, I'll send these off for review, have a good night and enjoy your weekend. Be in touch" he said as the call ended. Loan volumes had been down for the past couple of quarters at the S&L hence every call mattered. He checked the time at his desk and noticed it was 5:30pm. He realized he was the only one left at the office except for his boss Mr. Leerman.

"Hey Alex, what are you doing here so late on a Friday night?" his boss asked pleasantly bemused. Most workers would have headed out to their cottages in the Hamptons or Long Island, at least the senior level employees.

"Just finishing up my last-minute mortgage applications for my clients Josh, any clients that call you make sure you can fit them in... especially in this environment" Alex said finally letting his guard down for the first time that day.

"You know Alex you've only been here for about 8 months now, but you've really left an impression on me. A positive impression by the way. You're always working hard and even in this economy you're still managing an impressive number of clients. It's Friday night and I know you're new to the city and probably don't have any plans, would you want to go out for dinner... as co-workers" he emphasized the last part

"That would be great actually, the only plans I have for tonight were watching Wall Street Week" Alex said embarrassed

"Great I'll call a cab now, meet you downstairs" Josh said as he headed down the steps

Alex went to his desk and cleaned up before grabbing his briefcase and closing the door for the weekend. They made small talk in the cab before arriving at the Greek restaurant and ordered a med combo.

"Thanks for taking me out" Alex said showing his appreciation towards his boss

"No problem, my wife is out of town with the kids for the weekend and I wasn't going to go up until tonight. That's the thing about marriage its nice to get some alone time. Enough about me, Alex do you have anyone in your life right now?" he asked making the conversation personal.

"Yea I do actually" just thinking about her name sent him into a giddy mood, he played with his hair before answering the question. "Her name is Ellen, we met in university but then she left for art school in Paris, but she is back now, and we've reconnected. She's back in Columbus but heading down to Myrtle Beach with her father"

"Sounds like you've been attracted to her for quite some time" Josh replied leaning back against his chair he seemed like he had a lot on his mind and put lots of weight on every word. "Things aren't going too well night now as you've probably figured out, we're all under a lot of stress especially this month. Why don't you take Monday off and head down to Myrtle Beach for the weekend? If you leave now you can make it in time for the morning"

Alex checked his watch and ordered a coffee to go "thanks Josh I appreciate that, and I'll take you up on your offer. Have a good weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday" Alex said grabbing his things and racing to his car

"See you Alex, good luck with Ellen" Josh said giving his thumbs up for approval

Alex drove the 10 hours through the night drinking 2 cups of coffee in order to focus and stay awake on the road. As he arrived in Myrtle beach in the morning at 8am, he got a hotel room off the strip and got breakfast. He pulled into the house that Ellen's dad had rented for the summer now that he was retired. He knocked on the door and Mr. Reed answered the door.

"Hey Alex, come on in what are you doing here?" he asked puzzled but also happy, he always had a soft spot for Alex, Alex was his favourite boyfriend of Ellen's.