A Narrow Escape
by Apurba Dutta
The cold and snowy morning
outside looked so lovely. Maybe, not for those
hapless souls out in the streets, but to me it
was pure bliss as I snuggled with the girl I
loved. Hidden from the world, huddled within the
blankets, there could be nothing more ecstatic
than a nice, cosy sleep.
It
was the sharp ring of the telephone that woke me.
I tried to show my annoyance, but failed in the
face of some unwarranted self-control. The blurry
image of the moon, which floated before my eyes,
must have distracted me.
The
sleep had been a little too strong, since it took
some time for my senses to return. But then I
stiffened. The moon-like object, which I had
taken such a liking of, turned out to be quite
something else.
It
was a round, smooth pate, devoid of any
vegetation. The boss’s head!
“Forgive me lord, for
daydreaming.”
“And
give us today our daily bread.” I
continued my disoriented prayers.
The
man in front of me was in an agitated state,
barking at the fellow on the other end of the
line. His bellowing over, he turned to me and
glared with all the strength his eyes could
muster. He looked like he would gobble me up.
“Give
us today our daily bread.” I was
trapped, like a stuck gramophone record.
“I
am sorry, but your sales performance has been
dismal for the past few weeks.” Boss sounded
polite. Unbelievable.
The
cold, snowy morning brought a chill to my spine.
I found my excuse. “It is the snowstorms.
The sales-people are finding it difficult to move
around.”
“Rubbish,
it is not the weather, it is you who isn’t
behaving responsibly?” The civility had
vanished.
“No
sir, I am behaving with all responsibility.”
I stammered.
“And
what has happened to your administrative
operations? I am receiving a number of complaints
that payments are not being made to the suppliers
on time.”
“The
problem is that three people have proceeded on
long leave.” Little hesitantly, I managed to
blurt out.
“Long
leave!” He shouted. Anybody would have
thought he had gone deaf.
“Yes,
sir.”
Sarcasm
filled the air. “And would you mind telling
me who has granted them the vacation?”
“Me,
sir.”
“Why?”
“They
had asked for maternity leave.”
“Three
females of your office in the family way at the
same time?”
I
nodded.
All
of a sudden, he became very angry.
“Now,
who is responsible for this?”
“Me,
sir.” I replied without thinking.
There
was some silence before he spoke, albeit a little
seriously.
“And
now that you have had your fill, could you be a
little more serious about your work?”
I
caught the glint in his eye. I tried to protest,
but then thought the better of it. I managed a
faint smile.
I
also thanked God for giving me the day’s
bread.
My
prayers had been answered, momentarily at least.
It was a narrow escape.
“Amen”.
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