Again, But Better

Is he not going to come with
us?
I look from Atticus to Sahra.
“Okay,” I answer.
1/28/11 8:30 p.m.
Days two and three at
Packed! For Travel!
went slightly better than day one. I
genuinely want to learn, so on Wednesday
after 1.5 hours of panicked internal anguish,
I got up—out of my seat and everything—with a plan. I traipsed around the office like
an anxious kitten and quietly asked each employee if they would like a cup of tea. This
led to mini conversations.
They would open with something like: “Hi, how are you, darling?”
And I would come in with something brilliant like: “Hi, would you like a cup of tea?”
And they would return with an excited “Yes, please!” or “No, thank you!”
I made two cups of tea. One for Donna and one for Janet. I was super-nervous
concocting the first cup. I mean, I’m American and they’re British. By default, they have
higher tea standards. But that chart in the tea station was a lifesaver. I’ve never used
these sugar cube things before, and I’m very amused by them. They should make sugar
stars! And other shapes! Sugar octagons!
On Thursday, all the employees acknowledged me with a “Hi, Shane!” or “Morning,
Shane!” when they came in for the day. They know my name. I’m one step closer to
learning how every detail of their job works. I did a tea sweep at 11:00 a.m. and then
another at 3:00 p.m. because that’s about the time I start finding it difficult to keep my
eyes open at my lonely little island table.
After the morning tea circuit, Tracey gave me a task that was vaguely related to the
company. They ordered five hundred canvas tote bags with the
Packed! For Travel!
logo
on them. I had to go through them all to sort out which ones were printed correctly and
which ones were printed slightly crooked, or “wonky” as the British call it. I’m learning
so many new words.
At the end of day three, Donna (Irish Breakfast, one sugar, extra milk), got ready to
leave, and the whole office came alive. They stood, gave her hugs, and wished her luck
on her trip to Moscow. She’s going to research travel ideas for
Packed!
Part of her job
is going to different cities, staying at different places, and exploring different
attractions.
Today’s Friday, so this morning I had class and wrote another sad postcard to my
parents to add to my collection. And oh, it’s been five days since Pilot and I have had a
conversation. It’s almost like he’s avoiding me.
I’ve been hanging around the kitchen every night after
Packed!
to work on various
writing projects (the Paris blog post and trying to really flesh out an outline for a novel
idea about adopted twins in college who learn one of their professors is their birth dad).
When I walk into the kitchen, if Pilot’s already there, he suddenly has to leave. If I’m
already in there, and he’s coming in, he just grabs something and heads out again.
Babe’s been spending a lot of time on her bed watching various editions of
Cinderella. I
caught her watching
Ever After
yesterday, and this morning she was watching the
Brandy one. I tried to get her to reconsider coming out tonight, but she says she still
isn’t up for it. I AM up for it. Tonight, I stop dwelling on Pilot.
I check my appearance in our full-length mirror one last time and straighten out my high-waisted
black skirt. I paired it with a plain red crop top today, and, inspired by Babe, I painted my lips a
matching shade of ruby. Avril Lavigne’s new song “What the Hell” plays on repeat from Sawyer

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over on the table by the giant window. Sahra’s putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She’s
wearing a loose, cream-colored dress that falls right above her knees with blue dangly earrings and
cream heeled boots.
“Ready?” she asks in her usual assertive tone. I’m getting used to it now, and I’m starting to
respect her for it. She’s confident in a way that I’m only pretending to be, and I don’t think I’m
even pretending up to her standards.
“Yep!” I say, pulling a stained finger out of my mouth and popping the top back onto my
lipstick. I zip up my boots and grab my purse. Sahra’s first out the door. I glance back at Babe.
She’s wearing headphones and watching the animated original Disney