CHAPTER ONE: FLIGHT RESPONSE
"Are you two having an affair?"
I looked up from my laptop.
"Who?" I asked, raising an eyebrow to my boss.
Hank, the manager of the delivery depot where I was employed, smiled and looked back to his own computer, knowingly.
"Really, Aaron? You and Misty."
I laughed. "Sure, Hank."
But deep down, I was a little concerned that Hank's comment held a shred of truth.
I had been here a year, working behind a desk. Operational admin stuff. For half that time, I'd been assisting Misty remotely. She worked at a sister office a couple of hours away, in another town, doing what I do.
We communicated on a work-only platform, which was basically just a messaging program to chat with other offices. The only things I knew about Misty's looks were from her profile picture: just a neck-up portrait of a younger woman with fair skin, red hair, and a soft face. Not very good resolution in those tiny profile pics, but it was enough to pique my interest. Just a little.
Sure, I talked to her every single weekday. But that was really just a part of my job.
Sure, I was engaged to another woman. My fiancé, Lena, was my partner for the last five years. She and I were both in our early thirties. We shared a rental, a couple of cars, and a lab named Roscoe.
But I was definitely not cheating on my partner. I'd never even met Misty before. Still, that didn't mean I didn't enjoy speaking with her on the regular.
I basically trained her from afar, sometimes over the phone, but mostly through text. I often greeted her at the start of our shifts, and usually wished her a good night before the day was done.
The same day Hank had made the comment, I felt the urge to prove him wrong--if not solely to myself-- that Misty was nothing more to me than a distant co-worker, both literally and figuratively.
He probably meant nothing by it. He likely noticed me messaging her sometimes and made a half-aware comment. Our conversations weren't available to Hank, as far as I knew. They were on my laptop alone. And Misty's. But they were always very tame, and as they say, SFW.
All the same, I typed a mid-day message to her. She'd make a banal comment about work, and that would be that. We were just acquaintances. Obviously.
I clicked on her icon of her first initial, a purple-hued capital M, under her profile image.
A: Hey Misty, how goes the day?
M: Oh my god Aaron, it's so dead.
A: I know. Same here. Like, even Hank is bored right now.
M: My boss is on break. He's been a while, I think he's just watching porn on his phone in the lunchroom, haha.
I glanced at Hank, who was still glued to his screen. It was just the two of us until the delivery guys all came back to the depot. I looked back at her message, and was mildly excited to see her mention something like porn. But I didn't dwell on it.
A: Rupinder? Most likely, haha. Big plans for the weekend coming up?
M: Just going to visit my boyfriend's parents who live out of town. Actually, your town!
A: Oh, crazy. I'd say stop by and visit but I won't be working either, obviously. The weekend and all.
M: Duh.
I thought I'd give her a break from my stupid banter for a bit. I went over some mid-day checklists for a while before I saw the ellipses of her typing.
M: So, you going to the conference thing in June?
A: I don't know. Hank hasn't said. Maybe, if they can afford it.
M: Rupinder didn't bring it up either. Bosses.
A: Bosses.
M: Still, be cool if I got to meet you in person, seeing as how you showed me the ropes better than Rupinder ever did. Hope he never reads these.
A: Nobody should be logging into your laptop ever, so...just don't leave your screen on. But yeah, hope we get to, one day.
Hank called me over, and I helped him with some clerical issue. The rest of the night went by pretty slow. The delivery drivers trickled in. They were all guys, and rarely talked to me. Misty only messaged me a few more times before it was time to bounce.
A: We're out of here soon. You have a good night, Misty.
M: Thanks Aaron, you too. Sweet dreams.
A: Weirdo, haha.
M: You love it.
A: Night
M: Night ;p
And just like that, another day down the drain. I drove home, reheated a meal that Lena made for me, and watched TV with her on the couch before heading off to bed.
Lena and I were on our phones for another hour before falling asleep. We were together long enough that we had fallen into habits. And we were only physical every week or two. Or three. But it was fine. Good enough.
The next day, I had a message from Misty waiting for me once I logged in.
M: Hey. Can you call? I need a hand with something.
A: Sure, gimmie a couple minutes.
M: Kk.
I said my hellos to Hank and proceeded to dial Misty's extension.
"My hero," said Misty, sighing heavy.
"At your service." I was probably smiling more than necessary. Hank didn't seem to notice.
"Aaron, Rupinder is sick, and I'm doing two jobs when I can barely do my own," she said, sounding genuinely stressed.
"Okay, no worries. Just make a list, and we'll go through whatever you need help with."
I could do Hank's job if he was away, so it wasn't a big ask to assist. I picked things up quick enough, but Misty sometimes struggled. I liked helping her out of jams.
It took about twenty minutes before Misty had calmed down, and had enough questions answered that she felt confident enough to proceed with her daily tasks.
"Aaron, I swear I would have been fired already if it wasn't for you." Her voice was soft-spoken, but not without a bit of melody. I liked talking to her on the phone but it wasn't often necessary.
"Nah. You're killing it."
"I'm serious. I owe you big time."
We ended up talking for a bit before Hank called me over to talk politics. I rolled my eyes and told her I'd text her in a bit.
After my boring back and forth with Hank, I typed to Misty again.
A: Going good?
M: Great. I'm caught up, and nothing has gone wrong on the roads or at the front desk. And it's slow, thank god.
A: Sweet. One more day until the weekend.
