"Hey Magic! Time for your test!" Pack house operator Darren Taylor had earned the nickname Magic when co-workers had learned he had studied to be a massage therapist and had quit that when a 400 pound woman had reached orgasm on his table and told him he had magic hands. Safety officer Olivia Smith had set up a time with Darren for his whims refresher test.
"Oh, Liv," Darren sighed, "a truck just came in. Can you come back next time?"
Darren was referring to the next time he'd be on shift. Olivia asked "How long will it take for you to load him up?"
"A little over an hour. But that will make it after your usual quitting time."
"Okay. Work safe."
Olivia walked away thinking that something wasn't quite right with how Darren had been. So she stayed late and went back to the pack house an hour and a half later, after having seen the truck leaving. Knowing that Darren still had an hour in his shift, Olivia knew there was lots of time for the test and a chat.
Olivia approached quietly but Darren turned around and saw her. "Darn, I wanted to startle you!"
"Come on Liv, that's not a very safe thing to do!"
"All right, all right, I'm busted. Now how about getting this little test out of the way?"
"Do I have to? Can't you do it for me?" Darren turned on the charm. "Please?"
Olivia handed him the test "Come on Magic, you know you can do this in no time flat."
Darren took the sheet and quickly filled it out and then handed it back to Olivia. Olivia looked it over and found only one little mistake. "You got these two answers reversed. You probably just went too fast."
Darren took the page back and switched the answers and gave it back. Olivia smiled and signed his whims card and gave it to him.
"Now, what's eating you?"
Darren stared at her "What makes you think something's eating at me?"
"Darren, you're not your usual 'Magic' self. I can tell something is bothering you."
It took a few minutes but Darren finally admitted "My mom lost her job. My apartment was getting too expensive for me alone so I had to move back in with her. It sucks."
"It does suck."
"I'm just not used to having my mother around anymore, you know? Watching my every move, asking questions about where I've been and all that. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my mom and I think she's trying hard to treat me like an adult but...."
"But you're still her son and that just doesn't disappear. And to top it off, you're still single, aren't you?"
"I am."
"Well, maybe you could ask Annalise for a date."
"Annalise? The lab tech?"
"Yeah! She's close to your age and she's a great girl!"
"Isn't she kind of really shy?"
"At first she is but once you get to know her, she's really bright and funny. She just takes a bit to open up."
"I don't know, Liv."
"Oh come on, you need to get out of the house for something else than work and going for dinner won't ruin you financially. Just one dinner. Then you can see if you like her."
"I'll think about it."
"All right."
They continued chatting for a while and then the night shift operator showed up, Olivia walked with Darren to the entrance to the locker room. Just before he went in, Olivia asked "So you'll think about it?"
"About what?"
"Annalise!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll think about it."
Two weeks went by and Olivia had not heard of any phone call or invitation from Darren to Annalise with whom she was friends despite the difference in age. Olivia was 35 and Annalise was only 22 but somehow, they'd found they had quite a lot in common, watching the same TV shows, enjoying the same types of food, and sharing a love of reading and writing.
That afternoon, Olivia found out that all conditions on the sale of her house were all lifted. The sale was now final! She and her boyfriend of three years had split up and he'd left her with the house and the financial burden, opting to move to another province. Olivia had been living alone, struggling to make ends meet for four months now and was looking forward to downsizing. She would go look for a condo later in the week but for now, she wanted to celebrate so she called Annalise and asked if she'd join her for a celebratory dinner. Of course, Annalise agreed. Then, with a twinkle in her eye, Olivia called Darren.
Unfortunately, she got the answering machine. Still, she left a message. "Darren! It's Olivia from work. I need your help to celebrate something! Meet me at The Red Roof around 6pm. My treat!"
Olivia hoped that he'd come. She didn't tell Annalise about inviting Darren so it was as much a surprise for her as for him when he did indeed show up. Olivia called out "Magic!" got up and gave him a hug, hoping that Annalise and Darren would then hug too. But they didn't.
Darren asked "What are we celebrating?"
"My house is finally sold!"
"I didn't know you guys were moving! Where are you moving to? A bigger house so you can have kids?"
"Uh, no. No kids. I want to downsize actually."
"Why would you downsize? I thought this place was already tight for the two of you."
"Robert is gone and he took all his stuff with him. He went back to Nova Scotia four months ago. With just me, I don't need all that space. It was mostly all his stuff taking up space anyway. After he left, I put it up for sale and now that it's sold, I'm celebrating!"
"Oh! I didn't know about Robert leaving. I'm sorry."