Penny's Story

I remember when I was confirmed. It was a good ceremony and doing the reading from The Old Testament was a rare public speaking opportunity. I don't recall when I became a confirmed bachelor.

When PJ called me one. She was in my training class while working in collections. This was the first job in years where I did not start out alone. There are pros and cons although a training class enters as equals. I could probably showcase everyone I started with. I would need a list so as not to overlook someone from years ago.

Some immediately stand out. It's not like we have a yearbook picture.Most of the new hires were men. That's fine- the woman who stood out was Penny. Sometimes she went by her initials.

In retrospect, she was similar to Amy Blaschka. I had not made the connection until now. Tall, thin and friendly- I wish there were one hundred women like that in my life.

Even if they were all married. At this point, who isn't? I never parlayed an interoffice relationship. You had better pick one and be so discreet no one knows you are dating.

You can talk to anyone. Penny was from Oregon. She did not like that my east coast self referred to it as "Or-e gone". She did not like being touched. As we worked together longer she revealed certain men took liberties against her will.

Too many women have comparable stories. I feel so fortunate to be there I would not do any more than a partner would want. We never had that relationship.

It did move to running errands. We did not live far apart and she asked me to help her move a couch. She had two small children that I heard a lot about. They were nice. They asked if I could spend the night. Her son famously said "You can sleep in Mom's bed."

Although it has not happened; I am willing to sleep next to someone and nothing happens except sleep and embracing. It was an innocent suggestion. They probably thought their parents only slept together. I was open to that.

The only vote that mattered decided against it. Children of divorce probably wanted a man in the house. I think they were separated at that time. As such, there was a void.

I slept in my own bed that night. We talked about a lot of things that had little to do with the job. I miss seeing colleagues out of work. The rule is "No shop talk." We can talk about the ins and outs of the job while on the clock.

Helping with that move- it is always more challenging to move a couch that originally anticipated. Spending time with someone friendly is good. We did not discuss excess baggage.

Everyone has it. The nature of the job was we were moved from one department to another. I was warned of that in the interview. It was good as I worked around different people who had techniques I could use to hone my craft.

The company was in Chapter 11 and looking for excuses to drop employees. The position had a definitive beginning, middle and end. It looked like they were coming after me and I walked before they made me run. I saw little of PJ after that.

It was a nice relationship. She has been burned so many times she did not want to open herself once again. I have no idea if she found love. I sincerely hope so.

She had older children as well. When I called the apartment her daughter said "Who is this?!" Lest she thought I was some strange man looking to be her fourth ex-husband; it was the colleague she asked to help her move the couch.

I lived long enough that I was called out by the parents of girls I liked and now I was scrutinized by the children of the women I was calling. In high school I was asking a classmate about the homework. In working life I was setting up a time to help her out.

It never ends. Maybe they should have been gatekeepers to the men who actually did her wrong. As such- I was scrutinized by wives when I wanted to talk to their husbands.

After this job ended I did not call anyone who had a vetting process from relatives. She had many talents. She is a singer songwriter. Yes, I looked on You Tube finding nothing.

She has a LinkedIn account. Should I connect? A lot of water under the bridge. When I write tribute articles it is from the limited and enjoyable experiences I have with someone. Sounds like I am previewing my four thousandth article. Look for that in June of next year.

Who else shall I recall fondly? We worked together seven months. I don't recall any interaction after we moved on. She did very well in the time we were together.

Not that we were together. She might have great grandchildren who are probably too young to wonder why a man is calling her. It doesn't matter. It was odd that she was a grandmother. Having a child around twenty who had a child at the age of twenty- it's not unusual.

There is a lot more to her story. I recall her fondly and appreciate our time together. No, she isn't the girl who got away. She did very well and I hope she is doing better now.