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June 2021—Saratoga Springs, New York
Gil peered over the dune and blushed with embarrassment. A young mother floated on the waves, breastfeeding her baby. The mother’s eyes were closed, and she wore Mona Lisa’s smile of contentment—just like the others. As far as Gil could see, there were waves full of women, all with their boobs and babies bobbing up and down. He felt mesmerized by the scene’s tranquility.
Suddenly, the earth pulsed with a dull thud thud. The smell of fresh soil filled the air. Then, crack crack, off in the distance. Thud thud, right next to him. Leaves and dirt kicked up around him. Someone was shooting at him! He turned around and ran up the forested hill, hyperventilating, his feet slipping on the loose rocks and leaves. Bullets hit the ground all around him. He ran as fast as he could. Then he fell.
Gil woke with a start. He was breathing heavily and covered in a thin film of sweat, as usual. Lightning interrupted the darkness, and rain splattered against the windows. The clock on the bedside table said 4:05 a.m., so he shut off the alarm set for six. Although he always set his alarm, he never let it go off.
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Gil once again went to work early. His workplace was a single-story metal building with an open floor plan, and from his workbench he continued trying to work the bugs out of a prototype manufacturing-line robot. Without the usual office chatter, he easily slipped into focused-work mode. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and picked his face off the workbench. A yellow sticky note clung to his face, and his COVID mask was wet with drool.
“My office,” Chet said. “Please.”
The other workers watched as Gil followed Chet into his office. Chet shut the door.
“Gil, this is the third time this month I’ve found you asleep. I hope this means you’re dating a younger woman.”
Gil was too worked up to laugh. “I’m sorry, Chet. I guess I need to get some help with my sleep problem.” He hesitated for a few seconds, not wanting to upset his friend. “By the way, I think I’ve decided to give you notice that I’m retiring. If I don’t get healthier, I’m not going to live long enough to enjoy my retirement.”
“Gil, I’m not asking you to leave. I just want—”
“Chet, this isn’t about you. My health was going downhill even before Cyn died, and that just made it worse. I know I have a lot of work on my plate, so I’ll give you six weeks’ notice.”
Chet plopped down into his chair. “Wow. We’ve been working together for over thirty years! I guess I really just want to support whatever’s best for you.” He thought for a moment. “Six weeks’ notice is very generous of you, but you’ll be hard to replace. Please write me a short retirement letter, and I’ll get the ball rolling with HR. You know, this is probably going to get some of the other guys thinking about retirement too. Including me.”
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Gil and his coworkers were in the back room of a tavern just outside of town. The stained pine-board walls were covered with old local signs and photographs of people he didn’t know. As Gil stood up to speak, he looked out at the small crowd and smiled. A few wore masks, but most, like Gil, had removed theirs while they enjoyed their libations. All of them were vaccinated and boosted, but COVID was still surging. “Our company was just a farm forty years ago, but it seems like it’s been here forever. I’ve worked here almost since the beginning, and to me, it feels like home. Even though each of us is different from one another and comes from a different background, we’re like a family. We work together as a team without even thinking about it, and we’ve accomplished some amazing things. Together, we’ve advanced the state of the art of robotics. Our company has done just about everything right, except for one thing.”
Chet got a concerned look on his face.
“At every retirement party, we have beer and cake. People, cake does not go well with beer! I’d like my enduring legacy to this company to be the abolishment of this tradition. Your choice, beer or cake. Cheers!” The audience laughed and gathered around to wish him well.