Delos and his family sat around the kitchen table. Morning sun glinted off the polished tiles. He didn’t notice that neither his daughter nor his wife had eaten anything. Caroline cried while her mother stared at Delos. Oblivious to their distress, Delos wiped his mouth with the blue linen napkin from his lap.
“Time to go to work,” he said and rose from his chair. The napkin lay next to his clean plate.
He kissed Maureen on the cheek, told her to have a nice day and squeezed Caroline’s shoulder. “Good luck on that math test today.”
Outside, Delos walked three blocks to his bus stop, coincidentally last on the express line downtown. Birds sang along the way and he found himself smiling. It would take him half an hour on the express to get to his building and he would use that time to go over the details of the Cavanaugh deal. Not that it was complicated but he wanted to give his boss his best work. It was a big contract, after all.
“‘Morning, Bob,” Delos said as he boarded and paid his fare. Bob looked over his tablet at Delos without recognition but returned the greeting. Everyone else in the cabin ignored him. (more…)