A new beginning

When I told Jenny the news, it was all happiness. My boss had offered me an important promotion as head of a commercial office. However, not everything was rosy, the office was located in a small town a bit far from the main cities. That meant, among other things, looking for a new home. But what worried me the most was whether I would be able to adapt to the slow pace that characterizes life in small communities...

For Jenny the change would also be important, she would have to travel occasionally to the city, because although her work could be done almost entirely online, sometimes her superiors called her to coordinate some details. Between the two of us we evaluated the situation and decided to accept...

During the first months things went quite well. We lived in a house with a big garden. Every morning I could have breakfast with Jenny and savor her exquisite coffee. We took long bike rides and drank beers watching movies on the TV.

At work the atmosphere was good, the employees were friendly and efficient, there was no stress at all. Jenny, on the other hand, fulfilled her work commitments from home and once a month she traveled to the city to meet with her bosses.

But by the fourth month I began to feel the effect of that slowness. I felt a great uneasiness. The routine made me tired... Doing the same thing every day made me fed up.

I would come home in a bad mood and I would take my discomfort out on Jenny. She thought my cruel behavior was very strange. Jenny thought we had the best possible world, living in a nice place, without pollution, without noisy streets, with neighbors who greeted us kindly... Anyway...

Days went by and my discomfort did not cease. On one occasion I even yelled at Jenny, something I had never done before. That change in my mood scared her a lot, she felt a deep pain and asked me to leave.

That night I left our home and moved into the second level of the office. There I slept on a comfortable couch that some other boss had left behind.

I began to have a new routine. I got up earlier, took long walks and drank horrible machine coffee. In the afternoon, after work, I would lie on the couch and watch the time go by... I wanted to find a way to talk to Jenny, to apologize, but I had nothing to offer her, I couldn't lie to her that everything would be fine...

After a month, two important events occurred. Jenny came by the office one morning and left me a note, saying that she would wait one more month to leave everything and go back to the city.

That same day, for some strange reason, the lunch counter where I ate lunch was more crowded than usual. There was only one place left at a table where there was a young woman who looked like a student...

As I sat down I saw her books and realized she was a psychology student. Jenny's note was hammering in my head, I really needed to talk...

Without thinking too much I asked the young woman if she wanted to have her first client; she smiled. I can't charge you but I can hear you, she finished commenting with the smile still on her lips.

I unburdened myself and in half an hour I summarized my situation, I told her about my frustration, about my relationship about to go down the drain, about my uneasiness with the routine of the town, I told her that I wanted to find a way out... She didn't say much, she told me that in two weeks we would meet again at the same place...

That conversation soothed my spirit and renewed my spirits, I waited anxiously for the fifteen days to pass. But I still didn't have the courage to talk to Jenny.

After a fortnight I met again with the student. She had talked about me with one of her teachers. She sent me to tell me that it was important for me to initiate some conversations with her. If I was willing, she could open an appointment for me in her office. I replied that I would be happy to do so....

Today I celebrate my second month living in the office, it is seven fifteen in the morning and I go to prepare the coffee, to my surprise there is not a single bean left. I look at the date on the calendar and realize that Jenny's bus leaves at eight o'clock. To top it off, at eight thirty I have an important appointment with bosses coming from the city.

I rush to the bus terminal, just four blocks away. When I arrive Jenny is still sitting on a bench, the bus has been delayed. I tell her that I can't talk much at that moment, that I think we can work things out, I leave her a note explaining about my appointments with the psychologist, and I ask her for another chance... I pass by the coffee shop in the terminal and beg the vending machine to sell me some coffee...

At thirteen past eight I arrive at the office. I prepare the coffee machine. I attend to the bosses. Time passes with agonizing slowness. With the first hours of the night I go out to Jenny's house. From a distance I see the lights come on, my heart beats faster...

Thank you for your time.