Changes At Work

  In November, Eric and Lucinda had plans to go back to Amsterdam on vacation. They had gone a few years earlier and loved it. The problem was they had been financially strapped for some time. Because of that Eric had resorted to some morally questionable banking practices, while technically not illegal, was unethical for a bank employee. At least that was what senior management of our bank had decided, so shortly after he returned from him trip to Europe, he had been relieved of duty in our wire transfer department.

  It was a sad day for my supervisor, Cathleen, Alan and myself, whom were all really close in the bank and outside the bank. Even, Dick, the senior vice president who fired him felt bad. It was awkward hanging out with him that first time after the incident. He didn’t tell his two kids he was fired. He told them he was laid off, but now they were living with only one paycheck coming in. It was apparent when we went to their house and it was apparent that they were selling stuff to stay afloat.

  What made it even harder for them was that Lucinda got pregnant the week they went on the trip to Europe. They may have been trying because Jennifer and Bill had announced that they were expecting their child only a month before.

  I don’t know why they asked us because Eric currently had a lot of free time, but Jennifer and Bill were going to visit family in Chicago for the holidays and they had asked us to watch their Pit Bull puppies. Earlier in the year they had adopted a puppy and were doing a real good job on training him. Then their vet contacted them a few weeks later saying there was another pit bull from an abusive home that needed a home and they adopted that one as well. All training went out the window when you got two puppies competing for attention and treats.

  So twice a day for a week, Lori and I would go and check on the dogs. Once, I brought Claudia with me during lunch. They destroyed everything. They chewed their phone cable. Ate their Thomas Kinkade puzzle. And got into their Monopoly game… Paper money everywhere. Lori felt really bad about the puzzle. We went around looking for a replacement in a bunch of stores to no avail. We tried to spend as much time there as possible, but it was impossible to eat there. So the last day we dog-sat, we left them for an hour or two to eat and I told Lori I would go back and clean up whatever mess they made in that last hour.

 When I got back, the dogs had opened the zipper to the futon couch and had pulled the foam out. There was foam everywhere! I was in shock. Just then, Jennifer and Bill pulled into the driveway. I tried as frantically as I could to get as much foam back in, but it was useless. They came in the door and saw the disaster. It looked like we were never there at all that week. I assured them that we were there a lot and had just left for an hour. They believed me.

  Another new addition to the bank was a young lady named Amanda. She was our newest teller. It turned out that she and her boyfriend, Nate, currently lived in the same apartment complex as Lori and I. Claudia became Head Teller and she and Amanda became quick friends.