He’s leaving on a jet plane

Well… he no longer works there. Mike Minor, whose last day was to be Thursday, never showed up on Sunday for his double shift. Well… it’s a long story…

Sunday came. I was looking semi-forward to Sunday. Mike Minor hadn’t worked all week. He had given away all his shifts in order to work on his senior project: the one that will land him the job. So, I actually SHOWERED for work on Sunday- made my hair look cute, dispite how awful I felt (yes, once again, my infamous immune system has me ill). My hair was washed, bouncing curls loosely tied back off my shoulders by hair clippies. My makeup- flawless. My best perfume.

I got to work, and just started chatting, bullshitting around, bored off my butt. 11:30 comes… no Mike Minor. I think, “Maybe he thought he had to be in at noon.” Noon rolls around… nope, still not there. So, worried, I call him. “Hey, it’s Liz. Didn’t know if you were making today your last day and just not showing up, or if you were still sleeping. Just thought I would call you if you still wanted your job for your last four shifts. Call me back later!”

So, work was hectic… not busy, just… hectic. I was getting upset because I felt I was the only one working and everyone else was just doing nothing. I had a table tip me 30 bucks that night because they thought I was the only one working. It was great. Anywho… time passes and passes… blah blah blah.

It’s about 10 PM, and I am finishing up my sidework- looking forward to going out that night. Every Sunday is Charlie’s and Coachhouse with the girls. I have so much fun. So, as I am sitting down, counting my money, my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. I ignored it. Then, ten minutes later, I checked it. It was Mike Minor. He left a message, “Hey Liz, it’s Mike. I got your message. Call me back if you want to hear the interesting story about why I didn’t work today.” So, I did.

His reason? “It was nice outside, and I just didn’t want to come in. But, God help me, I felt guilty all day. I assume I am fired. Can you relay a message to whomever that I will come in if they want me to?” We chatted for a good half hour. It was hilarious. So, I told him I’d call him the next day. I went out that night, didn’t think I drank THAT much, but was unpleasantly surprised when Mikey walked in my room at 10 and told me he thought I was getting ready… we start work at 10:15. I hurry up, make it to work two minutes late… unshowered, not smelling like roses.

When I got to work , Mike Minor’s name was on the floor plan. I went to my manager, Michael, and told him about Mike Minor. He told me that he is NOT fired, so to call him and get his butt up there. I called him, where he answered the phone laughing. I love his laugh. “Yeah, Michael says get your butt here. But, if you want, I’ll tell him I coudln’t get a hold of you.” “Nah, I’ll be there.” Damnit… he didn’t come to work YESTERDAY when I was super cute. He had to come on the day when my hangover hit me mid-shift.

I was glad to work with him one last time. I’m really going to miss him. Hopefully, he will keep in contact. He told me him and a buddy of his are renting a house in St Louis, pretty cheap, and quite nice. I’m excited for him. And he’s following his dreams, which is even better. Still sucks. I crushed on him pretty hard. Now, I’ll be crushless, boyfriendless, and bored. Blah. Eh, oh well- maybe it’ll motivate me to do something with my life.

The question still remains though… he leaves a week from Friday. His show (showing his cartoons and artwork for potential employers) is on Wednesday. Would it be totally geeky of me to get him a card and write something super sweet in there, possibly telling him of my deep seeded crush these past months? Or do I just do the whole, “Keep in touch” card, write my e-mail address and just keep a casual connection until someday we possibly meet again? You be the judge… tell me. Give me ideas. For now, I’ll just pretend that it’s not the end of the world.