Chapter 3: The Office Joke

The jokes started slowly, the way most cruelty does, with a smile wide enough to pretend it was harmless… Continue Reading ⬇️

“Lunch with your boyfriend again?” someone said one afternoon.

I laughed because sometimes laughing is easier than admitting you are embarrassed.

“Charles is better company than you,” I said.

But the comments did not stop.

They became a running joke. People smirked whenever I walked toward his table. Someone placed a fake “reserved” sign on his chair. Another coworker asked if I was worried about my career because I sat with the janitor every day.

As if kindness could ruin a résumé.

I laughed off every remark.

But laughing something away does not mean it does not hurt.

Some evenings, I drove home replaying their words, wondering if I had become the office joke.

Charles never seemed bothered.

One day, after another loud comment, I asked, “Doesn’t it bother you?”

He took a slow sip of coffee.

“People are loudest,” he said, “when they don’t understand what quiet is worth.”

Years passed before I understood him. Continue Reading ⬇️