Page 15 of I Hope This Finds You Well

It’s like opening a curtain. I’ve never known any of them, never seen the faces behind the masks, and there’s something super fragile about breaching this.

A new email for Caitlin appears as Rhonda goes to retrieve her flower-shaped watering can from the top of an ancient filing cabinet. It’s from an outside account: [email protected]. This is Caitlin’s Kyle! Based on the heart-shaped gifts he occasionally sends to her at the office, he’s also a potential serial killer. I’ve learned about a thousand useless facts about this mediocre man over the years—and now he emails!

I shouldn’t read it.

Hey hon,

Hope work isn’t too busy. Not sure if my messages are coming through so I’m trying you here. Just letting you know I can pick up dinner and wine. How bout your fave?

I also have a surprise for you.

Love you,

Kyle

Nice enough. A tad boring, really. An odd sensation swoops through me, like the earth isn’t quite below me. I knew I shouldn’t have read it. Caitlin’s retying her bun, focusing on a printout on her desk. She hasn’t even seen the email. Such a comfortably intimate email, probably the kind she receives daily.

She glances up to check the calendar pinned to her wall and I search her face. I need to see something recognizable inside her—something to help me understand what it’s like.

Finally, she turns back to her screen and clicks. She stares for a moment and, like a switch, her expression softens. She pulls out the silver pocket mirror that she keeps next to her lotion bin. She’s tacked up a bunch of pictures of her friends who look so similar to her behind it. It occurs to me there are no pictures of Kyle there. I guess a weird, distant part of me thought her life with him was fictional.

Her gaze crawls my way, and I jolt hard enough that my chair squeaks.

Damn it, I was staring way too hard.

She gives me a micro-glare for courtesy.

An instant message pops up. The sound rattles through my monitor. I quickly mute.

So, all jokes aside, it seems like Jolene didn’t get in shit for any of the stuff she did. They’re sending her to some harassment meetings with the new HR guy, but that’s nothing. What does one have to do to get in actual trouble here? Short of murder, can we just do whatever we want?

My skin cools.

Caitlin sent that message to Rhonda and Armin. I’m even getting instant messages. This is dangerous.

Armin’s reply comes first:

Armin:She got that sensitivity training, so it’s not like she got off scot-free.

Caitlin:That’s not a real punishment. All she has to do is sit there for a few sessions and then all’s forgiven. That’s only going to show her she can get away with anything. We’re essentially training her that she can do what she wants.

Armin:She’s our coworker, not our pet.

Rhonda:They also did something to her computer. Gregory had me note it down.

Caitlin:I know, but I guess I still don’t feel... comfortable. After that email to me, and the message she sent Armin, and all the other things she’s always doing, I just feel like she’s too unstable to work so near to us. Armin, I think you should report her message to HR—say it made you worried. We’re in these pods with her day in and day out, fully vulnerable. If we all went to Gregory and that new HR guy and stated our concerns, they’d have to at least move her.

Armin:I mean, the message she sent me was weird, but trying to get her in trouble again? Might be best to just leave it. Live and let live and all that.

Rhonda:I’ve sat next to Jolene for eight years. She’s rude, sometimes, but I can manage that myself.

Caitlin:I think you’ve both just gotten so used to her abuse that it doesn’t faze you. Armin, what did she say to you when you asked for pledges during your Bike for Cancer?

Armin:Ha, right. She said she didn’t understand why she’d pay for me to bike around in a circle a bunch.

Caitlin:See? Miserable.

I almost break my neutral expression as I peek at each of my colleagues. Their faces are all tilted toward the light of their screens like tropical plants to sunlight. When I asked Armin about the bike pledge, I simply wanted clarification on what I’d be getting for my dollars. I was broke, late on rent, and confused about how his biking would help anyone.