cecilia-ahern-love-rosie

168 Cecelia AhernIt’s funny how life goes. I spent forty years working for them, remembermy first day like it was yesterday. I was just fresh out of school, alleager to please. Wanted to start making money so that I could propose toyour mother and buy us a house. In my first week of work we held a partyin the office for one of the old guys retiring. I didn’t give much notice tohim. People were making speeches, giving him gifts, talking about oldtimes. But all I cared about was the fact that they were making me stay lateat work, unpaid, when all I wanted to do was get out of there to propose toyour mother. The old guy had been there all his working life, he had tearsin his eyes, was really upset about leaving, took him a lifetime to make thespeech, thought he would never shut up so I could leave. I had the engagementring in my pocket. Kept sticking my hand in my trousers to makesure the velvet box was still there. I couldn’t wait for that guy to finishtalking.Billy Rogers was his name.He wanted to take me aside and explain a few things to me about thecompany before he left. Seeing as I was a new boy. I didn’t listen to a wordhe had to say. He talked and talked like he never had any intentions of leavingthe damn office. I rushed him. The company wasn’t that important tome then.He kept on coming back to visit us in the office every week. Would hangaround our desks annoying all the new guys, some of the old guys too, givingadvice and checking up on things that were no longer his business. Wejust wanted to do our jobs. He lived and breathed for that place. We all toldhim to find himself a hobby. Keep himself busy. Thought we were helpinghim. Only suggested it out of the goodness of our hearts, that and the fact hewas really starting to get up his pals’ noses. He died a few weeks later. Hada heart attack on the golf course. He was taking our advice and having hisfirst lesson.I hadn’t thought about Billy Rogers for almost thirty years. Had completelyforgotten about him, to be honest. But that night and since I haven’tbeen able to get the thought of Billy Rogers out of my head. Looking aroundwith tears in my eyes, listening to speeches, accepting gifts, catching the newguys sneakily glimpse at their watches wondering when they could slip away