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“Are you friendly with your coworkers?”
“Yeah. We take fishing trips once in a while. Bowl a few, but nothing regular.”
“I’m getting the feeling there is something about your job you don’t particularly like.”
He grunted. “Yeah, my boss.”
Melanie chuckled. “I think bosses are the reason most people don’t like their jobs.”
“Believe it or not, I went to business school, and now I spend my day on a loading dock.” He sounded demoralized. “I thought I’d start on the ground floor and work my way up, but I never got very far.”
Melanie understood. “Can I tell you something?” She didn’t wait for permission. “I went to school to work in foreign affairs. I thought I could change the world.”
Walker snickered. She could tell he was starting to feel comfortable with her. “Then I found out I needed a master’s degree, and I didn’t want to be bogged down with debt.”
“How did you end up here?” He finally took a sip of his tepid coffee.
“I applied for a job with the government, and after fifteen years, I went back to school.”
“Fifteen years?” He looked genuinely surprised.
“Yes. It was a long and winding road getting here.”
“So did you give up on saving the world?” He smirked.
“Nope. I figured maybe I could do it one kid at a time.”
He actually chuckled. “And you’re starting with mine.”
“Mr. Walker, may I ask you another question?”
“Go for it.”
“Do you feel angry a lot of the time? Like the world has something against you personally?”
“Well, yes and no. I guess I get irritated more than I should.” He sat back. “Almost everything aggravates me. The light is taking too long to change; the mailman is late; I can’t find the remote. That kind of stuff.”
“And when you get home, all your frustrations are about to burst through the seams. Am I right?”
He let out a huff. “That pretty much sums it up.”
“Do you drink?” She knew she was crossing a line into dangerous territory, but in for a penny, in for a pound.
“One beer a day.” He put his hand on his heart. “Swear. I’m not going down that road. I’ve seen too many people destroy their lives inside a bottle.”
“Have you considered changing jobs?”
“Where would I go?” He looked at her.
“You said you have a business degree.”
“Yeah. That was almost a dozen years ago. A lot has changed.”
“What about taking some online courses? Brush up on a few things.”
“I thought about it, but, you know, life keeps getting in the way.”
“Life surely has a lot of detours. It’s a series of adjustments. I’m a huge advocate of making the best out of what you’re handed. The idea is never to give up. You never know what opportunities lie ahead.” Melanie hoped some of her wisdom would reach him. “I’d be happy to help you find some classes you could fit into your schedule.” Melanie had a plethora of recommendations in her office. “But first we need to figure out how to keep your family together.”
