mistake.’”
They laughed.
***
He knocked the phone off the bedside table as its ring roared him awake. He squinted at the strong morning glare.
“Yes,” he said hoarsely.
“Is this Mr. Cunningham?” a woman inquired.
“Yes.”
“Um, Mr. Cunningham, this is Jillian Carter.”
“Jillian Carter?” he said. “Do I know a Jillian Carter?”
“Of course you do. I work at the consulate. You interviewed me.”
“Oh yes, I remember,” he said. “How can I help you?”
“When you interviewed me the other day, I forgot to tell you something.”
“You did?”
“Yes. At the time I wasn’t sure I should bring it up. But, like, I think I should tell you.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what is it?” He looked at the clock radio. It showed 6:42 a.m.
“It’s kind of delicate, actually,” she said.
“OK. Go as slow as you want.”
“Well, it’s about Geoff.”
“OK.”
“Um, Geoff was kind of, like, really moral, if you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t know what you mean, Miss Carter.”
“He was high-minded, if that makes any sense. He didn’t like people being taken advantage of: stuff like that. Do you know what I mean?”
“I think so.”
“Well, one of my jobs at the consulate was to cover for the CG’s secretary, Janice, when she was out.”
“OK.”
“And I did a lot of that because she went on holiday a while back. Anyway, one afternoon I made a big mistake on a report the CG was completing. I accidentally left out a whole paragraph that the CG had written. It was, like, a terrible mistake. But I wasn’t used to typing up huge reports, and I’m not even a good typist, anyway. They just told me to cover for Janice, and I did it.”
“OK, Miss Carter. I think I’m with you so far.”
“Well, the report was completed, and I made ten copies, and we sent it out. Well, it turns out that the paragraph that I messed up on was, like, the central conclusion the CG was making. I mean it was a huge problem when he discovered it. And he was really, really angry. He accused me of being incompetent and yelled at me for like ten minutes in front of two other people. I could have died. And of course I cried.”
“OK.”
“And then he said he was going to order me home. It was terrible.”
“I bet.” Dennis yawned and looked at the clock again.
“But when Geoff heard about it, he was furious.”
“Furious?” Dennis sat up.
“He was wicked angry. He said the CG had no business threatening me like that since I was so new there and I was covering for Janice in the first place. And then he said he was going to straighten it out with the CG.”
“How would he do that?”
“I have no idea. All I know is that I begged him not to make it worse, but he said he was going to talk to the CG about it.”
“Was Geoff that important that he could just go and talk to the CG about a personnel matter?”
“Well, not really. But Geoff was kind of like that. He didn’t care who he had to talk to in order to set things right.”
“So what happened?” Dennis said.
“He set things right.”
“How did he do that?”
“I don’t know. But the next thing that happened was that the CG asked me to see him in his office. And he apologized for being, like, a jerk. And said he was not going to send me home.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes, exactly like I said. It was creepy really, because I could see the CG just hated to talk to me, and to apologize. And he never bothered me again. Ever.”
“So what did Geoff say to the CG?”
“Like I said, I have no idea. Geoff wouldn’t talk about it.”
“But are you sure that he talked to the CG? Did something else happen that you didn’t know about?”
“Well, maybe, but you just had to know Geoff. He was that kind of stand-up guy. Really, really cool guy.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and Dennis rang off. He lay back on his bed and mulled over this little tidbit.
***
Dennis felt the sudden urge to walk, so he
They laughed.
***
He knocked the phone off the bedside table as its ring roared him awake. He squinted at the strong morning glare.
“Yes,” he said hoarsely.
“Is this Mr. Cunningham?” a woman inquired.
“Yes.”
“Um, Mr. Cunningham, this is Jillian Carter.”
“Jillian Carter?” he said. “Do I know a Jillian Carter?”
“Of course you do. I work at the consulate. You interviewed me.”
“Oh yes, I remember,” he said. “How can I help you?”
“When you interviewed me the other day, I forgot to tell you something.”
“You did?”
“Yes. At the time I wasn’t sure I should bring it up. But, like, I think I should tell you.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what is it?” He looked at the clock radio. It showed 6:42 a.m.
“It’s kind of delicate, actually,” she said.
“OK. Go as slow as you want.”
“Well, it’s about Geoff.”
“OK.”
“Um, Geoff was kind of, like, really moral, if you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t know what you mean, Miss Carter.”
“He was high-minded, if that makes any sense. He didn’t like people being taken advantage of: stuff like that. Do you know what I mean?”
“I think so.”
“Well, one of my jobs at the consulate was to cover for the CG’s secretary, Janice, when she was out.”
“OK.”
“And I did a lot of that because she went on holiday a while back. Anyway, one afternoon I made a big mistake on a report the CG was completing. I accidentally left out a whole paragraph that the CG had written. It was, like, a terrible mistake. But I wasn’t used to typing up huge reports, and I’m not even a good typist, anyway. They just told me to cover for Janice, and I did it.”
“OK, Miss Carter. I think I’m with you so far.”
“Well, the report was completed, and I made ten copies, and we sent it out. Well, it turns out that the paragraph that I messed up on was, like, the central conclusion the CG was making. I mean it was a huge problem when he discovered it. And he was really, really angry. He accused me of being incompetent and yelled at me for like ten minutes in front of two other people. I could have died. And of course I cried.”
“OK.”
“And then he said he was going to order me home. It was terrible.”
“I bet.” Dennis yawned and looked at the clock again.
“But when Geoff heard about it, he was furious.”
“Furious?” Dennis sat up.
“He was wicked angry. He said the CG had no business threatening me like that since I was so new there and I was covering for Janice in the first place. And then he said he was going to straighten it out with the CG.”
“How would he do that?”
“I have no idea. All I know is that I begged him not to make it worse, but he said he was going to talk to the CG about it.”
“Was Geoff that important that he could just go and talk to the CG about a personnel matter?”
“Well, not really. But Geoff was kind of like that. He didn’t care who he had to talk to in order to set things right.”
“So what happened?” Dennis said.
“He set things right.”
“How did he do that?”
“I don’t know. But the next thing that happened was that the CG asked me to see him in his office. And he apologized for being, like, a jerk. And said he was not going to send me home.”
“Just like that?”
“Yes, exactly like I said. It was creepy really, because I could see the CG just hated to talk to me, and to apologize. And he never bothered me again. Ever.”
“So what did Geoff say to the CG?”
“Like I said, I have no idea. Geoff wouldn’t talk about it.”
“But are you sure that he talked to the CG? Did something else happen that you didn’t know about?”
“Well, maybe, but you just had to know Geoff. He was that kind of stand-up guy. Really, really cool guy.”
They talked for a few more minutes, and Dennis rang off. He lay back on his bed and mulled over this little tidbit.
***
Dennis felt the sudden urge to walk, so he
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