The Protmotion

My friend Lauren was so excited about the prospect of the promotion that had come up. “I’m sure I will get this, Lucy,” she said, excitedly, her face a picture of glee at the very thought she would become the next marketing manager, with such a prestige organisation.

“What will this promotion mean for you personally?” I asked, joining in with her excitement.

“Well, I will have a big raise in salary and my own office,” she replied, then added, “and of course, there is the status that comes with being a manager.” She flicked her long, dark hair behind her shoulders and took a sip of her coffee. “Lucy, I am so thrilled about this. I know it will mean less free time because of the responsibility that comes with the job role, but I’m up for it!”

“How many people have put in for the job?” I asked.

“There are three of us, but I have been there the longest. I get on well with everyone, and my work has always been given good yearly reviews,” Lauren answered, biting into a biscuit.

“But, what if you don’t get the job?” I said, asking out of concern because Lauren was so convinced she would succeed.

“Oh, fiddle faddle, Lucy, of course I will!” she grinned at me over her coffee cup, and I dropped the subject.

Lauen’s entire conversations from then on revolved around the promotion. Gone were the girly chats about fashion, what we do at the weekend, or the latest hairstyles; it was all replaced with interviews and promotions. Although I wished her well and really hoped she'd get the job, I was getting fed up with listening to this every time we met up and especially when we were out at the weekends, when I just wanted to relax and forget about work.

Then, during one telephone conversation leading up to the interview, Lauren called me. “Lucy, please come with me and help me choose some outfits for my new job over the weekend.”

“But, you haven’t got the job yet, Lauren, should you not wait and see first?” I asked, becoming very concerned about her obsession with his promotion.

“Well, of course I will get it, Lucy, I told you I’ve been there the longest,” she replied, with a bit of a defensive bite in her words.

“Okay, if that’s what you want to do, how about Saturday afternoon?” I asked, giving up trying to put the idea into her head, she just might not get this job.

We met on Saturday afternoon as planned, and Lucy was in high spirits. “Let’s go to that shop first that has the office outfits,” she said, heading off in the direction of the store.

“But it’s very expensive there,” I said, hoping it would make her think about her bank balance.

My comment seemed to go over her head, and off we went.

As we walked past a coffee shop, a voice shouted, “Hey Lauren, I thought that was you. Just to say good luck on Wednesday with your interview, mine is Tuesday, and I’m already getting very good vibes.”

Lauren stopped dead in her tracks. “Good vibes, what do you mean, good vibes, Nick?”

The man got up from his chair and walked over to us. “Nothing really, just that a couple of people have said, Jacob is pleased I am one of the candidates, we’ve always got on and done a lot of work together in the past,” Nick replied.

Nick looked at Lauren with a cheeky smile. “But no doubt he is pleased you’ve also applied. Well, let the best person win on the day, eh,” he said, walking back to his table. “See you Monday.”

“Yes, see you Monday, Nick,” Lauren answered, but her voice had gone from confident to quietly subdued, to say the least.

“Lucy, what do you think he means good vibes?” Lauren asked me, looking panic-stricken.

“What he said, someone had mentioned, this Jacob was pleased he had applied for the promotion,” I’d answered, trying to sound matter-of-fact, but I didn't do a very good job of it.

“Oh, god, what if Nick gets it? I will be so disappointed, I can’t tell you how disappointed!’ Lauren was almost in tears by now. “I will have to leave if I don’t get this job."

“Look, let’s go for a coffee before the shopping,” I suggested, thinking it was about time I brought Lauren gently back down to earth, because she was becoming overly obsessed with this entire thing. We had been best friends since college days, going back some ten years, and I was getting really worried about her. Lauren had always been highly strung and would sometimes see mountains instead of tiny stones.

I ordered the coffee and then said, “You know, Lauren, life is more than a job; it is about how you go about finding your own personal happiness, and sometimes things can come along that can get in the way of that.”

Lauren looked at me with red, brimmed eyes. “But this job means so much to me, Lucy, I so want it,” she replied, dabbing her eyes.

“I know, but ever since this promotion came up, your entire thoughts have dominated it. You’ve lost your way a bit over the past couple of weeks. Look, put it this way, do you believe this is the only opportunity you will ever get in your life?”

Lauren frowned and then said, “No, I’m sure others will come along, but this one is important to me.”

Just at the moment, a young girl in a mobility scooter came past, slightly catching the back of my chair. “Sorry,” she said, smiling, “I just cannot get used to this new mobility scooter, I am just lethal at the moment!”

“No worries,” I said, “are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you, I didn’t knock your coffee, did I?” she asked, looking at the table.

“No,” I answered, “you’re fine, no damage done.”

The girl went off, and I looked at Lauren, saying, “So young to be in a mobility scooter, cannot be much older than twenty and yet she looks very happy.”

“Yes,” Lauren answered, looking at the young girl, who had now found a table and was ordering.

Lauren then said, “You’re right, Lucy, we haven’t done any fun things over the past couple of weeks, and I should wait before spending any money on new clothes. Let’s forget about the shopping. Will we go out to dinner later this evening?"

“Yes, it will be nice,” I replied, relieved that some of my pet talk had caused Lauren to at least rethink the clothes shopping.

Lauren never mentioned the interview again, and I waited for her to call me with whatever news she had once it was all over. When the call finally came, the following Wednesday, it was nothing like I expected. “Lucy, I never got the job; it went to Nick.”

I fully expected a flood of tears, then, before I could say anything, she said, “You know, I’m not really that disappointed. I realised a few days before the interview that the job was not so important to me after all. Can you believe that after all the hype I made of it?” Lauren said, laughing.

“Well, I am surprised, I honestly thought this would be a massive disappointment for you; you had your heart and soul set on it,” I answered, finding it all confusing.

“I did, but do you remember the young girl on the mobility scooter at the cafe? She was my wake-up call. For some reason, I kept thinking about her, and I started to question my own life; what I was doing and where I was going. I came to the conclusion, I was in the wrong job, and I needed more from a job than posh clothes, lots of money, not to mention my own office and management status. So, guess what I’m going to do?”

“No, what?” I asked, eager to hear, wondering what on earth she was going to come out with.

“I’m going to train to be an occupational therapist for people with life-changing injuries. Yes, me, well, what do you think, Lucy?”

I was almost lost for words, “Wow! That is one big swing from what you’ve been doing. Are you sure it's what you want?”

“One hundred per cent, I've never felt so motivated to want to do something like this.”

When the call ended, I sat down in disbelief. Over the years, Lauren had often sprung surprises on me, like the time she’d turned up with vibrant red dyed hair, totally out of her comfort zone! But this had to be her finest hour. And goodness me, this hour has to be, without doubt, the most amazing outcome yet, from a promotion to an occupational therapist! My final thoughts are, as the saying goes, c’est la vie!