A Pug Loves Me

It has occurred to me that I may get Covid and die from it. So I need to continue to write in my blog because there is a lot of which I wish to unburden myself. So let me get started by talking about Covid. I recently realized the chances of me getting it are probably high, since after all, my co-worker passed away from it. She died. That’s right, Christine, my Christine is gone. She will never again sit next to me. And we will never again have casual and uncomplicated conversation. That was one of Christine’s many endearing qualities, how open she was. She was a darling of a human being. And now she’s gone forever. I wrote about her shortly after it happened. It is this:

“She’s gone. All I am left with are vivid memories and dreams. The twisted irony is that I used to tell Christine about my writing that I do. She was curious so I gave her some samples to read. I gave her my documents on my family and celebrities. She enjoyed them very much and said they were very entertaining. Christine and I had a lot in common. We passed the days away talking about the days’ news events among other things.

At this time of night, I usually read the Daily Mail to get my news updates so I could fall asleep. The t.v. is usually on providing an ambient background while I’m writing. But this time I shut the t.v. off and I’m not going on the Daily Mail because I am not interested in any updates about the force that took her away from me. I am angry – I am devastated – I am lonely. And I know this is just the beginning. I don’t quite know how I will be able to stand being in the office without her. She sat directly behind me – all that separated us was a chest high wall over which I would peer to engage in countless conversations. As you know, I haven’t had a good track record of work relationships. With my unusual personality, it is difficult for me to blend in.

But finally, I came to this job, with these three wonderful girls. For some reason, they embraced me. One girl, Natalie, got pregnant and left for maternity leave about a year after I began. I was very disappointed when she left. I felt it broke up the balance – all three girls complemented each other with their very different personalities and walks of life. Natalie and her husband ended up buying a house but it required a lot of renovations and it delayed their move in date for a long time. In the meantime, they had to move in with her parents two states away. She eventually started working for my boss that let me go, but doing the same thing she was doing for our bosses after she left for maternity leave: working online from home. That is how it was for another year. I adjusted to working for Steve and Andy. I like them a lot, they are very down to earth people. But they’re also good bosses. The schedule between us girls was that I worked with Samantha on Mondays and Fridays and with Christine the remainder of the week. I wished we were all together every day, but I got accustomed to the variation. Samantha is a more outgoing, gregarious, social type, while Christine is the quiet, sweet, eccentric one. She and I had a lot in common; our school – we went to the same high school, which made us know a lot of the same people. She was interested in celebrities and gossip like I was. Her ethnic make-up also provided plenty of fodder for good natured ribbing by the other girls. But Christine would just take it in stride with that unique laugh of hers which was so warm and engaging that it drew you in and you found yourself laughing along with her.

When you first meet Christine, you have known her all your life. At first her personality seems bold, but then you realize it is just her way. I remember the other girls telling me stories of some of the pointed remarks she would make. For example, when Natalie came in for her first day of work, she was dressed up in nice business attire. They had just saw each other for the first time and Christine looked at Natalie with a bemused expression and with a deadpan tone remarked: “you know, you don’t have to dress like that here”. It was that type of brash quirkiness that endeared her to us. You could argue that side to her personality was honed while working for many years at top end hair salons in Manhattan. She was a talented colorist who worked with famous people. Many times I exclaimed “you met so and so!?” She would talk about working with them so nonchalantly, whereas I on the other hand, would be star struck. The owner of the salon was a part of the rock and roll scene and that is what attracted the desirable and undesirable of the upper echelon to the salon. One recent topic of countless conversations that she and I had, was the fact that she would witness Jeffrey Epstein come in to the salon and he would always have young girls with him and they would sit on his lap and they would make-out right in the middle of the salon. Christine was into conspiracy theories as well and we both enjoyed delving into the dark, seedy underside of Hollywood and Washington. I will miss that.”