The Chair

"A character arrives at work to find her chair missing. What happened to it?" ~from The Pocket Muse

Penelope walked into her small, organized cubicle as she had everyday for the past five years. She put her purse under the counter on the left, and her cup of hazelnut coffee on top of the small plastic organizer in the front, left corner. She pulled her jacket off one sleeve at a time, right first then left. She turned, to drape her jacket on the back of her ... "Where is my chair?" She wondered aloud. Penelope turned one full circle in her cubicle, but did not see her chair. Her head snapped from side to side as she examined all of her other neatly placed belongings.

Her computer sat as it always did, in the middle of the right counter. Next to it sat a photo of Penelope with her fiance on the day he proposed. The felt-backed walls were bare except for the Grey's Anatomy calendar on the month of June. Everything was there, in its place. Except her chair.

Since she was the first to arrive at the office, Penelope walked out of her cubicle and looked around. She stalked to the end of the long room and began making her way through each and every cubicle looking for her chair. When she reached the other end of the office, she turned sharply on her plum-purple Chanel heels and surveyed the room one more time.

Penelope, lost in thought, did not notice that the office began to fill as other employees filed into their own cubicles. A steady tap-tap-tap began to register and she was yanked from her meditative state back to reality by the sound of her supervisor's voice.

"Penelope! What are you doing? It's the busiest time of the year for us, and you're just standing there. You're the best sales-rep we have, and you're losing commission right now!"

She stared for a moment at the stout man in front of her and then studied the room once more. "I'll be happy to go back to work, sir, when my chair is returned."

"Your chair?"

Penelope explained her morning in a rather irritated voice, though that was not unusual for her. Her boss tried to interject several times, but Penelope kept talking with no regard for the man in front of her. She finished the story saying, "So, you see, I cannot be expected to work under these conditions! No chair, no calls."

The little man in front her stood with his mouth agape as she sauntered away to collect her belongings. When she reached her meticulously organized cubicle, Penelope noticed something unusual. Her chair, missing only an hour before, was back. It was no longer the icky brown color to which she had been forced to grow accustomed. Instead, it was the same brilliant shade of purple as her favorite Chanel heels. She spun around looking for the person who might have delivered this beautiful gift, and nearly knocked out her supervisor.

"You didn't let me finish, Ms. Purcot. We sent your chair out last night to be reupholstered for you. After all, the site manager needs a chair fit for a queen."

Penelope Purcot smiled sweetly, sat down, and took a celebratory spin in her new managerial chair. This day had potential.