George sat at his desk. His thoughts were scramble; there was no point in starting any work. Every thirty seconds he checked the periphery of his office, half expecting to see a hulking figure, covered in shadows, trudging down the hallway swinging a defective surge protector over his head. When someone finally did enter the hallway George was relieved to see it was Bess and not Henry. Bess checked the list and pile of discarded surge protectors occupying the hallway; once she had returned to her office George approached her.
How'd it go?
Good, I got everyone in pump the stations, plus the electricians. I also ran into Katie, there was one office where she couldn't reach the outlet. We're going to have to get some of the field guys to come in and move the desk.
Yeah, I had one like that too; I think it was Donald's office. I wrote it down somewhere.
Ok, so we'll do them both on the same day. Other than that did you have any issues?
No, I guess not. I met Henry.
Henry?
Yeah, Henry "I work in the basement like a total creep" Henry.
Really? He's supposed to be working nights only. How was that?
It was terrifying to be quite honest.
I bet, did he threaten to murder you? That's been his go-to recently.
Yeah I'm pretty sure he did. He told me he wanted to show me his "dark corners."
That's gross.
Yeah, it's really gross.
Well, I'm sorry about that, I would not have sent you down there if I thought there was even a remote chance of you meeting him. I should have at least explained the situation, but Henry's not exactly something we're proud of. It's just one of those things that gets out of hand and over time no one really does anything about it, until there's nothing you can do about it. I mean, you know how hard it is to fire someone from the city, especially someone that has any sort of mental issue, which Henry's already claimed.
So they just put him in the basement?
No one could get any work done. No one wanted to ride in a truck with him, let alone trusted him to drive one. He couldn't work in a communal space like the front office, or the shared cubicles, and his position doesn't warrant one of his own. We tried letting him go once, and about a month later he showed up at HR with a letter from his lawyer describing his mental ailments and how he’s been discriminated against. Since then HR won't touch him. And, on top of all of that, he's never actually done anything. He's just unpleasant. I mean, what did he tell you, that he wanted to show you his "dark corners?" What does that even mean?
Well in the moment it meant, "I'm going to bash your head in," but I get your point.
The problem is not that Henry is handicapped, it’s that he's not handicapped enough. He's just barely able to feign stability, so he gets overlooked, or pushed to the back of the line, however you want to phrase it, he's viewed as a non-priority. It's like picking fruit at the supermarket: you look for the best apples, the ones with the least damage. If you see an apple that's rotten or been dropped or squashed, you let someone know and that apple gets taken out of the bunch, or cleaned up, whatever. That may not be the most sensitive comparison, but I think you get the point, that apple gets immediate attention. The problem is that Henry is neither of those. Henry’s the apple you pick up because it looks good initially, but when you turn it around you find a huge bruise. And what do you do with those apples? You put them back on the display for someone else to deal with.
I see your point.
Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it, like I said Henry's relatively harmless, and he's supposed to be working night shifts, so it's highly unlikely you'll run into him again.
Yeah, it's not a big deal, just a little weird.
Trust me George, I understand.
George left Bess's office and walked to the men's bathroom. Despite the reassuring words George could not totally shake the agitation he'd felt since the encounter with Henry. It was as if someone was just around the corner, watching him. George washed his hands and splashed some cold water on his face. His watch read four o'clock, which was the first truly comforting moment of his day. Only one hour left until the weekend. He walked back to his office with an improved spirit. When George passed Bess’s office he noticed that she had already stepped out again. George entered his office and pulled his desk chair out from behind the computer. Before he could sit down though he saw placed in the middle of the seat a surge protector, caked in dust, its electrical wires stretched and frayed at both ends. George picked up the unit and wiped the front clean to reveal a piece of masking tape with the word HENRY written on it.