Martha was having a rough morning. Mind you, it started okay. She woke up smiling. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember her dream, but its afterglow followed her to the kitchen, where she proceeded to drop her French press on the ceramic tile floor and shatter it – the press, not the floor.

Nothing would ever chip, dent, or scar those tiles. Martha suspected they

were made from diamonds, or maybe Kryptonite.

She dug through her cupboards and found the instant coffee her sister Harriet (she of the tone-deaf taste buds) had left when she last visited. It had hardened to a rock-like consistency, but Martha managed to chip off a teaspoonful and transfer it into a mug. She topped it off with boiling water and hoped for the best.

She was disappointed, but even horrid coffee was better than none.

Caffeinated, showered, dressed, and now late, Martha hurried to her car.

At the office, she went straight to the coffee machine and poured a real coffee. She carried it to her desk and sat down, sighing. She could see Mildred, her supervisor, approaching, a stormy look on her face. Oh, no. What now?

“Good morning, Mildred,” she said, smiling, hoping to soften the woman’s expression. It didn’t work.

Mildred slammed an envelope down on Martha’s desk.

“What do you think this is?”

Martha had no answer. She had no idea what Mildred was talking about.

“I’m sorry…”

“I should hope so,” snapped her supervisor.

“Wait –”

“I will not wait.” Mildred leaned over Martha’s desk. Her face was so close, Martha could smell toothpaste. “Open it.”

Martha’s hands shook. What was this? A warning? A pink slip? Why? What had she done wrong?

Gradually, she became aware of her co-workers gathering around. She looked up and saw only concerned faces, except for Mildred’s. Mildred was still scowling.

Martha took a deep breath and opened the envelope. She pulled a paper out and spread it on her desk. The room was silent.

For a moment, she couldn’t make sense of the words – “pleased – promote – congratulations”. Then she heard a cork pop and saw the giant cake her co-workers had been hiding.

 Mildred leaned close again, smiling.

 “Congratulations, Martha,” she said. “You’ve earned this.” The room erupted in applause.

Mildred winked at her.

“You know,” said Martha, returning the wink. “I’m gonna get you for this.”

Written by Sandra Leigh

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