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The Boss actually used the phrase “go number two” to me on the phone today. It was my second conversation with him of the day, and he said that between the first time and this one, he had done the deed that had been eluding him during his whole hospital stay. I think I was almost as relieved as he was, because he sounded so much better. Afterward, that is.
The day didn’t start out so well (for either of us, apparently). I talked with Julie this morning, and she’s a little too bitter for my comfort. I know she thinks I’m on her side, and I am, right up to the point where I have to say things I don’t really believe. I’ve been there before, with friends’ divorces. Heck, I was with the Boss when he was going through the divorce from his ex, twenty years ago. Every time he started shouting into the phone back then, I’d leave the office and go out for a cigarette break. And I don’t even smoke.
The plan seems to change daily, but for now he’s going to live at his ex’s house. Anyone with a long memory for pointless details will recall that the ex lives about seven miles from where I live. That’s a less comforting thought than it might seem. He was going to be released from the hospital yesterday, and then again today, but he’s still fighting infection and the doctors want to keep him around, so it’s day to day.
The latest thing the Boss tells me is that he’s going to hire someone to do what Julie has been doing for the company. I think he’ll be surprised how much that entails, because we shielded him from a lot of the details. Most of it was busywork that he didn’t want to have to deal with, but it all involves more work (and more knowledge) than he realizes. It’s just paperwork, mostly. But it’s paperwork that was flowing pretty smoothly for the last few years, until all the upheaval of this month. Anyway, if we get the right person, maybe it’ll work out. |
