A Call Center Agent's Love Story

Marjorie spoke with her last caller for the morning. She stood up from her desk and reached for her bag beside her. She pulled out her lunch box then strode heavily down the hallway towards the call center canteen. She had earlier cooked pork chop with mango ensalada for her lunch -- had to wake up at four in the morning just so she can prepare them, along with her kids' school lunches.

Her two kids are both studying in private elementary schools and she shoulders most of their expenses. She breaks her back and does a lot of over-times just so she can make ends meet. Her husband -- Sonny -- previously left his job in another call center firm because of politics, when he didn't get the promotion he wanted. A junior staff took it away from him. Since then, his ego deserted him, crushed like ice in a blender. A bit over-age, her husband can no longer get a job worthy of his career. Competition is getting younger everyday. What's left are meager jobs with meager paychecks. He doesn't want them.

That's when her husband decided to put up his own sales business, selling computer hardware. He thought they'd sell well considering today's modern technology era. He used their conjugal bank account to set everything up. It was a risk -- but he thought a former senior manager has no place to go but up and become a businessman.

He wakes up an hour later than Marjorie. She doesn't make him lunch. He has to eat at restaurants. He's a struggling businessman. He has to impress a lot of people -- friends and clients -- just so he can make them buy his stuff. These days, sales have been bad. But he cannot let his clients know. He has to maintain that "successful" image, lest they'd shy away from him. Then business will get worst. He buys expensive gadgets and signature clothes to keep up with his clients. He plays tennis with them, drinks beer with them and socializes with them.

Marjorie does not mind. She herself had built a "socialite" image among her friends. She wears fake signature clothing, passing them off as originals and genuine. Her friends know they're fake but act as if they don't. They know what happened, that Marjorie and her husband are getting poorer everyday. But they pity Marjorie. A co-worker in the call center, Eve, helps her most of the time -- lends her money and pays up their lunch-outs. Eve had been kind and Marjorie depended on her. They become close friends.

One Sunday morning, Marjorie's husband left early to play tennis with his clients. He told her it's a big sale if he closes the deal. He has to be there. Feeling obliged and hoping to earn big from this sale, Marjorie has to say yes. And so, her husband left at 9 o'clock sharp.

Marjorie was cooking lunch when her mobile phone rang. It was her husband's sister -- Stephanie. It was bad news. After ending their call, she hurriedly dialed her husband's number. No answer. She tried again. And again and again. He must be inside the tennis court that's why he's not answering. But she has to deliver the news to him. She quickly dressed up and took a taxi.

It was a thirty-minute taxi ride. She arrived at the local sports club in no time. She ran towards the tennis court and looked for her husband. He's not there. She went around looking for him but to no avail. Only one place to look for: the club's car park. Maybe her husband is preparing to go home.

The world seemed to go in slow-motion as she looked from one car bay to another. She remembers quite clearly what her husband's sister told her:
"Hi, Marjorie, Stephanie here. There's been an accident. Please tell Sonny our grandma's at St. Margareth's Hospital."

Marjorie's head is swirling. She knows how her husband loved his grandma. She herself loved her, too. Tears roll down her cheeks as she loses hope of finding Sonny:
"Sonny's got to be there! Grandma's hit hard on her head. The doctor said it's only a matter of hours before she expires. Hurry, Marjorie, Sonny's got to be there before that happens."

Then, suddenly, she sees Sonny's car! She ran, almost tripping on her feet. She approached the vehicle and was about to tap the car window when she sees something odd inside. A woman's head is moving on top of her husband's crotch -- an up and down motion which can only mean she's giving him a blow job.She can see her husband twitching in pleasure as the woman's head goes faster and faster above him. Marjorie's emotions flooded her, her head about to explode. There is anger. There is hate. She banged the car's window. Hard. Her fist banged the window over and over again -- the glass seem to shatter at her every strike!

The woman inside her husband's car raised her head, wiping semen from her mouth. The woman was shocked to see Marjorie, her eyes opened wide.

Marjorie was equally shocked. She knows the woman. She knows her very well. Her name is Eve.

END