Last call

I almost said "fart". They heard the mischief creeping up in my voice. The caller was driving and had to pull over to write down the new company's number. He even said "I thought maybe I could just remember it, but I'm not going to." This was my Golden Moment.

"I have an easy way for you to remember that", I said in a dark tone, turning to to see excited heads popping up over the next row of cubes in eager anticipation. I shook my head "no" at them, because I saw reality (aka "severance pay") potentially hanging in the balance. I did not say "fart". I just said the number.

Had the caller asked "what is this easy way you speak of?", I may have considered it, but he didn't tempt me any further down that path. He pulled over too soon and had a writing implement close at hand.

I don't feel that I let my coworkers down. Rather, I felt a moment of psychic connection with them all, because even if we weren't doing it in reality, we were all thinking it together.