The Workaholic – Haibun Thinking # 4

The Workaholic

Jules was a workaholic, there was no doubt about that.  He’d go into the office at least a half an hour before anyone else and wouldn’t leave before 8:00.  He often went to the office even during the week ends and holidays. He’d always loved his work and he’d never married.

He’d been with the company for 40 years, and at 65, he was getting ready to go into retirement.  He’d thought a lot about retirement.  Finally, he said to himself, he could relax, he need not worry about his career.

The day came. The company offered him a dinner, and gave him a brand new MacBook Air.  The next morning, he woke-up at dawn as usual, only this time he had nowhere to go.  He stared at the ceiling.  Finally he got up and went for a walk.  Through-out the morning with nothing to do he found that he was bored.  What was he to do with all that endless time he had on his hands he wondered.

He might have ended up like many retirees, with a sinking feeling of being useless and decrepit, if it hadn’t been for his ex-secretary, who’d  gone into retirement a year before him.  She called him at noon and invited him for afternoon tea.  Then she began to involve him in various volunteer projects of which she was a member.  He also began to write short stories about his office adventures and actually sold them.  One day, he asked her to marry him, and she did.  They then began to travel.

sudden life changes
without an elastic mind
dangerous combo

Written for Haibun Thinking!