I woke up that morning stumbled out of bed stretched and yawned, went in to the bathroom, and took a shower. As I made breakfast, I turned on the news and sat down. It was Saturday, and I didn’t have to go to work, at least I thought that before I heard the Nokia tune that came from my pocket. After talking to my boss, I dressed up and told my wife I had to go to work.
As I drove to work, I wondered why he needed me on a Saturday. I parked my car outside, and went in. I’m an architect at a firm called Watson Inc. I went in to my boss’s office, he was a short and with a stout body, his think black hair had started to become a bit grey, but his bright blue eyes had a youthful spark, and it felt like being x-rayed when he looked at you. “Sit down” he said in a raspy voice. He started talking about opportunities, and that I had lots of potential in this firm. He asked if I was able to design a hotel for some new, and rich customers he had, and how long it would take. I said than I was planning on taking a vacation with my wife and daughter, he interrupted me and said that if I could do this as fast as possible, he would make me partner in the company and I would get rich. I stared at him for long time before I said “I will do it”. I asked what the hurry of this was seeing he had called me on a Saturday, he replied me fast with phrases like “very rich clients”, and “in a hurry”, he kept on mumbling until I asked what the deadline was. “6 days!” I shouted indignant, ‘you want me to design a hotel in 6 days?!”. “I suggest you get started” he said.
I sat down in my office at home, turned on my laptop to have a look at the mail my boss had sent me; it contained info on the hotel. It was going to have six floors, and many rooms in each floor. I moaned, and started looking for ideas at the same time as my wife came in the room. She asked me why I was working on a Saturday. I explained her about the job, and that I would get partner in the firm for it. She said “what about the holiday? What about our Daughter?”, “it will have to be another time”. She looked at me with a disappointed look on her face before she left. I sat up all night working with my idea, and fell asleep in my chair early in the morning.
When I woke up, I at first didn’t remember why I was in my office, but then it all came back to me. The job, the hotel, and the vacation, I let out a big yawn as I went to get myself a slice of bread. I went down to continue working, and after a while my daughter came home from school. She looked at me with a very disappointed look on her face when she saw me working. I had started making the model for the hotel now. I was getting very frustrated over this hotel, because it keeping me away from my family, but on the other hand I would earn a lot of money on it.
The following morning my wife came down to my office and said good morning, and I just grunted a reply, and for some strange reason this made her expression go from annoying, to a mix of that and anger. I tried to understand it, but I couldn’t realize why. After a little while my cell phone made a high beep that signaled that I received a text message, it was from my wife, she said that today was our anniversary but seeing I was too busy working she had decided to take our daughter and leave. I dropped the phone to the floor when I realized what that just had happened, and the world fell apart in front of my eyes. I was devastated, I took up the phone and called my boss and said that I resigned and did not want to work for him again. After that, I called my wife, she did not pick up her phone so I left her a message that I had quit my job, and asked her to come back and to call me as soon as possible. Even though it was midday I fell asleep in the couch.
I felt miserable next morning; I had sacrificed everything that really mattered just to get money. Too late had I realized that I already had something that mattered more. My phone started to ring, it was my wife and I answered it. I tried to explain that I had been blinded of all the money that my boss offered me, and that I didn’t know what I had until I lost it. I said I wanted to take her and my daughter to the vacation we had planned before. She said that it was good I had realized my mistake; she said that I should meet her at a café in town to talk more. I grabbed my coat, and drove to the place where we were going to meet, but I couldn’t see her. I tried to call her nevertheless, she didn’t answer. I drove to the friend she had stayed at, but she said that she had left already. As I drove down the highway I met a big traffic jam, and I turned on the car radio to check if the news said why. They said that it had been a car crash, a woman had died, and her daughter was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, I didn’t think more about it until my phone rang. It was a man sounding worried. I asked how he could call from my wife’s cell phone, he replied by telling me that he was a doctor, and that my wife and daughter had been in an accident, my wife had not survived, but my daughter was injured. He told me to come straight to the hospital. I jumped out of the car, while tears started bursting out. I could not stand in this queue. When I reached the hospital the doctor tried to calm me down, and took me to my daughter.