Memoir | The Women | Part VI of VI

I was working as a receptionist in a Congressional Bureau at the Department of Prominence, I was 26 years of age. Two women in my office were best friends. Their names were Lynette and Carolyn. They were always together. They arrived at work in the morning together, they went to lunch together, they took work breaks together, and they departed from work together. They ruled the office and often made my work life challenging, yet ironically, I ended up being the one to help one of them out of a tricky situation!

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Lynette and I were the receptionists in my office, so we sat across from each other in the reception area. She was a senior receptionist. Carolyn worked in a separate office in our office suite, alongside my supervisor. Carolyn was the office’s human resources specialist.

Both Carolyn and Lynette smoked cigarettes, so they often went out at the same time on cigarette breaks outside the building. Lynette was the heavier smoker; she smoked a cigarette every thirty minutes.

When I spoke to them on any matter, they always seemed to speak to me in a derogatory way. While they were talking to me, their facial expressions were anger as if I were annoying them while in their presence. Sometimes, I would be afraid to ask them questions about any work-related issues. They made it hard for me to work in partnership with them.

I never experienced meanness towards me in the housing projects, so I was in a world far beyond it.

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One day, Carolyn went out to lunch. When she returned, she smelled like a marijuana factory, and her eyes were bloodshot red. In my opinion, I figured she was high as a kite!

I could not believe this woman was smoking an illegal drug during her lunch hour, and I found out about it.

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Marijuana was not legal in Washington, D.C. back in 1987. Nonetheless, I certainly knew what marijuana smelled like and how people’s eyes change once the illegal drug is inside their system.

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Boy, oh boy, was I happy to finally have some dirt on one of those mean women! Carolyn made a stupid move, so I would only be able to be mean to her.

I thought about calling security to tell them Carolyn smelled like marijuana since it was an illegal drug, and she was high on a drug while working inside a federal government building.

I relished that moment of striking back!

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After thinking for a long time about destroying Carolyn’s career, I decided to tell her that she smelled like a burning marijuana plant. When I told her that, she seemed alarmed and said, “I do?” My reply was, “Yes, you smell like marijuana! You should go outside and walk around the building until that smell comes out of your clothes, hair, and skin.”

Carolyn got up from her chair quickly, grabbed her purse, and went back outside to air herself off from that strong stench of marijuana. When Carolyn returned, she smelled like a perfume factory, and there was no residue of the marijuana scent left on her clothes and hair.

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Following the “Marijuana-gate” scandal with Carolyn, she and Lynette started being nice to me.

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Later, Lynette passed away from cancer, which was caused by her excessive smoking.

Carolyn was reassigned to work in the Human Resources Office, as the new staff did not want her on their team. I took satisfaction in the fact that the new team rejected her. They held on to me because, in my mother’s view, I was a light-skinned woman.

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Soon after, I moved to another job at the Department of Prominence. Then I resigned from being a federal government employee to work as a federal government contractor in another government building in Washington, District of Columbia (DC).

Working as a contractor was lucrative, but I realized later that contracting work was too scary because they could fire you in the blink of an eye, so I sought to get back into the federal government to work, which gave me more security.

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When I re-applied to go back to work in the federal government, Carolyn was the person at the Department of Prominence, Human Resources Division who certified me to be selected for the position that I applied for. One day, as I ran into her in the corridor of the building, she revealed that she had seen my name and made sure I got the job.

One does reap what one sows.

I am glad I was never mean to Carolyn, after all!

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(Copyright © 2025 by Mia Z. Edwards. All rights reserved.)