Unheard Words

He announced it as the door closed. Mr. Daniel Barrington at the head of the large oak table bellowed, but it registered as a whisper once Althea Groves, 41, had left the room. She stopped short and looked at the door. It seemed like an albatross spread its wings just at the entrance, but this became a phantasm. As Althea walked away. What did he say?

It plagued her consciousness. The inky black skin which covered her bones began to get goose pimples in the late summer afternoon in 1977. The Wilmington, Delaware air hung in it a humidity and uncertainty. She wanted to know what had been said. A simple navy blue suit with gold lining adorned her body. Like a thread unspooling through her consciousness, a line of thought ran from when she left the office building to when she reached her car. What did he say? Mr. Barrington, the president of Mr. Bank Card credit card services division, had appointed Althea to be the first black senior vice president of the firm. She had graduated with honors from New Sweden University in Wilmington. By beginning in bucket shops and grinding her way upwards, ever upwards, she had eked out an existence of regard, of style, of truth.

She knew she had to leave. It seemed like the words had not even been considered. Despite her slight dread, she continued on to her car and drove to her home. Her husband, Eldridge Groves, a financier and a dreamer himself met her with a kiss. He wore a starched white shirt and jeans. A short ‘Fro sat atop his head. He peered down at her. They sat at the kitchen table.

“Something’s wrong,” she said.

“Yes? Tell me.”

Their two children, one ready to go to high school, the other ready for college came into the kitchen and Althea became mum.

“How’s the youth center, you two?”

“Fine,” the boy with a microphone afro called. He wore a burgundy striped shirt with the number seven in yellow across the chest.

“Great, Dad,” Sheila replied. She had plaits in her hair. She wore a skirt and blouse the color of magenta. Her ticket had been sealed to go to university in the fall. With a kiss on the cheek, she departed from the room with her younger brother. The parents beamed, if only briefly.

“Now, what is this you’re concerned with, my love?” Deep furrows in Groves’ brow appeared as he asked the question.

“I–I don’t know what he said….”

“Who said what?”

“Dan. I was leaving the door and just went to my car in a rush.”

“Did you have some kind of emergency?”

“No. I just had to get out of there.”

“Tell me what you think he said….” Groves pressed with a gentleness.

“I dare not wag my tongue to forfeit my good judgement,” Althea replied.

“It’s okay. He probably just said you were sharp in your fine clothes.”

“In passing, in front of the rest of the board...I don’t think so.”

Groves sighed. “I’m just trying to piece together this puzzle and make sure my wife has a job in the morning.”

“I’m not even worried about that to be honest. I have been able to carve out a career based on sweat and thought. I’ve been able to be an asset for that firm for close to two decades. I finally got promoted to senior vice president and I’m now haunted by words unheard.”

“C’mon. We’ll go for a drive. Sheila can watch her brother.”

The two piled into a brown and silver muscle car. During the ride, Althea kept her head aloft despite the pangs of not knowing. Every inch of the road felt like a needle entering her mind.

“Relax, honey,” Groves reassured. “I know you’re keeping your head up just to keep from wallowing in your misery. We’ll go to the Corner Deli on Route 13. Two sweet potato pies with whipped cream and black coffee ought to quell the raging forces inside you.” His smile did not mock and it actually gave a boost to Althea’s mood.

Once their orders had been placed before them, they cut into the slices and sipped the coffee.

“I think he said…no. I think he might have said that I…was being replaced.”

“No. Don’t even consider that. You’ve been a stalwart at that company. If anyone should be clearing his desk, it’s Daniel Barrington. What is he like eighty now?”

“Eighty-one.”

“See, there you go.”

“I don’t think it was that, though. A whisper on the wind from an office space shadows my dusky thoughts,” Althea responded.

“I know that’s right. Your steadfast mind beckons with the righteousness of all of your pursuits,” Groves offered as he finished off his pie.

“I know that whatever was said, no one got up and motioned for me to return to the room,” Althea observed her hands smoothing out her suit bottom.

“The minutes!” Groves finally exclaimed.

“The what-–oh, yes, the minutes….Stacey would have recorded what had been said. That’s all I have to do. I’ll march in there tomorrow morning and discover just what that man Dan had spoken about in regard to me.” She finished her pie and coffee.

“Let’s get home before our children get to wondering where we are.”

Groves' medium brown hand reached out to comfort his wife. “Everything’s going to be alright. Once you see that whatever has been said, no matter what, you will have discovered the truth.”

Upon their return to their house, there seemed to be an eerie sense, the warm August air crept through the house from an open window. Groves shut it.

Their two children had been in the den playing video games. The eeriness melted away as the two young adults looked for respite in their bedrooms. Althea and Groves still sat at the kitchen table. They looked into each others’ brown eyes.

“That fleeting moment when you went out of the room…what did you want to say?” Groves queried, rubbing his hands together.

“I don’t know. I just wanted to get outta there. I don’t know. Was it a panic attack? Was it an inkling of an idea that I wanted to explore?”

“Keep going….” Groves suggested.

Althea shook her head. “I don’t know. I think it’s just a combination of the change in the air with the Mr. Bank merger with BankColumbia.”

“Do you think it had something to do with that? Like Dan was saying that he had wanted you to stay as they ironed out all the details?” Groves’ eyes widened as he asked his wife these questions.

“No, no, no, no. I’m saying that he could have already made the deal and that everything had been in motion. He may have wanted my expertise. He may have wanted my abilities.”

Groves grew quiet for a moment. He looked at Althea and thought about how she considered this whole thing. He scratched the back of his neck and then placed his fingers down on the kitchen table with a firmness and eloquence that befit some dignitary.

“I understand you’re trying to piece this puzzle together. With those minutes, we should be able to get the words for sure. Why wait ‘til morning?” Groves eyebrows rose on his face like bridges.

“What?”

“We can take a ride over there and see what exactly was said.” Groves sounded grave.

“We’re not going to break into the office complex. That’s out of the question. What are you thinking, Eldridge?”

“Whatever will ease my wife’s mind will make everything fine. Now, I’m going to go over there and see if I can’t talk to the desk clerk or someone.”

“Everyone’s home. You know that. Why are you taking it this far?” Althea breathed heavier and her words became curt.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to commit breaking and entering at my job just to satisfy an unknown string of verbiage,” Althea spoke with confidence, now. The sense she made caused Eldridge to think about what she had just said. In a moment he had risen from the table and walked over to her.

“Good night, my dear. And don’t stay up half the night worrying about a thing.” Groves made his way to their bedroom on the next level. Althea laughed to herself. She held her arms and gave a good chuckle. Then the dread returned. Groves talked about going over to the office and demanding the notes just to give her peace of mind seemed altogether valiant, chivalrous, and foolish. Not to mention criminal. They had fostered a steady upper middle class home with a pool in the back and color TVs. She basked in the idea of not knowing, now. The dream she had thought she dreamt while still awake had still not settled into her person just yet.

She steadied herself. As she lifted from the table to go upstairs, she walked and like dust being kicked up, every step produced a tiny bit of thought. One step showed in her mind something positive, the next to the worst case scenario. Though there remained some solace in the idea of going to Stacey the next morning, she wanted to sleep. She stood on the landing and looked down at the keys to the muscle car. Her eyes glazed over in a moment. Next, she journeyed down to the gym in the basement and donned a sweatsuit and sneakers, all black. She walked back up the stairs and unhooked the keys from the wall mount. She pressed the button for the garage door to open. It made a gurgling sound. No other commotion of any kind arose in the Groves house. In her thoughts, she experienced a flurry of ideas. She could almost grasp them though, in some way she had never discovered.

Behind the wheel of the car, she turned the key and heard the engine whinny with all of the horsepower. The low rumble of the engine seemed like a balm to her weary soul. By galloping in her fiberglass horse into the night, she grabbed onto the steering wheel and shifted gears with aplomb. A coolness washed over her with every ounce of confidence. Each mile spelled a wondrous amount of power and grace. Careful not to blow past stop signs or red lights, she followed the rules of the road. Everything she had wondered about made her keep going. Not a moment in time could reckon with what she sensed. All of her vigor had been placed on the pedal of the vehicle. Every pain and idea of mystery had been pushed into driving. The power of her excellent skill in handling showed itself as she squeezed past every curve.

Ideas kept bubbling up to the surface of her consciousness. Each notion brought her closer and closer to her destiny. Whatever would transpire in the next few moments would be a beacon in the wasteland of all the ill-thoughts. This ride required her to possess the most diligence and clarity. With precision, she lasered in on her objective and maintained a tight grip.

The car eased up to the corporate complex. Glass windows looked like teeth with some lights illuminating whole rows. Althea looked at her goal. To position herself in the role of a robber about to plunder loot, she stalked stealthily, noticing there had been one car remaining in the parking lot: Barrington’s. She sat in the car for an extended amount of time. Minutes passed. Then, a figure appeared at the door.

“Althea!”

“Mr. Barrington! I didn’t know you’d be here so late.”

“You rushed out earlier. I wanted to formally say you’re succeeding me. I’ll be retiring at the end of the year.”

Althea breathed. “Oh. Well, thank you!”

“By all means. Now you know!”

“So that’s it, sir? Nothing more or less?”

“That’s everything. We’ll draw up formal papers in the morning.”

He returned to his car and his driver opened his door and evaporated into the night.

Althea screamed and banged on her steering wheel in sheer joy. She then started the car and peeled off as well.