Living Without Dreams

Chapter 31 - Ingene Pharma

Walking back into the office building at Ingene Pharma, where Susan worked for eight years before being involved in the RDW plane crash, felt good in a way. But doing so following a four and a half year absence felt surreal. So did being escorted into the office area as a guest.

“You’re back!”

Three separate people stopped Susan and her escort in the hall to greet her on their way to Carolyn’s office in an attempt to chat.

“I’m here to meet with Carolyn,” she told them. “It is so good to see you!”

“Are you coming back?” one asked.

“That’s what I’m here to find out,” Susan told them.

“We should probably be going,” her escort prompted.

“Right,” Susan said and she followed him down the familiar corridors, smiling broadly as she arrived at her manager’s office door … the same one Carolyn had been in since before Susan’s trip.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” Carolyn said rising to give Susan a hug.

“I can hardly believe it myself,” Susan agreed.

“Welcome back, and hello,” Carolyn said more formally as the two women released one another.

“Thank you,” Susan said with a smile.

“That has got to be the longest business trip on record,” Carolyn teased.

“What? You mean it was only supposed to be four and a half days not four and a half years?” Susan quipped in mock surprise. “You should have said something earlier!”

Carolyn grinned. “I only wish that would have made a difference. I can’t tell you how horrible it was around here when we learned your plane never made it to Sydney … and then we discovered why. You never expect plane crashes you hear about on the news to ever affect someone you actually know.”

“No, you don’t,” Susan agreed. “Nor do you ever expect to be in them. I’m back though … finally. That’s what matters.”

“It does. It definitely does. And you look whole and functional. Are you?” Carolyn asked. “Are you okay?”

Susan smiled. “I’m better than okay. There have been some pretty major changes to my life as a result of all this … I got divorced and married again, we’ve adopted a little girl … and  I’m happier now in my private life than I’ve ever been.”

“That’s good to hear,” Carolyn said. “And you’re alive … that’s the first thing I’m supposed to confirm for HR by the way, so I can definitely check that box.”

Susan smiled again. “What else does HR need to know?”

“They need to know if you’re coming back,” Carolyn told her, shifting into manager mode. “Are you?”

“That sort of depends,” Susan said. “To be honest, I do need a job, Carolyn. But I don’t live in this area anymore, so I’m not sure I could do the sort of job I was doing when I disappeared.”

“That’s what you were saying on the phone. But I think if we focus on that, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. What if we concentrate on one thing at a time? If a good fit could be found, do you intend to come back? As an employee I mean, independent of where you live.”

“Yes. Definitely. This is a good company. I’ve always been proud of having been employed here … and our cross-training programs we have available to our internal employees here have made all the difference for me,” Susan shared. “Do you remember that web design class I took the month before I left?”