I slept like a rock after jerking off with Lowell over the phone. It was one of the sexiest things I’d ever done with another guy. All the time, a tiny little voice in the back of my head was asking whether I should reconsider and not do it. That was part of what made it so exciting.

Lowell had another work night, so I had to wait one more day before getting to see him in person. Then we had softball practice the next night. I didn’t know if I could handle it. I wanted him in my arms and in my bed. I could honestly say I had a huge amount of fun with Lowell whether we were hanging out or we were rolling around on the couch or in bed. It was a nonstop great time.

I hoped that I could convince him to stay over after softball practice. I probably wouldn’t get much sleep and end up dragging myself into work the next day, but it would already be Thursday. I could suffer through the day if I had Lowell with me in the morning.

Driving across the bridge toward downtown and work, I rolled down the car window and sang along with the 80s songs on the radio at the top of my lungs. My world had become an awesome place, and I was determined that nothing could bring me down.

I was a little early arriving at work, and my favorite parking spot in the garage was still available. I said to myself, “Damn, Sven, you’re living right now.”

I strode into the bank building with confidence in my steps. My colleagues all had smiles on their faces when they saw me. I heard a chorus of “Good morning, Sven,” and “It looks like you’re having a good day so far, Sven.”

Anita stopped me on the way to the coffee maker and asked, “What’s up with the huge smile first thing in the morning? Normally, you’re still trying to pry your eyes fully open.”

I hiked the messenger bag a little higher on my shoulder and said, “Life’s good, Anita. I guess that’s the only way to explain it. Life is really good.”

“And you’re in love, Mr. Paulsen. Romance looks good on you.”

I watched the coffee stream into my mug and said, “I won’t go that far quite yet, but yes, romance is a lot of fun. All it takes is a little risk, and then the world is an amazing place, Anita.”

“Risk, Mr. Paulsen? Are you sure that’s really you talking?”

I retrieved my mug and took my first sip. With a nod, I replied, “That’s what I said. Maybe I’ve got a new outlook on the world.”

I worked my way around cubicles as I headed toward my office. Anita was at my shoulder. She said, “This makes me a little nervous. I’ve always kind of appreciated your steadfast, sturdy, predictable…”

I interrupted and said, “Boring, too?”

She said, “We work in a bank, Mr. Paulsen. Don’t people depend on us to be a little on the boring side?”

I chuckled and opened the door to my office. I said, “Maybe you do have a point there. Why don’t you leave me a few minutes of think time on my own this morning, and then I’ll be out to discuss the schedule for the rest of the day.”

“Got it, Mr. Paulsen. I still have those reports from yesterday to keep me busy in the meantime.” I grabbed the doorknob to close my door. Anita stuck her head in one more time and said, “I’m happy for you. You’re so very handsome when you smile.”

I laughed and closed the door. Sitting in my chair, I swiveled around to look out over Lake Michigan. I pulled my hands up behind my head and exhaled deeply. I could remember just a couple of months ago trudging into work facing what felt like a mountain of papers and meetings that was only growing larger by the day. Now, somehow, Anita and I made real progress in shrinking it all to a manageable level.

I rarely suggested any alterations to usual plans and process when I met with my superiors. I was the young executive who accepted all tasks with a confident smile and a nod. I followed company precedent, and I assured everybody that I could get the job done. Suddenly, I was starting to feel itchy about wanting a more active role in setting strategies and goals.

Turning back around in my chair, I fired up my computer and looked at my schedule for the week. At first glance, at least one third of my time was occupied by meetings of one sort or another. I shook my head. It was a wonder that I ever got anything accomplished.

I took a closer look at the meetings and those who would be in attendance. It occurred to me that there was a lot of duplication going on. I wondered whether some of the meetings could be collapsed together for the sake of efficiency. We might need to move them to a larger conference room to accommodate more people, but the time saved would be worth it.

The same groups also met very frequently. I thought about sitting in the room listening to the same reports week after week with barely perceptible changes in the data reported. I wondered if we could meet half as often and get twice as much done.

I stood up from my desk and opened the door. Anita looked up from her computer immediately. I crooked a finger at her and gestured for her to join me in the office. She grabbed her tablet computer and was instantly on her feet.

“Anita, close the door. I have something I want to talk over with you.”

Her face took on a worried countenance for a moment. She asked, “Did I do something wrong, Mr. Paulsen?”

I smiled and said, “Oh, no, definitely not, but I have an idea I want to present to the execs. An idea for some changes in the meetings. I wanted to run it by you to see if it sounds solid.”

She reached up and raked her fingers through the raven black hair tossing it over her shoulder. “You have an idea to present to them, Mr. Paulsen? You want them to change? I think I’m a little confused.”

I laughed out loud and asked, “Am I really that bad? I never have any new ideas?”

She blushed and immediately said, “But you do a great job, Mr. Paulsen, and you’re easy to work with.”

Shaking my head, I said, “Maybe it’s time for me to change a little bit.” I explained some of my ideas about the meetings. Anita scribbled notes on her tablet with a stylus. I asked, “How does that sound?”

She shrugged slightly. “It sounds very sensible, Mr. Paulsen. Having extra time to get real work done is a great thing. You’re going to present that today?”

“Today,” I said.

“I’ll be nervous, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”

---

By the end of the day, I was beaming, and my personal confidence took a huge leap forward. At first everyone was as shocked as Anita that I was boldly putting new ideas forward, even if they were only about how we worked internally.

When I suggested half as many meetings, Ollie Hunter, my immediate superior, looked around the room. He said, “I guess I can’t come up with a real logical argument against this. I suspect most of us would like fewer meetings, and Paulsen is right, we do spend a lot of time rehashing the same information.” He looked around the room and asked, “What do the rest of you think? For once, I’ll avoid making a unilateral decision.”

I watched as my colleagues stared at each other, and then one of them clapped. He was joined by others, and soon I was receiving a roomful of applause for my idea. Ollie said, “I guess I will see you all in two weeks then instead of next week. I will still call an emergency meeting if we need one, but I’m not expecting anything.”

As we filed out of the conference room, I received multiple pats on the back and, “Good job, Paulsen,” comments.

I eagerly explained the changes to Anita. She said, “Let me make the changes on the calendar right now, Mr. Paulsen.” Then she said, “You only have five minutes to make it to the next meeting.”

I said, “Wish me luck on this one, too.”

The response to my suggestion about collapsing two meetings into one were met with the same enthusiasm as I received from Ollie Hunter earlier in the day. This time, I heard the comment, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It was followed by, “We need more practical minds around like yours, Paulsen. Good job.”

I spent the last twenty minutes of my day relaxing behind my desk. Anita asked if she could bring me a victory cup of coffee, and I said, “Of course.”

She handed me the mug across the desk and then said, “If this is what happens when you really fall in love, Mr. Paulsen, I sort of wish it happened even earlier.”

I pulled my hands up behind my head and said, “No need to rush anything. Life unfolds the way it should. We just have to be open to the opportunities.”

“Or maybe make a few opportunities of our own?” asked Anita.

I laughed and said, “Now you’re sounding like Lowell. He likes to take risks.”

She said, “As long as they aren’t too risky, that sounds exciting.”

“Is jumping out of a plane risky?”

Anita said, “Not if your parachute works correctly.”

I drove home that evening even happier than I was first thing in the morning. I was missing Lowell, but I only had one more day to wait. He would be back in my arms soon. Meanwhile, when I took the little risks at work, I felt like he was right at my shoulder urging me on.

When I got out of the car, there was a note from my contractor. He said that he could start on the patio roof or any other project that I suggested. I beamed. Life really was looking up.

I folded the note up and stuck it in my pocket while I dropped my bag on the kitchen table. I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and headed to the living room to sprawl out on the couch.

That’s when I noticed it. Looking up, I saw the leak stain on the ceiling was twice the size it was when I last paid attention to it. It rained over night, so apparently the leak started up again.

I could feel the agitation start to rise in the back of my throat, but then the beer chased it all the way back to my gut. I leaned back on the couch, thought about the note in my pocket, and then I relaxed. I had Lowell, and I had a new outlook on life. No little house problems could derail my good mood.