People thought of them as short days, though, technically speaking they were just as long as any other. But the day before a holiday always seemed to hold a little less pressure to spend the day strictly working. Management, of course, was well aware and had made the decision that putting a stop to it was more trouble than it was worth. And even a manager enjoys some quiet once in a while.
Lots of people take vacation time the day before a holiday, but not Lucy. She would save her vacation for a regular day, thank you. There were plenty of people in the office she enjoyed talking to, and if she could get paid to come in and hang out with her friends, she wasn't about to miss out on it.
On a normal day Lucy would come in a little late, and having had no coffee or breakfast at home, immediately go to the deli cart in the building's lobby. She'd order a bagel and a large, proudly brewed starbucks coffee and chat for a few minutes with the cart's regular attendant, Carlos. Then she'd go upstairs and eat while she checked her email. She would work steadily until lunch, grab a quick bite with a friend or more often sit at her desk with a salad. She'd leave a few minutes early, always with an excuse ready were a member of management to spot her.
Short days were different, though. On short days she's come in early so she and her friends, Janice and Luke, could take a walk to the local coffee shop a block and a half from the building. There they'd sit and relax, and usually talk about work or, at least, about their coworkers. After a half-hour or so, they'd decide it was time to go back to the office, do a little something and wait for lunchtime to come around.
Lunch on a short day was a group trip to a restaurant and micro-brewery several blocks from the building. It was an extra long lunch that almost always involved a beer but almost never two. If no one beat her to it, Lucy would suggest taking the rest of the afternoon off and having a few more rounds. Everyone always agreed that this would be a great idea and that this was the perfect day to do just that, but soon thereafter someone, sometimes Lucy herself, would check his or her watch and announce that it was probably time to be getting back, and back they'd go.
Most people returned from lunch with every intention of making up for time lost slacking off in the morning. Lucy was no different. Everyone rushed into their cubes or offices, sat down at their desks and began to reacquaint themselves with the tasks they needed to get done. This generally lasted an hour, maybe two, but a craving for a diet coke or something sweet from the vending machine would eventually pull them away to the break room where they'd run into a friend, a coworker or a particularly interesting posting on the bulletin board. This signaled the end of work for the day.
People began to slip out about twenty or thirty minutes early on a short day, but not Lucy. She was the last to leave. She'd stay and say goodbye to everyone and wish them a happy holiday. After everyone had gone, she'd sit at her desk, maybe read and reply to an email or two, maybe surf the web a little for handbags or a new book to read. Finally she'd shut down her computer, gather her things, and, after taking a quick tour of the empty cube farm, wander toward the elevator, go down to her car and drive home.
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