Rubber Band

So today my mom sent me an e-mail. It was about a rubber band that I gave to her boss over a year ago. He still has it and it's hanging in his home office.

So the story goes like this. My mom had a boss named John when I was growing up. He was always really nice to both of us, but then all the people in her office were really sweet to me. As I got older, he got promoted a few times. He was still above my mom, but more from a distance. Her companies fiscal year was always the same as the annual year, so every New Year's Eve we had to stay there late, sometimes missing the celebrations. On the eve of the big Y2K freak out, John stayed with us while we ate pizza and watched the fireworks from the windows. After not too long, John and I were both bored out of our minds as there was nothing for either one of us to do since we were both just "supervising." We started flinging rubber bands at each other. From that night on we would fire off a rubber band whenever we saw each other. My mom got upset about it actually. She wasn't really down with her daughter assaulting her "head hancho" boss with rubber bands. He didn't seem to mind, but she was always a bit on edge.

About a year and a half ago her company got sold. My mom was lucky enough to have just moved into a position in the company that the new company planned on keeping (as it turns out, John personally maneuvered that one). However, not all positions were being kept, like everyone in her old department and some of the higher-ups. One of the people hitting the road was John. In good stride he talked about his plans to go to Law School and become a lawyer. One evening there was a big party for the big-wigs who were leaving. Since I'd grown up with these people and I'd worked at the company for a few summers, it was only natural that I was there. When it was my turn to say good-bye to John, I gave him a big hug and handed him a rubber band. I thought it was cute, silly really.

My mom just got an e-mail from a friend who's friend's with John. Somehow he got to talking about the rubber band hanging on the wall in his home office and told her the story about me. The friend e-mailed my mom, who e-mailed me. I started crying as I read it. I couldn't believe a stupid piece of rubber would affect someone that much. I certainly never believed he'd keep it.

Anyway, that's my story.