2024-07-31 “I Had An Idea” by Merritt and Hannah

I HAD AN IDEA by Merritt — had to drop by the office to sign some HR papers about the ever-important break-room usage policy that some lawyer wrote. As I was coming out, I ran into Hannah… Hannah Madison, the intern. “Hey, New Guy… I was just thinking about you.” She stopped right in front of me. “How is Merritt today?” “Good morning.” It was sort of cute that she asked about me that way, so I answered accordingly. “Merritt is good, though he wonders why the break room policy even exists. What’s up?” “Lunch?” I agreed.	I HAD AN IDEA by Hannah—A few weeks ago on July 31, I was working at NYC SysCo, an engineering company that has been located in Manhattan for decades. I had, at the time, been interning there to finish my degree from Syracuse University. A couple days earlier, my boss, Will Roberson, had asked me to find a new employee to have a get-to-know you lunch. I found the guy—Merritt Gray—and the three of us had gone out. Then, on the 31st, I ran into him at the office just at lunch time. He had seemed really nice, and he was as handsome as they come, so I thought I’d extend a little courtesy and see what happened.  “Hey, New Guy… I was just thinking about you.” I walked up to him and stopped.  “How is Merritt today?” I don’t know why I phrased it like that, but he smiled and answered. “Merritt is good, though he wonders why the break room policy even exists. What’s up?” I thought it was cute that he replied in third person, in keeping with the question. “Lunch?”
We went back to the store that sold the sandwiches. The conversation was fairly mundane—my morning client, her Internship with Will Robertson, differences between Georgia and New York.She mentioned that she had been promised a job in Mr. Robertson’s department when her Internship ended at the end of August. I walked with her back to the office, thinking that seemed appropriate, but I didn’t go inside. I had to get across town to my next client. The company pays for Lyft rides for me, so I put in an order for one and waited. As I was waiting, I had the idea—If the time-shift powers that be had been at play with Emma, they probably were at play with me. And that Will Roberston and I took a couple of classes together only to find me working in a firm where he’s one of the division directors—well, it’s not impossible given how many people were at Georgia, but… So the idea is that whatever metaphysics is going on is still going on. We may not know why we are are here, but whatever is behind all this is still making things—or at least influencing things around us. That, somehow, feels a little better.	We went back to the store Will had taken us to, had a nice lunch and good chat. We talked mostly about his morning, my Internship, and what it was like in Georgia, where he was from, compared to New York. He walked me back to the office like a good gentleman. As I went inside I got the idea that I would like to see about getting to know him better. Nice, handsome, smart guys who act like a gentleman are worth checking out. I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I was looking forward to trying.