He sits at his desk, waiting for the man to come in who is trying to receive a job. He wonders what his wife is cooking at home. “I hope she fixes that casserole.” He regains his sense of existence and looks up when the man walks in. He is appalled by his appearance. “There is no way that Boss is going to let him in,” he thinks. He shakes three other people’s hands before he shakes his. The ruggish man says his name was Chris Garner.
Chris Garner sits on the other side of the table, and puts his hands on the glass desk. He speaks. To the man on sitting at the end of the table’s surprise, he spoke with intelligence and honesty. “A black man working at our company,” he thought, “I don’t want this to happen.” He shuffled his papers, trying to distract him from reeling in his boss. But he knew that this Chris Garner had already hooked him, and was winding the line. He heard Jay say encouraging things about him, and he began to tune them out. He couldn’t embrace the fact that an African American would be here, working a position other than a custodial worker.
“What would you say if I hired a man who came in here without a shirt,” his boss asked.
“Well,” Chris replied, “I would say, he must’ve had on some really nice pants.” They all laughed together. Except for him, who tried to keep his smile in.
As Chris got up, the man next to Jay grimaced. He watched as the ill-dressed man strolled out of the room.
No comments:
Post a Comment