Redux Vol1 Ch18: At rock bottom there is only one direction to go...

He couldn't believe this.

He was sitting in the office of his manager, along with five other people, each one of them were currently looking at the slip of paper in their hands.

Mr. Jack Merensi

1918 Street Rd.

Hallpoint, MN 55450

Dear Jack,

This letter confirms our discussion today that you are being laid off from your employment with our business effective immediately.

Unfortunately, economic conditions in the industry have resulted in slow sales.

We decided to eliminate your department and all positions in it. Functions done by your department will move to shelve stocking and be handled by existing employees in that department.

You will receive one week’s severance pay for each year that you have worked for our company. In your case, with 1 year(s) of employment, you will receive 1 week(s) of severance pay at your normal weekly salary. During the time period that the severance covers, we will continue to provide health insurance coverage.

Additionally, payment for your accrued PTO will be included in your final paycheck* which you will receive on our regular payday, Friday. You may pick up this check from the reception desk or we can mail it to your home…

What was this shit? The entire department was being let go of? And on top of that, they didn't even care enough to write up a document for this situation they just used a generic one and filled in the blanks? Jack was pretty damn sure that if he went online and googled a pink slip he would find one that was almost identical to this one, with only a word here or there changed. Jack looked over at Jessika and Jean, they too were sitting here reading this load of bullshit. He looked at the boss who was currently sitting behind the desk and facing the group of individuals numbly reading about their lives falling apart.

“I am truly sorry, it is always unfortunate when we have to cut positions, but with the economy, and the rise in minimum income that just hit us we don't have the resources to keep you employed, unfortunately.” This was the way things went, Jack knew it, this was the cost of idiots thinking minimum income needed to go up, most of those people were either ignorant of the realities of life or didn't actually care as it had no effect on them and they simply wanted to pat themselves on the back because ‘Look I did a good thing!’ This was the natural response of a company as they were forced to pay more per worker, after all, no company in the history of man would want to make less money than it had previously, so they cut positions gave those duties to the poor bastards that survived the cut, and should they complain about the extra load of work then they would be replaced by someone who was just happy to have a job. Jack knew all of this, intellectually, it just sucked majorly when it happened to him and was not just some nebulous idea. “This is my least favorite part of my job...” that fat ass said.

“Cut the shit,” Jack growled he had had enough of this prick, everyone here knew the asshat didn't actually care, you could hear it in his voice as he went on about how terribly sorry he was in a monotone.

“Excuse me?” He spluttered, he was not used to people talking back to him, this as for all intents and purposes a new experience in his books and Jack could tell he was struggling to figure out what to do with the situation.

“We all know you don't give a shit about us it's really not that hard to see. You have never cared about the workers.” There, he had said it, and with those words, he knew he would never be getting a good reference from this place for the rest of his working life. Oh well, he would just have to burn that bridge when he came to it as it were.

“I care very much about the workers!”

“Is that so? Why then did you not warn us these were coming?” Jack asked, he stood up and his chair fell over with a loud bang as it hit the laminate of the floor causing the fat bastard to flinch. “And don't say some shit about you didn't know, because I heard rumors these were coming before today, you could have given us a heads up, allowed us time to start looking for a new job, I don't know something.” That was what ground his gears more than anything, sure he was upset about losing the job, but a good boss would have addressed the issue and told everyone that was at risk to start looking for alternatives instead of just springing this on them.

“Now- I-”

“And don't even get me started about how piss poor this entire shebang is,” he held up the now crumpled legal document of termination. “You couldn't even spend five seconds typing up a document that fucking pertains to us? No? You just google this shit and change a few words?” He knew he had hit the nail on the head when the asshole's cheeks flushed.

“Now listen here-”

“ And then there is the fact that you brought us all in here together, getting laid off or fired or whatnot is supposed to be a private matter instead you brought us all in here together.” Jack slammed his hands down on the desk aggressively.”What, too afraid to be alone in here with us? You coward” He snarled “we all know about those nice bonuses you have been getting, tell me, how's the new Porsche handle? Maybe you wouldn't have to let go of so many people if you would stop lining your fucking fat pockets with cash!”

Jack emphasized his point by leaning over the table a little more each time he spoke, the manager was now sweating bullets and attempting to lean back into his chair to get as far away from Jack as possible. He would have punched the man if he hadn't looked so pathetic, as it was however he knew

“Jack let's go,” Jessika pulled on Jack’s arm, “there's no need to waste your breath with a fuckwad like this.” Still giving the man an angry look Jack allowed himself to be pulled out of the room by Jessika and Jean.

“Now what?” Jean asked after they had exited the store, she looked slightly stunned, more out of it than Jack had ever seen her, and it simply made his anger spike again.

“Now we look for new jobs...” Jessika said with a shrug that was more casual and relaxed than she actually felt, it looked jerky than normal like she had to force her muscles to do the movement. She looked up at Jack. “And I would suggest you not write Mr. Fatass back there as a reference.”

“No?” Jack asked with a half-smile.

“Definitely not.” Jean laughed.

***

It had been quite some time since he was laid off, and in that time he had relentlessly filled out application after application. He knew from the glance in the mirror this past morning that he had bags under his eyes and had not shaved in a week or so, and was currently looking a little scraggly.

“How's it going, babe?” Hisra asked, Jack just answered with a grunt. He thought nothing of it until he heard a small sniff, looking he saw Hisra standing there silently crying, he felt a spike of irrational anger at her and tamped it down, he didn't need this, didn't need any more drama. “Why won't you talk to me? You haven't talked to me in almost a week, all I get are grunts.” It was true, he had been awfully short with her since he had been laid off, not doing much more than filling out applications. “I can help you, please let me help!” she begged him, tears silently falling down her face, “All I want to do is help, but I can't if you don't talk to me.”

“I need to find a job so we can keep living here, rent is due in two weeks and if I don't find a job soon we might not have a place to live.” He closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths, mentally tallying the places that might have a position open for him in the nearby area. He turned back to his laptop and was about to start job hunting again when Hisra placed her hand on his.

“I am here, you don't need to do things alone.” she said, “Please let me help.” Something snapped in him and he jerked his hand away from hers, turning to look at her, his face twisted up in a snarl.

“How?! Do you have a job for me!? Can you magically poof in some cash to help me out with the bills huh huh?!” he snapped at her. Jack stopped himself when he realized what he was doing, but the damage was already done, Hisra was pulled back, a look of fright and hurt on her face, and Mina was hiding behind the couch peeking up over it at him. They all stood there, looking at each other for a moment before she put her chin up, and angrily swiped at her face, wiping away the tears“Hisra I-”

She turned, moving quickly and decisively, and grabbed Mina by the hand before walking into the room and slamming the door shut. It shook several of the pictures hanging on the wall and even caused a framed poster to fall off of its hook. “Hisra wait I-” there was no response from the other side, except the soft sound of Hisra crying, he reached for the door nob but stopped himself, not sure if he was just going to screw things more. “Fuck!” he grabbed the back of the couch flipping it over before sinking down to his knees, resting his head on them, and starting to cry himself. There were very few words to explain how much of a piece of shit he felt like at that moment. She hadn't deserved that, not even slightly, he had been so focused on getting a new job so he could provide for the three of them he had isolated himself in a box of despair and foul moods.

Hisra and Mina deserved better than that.

“I'm sorry,” he said softly, it was a tough thing to say for him, those two words, he knew they didn't hear them, how could they, but something about saying them felt like a vow, like a promise to do better if he was given the chance.