Social Services

Ireena slumped over her desk. She was tired, even though she had tried to rest the day before. She had snorted a gram of cocaine over the course of the day too, and she had been very prolific with her hobby—decoupage. Her apartment was full of her own art, clippings from magazines and newspapers, pasted together. Each separate collage had its own cipher to be deduced. If Ireena’s art had a message, it was always difficult to determine.
She sprung to action from the sound of footsteps. Her superior, Daniel, walked to her cubicle.
“Are we helping people, Ireena?”
“Yes, I’m working on the file of Reginald Topper.”
“Ah, Topper. How long has he been out of work for?” Daniel quizzed.
“Since his divorce. That’s three years.”
“Drug Addiction?”
“Meth.”
“Children?”
“Four. He is allowed visitation once a week.”
“What’s he trying to get back into?”
“Well, he’s trying to get off the meth right now. It hasn’t been so easy. He’s a bit stubborn.”
“Well, how long do you anticipate?”
“From the reports I’ve read from his rehab facility, he’s already relapsed three times.”
“Three times a charm!”
“Let’s hope. He was an electrician before his divorce, and some of these reports indicate he considers that his only functionality in society. He’ll go back to it once he’s clean.”
“You’re good at what you do, Ireena.”
“I’m lazy though, it just doesn’t appear that way.”
“Modesty is a great quality.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Well, would you like to have lunch with me today?”
Ireena couldn’t say no to her superior. “Sure, just give me two minutes and I’ll meet you outside.”
She saved her documents, grabbed her bag, and put on her sunglasses. She met Daniel outside.
“So what do you want,” he asked.
“Oh let’s just go to a deli or something.”
“That’s easy enough.”
They walked a few blocks together, and Daniel began by suggesting they not talk about work.
“It’s so depressing to talk about that stuff all the time. How was your weekend?”
“Oh it was a real trip, let me tell you.” “Did you go somewhere?”
“No I just stayed in the city.”
“So….how was it a trip?”
“Lots of drugs, I mean, lots of alcohol, lots of crazy people, there was some indiscretion.”
“Well, whatever you do outside the office isn’t my business, but I am curious.”
“In a nutshell, I went to a party Friday night, and I met this guy there, and then the next night we met up again, with a bunch of his friends, and we ended up staying up all night talking and then I just left to go home.” “So, you met a guy?”
“I don’t know, something’s a little bit off with him.” “Really?”
“He’s very quiet, but then jittery, but he’s so nice.”
“So he’s a sociopath.”
“I wouldn’t say that. He pretty much doesn’t participate in society. I wouldn’t say he hates it, he just ignores it.”
“You must have gotten pretty close, talking so long.”
“He talks very well, but he listens better.”
Daniel stopped talking as they entered the deli. Ireena ordered an eggplant sandwich, and Daniel ordered a Reuben.
“I have to ask, just because I’m curious, what does a girl like you look for in a guy?”
“Somebody who’s sharp, but not pretentious about it. Somebody who looks pretty good, but doesn’t constantly admire themselves. Somebody who has some of the same interests as me, but who doesn’t always have to have his way all the time. Somebody who doesn’t go out of their way to prove his superiority. Somebody who doesn’t repeat themselves all the time—somebody whose light is on when I want it to be, and off when it doesn’t make a difference.”
“That’s pretty eloquent. Is money a concern of yours?”
“I’m doing alright for myself. I don’t want a guy who always wants to buy me anything I want, just because he’s afraid of losing my love. I want a guy who is going to buy me a few things that I really want, that make a serious difference to me, and if he knows, he knows.”
“Do you want to settle here?”
“I think so. But I’d hate myself if I didn’t try some other area out first.”
Daniel chewed his sandwich slowly.
“I mean, California has always appealed to me.”
“You’d fit right in there.”
“I’ve heard the people in California are much cooler.”
“Yeah, it’s probably because they’ve got nothing serious to do.”
“Isn’t that kind of a mass generalization?”
“All they want to do is go to the beach and get stoned. Aren’t there finer things in life?”
“Like Hollywood films?”
“Or the rich cultural heritage that stretches all the way across Southern California. The crossroads of Mexico. You can get a real sense of a different country when you’re in that part of the U.S. I also think if you stayed in social services, you’d have plenty of opportunity there. Plus better weather.”
“I don’t know, that’s just a pipe dream at this point.”
“I know what you mean. I feel like I’m locked down in this place for at least the next two years,” Daniel sympathized.
“What about you? What do you look for in a, companion?”
“I base most of my decisions on looks, which probably hasn’t been the best idea. Most of the girls I went out with dumped me after a month or two for another guy. I couldn’t compete with their wallets.”
“All you care about is looks?”
“Well, I can pretty much deal with the most toxic personalities. Looks are irrefutable.”
“Good point. But what about intelligence?” “The dumber the girl, the better. The more intelligent they are, the more likely they are to see that I am probably not the most ideal mate for them.”
“You’re very honest, shockingly so.”
“I don’t like to hide anything. That doesn’t work out so well most of the time.”
“You should probably hide the fact that you like dumb girls. It’s not a very attractive predilection.”
“Yeah…You’re probably right.”
They had finished their lunches and walked back to their office.
“So,” Daniel began, “You think everybody who’s already here is going to stay through the whole Winter?”
“Everybody’s about to go into hibernation. Nobody leaves in Winter—they stay, they just never come out. It’s a different place. But everybody is still technically present.”
“I think it’s going to be a busy Winter for us.”
“I would imagine so too.”