Spilled Across the Tiles
A businesswoman tilted her paper cup forward and let dark, steaming coffee pour across the polished hallway tiles.
An elderly cleaner stood right beside her, gripping the wooden handle of a mop with both hands. Dark fluid pooled around her worn work shoes as the woman let the empty paper cup drop straight onto the wet puddle.
Tears gathered along the rim of the older woman’s lower eyelids and tracked down into the creases of her cheeks. Her mouth trembled as she stared down at the mess spreading across the floor.
The suited woman threw her head back, laughed loudly, and kicked the side of the yellow plastic bucket with her heel. She turned on her pointed black heels and walked away down the corridor, carrying her leather briefcase.
A Towel on the Floor
A few yards away inside an open office, a young woman stopped typing on her keyboard. She glanced up from her dual computer monitors, set her hands on the desk edge, and pushed her chair backward.
She reached across her work area, lifted a stack of clean white cotton cloths, and stepped into the hallway. She did not stop to ask questions or look around at the other passing employees.
She dropped down on both knees right onto the floor beside the older woman. Folding a white towel into quarters, she pressed it firmly into the brown coffee stain.
The liquid soaked through the white fabric, turning the fibers dark brown as she swept her hands across the grout lines. The older woman slowly drew her mop back, resting both palms on top of the mop stick while watching the young worker scrub.
The young woman rose to her feet and reached out, extending her bare hand toward the older cleaner. Their fingers met and closed together in a firm grip.
The True Badge
A circle of bright white light burst between their clasped palms. Sparks shifted around the older woman’s shoulders and cascaded down the length of her flannel shirt.
The plaid cotton and denim apron vanished into thin air. In their place hung a floor-length navy velvet evening gown, paired with several strands of white pearls resting across her collarbone.
Both women pulled their hands back and covered their mouths in disbelief. The young worker stepped backward, her eyes widening as she took in the transformed woman standing upright before her.
The woman reached inside her jacket and produced a small brass nameplate engraved with the title of manager. She carefully pinned the metal clasp onto the front of the young woman’s green sweater.
The young woman lowered her gaze to the shiny metal on her chest, then lifted her face into a broad grin. The woman in velvet rested a palm gently on the new manager’s shoulder and smiled toward the camera.
A Walk Down the Hall
Under the wood-paneled arches outside the executive boardroom, the woman in the velvet gown caught up with the executive who had dumped the cup. She raised her right index finger and pointed it straight toward the exit doors.
The woman holding the briefcase pulled her chin down to her collar, dipped her head low, and turned her back. Her black heels clicked quietly away down the carpeted corridor toward the glass doors.
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