Caught up in catching up

I put down the cup quickly, and turned around.

"Oh, Hi Sarah," I sad, in what I hoped was an offhand way. "I seem to have made a bit of a mess here."

Picking up some paper towels, I started dabbing hopelessly at the carpet.

"Don't worry about that," said Sarah. "How are you? It's so good to see you back. Are you better now? Properly better?"

"I'm fine, really I am. It's good to be back," I said as earnestly as I could manage.

"And the doctors, they're happy that you've come back to work so soon after the..."

"No, they're fine about it," I interrupted, sparing both of us the difficulty of her finding a suitable euphemism. "Said it would be good for me to get back into things as soon as possible. And there's nothing wrong with me, medically-speaking. No reason I should be sitting at home watching daytime telly."

"Oh, that's good to hear, Alan. Not that I'd mind catching up on bit of trashy TV myself! But great that you've been given a clean bill of health. And of course, it's fantastic to have one of our best relationship managers back - I just wouldn't want to think you were coming back to work too early. You're absolutely sure you don't need to take any more time to recuperate? I'd be more than happy to agree to that."

"No, honestly Sarah - I'm fine. I really am."

"Well if you're sure, I'm delighted you're back. How's it going so far?"

"Absolutely fine," I lied. I hoped I sounded convincing.

Right, I thought. This is the moment when, having done the arm-round-the-shoulder chat, Sarah will leave.

Instead, she said in a concerned voice, "So, what exactly happened?"



Story begins here.