Opening the Same Drawer at the Reception Desk

Opening the Same Drawer at the Reception Desk

I was late for the 8:15 bus like usual, rummaging for my keys on the kitchen counter, except the counter was also the reception desk at work. I kept opening the same drawer. My phone was there but the lock screen showed tomorrow’s date and a thread from my sister asking if I was coming to dinner last night. I answered her while walking, and the hallway from my apartment stretched into the office corridor, same scuffed linoleum. Dana from accounting was waiting by the copier, but she also felt like my old roommate Jess, same voice, different face. She asked which version of the meeting I was in. I said I didn’t know and felt that embarrassed heat, like I’d shown up in gym shorts. We both reached for the same coffee mug. I woke up still trying to explain I hadn’t missed anything.