Periphery

Monday, January 7th

7:28 AM

Bonnie strolls over Walter Bridge on her commute. The bridge is a grand piece of architecture with intricate carved vines climbing toward the sky, and a scalloped edge beyond the railing that casts a shadow over the river.

In Bonnie’s peripheral vision, she notes bleached blonde hair catching the light. The woman is tall, maybe wearing heels, and is wrapped up in a practical winter coat with a fur-trimmed hood. She is standing on one of the rounded edges.

Susan Fields seems like a fitting name. The woman is probably just tall. A coat like that doesn’t seem like something you’d pair with heels. Maybe people stereotype her because of her good looks, but she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She likes hiking in her spare time with friends or just alone.

4:22 PM

“I need to get some air,” Bonnie says.

“A smoke break? I’ll join you,” Dennis says as he grabs his coat and checks his pockets.

“Yes, can I, uh, bum a cigarette?” she asks.

He laughs. “What were you going to do if I didn’t join?”

“Yes, right, once you said it, I realized I didn’t stop to pick up more on my walk to work today,” she says. “I would have turned right back to bum a cigarette, so you saved me the trip.”

“You’re still walking to work?”

“Of course, I enjoy it.”

When they reach the terrace, Dennis holds the door open and guides her gently by the elbow to the view of downtown. They light their cigarettes.

“That older building is where VAL’s offices used to be, so this place is quite the upgrade,” he says, pointing. Bonnie doesn’t particularly care about the company's history, but she wants to make a good impression on veteran employees like Dennis Hale. She reports directly to Carol, the Strategy & Operations Manager, but Dennis has a lot of influence.

“Almost quitting time, right?” she says.

He takes a deep breath, probably enjoying the smell of the water on the breeze, before finally responding, “Ha, yeah.”

She nods and giggles, looking more closely at Dennis. He’s got deep-set lines between his eyebrows, a clean-shaven jaw, and his tailored button-up shirt sits snug at his throat. He stubs out his cigarette in one of the many ashtrays.

“C’mon, let’s head inside,” he says.

“Yes, I’ll just finish this and meet you in there.”

He laughs, pulls the cigarette from her mouth, stubs it out, and tucks it into her front pocket.

“For next time,” he says.

6:08 PM

Bonnie walks over the bridge with her head down and a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. Cars speed past, and she shields her eyes from the beam of the setting sun. With a side glance, she sees Susan Fields still standing on the edge.

Not slowing down, Bonnie keeps her head down until she is across the bridge and turns onto her street. The river flows parallel to her, the sound of the water brushing the rocky edges calming her as she approaches her apartment building.

Splash.

She adjusts her scarf and keeps walking.

Thursday, January 10th

7:07 AM

Bonnie walks across Walter Bridge and takes in the bubblegum hues shining on the tall office buildings up ahead. From the corner of her eye, she sees the glowing skin of a woman with curly hair blowing in the wind.

Honey Parker. Perhaps a model, but one who wants to get behind the lens. The colours painting the sky will inspire a self-portrait that makes her career take off. She says she doesn’t care about the money, but she does. The money gives her a real opportunity to leave her mark.

Reaching the office building, Bonnie grabs for the door right as Rob Douglas runs up behind her.

“Ha! Beat you to work!” he says, pushing past her and pulling the door closed behind him, but he can’t fight the soft-close door hinge. He shakes off the failed maneuver and walks back outside, handle still in his hand, to drag the door open for Bonnie. “Just kidding!”

She nods and walks through. Rob started at VAL a couple of months before her. He reports directly to Dennis, since they are both in private equity.

Rob makes small talk on the elevator ride to the fourteenth floor, they greet Patricia at reception on their way in, and head off to their respective desks. Bonnie mostly knows him from Patricia complaining about his ongoing office chair disputes.

12:40 PM

Bonnie is digging into her lunch bag at her desk when Carol calls her into an impromptu one-on-one meeting.

“How is the slide deck coming along?” Carol asks once Bonnie has entered her private office and closed the door behind her.

“Great! Just putting in the finishing touches, it will be good to go for our meeting next week.”

“I will be running that meeting alone; you don’t need to attend. Send along the slide deck when you’re finished with it today, and I’ll send back my notes.”

“Yes, sure, no problem. What exactly—” Before Bonnie can finish, Tom O’Connor, Operations & Planning Lead, pokes his head in.

“Carol, I’ve got those notes you asked about on leveraging our core competencies into a scalable model for our strategy moving forward.”

“Perfect. Hand them to Bonnie here, and she will add them to our slide deck.”

“Oh, hi, didn’t see you there,” he says, handing her the notes.

“No problem,” Bonnie says. “Anything else?”

“All good on my end,” he says.

“Nothing right now, but the door is always open if you have any questions,” Carol says.

“Yes. Thank you.”

5:10 PM

Bonnie is finishing up her work when Rob and Dennis walk by her desk. Rob nudges her shoulder and mimes lighting a cigarette. She nods, grabs her coat, and follows along.

“We should be good to head out by six today,” Dennis eventually says.

“Oh, perfect, I will head back in soon then to wrap up what I was doing.”

“You walking home today?” Rob asks.

“Of course, I always do.”

“I can give you a lift,” he says.

“It’s no problem, I like the walk,” she says, stubbing out her cigarette.

6:20 PM

Honey Parker is no longer on the bridge. Bonnie takes the opportunity to casually look over her shoulder at the water as she walks. The clouds are barely visible in the darkening sky. The smell of the water reaches her nose with a metallic hint to it.

She picks up her pace as the cool air nips at her skin. Her stomach growls. There was no time today to finish her lunch, so she is eager to get home to make dinner. Perhaps Bonnie will order a pizza tonight to give herself a break. She deserves it.

Tuesday, January 15th

5:25 AM

Bonnie squints as she navigates the lack of morning light on her walk. A man stands on the bridge today, but not yet beyond the railing. Taking in his looks without staring directly, she notes an unkempt beard and big muscles. He has a large tattoo of some sort on his neck that disappears beneath his shirt. She keeps her head down and, like the few people also walking across the bridge, is careful to give him space.

It’s a bird tattoo, probably. Something with a story that showcases his soft side. Noah Goodwin. It’s a nice name for someone like him. Maybe he works with his hands? Or he used to, helping build homes for those in need. Now he works a 9-5 to pay the bills.

Bonnie runs to catch the elevator door that Patricia is holding open. They ride up to the VAL office in silence. Patricia unlocks the office, smiles at Bonnie, and lets her go in first.

1:57 PM

“Smoke break?” Rob asks.

“Oh, I’ll join,” Carol calls out as she opens the door to leave her office, water bottle in hand. She stops at the cooler on her way to Rob.

“Yes, sounds good,” Bonnie says.

5:58 PM

Bonnie catches Noah in her periphery, now standing beyond the railing. He is completely still, enjoying the beauty of the water flowing towards him and disappearing below.

Once across the bridge, she trips while turning too quickly onto her street. Bonnie giggles as she catches herself and lands hard on her right foot.

Splash.

Wednesday, January 16th

6:28 AM

Two people are on the bridge today. Bonnie is distracted, staring down at her phone, but she catches that it’s a man and a woman. They stand near each other, but on separate scalloped edges. She puts her phone away and focuses on the office buildings up ahead.

Some fantastical romance! Maybe lovers taking in the views together? Celebrating an anniversary? K. Winters, that’s her name, no nonsense. First name Karen, but she goes by K. for obvious reasons.

Bonnie giggles.

A wedding? So her husband… Paul Harris! Such a boring name. It was love at first sight for K., but Paul took his time getting to know her before he fell harder than she ever did.

Bonnie runs to catch the elevator once inside the building. She fixes her hair in the mirrored wall while riding up to the fourteenth floor.

“Can I give you a ride home today?” Patricia asks when Bonnie walks in past her desk.

Everyone is shocked that she enjoys walking to work. She always declines offers for a ride, but Patricia looks so earnest…

“Okay, yes, thank you,” Bonnie says.

2:15 PM

Bonnie daydreams about the love story between K. and Paul as she lights her cigarette and wanders toward the one tucked-away corner that faces Walter Bridge.

“Bonnie!” Dennis calls out, making her jump. “Oops, sorry! Come and join Carol and me over here. The building staff remembered to put out the chair cushions today!”

Some plain square cushions are set up on metal chairs, spaced around the opposite end of the terrace, with matching tables.

“Shit, yeah, I mean yes, I’ll join,” she says, abruptly course correcting.

Carol has already gotten herself comfortable in one chair with her feet up on another.

“How is this week's slide deck coming along?”

“C’mon, Carol,” Dennis steps in before Bonnie can respond. “No work talk on the terrace!”

They laugh, and Dennis blows a big cloud of smoke straight up in the air.

“Fine, don’t answer that,” Carol says. “I’ll see it later today anyway.”

“Today is Wednesday,” Bonnie says.

“Send it over by end of day, and I’ll send you my notes tomorrow.”

Bonnie’s eyes go wide, and she goes to stub out her cigarette, but stops when Dennis and Carol burst into laughter.

“Stop messing with the girl, Carol!” he says.

Carol winks at Bonnie, leans back in her chair, and takes a long drag.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Bonnie says, trying to get comfortable in a chair of her own. Her heart rate takes its time returning to normal.

6:03 PM

“Let’s go,” Patricia says, appearing at Bonnie's desk.

“Oh, now?”

“Yeah, we’re good,” Patricia assures her.

Bonnie blinks a few times as she clicks to exit out of everything. She closes her laptop and stuffs it in her backpack beside her uneaten lunch.

Patricia leads the way to the parking garage and gestures to the passenger door of her car once they find it. Bonnie hops in and rolls down the window.

“I really don’t mind walking,” Bonnie says, breaking the silence as they head onto Walter Bridge. “I don’t live far.”

“Can you roll up your window, please?” Patricia says.

“Yes, of course, sorry,” she says, fumbling for the button by feel. “I should have asked before—”

“It’s fine,” Patricia says, looking pointedly forward. She doesn’t move her head until they reach the other end, looking both ways before turning onto Bonnie’s street. “I just don’t like the smell of the water.”

Thursday, January 24th

6:20 AM

Patricia continues to offer rides to and from work, but Bonnie only accepts if she’s really tired. Bonnie has upped her energy drink intake, so she is walking today. There is a woman on the bridge dressed in a long puffer coat. Bonnie catches a glimpse of her short red hair in her periphery.

Linda Miller. Or Lily? Yes, Lily, a woman with a fiery spirit. Was she wearing pants? Bare legs under a puffer? A pencil skirt hidden beneath, probably. Professional. The cool breeze caresses the backs of her calves like a light push toward—

Bonnie’s phone buzzes in her pocket, but she ignores it. She’s almost at the office anyway.

Lily hosts big parties in her backyard. Her boyfriend grills up some burgers, and their friends and friends’ children’s laughter echoes throughout the neighbourhood. Lily wants that. Kids. Kids of her own.

Bonnie pushes the pull door, trying to enter the building while getting her phone out. On the elevator, she sees a reminder to check in with Carol about the chart format she chose for this week’s slide deck.

Bonnie heads directly to Carol’s office and, after a moment's hesitation, knocks.

“And where do you touch on VAL scaling platforms to increase revenue?” Carol asks while scrolling quickly on Bonnie’s laptop. “Look, as the Strategy Enablement Associate, your work reflects directly on me, so I need your output standards to be high.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you for the feedback.”

She takes two steps out of the room before Carol says, “The door, please.”

Bonnie reaches out and gently pulls it closed.

2:03 PM

“Smoke break?” Rob and Dennis say in unison.

“Jinx!” Rob yells.

“Are you twelve years old?” Dennis says.

“Listen, old man, times are different now,” Rob says. “Twelve is far too young to start smoking.”

Dennis sighs, his hand paused on the door out of the office, and calls over his shoulder, “You joining us, Tom?”

“I stepped out after lunch,” Tom says. “I’m good, thanks!”

“Bonnie?”

“Yes,” she says, grabbing her energy drink.

Rob flings open the terrace door, and Bonnie barely manages to catch it before it hits her in the face. She follows the men to the chairs facing VAL’s old office building.

5:53 PM

“Smoke break?” Bonnie asks Patricia.

“Sure.”

Bonnie waits a moment, but Patricia makes no move away from her reception desk, so she heads onto the terrace alone with her cigarette dangling out of her mouth. A cold wind hits her the moment she steps outside, but it brings the soothing smell of the water with it. She finds Rob leaning on a table.

“Tom won’t accept that his chair has always squeaked!”

“Why not just ask Patricia for a new chair?” Bonnie asks.

“Ask Patricia what?” Patricia calls out around the cigarette in her mouth as she shoulders the door open and finally joins them.

Rob groans and starts at the beginning of his most recent chair dispute.

Patricia rolls her eyes, then says, “Do I need to pull out the conflict resolution section of the employee handbook?”

Bonnie giggles and blows smoke straight up. She wants to get back to work, but Carol is now out on the terrace and taking a call right in front of the door.

Splash.