There came a day when Ted was a total no-show. It may have been a day other than Friday by that point. That’s a bit of detail I don’t recall. I gave up waiting for Ted and I called his apartment (no cellphones in 1987). His roommate said Ted wasn’t there, and he didn’t know where Ted was. I told him that if he heard from Ted, he had to get to the office ASAP.
Meeting with my boss, he said enough was enough, and that Ted needed to be put on probation. There was a formal process for doing that, and we met with the manager in charge of personnel-related matters, who gave us a form that Ted would have to sign.
When Ted finally showed up that afternoon, I sat with him for a very uncomfortable meeting, to find out what happened. He came up with an excuse that I was forced to at least consider might be true.
Ted claimed he didn’t come to work, and wasn’t at his apartment when I called, because he’d been with his parents, whose house had been defaced with a racial slur. He didn’t have an answer when I asked him why he hadn’t left a message for me. I told Ted that I used to be a reporter, and I knew that if what he said was true, it would definitely be a top story on the news that night.
Given the serious nature of Ted’s claim, he had to be given the benefit of the doubt, but there was nothing on the news that night or in the Boston Globe the next day, about a house being defaced with a racial slur. So I was left with no choice but to have Ted sign the probation form.
Ted seemed genuinely surprised and hurt. I sincerely liked Ted, and I wanted him to succeed. I felt bad making him sign a document acknowledging if there was any more trouble he could be fired.
Everything I’ve said so far is merely context to ensure a full appreciation of the upcoming plot twists. Consider this post to be the end of Part I.