Fiction | Short Story | Literary Fiction | Ambition Deferred
Most Days, It Was Enough
It is a story of dreams shelved and promises kept.
Jim was the only Black man in his department and the longest-tenured consultant. He had been denied the ‘Senior’ handle for seven years.
Just now, he looked up suspiciously, hearing subdued conversations and the faint click of keyboards, sensing a shift in the rhythm he’d come to know like clockwork. Sigh! He pushed the weighty breath out of his lungs before it choked him. He locked up his cubicle drawers for the night, the metal sliders groaning faintly like the invisible ceiling he’d been pressing against for years.
His inbox was empty — he’d cleared it, as always — but the department head, John, hadn’t so much as looked at him today. He knew what that meant. Promotions were coming, and his name wasn’t on the list.
Again.
Another heavy sigh marked the end of his lonely day.
He slipped into his coat, tightening the tie he wore every day like armor. He stared at his reflection in the restroom mirror on his way out, his dark skin and blank eyes underscored by the sharp lines of his jacket. He wasn’t flashy, just enough to blend in with the khakis and Oxfords in the…
