doppelganger before.
He placed his fingers to his chin and studied me, nodding to himself. “The Gilmore girl!”
I looked at him with a perplexed gaze. Lauren Graham? I’d never really thought about resembling her, but I guess that could work … We both have dark hair …
“Alexis Bledel, the daughter, ”he said with finality. “ Definitely . You have beautiful skin, big eyes, though they’re not blue like hers, and you do have that cute little butt chin.”
I laughed and touched my chin in response. “I’m impressed you know the name of a character from Gilmore Girls, let alone her eye color.”
“Honey, I know everything,” he said with a little head whip and wink. “Stick with me, girl, and you’ll do just fine around here.” He smiled at me and nodded with the utmost confidence.
I giggled. “Thanks, Vivek,” I said. “This is going to be a fun team, I can tell already.”
Ten minutes later, I headed to Catherine’s office, which was down the hall and around the corner. I was glad that it was located a little distance from mine. It was always uncomfortable having your boss right on top of you. She was drafting an email and her face lit up when she saw me. As expected, Catherine looked as sophisticated and sharp as the first two times I’d met her. Did she ever look bad? Now that I knew about the whole doppelganger thing, she did look a little like Grace Kelly. She was a classic beauty, with a strong, perfect nose, blond hair, green eyes, full lips, and a defined jawline. Today she was wearing a pale pink pleated skirt, a simple white spring blouse, and a pair of light gold high heeled sandals. Like the last couple of times I saw her, she looked like she just walked out of a fashion catalog. Even in one of my new summer outfits, I felt young and unsophisticated next to her.
She extended her hand to welcome me. “Hi, Julia! We’re all so glad you’re finally here.”
“Thanks, Catherine. I’m really happy to be here,” I added genuinely.
“So did you have a good weekend?”
“Yes, I did. Thanks.” I paused but Catherine looked at me expectantly, so I added, “I took a long, three day weekend and played it pretty mellow. I went shopping and did some much-delayed spring cleaning. I had some good downtime to relax before starting the new job.”
“Good for you for taking some time to relax before the craziness.” She emphasized the word craziness .
“Did you enjoy your weekend?”
“Yes … and no,” she said thoughtfully. I could tell she was thinking of what or whomever was behind the “no” part of her answer. “I spent some of the time catching up on work. I also spent most of Sunday with my dad, which was due.”
“Well, it’s a bummer you had to work over the weekend, but spending time with your dad must’ve been nice.” It was more of a question than a statement.
“Sort of.” Catherine paused and squinted. “He’s in an adult care facility. He has Alzheimer’s. It’s not exactly what I would call fun, but it was good to spend some time with him. I don’t get to do it as often as I would like to lately.”
I was surprised, yet touched, by her honesty and her willingness to bring up such a personal topic. I empathized with her immediately. “My grandfather had Alzheimer’s while I was growing up.”
“Really?” She sounded surprised.
“Yeah, he passed away when I was sixteen, but I have a good idea of the difficulty and progression of the disease.” I gave her a knowing look that she acknowledged with a small nod and tight mouth.
“Well, fortunately, my dad’s in a really good care facility. My boyfriend helped me work through all that several years ago. So, Dad’s as comfortable as he can be at this point and being well taken care of. That’s the best I could ask for.”
I smiled back with understanding. “I’m really glad to hear that.”
I found myself speculating on what type of manager she was. Catherine had a solid professional
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