The clock alarm buzzed annoyingly at 5:30 a.m. waking Dan from a dreamless sleep. He got up, made coffee, shaved, showered, dressed and left to buy the needed bread and ice at 6:30 a.m. He took Linda’s advice and bought a dozen fresh rolls, and an extra-large Italian bread and a large, round peasant loaf asking for both to be sliced. Then he ordered a half dozen mixed bagels and a large box with three dozen mixed mini-pastries for dessert. The bread, still hot from the oven, made his mouth water as he carried his goodies in several plastic bags to the car. Then he went to the convenience store two doors away and bought a bag of ice. Ten minutes later, he was back in his apartment doing his best to fit the ice and all of the perishables into his large metal cooler. After several tries—he wished Linda were here as she had the uncanny ability to fit five gallons of stuff in a one-gallon container—he managed to get everything but the salad in the cooler. And three trips down to his car later, he was finally on his way a little after 8:00 a.m.
When he got to the parking garage, he took as many of the packages as he could with him on the first trip to his office. They were bulky, but with the exception of the sodas and water, they were not very heavy. He would have liked some help with the cooler though, as it was heavy and awkward to carry down three levels of stairs and between buildings while wearing a suit. He nonetheless managed on his own in three trips, not wanting to inconvenience anyone else with the grunt work. He placed everything in his office, making the limited space even more crowded. But it was manageable, if not a pretty sight through the always open window.
As if reading his mind, Mr. Chang knocked on his door a few minutes later, just after the 9:00 a.m. class change, carrying a large Venetian blind and some tools. Dan was pleased to see his window covering and the reprieve it would bring from feeling like a caged animal in a zoon for everyone to gawk at all day long.
“Your window covering just came in. Is it all right for me to install it now?” Mr. Chang asked.
“Absolutely. In fact, I’ll help you.”
“Not necessary. I can manage myself,” Mr. Chang replied in his usual monotone with no change in expression.
“I insist. It is a bulky item, and I can at least help you hold it while you put in the necessary hardware. Or I can do that while you hold it if you prefer.”
“Fine, you can help hold it,” Mr. Chang replied, adding “Thank you.”
They were done in about 15 minutes, and Dan was pleased with the result. The blinds were a perfect fit and provided the privacy he needed at least for parts of the day.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Chang. I really appreciate your ordering and installing the blinds.”
“No trouble,” Mr. Chang replied with a shadow of a smile crossing his lips. “You know, other deans have asked for curtains or blinds. They were always told no. You must be held in high regard.”
“Maybe I just made more persuasive arguments,” Dan said. “I really do need privacy at times when dealing with confidential matters, but frankly it is also a matter of personal preference. I don’t like being stared at by everyone all day long as I work, nor do I appreciate the hidden message that I am always watching everyone else either,” Dan replied, with a smile and shrug of his shoulders.
“Whatever the reason,” Mr. Chang replied, “This is a first for anyone in this office. You should know that, Dean Amor.”
“Please call me Dan, Mr. Chang”
“Why don’t you call me Jiang, like everyone else?” Mr. Chang asked, looking at Dan intently in the eyes?
“Because, Mr. Chang, I am barely out of diapers and you are a respected elder whom I would feel uncomfortable calling by his first name,” Dan answered honestly.
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Mr. Chang made no response, but his eyes grew glossy as he wordlessly turned to leave without any change in his expression.
“Thanks again, Mr. Chang. I really appreciate your help with this.”
“You’re welcome,” he said as he walked out, not turning around.
Over the next hour and a half, Dan printed copies of the agenda to distribute at the meeting, including the names of the four faculty members whose classes he would visit next week. He then did his first round of walking the halls on both floors, and by 11:30 a.m. he went to the conference room to begin setting up for lunch. He was surprised to see Mr. Chang there, who had already cleared and cleaned the top of the wood cabinetry that ran the entire length of the wall opposite the door, where Dan had intended to set up for lunch. He had brought a plastic table cloth that he was placing above the table-height top of the cabinetry that housed three rows of wooden drawers, the contents of which were unknown to Dan.
“Mr. Chang,” Dan called out. “I did not intend for you to do this. Did Mr. Lantz ask you to help set up?”
“No, Dan,” the latter replied. I noticed you bringing up many bags and a cooler this morning and remembered you mentioning you had a staff meeting today. I thought it must be lunch so wanted to get the space ready for you.”
“I appreciate it very much, Mr. Chang, but it was not necessary. You have more than enough to do as is—this is my idea and I intended to do the setup and cleanup myself.”
“I could have helped you carry the bags in. You only have to ask,” he replied.
“I managed just fine on my own, but thank you.”
“It is my job and I want to help if I can. Let me help you set up,” Mr. Chang insisted.
“Since you’ve already done the hardest part, you can help me set up the rest. I appreciate it. But I’ll bring the stuff over. I need the exercise and you get plenty, I know.”
“I am old but not frail,” he responded. “Let me help carry the packages too.”
Dan felt his face redden. The last thing he wanted was to offend Mr. Chang and he was afraid he may have done that unintentionally. “Of course,” he quickly replied. “Forgive me—I don’t like others to do unnecessary work I bring on myself, but I am grateful for your help.”
The other man nodded, with little change in his expression, though Dan again thought he saw the merest shadow of a smile cross his lips. “Come with me and we can bring the stuff together,” Dan said.
Dan then left the room for his office with the other man following closely behind. They grabbed the heavy cooler first, each holding on to one of its two metal handles, and each man carried several bags of the bulky bags, with Dan making sure he gave Mr. Chang the lightest of bags while trying not to have the other notice that fact, taking the heavier bags with bottles, water and food himself in his free hand.
They slowly made their way back to the conference room, and in short order had all the food out and set up for easy access a full five minutes before the start of the meeting just as some faculty members started to walk in.
“Thank you for your help,” Dan said. “Please take some food and drink with you—or stay and eat it here if you would like. There is nothing confidential about this meeting.”
“Thank you,” the man replied,” but I prefer to eat later and brought my own ham sandwich today.”
“I really appreciate all of your help today and apologize for taking you away from your other work,” Dan said.
“I am glad to help, Dr. Amor,” Mr. Chang replied, a smile more palpable on his lips now. He then turned and walked out of the room as more faculty members began arriving.
Dan sat himself not at the head of the table but in the middle. It was a purposeful choice, and one he would always make in his future executive and administrative roles, as he did not want to be seen as other than one more participant. About five minutes later, the entire faculty was in attendance and seated around the table. Dan then began to speak.
“Thank you all for coming,” he began, “And welcome to our first faculty meeting. Although I won’t promise to always have food at these, today I wanted to bring lunch my girlfriend and I prepared with Mr. Chang helping to set it up so that we can break bread together. I know we have less than an hour, so please get some food and we can eat while I conduct the meeting. I have a short agenda, so we should have plenty of time. But we do have some important issues to discuss. Please help yourselves to some food.”
People began getting up and queueing up to the food, taking their preferred bread and cold cuts and/or salad with their choice or dressing and sides. Ten minutes later, all were back at the table. Dan was the last in line—he would prefer not to eat until after the meeting, but the idea of breaking bread required, well, breaking bread—so he made himself a small sandwich with the sliced Italian bread and one slice each of prosciutto, salami and provolone, adding some lettuce leaves on top and a small helping of potato salad. He also poured himself a coke over ice.
As everyone began eating, Dan took a bite of his sandwich and set it aside, picking up the printouts of the agenda and passing them around, keeping one for himself. The chatting around the room quieted down as he began to speak.