The Forgotten Meeting

Tom worked in a small company that sold garden furniture. His desk stood next to the window. He liked his job, but he never wrote anything down. He kept his notes in his head, and his head was busy.

On Monday his boss said: "We will meet tomorrow at nine. Please bring the report about the new customer." Tom nodded. He put nothing in his calendar. "Nine o'clock, Tom," she said again at the door.

On Tuesday morning he came at half past nine. The office was very quiet. A colleague looked at him and said nothing. His bus was slow, and he bought a roll on the way.

Then Tom saw the meeting room. Five people sat around the table. His boss was speaking. The chair next to her was empty. Somebody wrote three words on the whiteboard: new customer, Friday.

His stomach felt cold. The meeting was at nine, and he forgot it. He also forgot the report about the customer. He remembered the words now, but two hours too late.

He sat down at his desk. "Nobody saw me," he thought. "I can say the train was late." It was an easy story. Nobody could check it, and everybody would believe it.

But Ellen, the colleague who sat behind him, turned around. "They asked about you," she said quietly. "Twice." "I told them I don't know where you are," she added.

Tom looked at his empty notes. He knew the truth: the mistake was his. A lie would only make it bigger. His colleagues must trust him, and trust is slow work.

At eleven the door opened and his boss came out. Tom stood up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I forgot the meeting. There is no other reason." His voice was quiet, but the words came out clearly.

She looked at him for a moment. Then she said: "Thank you for being honest. I don't like excuses. I like solutions." "Everybody forgets something once," she said. "Twice is a habit."

"I'm going to write the report today," Tom said. "You will have it at four. And I'm going to use my calendar." "The numbers are ready. I only need to write them down."

His boss smiled. "Good. Set a reminder for every meeting. That is all I want." Then she went to lunch. Ellen looked at Tom and lifted one eyebrow, but she said nothing.

Tom felt relieved. He opened his calendar and typed for ten minutes. Ellen brought him a coffee and grinned. He put every meeting of the month into the calendar, one by one.

The report went out at ten to four. Tom's apology was short, but it worked. Since that Tuesday he writes everything down. "You owe me a coffee," Ellen said. He brought two.