My time at the 'bracken

After waiting ages for a call I finally took some initiative. I laid out all my business cards on the desk in the order of importance. I got some information regarding a job at Knockbracken Health Care Park. Denise informed me that it was quite easy to get to only straight down the Ormeau road on the 15 route. Being a bit of a tightwad I wasn’t sure I wanted to pay bus fare.. and to where? I walked down the road that night following instructions from the S&E Belfast Trust website. After about an hour I approached the Knockbracken Park. Things were getting a bit dark and I felt somewhat suspicious nosing around the Park at that hour so I returned home.
The next morning I allotted myself the 90 minutes to assure timely arrival. Once at the gates of KHCP I looked at the map quite puzzled. Past the entrance, the Health Care Park took a literal meaning. There were rolling hills dotted with distant buildings and wards. I navigated around a wee forest to an impressive red brick building. I saw signs posted for Finance, Physiotherapy, Occupational Health but nothing for Mental Health. After wandering aimlessly around the grounds until about 0905 I became frantic. I stopped a man wearing the S & E Belfast Trust Badge and asked for help. He walked me to the department and smiled knowingly as I exclaimed, “Gosh, this place is so big, didn’t expect to get lost! What a great first impression I must be making.”
I was let into the Social Servies Dept and met my boss. She introduced me to the staff and explained that today would be a bit unusual. The staff was using the day to clean up and unpack after some remodelling had been done. This accounted for their very casual apparel. The day began with a meeting with tea and scones. I politely perched on an unsteady chair pecking at my scone like a bird. I hadn’t ate breakfast that morning and didn’t want to appear as famished as I was.

During the meeting I quietly observed my colleagues.
The boss was leading the meeting with a casual air. She wore a comfortable smile and had loads of laugh lines around her eyes. Her darkened skin implied hours spent on the tennis courts.
Throughout the meeting E R interjected a few comments. She had the transient manner of someone nearing retirement. Her pastel linen dress coordinated with her gentle character. When she smiled it was a sort of bemused smile as if she was refraining from some clever comment.
Opposite Elizabeth sat TW who had more of a loquacious personality. Her slight frame could be deceiving as she was not one to go unnoticed. Her previous job had been the one I was filling thus I paid close attention to her advice. To hear of her weekend exploits and carefree attitude one would never guess she had five children to her credit.
A young mother herself, M B only worked part time. Though calm, she had a lively sparkle in her blue eyes. Her sapphire nose ring and loose hanging blonde curls gave her a young, trendy look.
As the only male on the team, H M compensated by commuting in on his motorbike. He kept his hair trimmed short and his clothes were surprisingly neat for a bachelor. His scrawl on the other hand could have used some ironing out. His mischievousness was well matched by A M. When they were both in the office, something was always brewing. A M was the youngest social worker and always had a joke or story to tell. She was very bouncy and the office seemed dull when she was away.
Despite the seriousness of their jobs, the office was always ringing with laughter and it was unusual for a week to pass without a prank being pulled. I always looked forward to tea times when I could and be entertained by my co-workers. AM, TWand HM were usually the raconteurs while E, MB and I sat assiduously.