after i had my say with liz, i sat back and let her talk. she told me she has reached the breaking point. i knew this, without being told. liz is always on an even keel, never loses her temper, she's usually the one who calms ME down when things are hectic but for the past couple of weeks, i could tell she was simply fried.
unless one of us, i or amy, is doing paperwork that is complicated, it is our responsibility to make sure everything is set to go for court hearings. doing so has never been a problem and things have always gone smoothly. but that has changed over the past few months. just to give you an example...liz had an adoption hearing friday morning. when she got to court, in the middle of the hearing, she realized that not only had amy spelled the child's name wrong on the petition, she also failed to have a summons issued and did NOT send a notice of the hearing to the attorney who was appointed as the child's guardian. long story short...liz was embarrassed, in open court, that the hearing could not go forward. it had to be continued to monday (tomorrow) so that the paperwork could be corrected as well as the rest of the procedures be done properly...
when she came back to the office friday, just before lunch, and told me all of this, i was livid. i knew she would expect ME to do the work. she was close to tears. i told her to give me the file, i would muddle through it and see if i could correct the mistakes. i only did this because, for pete's sake, these people expected to have this DONE and they had even planned a little family party to celebrate the "birth" of their new child. she said no, this is amy's responsibility and she will address it with her first thing monday morning. now, next thursday is gary's birthday, i am taking that day off and i am taking friday off so i will have a nice LONG weekend. i told liz that i fully expect to get a text message from amy early monday morning telling me that since she has to work friday (her regular day off), she is not coming to work on monday. liz said if that happens, i am to call her immediately. she intends to call amy and tell her she HAS to be at work on monday. it could be verrrrrrrrry interesting!
and then there is the issue of amy texting me wednesday and thursday telling me she's still too sick to come to work. i knew she would not be there friday also, heaven forbid she should forgo her long weekend. however, i also knew she would have a miraculous recovery by friday. i was right. got an e-mail from her friday morning telling me she was feeling much better and was going SHOPPING!
it took a lot of talking (and hand gesturing...i'm italian, i talk with my hands!), before liz finally realized how *I* am being taken advantage of and how SHE has been enabling amy to go bumping along, getting her regular paycheck, missing work, while *I* am the one doing all the work, mine AND amy's. i told liz that obviously, i am jeopardizing my own job by refusing to do extra but i do not consider it "extra". why should i have to stay tied to my desk during lunch hour and stay late when i know darn good and well that amy is not as sick as she would like everybody to think and more than likely, she simply partied too hard the night before and is either hung over, still drunk, or just plain doesn't wanna BE there??? amy makes twice the money i do and does a mere fraction of the work, another thing that sticks in my craw.
we ended our talk by me asking liz if she intends to follow through on her promise and dock amy's pay this week for the 2 days she missed last week and the 1/2 day she missed the week she came back from medical leave. she told me yes, she fully intends to do that. and, she intends to have a closed-door session with amy to let her know that if she does not buckle down and start carrying her load, she will be fired. i made her promise that this would be amy's LAST chance. liz has to be able to back up her words with action. i am through coddling amy, my blood pressure won't take it any longer and i am sick to death of being on edge all the time.
another example for you as to amy's lifestyle. i got an e-mail from her last monday when i was off. she told me about her sucky weekend. how she had a "date" (her word) with some guy she had never met. she drove all the way to EAST ST. LOUIS, checked into a sleazy motel and waited. he finally showed up at 5 p.m. (she'd been there since noon). they chatted for a minute or two and he said he was going out for snacks and beer and would return shortly. finally, at FIVE A.M. sunday morning, he came pounding on the door. amy said he was so drunk, he could hardly stand up. SHE LET HIM IN. because he was too drunk to.....well, i don't think i have to get specific here.....she just got dressed and drove home. it's a THREE HOUR drive for her. she left her 15 year old daughter and 11 year old son home alone (her husband was working) so she could have a little fun. now, think of the absolute WORST inner city you know of and multiply that by 10,000 and you will get an idea of just how dangerous east st. louis is for a woman to be wandering around ALONE in. she is lucky to be alive.
so, she's out doing things like this while i am scrambling to keep things afloat at home because during the week, i am simply too tired and too stressed to be able to do what needs to be done. what's wrong with THAT picture??
so, there you have it, whoever wanted the gory details. i'm sure this isn't the end. something that has gone on for 10 months cannot be cured overnight but at least liz knows, in no uncertain terms, where i stand in all of this. it is now up to HER to make things better. we'll see.