Woke up this morning, got my run in, greeted the day watchman, showered, sliced a pineapple for breakfast, checked my e-mails, Facebook... wait, what is this?
Emmanuel, one of our project partners in Ghana, had written this as his Facebook status: "Omg its so cold here in Canada...will be in Ghana in two weeks time. Am sorry to all my friends whom i didnt tell i was leaving Ghana…"
What?! His NGO is getting one of our volunteers on Monday, and she will be working on his project for two weeks! He can’t leave – he is the backbone of his NGO. And I need him to submit a completed project itinerary for a university group working with him in May – I can’t continue preparing for that program until he turns it in. He wouldn't just up and leave like this. He wouldn’t do that to us…would he?
He had met Kirsty at our house yesterday afternoon to collect the remaining balance from a fund our NGO had owed his NGO – why hadn’t he mentioned his trip to her then? Or during the meeting I had had with him earlier this week?
I sent him a message, fighting back the urge to title it “Breach of Trust” and instead opted for the more even-tempered “Canada?” and said something to the effect of: “Couldn't help but notice that you are in Canada. WTF?”
My boss Kirsty and I shared a drop taxi to work because Lawrence was at the office early, and by early I mean on time (Kirsty and I were late), and he needed some help running a meeting.
After our usual morning catch-up on each other’s lives from the 12 hours we spent apart (sleeping and getting ready for work), I told Kirsty about Emmanuel gallivanting in Canada.
"He knows he needs to tell us these things," Kirsty exclaimed. "And what about his volunteer? She arrives tomorrow!”
“Exactly. And I’m wondering why he didn’t tell you yesterday when he saw you. What time did you see him?”
“About noon.”
“So that still would have given him enough time to get to Accra and board a plane! And the timing makes sense too, you know, because Canada is back in time several hours.”
“He couldn’t have gone through an American airline because of the layover time difference,” Kirsty thought aloud. “He might have gone through Lufthansa or KLM because Lufthansa’s international departing flights are in the evening and – ”
“ – I can’t believe he just left.” I gazed out the window. “He's so reliable - it just doesn't seem like him. Karen starts working with him Monday, and she’s only here two weeks. What, is he just not going to meet her at all? He knew since last month that she was coming! Plus, I need him to complete that project itinerary for the university group coming in May too – I can’t continue planning for the project without that itinerary.”
I wished this fiasco would've at least happened during our slow season when our nerves aren't running off the wall. Kirsty told me to call Ben, Emmanuel's project partner, to make sure it wasn’t a joke. (Funny that we had suspected it could have been a joke, but thought, Who posts jokes like that on their Facebook page? Clearly, both of us had forgotten it was April Fools' Day.)
When we got to the office, I plowed through two meetings and then called Ben. His phone was off. Then, doubtful I’d get an answer, I called Emmanuel. It rang, but no answer. The day went on, and Kirsty and I were talking in my office while my phone rang.
“EEEeee… ssshhh! It’s Emmanuel!” I was anxious to put this mystery at rest.
Kirsty inched closer to my desk, and Fati, a project partner and friend of Emmanuel’s who was hanging out at the office after our meeting, came around the corner into my office. Kirsty had informed Fati of Emmanuel’s great two-week escape to Canada.
“Hello, Emmanuel?”
“Yes, Michaela.” He sounded too calm. How?
For some reason I started laughing at the situation. “So, are you in Ghana or are you in Canada?”
Fati came over to me and squeezed my hand. On Emmanuel's end of the phone I heard a manic honk. My heart raced - it was definitely a Ghana car honk.
“O I am in Ghana! April Fools! April Fools! April Fools!”
After laughing with Emmanuel, Kirsty and Fati to the point of tears of relief, he told me not to say anything about it on Facebook so he could “get” some other people.
Moral of the story is... Do not be Facebook friends with business partners and coworkers; or if you must, defriend them on April Fools' Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment