Lord, this is like a damn movie! As I was walking toward the loo, I looked out the front door and saw Meter Guy! I yelled for my boss, who went outside and asked him to come in.
Meter Guy said he did pick her up from the airport a couple of weeks ago, but otherwise hadn’t seen her since last Tuesday, when he ran into her at her apt. building.
My boss prodded further: was he SURE it was Tuesday, since Tuesday was the first day of that out-of-town training she was supposed to have gone to (but never made it)? The guy admitted that he’s old and forgetful, and that it may have been Monday instead.
Anyway, Meter Man left his number, because he wants to be kept informed on what’s going on. Should I direct him here?
Rilchiam, you make an excellent point, and I’ve thought several times that with what I know of her family and her situation, I wouldn’t blame her for disappearing, especially if, as someone mentioned, her mysterious illness (which another coworker thinks is cancer–he says he can smell it on her) has anything to do with it. I mean, if I’d been given an unpromising prognosis, I might well do the same (although there are some people I’d care enough about to at least let them know I haven’t been abducted or anything).
Last night my mom and I were talking about this whole thing over dinner, and she mentioned another situation, where a 16-year-old girl ran off with her (20-something) boyfriend and was gone for years before she came back. Now, my mom says, she’s actually been arrested, and will have to pay a fine or something for the taxpayer dollars/man-hours that went into the search efforts for her.
Which is another reason I wouldn’t run away without telling someone!