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Things That Happen 13: Doors That Don't Open

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It's 1988. I've just finished an apprenticeship with AnCo for a Mechanical and Electrical certification. I'm a roller and mover at that time and the world is now my oyster.

I get an interview with a company called Kish Glass off the Belgard Road in Dublin. I nail the interview. The gentleman running the company is impressed. We're joking and smiling at the end of the interview.

''You're my last interviewee this week and you have impressed me the most of all ten people I've talked to this week.''

Great. Job done and sealed. We shake hands and talk about football as we part and I go down the stairs leaving him in his office to a small unmanned reception area. He'll talk to me Monday on terms and we are good to go.

I pull the door to head out but it is locked. I look for a button buzzer, but nothing. I had to 'buzz in' to get access on an intercom when I arrived. ''Shit,'' I think. I loiter for a bit and hope someone calls or someone else is heading out and has a key. I can hear the workshop lads down a hallway and consider heading down there, catching someone's attention and letting me out. I want to head out and get home to tell my mam the good news.

Moments pass. Five minutes. ''Fuck this.'' I head back up to the gentleman's office where I was interviewed. I peer in through the glass adjacent to the door. He sees me, but clearly is on a call. I loiter again in the upstairs hallway.

Another five minutes pass. Finally he emerges from his office. ''Everything okay?'' ''Something you forgot to ask me?''

''Eh, I can't get out the door. It's locked.''

''Locked?'' he says. ''It shouldn't be locked during work hours.''

We both head down the stairs, him ahead of me. He's a bit flustered. I feel a nuisance.

He goes down to the reception area and pushes the door open. ''It's not locked,'' says he. He's right.

He stares at me. I stare at him as I step out into the sunshine, and he still holding the door open for me.

''So Monday, we'll talk on the phone?'' I say.

''Yeh, maybe,'' came the reply. In that moment, I knew I'd blown it.

There was no phone call on Monday. I didn't expect one. In five silly minutes, I'd went from hero to zero in his eyes!

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