Garrett had had a wife and four-year-old twins in Halifax, but the last call he'd ever made was to his boss. The last words he'd spoken into a telephone were a bouquet of corporate clichés, seared horribly into memory. Let's touch base with Nancy, he remembered saying, and then we should reach out to Bob and circle back next week. I'll shoot Larry an email.
Garrett's life in Halifax revolved around his family, which included his wife and their twin children. However, the moment that defined him was his final phone call, not to a loved one, but to his boss. This call became a haunting memory for him, encapsulating the disconnect between his personal life and professional obligations.
During that last conversation, he expressed himself using standard corporate jargon, a string of clichés that lacked genuine emotion. Phrases like "touch base" and "circle back" were frozen in time, representing not just a professional identity but a stark contrast to the warmth of his family life, making his last words feel particularly empty and regretful.
