Ever year or so Eve asks me if I still have my pen.  She is referring to the beautiful sleek black Cartier pen she bought me years ago that I keep in my office.  Being prone to losing things, I resolved never to take that pen out of my office.  Every night before I leave work I put it away (the spot will not be revealed in case any of you get any big ideas), and then I take it out in the morning.  And for years, it has always been there.

Then, suddenly, one day, this past May after being safe for years, it was missing.  I scoured the office.  It was nowhere.   I could only assume that perhaps someone in my office signed something and inadvertently pocketed the pen.  It was gone forever.

I also keep a pair of magnifiers on my desk.  Coming back from vacation this past week it too was suddenly missing.  This was not an overriding concern.  Magnifiers are easier to replace than a Cartier pen.  But sure enough, at our office meeing later that morning, there was someone in my office wearing my magnifiers, claiming it was theirs.  Not so, I said, pointing out the identifying mark on it.

That made some others in the office wonder if perhaps the long lost pen was lurking undetected.  After a thorough search again, there it was, turned upside down in someone's pencil holder.  

I told Eve that I had bad news and good news.  She wanted to hear only the good news.  I wrote, "I found it!" though she had no idea what I was talking about.

An office can be a dangerous place.  I must remember never to leave my wallet around.