Easter egg hunt

Yesterday Eve came back from lunch with 200 plastic Easter eggs purchased from the dollar store and an assortment of candy from Sam’s to fill them. “What are you up to?” I asked when I saw her walk by.

“People around here need to cheer up. I’m doing an Easter egg hunt.” That’s Eve!

With budget cuts looming, the mood has been glum the last few weeks, and this week has been particularly quiet.

We stayed late last night to fill the eggs. At 4:00 today, with the help of an intern, we spread them around the corridors, meeting rooms and public spaces of the building. At 4:30 I sent a jaunty email inviting everyone to the hunt.

Tell you what, if you want to bring people out of their offices, mention free candy.

It wasn’t until the corridors were full of people, some trash talking one another’s ability to quickly gather brightly colored plastic eggs, that I thought to ask Eve who had given permission to interrupt the workday like this.

Perhaps a step was overlooked.

The management team joined in with everyone else, some proving quite adept at snatching eggs, cracking them open and stuffing their pockets with candy.

Within 10 minutes the eggs had been scooped up, most emptied and the shells deposited in baskets outside Eve’s office. After it quieted down, the CEO stopped in the hallway between my and Eve’s office doors. “Are you two to thank for this?” Eve and I have become known as partners in crime.

“All Eve,” I told him. “She’s the generous one around here.” And she is.

He went in and thanked her. After he left, she came across the hall. “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I lost my job now?” We laughed.

“They’ll put a pink slip in an egg and notify you that way,” I said. We laughed more.

“They’ll give everyone an egg. Chocolate inside, you stay; sour gummy worms inside, you go.” We kept laughing like we do.

“You go, I go.” It doesn’t matter who said it because it’s A shared sentiment.