Friday, Front Desk: What the Receptionist Sees

I have worked the front desk here for three years, and I still think Friday is the most interesting night of the week. Mondays are for the lonely and the organised. Fridays are for everybody else.

At five o'clock the ladies drift in one by one with garment bags and takeaway salads. Mei has a new haircut and wants honest opinions, which she gets. Rosa is limping because her new boots are cruel, so I find her the spare slippers from the cupboard. I make the first pot of tea. The rosters are pinned up, the rooms are checked, the linen trolley is full. Everything smells like lemon and lavender, the way I like it.

The regulars

I know most of our regular clients by their small habits long before I know their first names. The man with the green umbrella always arrives at 6.15 and always asks how my week has been, and he actually waits for the answer. The retired teacher pays in exact change and leaves a box of shortbread for the staff room at Christmas. The young engineer is so polite on the phone that the girls fight a little over who gets to see him.

My job is to be the calm face at the door. I greet, I explain, I check that everyone understands how we work here. Most people are lovely. A few need reminding that the rules are the rules, and I have a voice for that too. It is friendly, and it does not move.

The one who turned around

Tonight a young man came in, stood at the counter, and went completely pale. I made him a glass of water and told him there was no pressure, that he could sit for a minute or go home, and that either was fine. He sat. We talked about the football. After ten minutes he thanked me, said he wasn't ready, and left. I hope he goes home and feels no shame about it. Changing your mind is allowed.

Closing up

At two in the morning the last car pulls away. The girls count their envelopes, swap stories and complain happily about their feet. Someone always ends up eating the last of the shortbread. I lock the door, turn off the sign and stand for a moment in the quiet.

People imagine this place is all secrets. Mostly it is kindness, tea, sore feet and very good timekeeping. I wouldn't swap my desk for any other.