The Retirement Party

Aiden's Wednesday started like any other. He made coffee, answered a few emails, and joined the ten o'clock team meeting without expecting anything unusual.

Halfway through the meeting, Felipe, the office's oldest employee, raised his hand. "Before we continue," he said, "I have something to share." The room went quiet.

Felipe had worked at the company for over thirty years. He had trained half the people in the room, including Aiden, who had joined only two years ago.

"I've decided it's time," Felipe said, smiling. "I'm retiring at the end of this month."

For a moment, nobody spoke. Then someone started clapping, and soon the whole room joined in. Aiden felt a strange mix of happiness for Felipe and surprise that he hadn't seen it coming.

"I wasn't planning an announcement like this," Felipe admitted. "But it seemed better than an email nobody reads."

After the meeting, people gathered around Felipe's desk, asking questions and sharing memories. Someone mentioned they should throw a proper party before he left.

Aiden, who had barely spoken to Felipe outside of work meetings, found himself volunteering to help organize it. "I can book the conference room for Friday afternoon," he offered.

"That would be great," said another coworker. "If we plan it fast, we can still get the good caterer downtown."

Over the next three days, a small group put together decorations and food. They also built a slideshow of old photos, dug up by Felipe's closest colleagues from years of events.

On Friday, the conference room filled with nearly everyone from the office. Felipe stood near the front, looking genuinely surprised at the size of the crowd.

Aiden raised his cup for a toast. "Felipe taught half of us everything we know here," he said. "The least we could do was learn how to throw a decent party too."

Felipe laughed loudly, raising his own cup in return. "You've all done better than decent," he said. "Now somebody cut the cake before I change my mind about retiring."