“Hi Amy, how are you?”
“Living the dream here in Omak. You?”
“Same. This is my friend Molly McGuire.”
“Everyone around here knows Molly Omak. Hi, Molly. How’s Jo?”
“In her last season, I’m afraid.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“You still riding?”
“Oh, when I get a chance. Pretty busy with five kids.”
“Five kids? Jesus, how’d that happen?”
“Don’t worry, we finally figured it out, and it’s been taken care of.”
They laughed. To Bart, “I’ve got you all set up in the conference room. I’ll open the call, then verify to Gloria that you’re here.”
“Thanks, Amy. I’ve invited Molly to join me.”
“Okay, then.” Amy looked back and forth, finally giving Molly an approving wink when Bart looked away. Amy stepped away to the conference room.
“Why does Amy have to verify you’re here?”
“I could be on a Zoom screen anywhere. Gloria wants me to come to the city, walk the streets, enter buildings, and interact with people. She wants verification that I’m mixing with society for at least one or two days a month. That’s part of what these sessions are about.”
“Good morning, Bart.”
“Hi Gloria. I’ve invited a new friend, Molly McGuire, to sit in for a while. I want you to know that I’m making friends.”
They were set up in a small conference room looking at a big computer screen. Molly and Bart were sitting tight against the other so they’d both fit on the screen.
“Hello, Molly, pleased to meet you.”
“Hi Gloria, likewise.”
“And how did you and Bart become friends?”
“We both have German Shepherds. They got together in the woods and the rest is history. My Shadow is expecting in a month.”
“Well, isn’t that romantic.”
Gloria was not what Molly was expecting. She was an attractive, modern, young woman in her early thirties. Molly had imagined an aging dowdy bureaucrat.
“None of my business, but what kind of friends are you?”
“The kind that sleep together and have lots of sex.”
Gloria laughed. “I was hoping you were that kind of friends. Where are you from, Molly?”
“I was born and raised here in Omak. Grew up on a small ranch outside town.”
“How about school?”
“Graduated from Omak High and got a degree in animal husbandry at WSU.”
