“But?”
“I’ve never felt so personally responsible before. I guess I haven’t looked as closely at the people as I have here.”
“Are you going to truly assess the site, and make recommendations? Or just do what your boss asked you to do?”
“Edward doesn’t really like people challenging him on things. On quick jobs like this one, I usually fly in, sweep through all of the changes, and fly back with everything wrapped neatly in a bow.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out the right thing to do. It’s rather late. How long did that meeting run?”
Vanessa glanced at the clock on the wall. “Not long. I’d scheduled the meeting for five-thirty, but apparently thiswhole town goes to the football game. My assistant said I’d be facing an empty room unless we scheduled for after the game. So, she did. Have I told you all of this? It’s crazy. By the time the game ended and everyone left the ball field to get to the elementary school for the meeting it was almost nine.”
“I’d have been too tired to listen. But football is fun. I haven’t been to a game in years. I loved watching you cheer when you were in high school. Cold nights in the stands, huddled up in scarves and blankets. Such great memories. Please tell me you at least went to the ball game and had a little fun.”
“I did, as a matter of fact, and it was a lot more fun than I expected. I met some nice folks. And there’s this one older man I keep bumping into. He said I had to try the chicken stew. They make so much of it they stir it with a boat oar!”
“Yeah, down here in Georgia we have something called chicken mull that’s in a milk base. Must be like that. They do the same thing. Seems rather unsanitary, but I guess it’s no different than stirring with a wooden spoon. A giant one.”
“I really liked the chicken stew. Well, until one of the guys sitting in front of me at the ball game accidentally knocked me and it spilled down the front of my coat.”
“I hope it wasn’t hot.”
“No. I’m fine. It had cooled down, and the guy who bumped into me was really nice about it. In fact, he asked me to go to the Christmas parade with him.”
“I hope you said yes to the parade.”
“I did. I’m not exactly sure why I did, but I’m looking forward to going.”
“Good. You deserve some fun, and I can’t wait to join you and share in it. You’re already doing a good job of keeping your promise to balance some fun with the workload.”
“I guess I am.”
“Good. Keep it up. I can’t wait to get there so we can have some fun together.”
“It’s going to be great. I need to have Lilene figure out where you can stay. They put me up in this little corporate apartment at one of the warehouses. It’s fine for one person, but it’s not that big, and it’s kind of off the beaten track. I’ll get her to find a place for us.”
“Don’t go to big trouble. I could sleep on the couch.”
“No. If anyone is doing any couch sleeping it’ll be me.”
“I can find somewhere. I’m quite resourceful, you know.”
A heavy emptiness hung over her. “I miss you, Anna.”
“Well, it won’t be as long as it has been.”
“Thank goodness,” Vanessa said. “It’ll be great to see you.”
“You get some rest. You can handle whatever this situation is. Everything will come together in good time.”
Vanessa hung up and laid her phone aside feeling more confident about the task ahead. Anna had a way, as Mom always had, of making her believe anything was possible.
The next morning, rain blew sideways, making yesterday’s pretty blue mountains nothing but a soaking gray blob. She’d already texted Jimmy, who was on his way.
Downstairs waiting, she checked messages until she heard his horn honk. When she opened the door, the wind caught it and dragged her outside, almost yanking her off her feet. She stutter-stepped to regain her footing, then slammed the door behind her and ran for the car.
“Thanks for coming. It’s a mess out here,” she said.
“At least it’s not snow.”
