“I’ll take the medium, please.”
He pulled two shirts from a box and handed them to her. “This will get you started. I like to give folks a three-week trial. At the end of those three weeks, either of us can end the employment for any reason. Sound fair enough?”
“Works for me.”
“Great. I just have a couple things for you to fill out. You do have a valid driver’s license, right?”
“Sure do.”
“Good.” He handed her a clipboard.
It only took her a minute to fill out the forms and turn it back over.
The shirts with the FriendsGiving logo embroidered on the lapel were nice-quality polo shirts. She hadn’t expected anything more than a screen-printed T-shirt.
Jesse glanced over the papers, then smiled. “After these first three weeks, I’ll give you a list of recurring clients. You’ll be able to work together with them on the scheduling if you wantto adjust it. Mostly our customers need things like pharmacy pickups, grocery store, some need rides to church on Sunday, others just a little company and for someone to make sure they are doing okay.”
“I can do all that. No problem.”
“The schedule isn’t too busy. It’ll leave you some time to explore the surrounding areas, and some of our seniors are very active in county groups. Sometimes there are field trips you can put your name in the hat to help out with. Our drivers usually like those, since they get to go along for the trip too.”
“That could be fun. Thank you for this opportunity.”
He handed her a card. “My number’s on there if you need me. The car always has a full tank of gas and is ready here in the morning. I’ll trust you’ll meet the commitments as they come in. If you have to decline one, just be sure you get a response from me that I’ve rescheduled it to someone else. I like to keep communication clear. Don’t like leaving my neighbors hanging.”
“Of course. I’ve got it, and if someone cancels and you need me to fill in, I’ve got a flexible schedule right now.”
“Good to know,” Jesse said. “You’re welcome to use the car for your own errands while you’re running these. We’re pretty casual about it. Haven’t had anybody abuse the privilege yet. Don’t expect I will.”
“Thank you.”
“Guess that’s it. So, here’s the information on your two scheduled appointments. Mr. G. needs to pick up some prescriptions today, and has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”
“Great. I can handle that.”
“Today will be simply picking him up to take him to thedrive-thru at the pharmacy, and then back home. Don’t ask why he won’t let you just pick them up and deliver them to him. I know it would be faster, but he’s set in his ways. He’s… Well, Paul is Paul. No one else like him in the world.”
“Can’t wait to see what that means,” she said with what she hoped came across as a friendly laugh.
“He’s very particular. Doesn’t want anyone up on the hill either. He’ll meet you at the gate at the foot of the driveway at that address. He rides down on his scooter. Very independent, he is. If he’s not there, just wait. He’ll be along shortly.”
“Well, I guess we’re lucky he has to go farther than the scooter will take him. Else he might be found cruising right down Main Street.”
Jesse cracked a smile. “You think you’re joking, but that’s pretty much how it is. As long as you follow the instructions, you’ll be fine. Oh, and don’t be late.” He tossed his head back and smiled. “You know, I think you two will find common ground very quickly.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“As you should.” He dipped his head in an old-fashioned how-do-you-do sort of way and then got into his car.
She waved as he drove off. There was still plenty of time before she had to pick up Paul.
At least driving and parking the Toyota wouldn’t be a problem. It looked tiny sitting next to Jeremy’s truck.
She unlocked the car and placed her cooler behind the passenger seat where she could reach it. It was a very nice car to be a fleet car. Leather interior, all the bells and whistles, even a sunroof. She got in and worked her way through all of the buttons and gadgets, then drove through town.
Checking her GPS for directions, she saw she had enough time to go out to the pharmacy at the other end of Main and then backtrack to pick him up, so she did.
She’d only been to the little market on Main Street until now. Natalie was delighted to see there was a big chain supermarket on the other side of town. It wasn’t as big as the one in Richmond, but it was still a big step up from the country store.
