by R A Wallace
It wasn’t possible when she was younger. After her mom had passed away, staying home by herself just wasn’t an option. But she was fourteen now. That was old enough to be alone. Maybe she could get by with just a tutor instead of having to go to school.
She bumped into someone but didn’t bother to slow down long enough to hear the apology. She heard a burst of laughter as she continued walking. She was sure they were laughing about her. Everyone else walking in the hall seemed happy to be there. They were usually in groups, talking, laughing, and having fun as they moved from one class to another.
Maya had never been that way. She didn’t seem to make friends easily. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been born in Teaberry. They had moved there after her mom died. Maya slowed even more the closer she got to her next class. She saw the math teacher, Mr. Jefferson, standing in front of his classroom watching as the students filed in.
She took a deep breath and pushed on. As she reached the classroom, he focused on her as though he’d been waiting for her.
“Maya, about that home work you need to turn in,” Gavin said. “You’re pretty behind with it. Now that you’re going to miss a week of class next week, it’s going to be even harder to make up. How are you doing with it so far?”
Maya shifted the books in her arms and shrugged. She saw Mr. Jefferson grimace. She started to walk around him to go into the classroom, but his words stopped her.
“Have you thought about using a tutor?” he asked.
She felt the hope in her well up. She would be able to quit school.
“It might help you with the homework that you need to turn in,” he added.
She realized he expected her to remain in school. He wasn’t thinking about home schooling.
“I don’t know of any tutors,” she said quietly as she slipped past him to take her seat. From where she was sitting, she could just see outside into the hall. Mr. Jefferson remained out there and began talking to another student. Maya recognized her. Everyone in school knew Bella Prescott. She was the genius that never had any problems with school.
***
Megan entered the front door of the administration building and walked down the hall until she reached Jessilyn’s office. As the Town Events Coordinator, she was either responsible for most of the events that occurred in Teaberry or she worked closely with whoever was. Megan tapped on the open door and entered when Jessilyn looked up from her computer.
“Hang on, I’ll let the mayor know you’re here.” Jessilyn pressed some buttons on her phone and used the intercom feature to connect to the mayor. When she disconnected, she sat back in her seat. “She wants to speak with you also.”
“How are things going with the off-road track?” Megan asked.
Jessilyn stood and retrieved a large roll of drawings from the credenza behind her. She unrolled them and flattened them on the top of her desk, using her stapler and other things to hold it down.
“They’ve already got this section of the proposed trail complete. They’re working over here now.” Jessilyn pointed at another section of the map.
“Looks like they’re making good progress,” Megan said as she studied the map.
“From what they’re saying, we’ll make our June deadline for opening.” Jessilyn rolled the map back up and returned it to her credenza as the mayor walked in.
“Did you tell her yet?” Barbara asked Jessilyn.
“No, we were talking about the new off-road trail and I was saving it for you.” Jessilyn sat back in her seat.
“As you know, the Teaberry Invitational begins next week,” Barbara said. “We’re hoping it becomes an annual event here. The town would really profit from all of the business we anticipate it will bring.”
“The whole town is planning to go all out,” Jessilyn added. “All of the businesses have agreed to be open on Sunday, even those that aren’t normally. We’re hoping that the spectators and players that arrive early for the tournament will take advantage of that.”
“It does sound nice,” Megan agreed.
“We want the town web site to also go all out and promote the tournament and everything that goes with it,” Barbara said. “That will mean keeping the content on the web pages as current as possible and as enticing as possible.”
Megan could tell the mayor was excited about the tournament.
“Maybe I could do some interviews of the players? Get some background information on them,” she suggested. “But I’d need access to them.”
Barbara turned to Jessilyn. “I knew she’d understand.”
Jessilyn pulled out a plastic ID card on a chain and handed it over to Megan.
“We were hoping you would say yes. This will give you all the access that you need for the entire week of the tournament.”
Megan flipped the ID card around. In addition to identifying her, it also identified the card. It was a press pass.
“You’ll want to touch base with Jay Kerns. He’s one of the sponsors of the tournament and he’s from here. He should be able to give you a lot of information,” Barbara said.
***
Caitlyn heard the bells on her front door. She left the workroom in the back of her shop to see who it was. She found one of the twins.
“Janice, what brings you by?” Caitlyn leaned against her counter.
“Are you planning to be open all weekend for the tournament also?” Janice asked.
“I am. You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. Hang on.” Caitlyn went back into her workroom to grab a print out. She returned to the front room and handed the paper to Janice.
“What’s this?” Janice glanced down at the page. “Oh!”
“I was wondering if we should make flyers with something like this?” Caitlyn said. “We could all pass them out for the week of the tournament.”
“It has ads from all of our shops on here with coupons for return visits,” Janice said. “I love it.”
“It was just an idea. I wasn’t sure how anyone else would feel about it,” Caitlyn said.
“Did you ask anyone else yet?” Janice asked.
“I haven’t been able to, but we’d need to get them run off now to be ready,” Caitlyn said.
“You’ve done the hard part. Let me touch base with the other businesses and see if they’re okay with the idea,” Janice suggested.
Caitlyn glanced at the time. “I can run into Vintage and check with Leah and Daryl.”
“I’ll get Tia in Tomes, Giselle in Togs, and the rest on the list.” Janice looked back down at the flyer. “This is such a great idea.”
Chapter Three
Dena flipped the page over and checked her calculations. She was used to doing it all on the computer but that wasn’t an option here. Instead, she was using the old ledger books that she wasn’t even sure were made anymore. She’d found the one she was using in a box on the floor of the office in the garage.
The box also had old receipt pads and she’d finally convinced Gabe to use them whenever he worked on a car. The tough part was to get him to take the next step and transfer the information to the ledger book so he could track the history of his transactions. It was his only hope for keeping on top of the taxes he’d need to collect and submit to the state. She stood from the old metal folding chair and walked over to the bay where Gabe was working.
“You’re good for now but you need to keep up with the ledger.” It wasn’t the first time she’d tried to have this conversation with him.
He remained under the car. She could only see from his knees to the bottom of his well-worn boots.
“Gabe?”
“Yeah, got it. Thanks.”
She heard a metal clank as he dropped one of his tools. There was a fumbling noise and some muttering before he found the next tool he needed.
She waited a few moments, but he didn’t say anything else. She was about to walk away when he called her name.
“You still there?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah.” She cro
ssed her arms and waited.
“You don’t need to keep doing this. I’m guessing you’ve paid off whatever debt you might owe me for working on your car,” he said.
She shook her head. He still wasn’t getting it.
“If you want to run a business, you need to know down to the penny how much I owe you. Figure out a formula and stick with it. You have your cost for the parts and your time spent on the project. You need to be competitive with what others are charging, but you also need to make a profit.”
He didn’t respond.
“Gabe?”
“Yeah, I heard you.”
“Good,” she said. “Because then you need to think about things like insurance and gross profit margins.”
She heard him chuckle underneath the car.
“I’m thinking it will be a while before I really need to worry about any of that.” He pulled himself from under the car and sat up on the rolling creeper. “You look… different.”
“No doubt.” She looked down at her uniform. “I got a part-time job.”
“Another one?”
“Yeah. I need to go. You’re caught up for now. Just make sure you enter all of your new jobs in the ledger,” she said.
Gabe watched as Dena walked away, then rolled himself back under the car.
***
“That puts us up to ten part-time employees so far for the landscaping business,” Seth said.
“We’re probably going to need several more but it will be enough to handle the golf tournament and still keep up with the other contracts we have for now.” Jax scratched his chin as he read the report Trina had created for them.
“I’m glad we have Trina to handle all that.” Seth motioned toward the print out. “Can you imagine us trying to keep up on it?”
“There’s no way.” Jax dropped the print out. “Dealing with the paychecks, taxes, insurance, and all that other stuff she’s been doing?” He shook his head.
“Anyway, we’re good to go for today. We need to get our part of the work finished at the golf course early and clear out,” Seth said. “It’s all hands on deck time.”
“I think we’re in pretty good shape there. We have a lot of the landscaping already done,” Jax pointed out. “And the plants and flowers are all in. We just need to finish up and deal with the rest of the mulch.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m just freaking because the tournament is going to be televised.” Seth stood.
Jax chuckled. “I know what you mean. When they told us they were going to credit our company in their promotional materials… that’s a big thing there. Everyone is going to know who handled the landscaping for the tournament.”
“Exactly. I don’t want to mess this up.” Seth pointed at the print out. “We’re good?”
“Yeah. We know what we’re doing.” Jax stood and followed Seth from the office. His eyes automatically tracked across the room to find Trina at one of the cash registers.
“I’m going to go check on those other delivery orders. I want to make sure they’re all covered before we leave for the golf course. We’ll need a couple of the trucks to come with us for the mulch.”
“Sounds good.” Jax joined Trina at the register and waited until she finished with her customer.
“Hey. You guys get everything figured out?” Trina asked.
Jax laughed again. “Thanks to you. We’d be in over our heads if you didn’t keep everything straight.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Trina said. “It’s all about the team work.”
***
Dena parked in the employee lot at the golf course and went toward the main office for the staff. The supply room was nearby. She didn’t have a resume showing experience with cleaning. She was lucky that the assistant manager in charge of the cleaning staff at the golf course was willing to give her a chance.
“Hey, Dena. How is the job going?”
“Oh, hi Pat.” Dena stopped. “I think I’m finally figuring things out.”
“Learning anything new takes a while. One of the things I like about working here is that the people are nice,” Pat said. “Whenever you get stuck, there’s always someone to ask.”
“How long have you been here?”
“About ten years now. I started out as the assistant manager in the restaurant,” Pat said.
“That’s the job that Emily has now?” Dena was still trying to learn all of the names.
“Yes, that’s right. You probably won’t see much of her most of the time. She usually works evenings until closing.”
“You handle the day shift?” Dena was pretty sure that was right.
“Yes. Things will be a little crazy during the tournament so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of people working extra hours.”
“I won’t complain. I’m hoping to be one of those people,” Dena said.
Pat looked at her watch. “I should let you go. I have to get back to the restaurant. Some of us just had a staff meeting about the tournament next week.”
Dena knew that’s where her supervisor was. She waved and kept walking to the supply room. After getting her cart stocked, she pushed it out and headed for the bungalows. It was what she had been assigned to clean. She knew that there were other employees assigned to cleaning the hotel rooms.
The bungalows were separate units and there were a lot of them. She pushed her cart to the very end of the units and tapped on the door to announce herself. Hearing no response, she used her pass to open the door and began her cleaning routine as she’d been taught. Once the bungalows were completely full during the tournament, it would take her much longer to clean them all. She was looking forward to the extra money.
***
Phoebe Gaines knew she was being an idiot but she couldn’t help it. She stopped in front of the Golf Shop and took a deep breath before opening the door to enter. There was someone standing next to the cash register but she knew immediately that it wasn’t Wes. She pretended to look at some of the apparel on the rack next to her. She was really looking around to see if Wes was nearby. She was vaguely aware that the front door to the shop opened behind her. The voice in her ear was familiar.
“I don’t think he’s in here,” Van Haskins said quietly.
Phoebe turned to grin at her friend.
“Don’t make fun of me. I’m already doing enough of it for both of us,” Phoebe said.
Van raised a hand. “I’m not making fun of you, I swear. I have no room to talk.”
“Uh, oh. That doesn’t sound good. I thought you and your lady friend were getting along?” Phoebe lifted a sweatshirt from the rack. With any luck, the weather would hold and she wouldn’t be needing anything heavy for the duration of the tournament. She hung it back on the rack.
“I thought so too. I have no clue what went wrong. One minute we were happy. The next minute she was getting back with her old boyfriend.” Van pointed toward the next rack. “That color always looks good on you.”
Phoebe smiled. Old friends were like gifts. They knew when you needed a shoulder. Van was trying to cheer her up. She put her hand on his back as the two of them walked out of the shop.
“Maybe you’ll find a nice lady at the tournament?” Phoebe said.
“You think?” Van asked.
“You never know.”
“Phoebe! Van! There you are.” Jay Kerns walked quickly toward them.
“Jay. We hear you’re to thank for this tournament?” Van said.
“I’m just one of the many,” Jay said. “Listen, are we ready for the announcing duties next week?”
“Phoebe and I know what we’re doing,” Van said.
Phoebe nodded. “I have your time slots in an email somewhere. I thought you were copied in on that?”
“I’ve been having trouble with my computer,” Jay said.
“I can print it out,” Phoebe offered. “I’ll bring it with me to the restaurant later.”
“That would be great, thanks.” Jay watched as the two of them
walked away.
The sound of a car pulling into the lot made him turn. He nodded to the two guys who walked past him on their way back to their landscaping truck. The car that pulled in stopped next to the landscaping truck and a young girl got out. Jay scowled as the car drove away. He walked over to intercept the girl.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
Maya’s chin rose a few inches. “I earned the right to be here.”
“You aren’t at the level needed for this competition,” Jay insisted. “Call your father. Tell him to come back and get you.”
“I’m staying,” Maya said stubbornly.
“Wait until the tournament is over. Then you can take your little lessons again,” Jay said.
She stepped around the man in front of her and walked away.
Chapter Four
He looked across the table and knew he’d never grow tired of the sight. His youngest daughter had fallen asleep during dinner. Baby Grace was snuggled against Lauren. He could hear Mia and Noah arguing over what to watch on television next. He’d promised them a game of kickball after the dinner dishes were done. Justin stood from the kitchen table and began clearing it.
“Do you want me to lay her down for you?” he asked.
Lauren nuzzled the top of Grace’s head with her chin. “No. I’ll bring her outside for a bit when you’re playing with the kids. The fresh air will be good for all of us.”
“I hear we’re supposed to have good weather for the golf tournament all next week.” Justin scraped the plates into the trash and stacked them on the counter.
“That will make it easier on me to deliver in the mornings. It’s no fun getting baked goods inside during a downpour.”
“I’ll be here to watch Grace in the mornings,” he reminded her.
“That’s the nice thing about you being on afternoon turns.” She began rubbing Grace’s back as the baby stirred. A moment later Grace settled again.
“My mom might be in and out to help.” He began putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.
“She deserves the time off. She and Vince are going to have fun at the tournament cheering Susan and Ross on.”
