Gone to Green

by Judy Christie

  The Golden Pen Award for outstanding "News-Item Community Item" this year goes to Suzanne Zitto. Close runners-up are Paul Christie, Alisa Stingley, Ginger Hamilton, Martha Fitzgerald, Mary Ann Van Osdell, Teddy Allen, David Christie, Mary Frances Christie, Craig Durrett, Carol Lovelady, Eleanor Ransburg, Sarah Plunkett, and Alan English.

  In addition, the staff thanks those faithful newspaper supporters-Alisa Stingley, Kathie Rowell, Barbara Montgomery, and Paul Christie. Thanks, too, to Etta Wilson, Paul Franklyn, Barbara Scott, and Jenny Youngman.

  Want to learn more about author Judy Christie and check out other great fiction from Abingdon Press?

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  Discussion Questions

  1. Gone to Green is told in first-person through the character of Lois Barker. How would you describe Lois to a friend? What are her best characteristics, and where does she falter?

  2. Early in the story, an unexpected "gift" from a colleague confuses Lois. What causes her misgivings? Is it a mixed blessing for Ed to pass along a business with strings attached? Did he believe Lois would move down south? Have you ever been thrilled and upset by the same event?

  3. Lois makes an important choice early in Gone to Green, setting in motion a variety of other changes. How might things have turned out if Lois had chosen to stay in Dayton? Why do you think Lois decides to move to Green? Do you find life's decisions are usually clear-cut or require a struggle? How do you make decisions?

  4. The community of Green plays a key part in this story. How would you describe the town to someone about to visit? What is special about it? What needs improvement? What is the role of downtown?

  5. Green changes Lois, and she changes the town. In what ways does it have the greatest impact on her life? How does she most change the community? List some of the changes that occur in Gone to Green and consider how you might have handled them. Do you find it easy to deal with change? Have you ever gotten tangled up in change? Is Lois bothered by change?

  6. If you were a community correspondent for The Green News-Item, what would you write about?

  7. What does Lois's attitude about Green tell us about her as a person?

  8. Living out on Route 2 affects Lois in unexpected ways. What might have been different had she lived in a new condo on the lake? How is her rural neighborhood a community within a community? Do you think people differ by region?

  9. As the owner of the newspaper, Lois encounters a host of challenges. If she were not a journalist, how might her life as a Green newcomer have been different? What are the biggest obstacles she faces?

  10. Lois gets to know a variety of people in Green, including young Katy, Aunt Helen, Dr. Kevin Taylor, Eva Hillburn, Pastor Jean, Walt, and Chris. How does each influence Lois?

  11. In what ways are Dub and Chuck McCuller, Lee Roy Hicks, and Major Wilson similar and how do they differ? What impact do they have on Lois?

  12. How would you describe the journey Lois is on? What parts do career, geography, relationships, and spirituality play in it? Have you considered how different areas of your life affect one another?

  13. What advice might you give Lois as her journey continues? Are there areas in your life where you might want or need to grow or change? What will Lois have to deal with as she continues to develop?

  Bonus chapter from book two in the Green Series

  Goodness Gracious Green

  1

  Don't be fooled by the sweater vests.

  That was my first thought when I looked through the window and saw the Big Boys standing on my porch on New Year's Day. They looked like high school social studies teachers except for the grimaces-and the briefcase.

  Of course, in my sweat pants and Mammoth Cave t-shirt, I looked like a high school gym teacher myself. Maybe I should have chosen the shower over the second cup of coffee.

  I opened the door, hating to start my second year in Green with these two.

  "Good morning, Chuck, Dub," I said. "What brings you out to Route 2 so early?" I shivered as a chilly wind blew and stepped aside for them to enter. "You might as well come on in."

  The two men exchanged a brief look and glanced around at the old cottage I happily call home. "Haven't been in here in a while," Dub said. "Aunt Helen loved this place. Lots of memories."

  Chuck threw his brother an impatient stare and interrupted in a harsh tone. "We've heard some disturbing things around town, Miss Barker. We need to talk to you."

  "Business matters, newspaper business, family stuff," Dub said, looking just the tiniest bit apologetic. "We want to straighten this out before it goes any further."

  I motioned to the couch, hoping they would take a seat and give me a moment to collect my thoughts. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

  "This isn't a social call. We need to talk to you right away," Chuck said.

  "So you mentioned," I murmured, wondering what could possibly have pulled these two men away from home on a holiday devoted to televised football, one of their favorite activities in the world. "I guess you're not here to tell me Happy New Year."

  Chuck, the bossy brother, started to stand up, reconsidered, and sat back down. "We're here to buy back The News-Item," he said. "We want it back. We're prepared to make you a good offer."

  A real good offer," Dub said.

  "The paperwork's all drawn up, and we'll give you a check today." Chuck clicked open the leather satchel and pulled out files. His brother fished in his pocket and produced an expensive ink pen.

  "But ... but ... " I actually sputtered. "The Item isn't for sale. I own The Item. The staff and I own it."

  "Of course it's for sale," Chuck said. "Everything's for sale. We heard about that ridiculous little profit-sharing ploy of yours. Won't work." He held out a check and waved it in my face. "This is a generous offer. Take it. Take it."

  I stepped back, thinking of the water moccasins that lived in the pond across the road. Chuck looked ready to strike at any moment. Country living had its drawbacks, and neighbors who lived closer might be nice right about now.

  "I'm not sure what this is all about, but let me emphasize that The Green News-Item is not for sale. I have established a partnership with the employees, and we have big plans. If you want to talk business, set up a meeting at my office. End of story."

  I had struggled for my paper and its staff and my wonderful new life. Green meant too much to me to even listen to these men today.

  I stood up and walked to the door, as dignified as I could, with my heart about to pound out of my chest and my fleece pants sagging. My hand trembled as I reached for the handle.

  Before Chuck and Dub could stand, a light tap sounded, and the door swung open. In walked Mayor Eva Hillburn, carrying her Yorkie terrier Sugar Marie. I jumped back, startled. Then I smiled, incredibly relieved.

  "Happy New Year, Lois. Didn't mean to scare you." She was clearly amazed to see the McCuller men sitting in my living room and nodded at them. "Chuck. Dub. Have I come at a bad time?"

  I reached around the dog to give her a half hug. "Happy New Year, Mayor. This is a great time." When I spoke, the little dog jumped at me and bit me on the face. As though for good measure, she nipped my hand.

  The living room, already tense, became frenzied. Dub leapt up. Eva jumped back. I reached my hand to my cheek and felt blood.

  Maybe year two in Green was not going to be so great after all.

  "Sugar Marie, bad dog, bad dog," Eva said.

  "Oh my word," Dub said, handing me the white handkerchief he always carried. "Use this. Apply pressure."

  "Good grief," Chuck said, closing the briefcase and rising. "It's only a scratch. That obnoxious little fur ball couldn't hurt a fly. She's not a Rottweiler or something. Come on." He turned to look at me as he and his brother st
epped onto the porch. "This conversation is not over. We'll be in touch."

  Chuck nodded at Eva with a frown, and I could have sworn Dub winked at her. Stunned, I didn't say a word. I started to offer Dub his handkerchief, but it had blood on it, so I held it back to my face, my mouth ajar, as though I had a bad cold and couldn't breathe through my nose.

  In silence we watched them slam the SUV doors, spin gravel on the driveway, and head toward Green.

  The mayor, a normally calm woman with a personality as controlled as her hairdo, shook her head, as though to clear her thoughts. "I came by to tell you I'm glad you're staying in Green, to see how I might help you in the year ahead," she said. "Not a moment too soon, it seems."

  "I have no idea what that was about," I said and dabbed at my eye, noting more blood.

  Eva began to fuss at Sugar Marie and apologized profusely. "We have to get you to the doctor ... Sugar Marie, bad girl. Whatever came over you? I apologize. Hardly the way to let you know how thrilled I am that you're staying."

  "Goodness gracious!" Eva was babbling at this point. "Did she get your eye? Here, let me take a look."

  Sugar Marie, now out of Eva's arms, sniffed around the room. I wondered if she would insult me further by peeing on the floor. I headed into the bedroom to assess the damage, and the dog growled at me-growled at me-in my own home ... after biting me. On the second anniversary of my arrival in Green.

  But Sugar Marie had broken up a very unexpected meeting with the Big Boys. Maybe that was worth a small facial scar. Probably even a doggie treat.

  "I insist on taking you to see Dr. Kevin," the brand-new, take-charge mayor said. "This needs medical attention. I can't have my local newspaper owner suing me. I hear she intends to stay in town for years."

  "Sue you? You saved me from the Big Boys. I'd hug you again if it weren't for Sugar Marie. Plus, it's kind of nice to have something to hold over that perfect head of yours."

  In the end, Eva and I arranged to meet my doctor friend at her office for an exam.

  "Sugar's never bitten anyone before," Eva kept saying on the drive to the clinic. I tried to keep a little distance between myself and the dog, who whimpered as though I had wronged her.

  Kevin, one of my best friends and my physician, declared the wound in need of a few small stitches because of its location near my eye. `Just to be on the safe side," she said, pulling out a little package of supplies. While giving me a painful shot, she asked about Sugar Marie's vaccinations and talked about the possibility of infection.

  This year was getting better and better.

  I had awakened with such happiness at what was ahead. Now I could scarcely worry about my wound for thinking about the scary visit by the McCullers, the files they had, the check. They wanted to buy The Item? But they had sold the newspaper. They were happy to unload it.

  "Eva ..." I tried to turn to her.

  "Sit still," Kevin said. "It's really not that smart to move when I'm working near your eye with a needle."

  "Eva," I said again, staring straight ahead. "What were the McCullers up to?"

  "No good, no doubt," Kevin said, right as she tied up her needlework, pulling a little tight out of anger I suspected. Her opinion of most of the power brokers in town was pretty low.

  "They want to buy me out." I was completely perplexed-and a little fearful. "Things have fallen into place for me here. Chuck and Dub aren't in the picture any more."

  "Maybe they've decided after a year out of the news business they want back in," Eva said. "Maybe they hope to run you out of town. Or they're trying to cook up a scheme to make lots of money. That's what they do, them and my brother. They look for schemes to make money and don't care who they mow over."

  The two men and Major Wilson, Eva's brother, had plagued me since I stumbled into buying the newspaper. They certainly did not approve of how I ran The News-Item. But they had never acted like they wanted it back.

  "Don't fret about it," Kevin said. "They can't hurt you. Wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different things." She straightened up the cubicle. "Why don't y'all come with me over to Mama and Daddy's for black-eyed peas and cornbread ... see if we can't salvage some good luck for you on New Year's Day."

  "Sounds perfect," I said. "I'd just as soon start this year over." I touched the small bandage and picked up my purse. "I guess there's no point in trying to pay you for this, is there?"

  "First patient of the year is on the house," Kevin said.

  At that instant Eva's cell phone rang, and I jumped. As the new mayor of Green, Eva was always on call and insisted we publicize her phone numbers. Her phone rang steadily.

  She frowned as she took the call. "You're sure? Speak louder. You're breaking up. Downtown, you said?" Eva inhaled deeply. "I'll be right there."

  She snapped her phone shut, dropped it into her purse and grabbed her keys. "There's lots of smoke downtown," she said. "Looks like one of the buildings is on fire."

  "Which one?" I asked, jumping up and grabbing my coat. "Is it the paper? Your store? I'm coming with you."

  "You know as much as I do. Fire downtown," she said. "Let's go."

  "I'm coming too," Kevin said, flinging an array of medical supplies into a black canvas bag.

  As we stepped outside, smoke rose in the distance. Kevin's clinic was about ten minutes from the paper, and my heart pounded hard for about the sixth time today. My newspaper building sat right in the middle of downtown. So did Eva's department store. And the antique mall owned by my good friends Rose and Linda. And the Cotton Boll Cafe.

  I ran through a list of properties that could be on fire, trying not to let my imagination go crazy, surprised at how much I loved the places that popped into mind.

  Before we got out of Kevin's parking lot, my cell phone rang. "Lois, I hate to bother you but. . . " Iris Jo, my business manager and neighbor out on Route 2, sounded breathless, and, as usual, the connection was weak. "The paper's on fire. Looks pretty bad. They're calling for help from out in the parish." She was a gentle, straightforward woman, and her words were uncharacteristically rushed.

  "Slow down," I said. "Tell me everything. Where are you?"

  "On my way. I just got the call from Stan. The Fire Department notified him. Looks like it's in the press area. Not sure how long it's been burning. Tammy discovered it when she went in to post the obits. Said it was smoking then. Now it's flames. Through the roof."

  "Is Tammy okay?" I asked, terrified. "She didn't go in the building, did she?"

  "She tried to, but the smoke was beginning to seep out. Thank goodness she turned around and called the fire department. Stan said she's crying and sitting on the curb across the street."

  When we arrived, flames were shooting out of the roof of my newspaper, and streams of water were being sprayed at the building and those nearby. Tammy stood near her car with Iris Jo and Stan, the maintenance guy.

  I thought I might throw up as I looked at their faces and back at the building.

  The mayor and I rushed closer, but were quickly scolded. Kevin surveyed the area, sizing up the need for her services.

  "Hold it right there. No civilians allowed," a young deputy said.

  The mayor and I talked over each other. "I need to get information." "We need to know what's going on."

  "I'm the mayor. I want to assess the damage. And I'm a business owner nearby, as you very well know, young man," Eva said, pointing her finger at the poor officer assigned to keep spectators at bay.

  "I'm the owner," I said. "How bad is this? Is it nearly out? What happened?"

  Kevin stepped between the policeman and us. "Dr. Kevin Taylor, sir. Local physician. Available to help as needed."

  As she talked, Stan walked up, a somber look on his face. "Miss Lois, Mayor, Dr. Taylor," he nodded at all of us in greeting. "I've got the latest info. No need to put yourself-or someone else for that matterin danger by getting any closer."

  I turned, not calmed but reassured. Stan had worked at the pape
r since he was a boy and knew the place inside and out. He made sure the newspaper got printed, no matter what. Twice a week. Every week.

  Stan was one of those steady people you don't notice until you need them. "They got the call about twenty-five minutes ago. Tammy called first and then someone who was driving by. Both reported fairly heavy smoke. They're close to getting the blaze under control. Looks like it's in the press room. Old Bossy may be crankier than ever after this." Stan's nickname for the ancient press had come about years ago when he realized the press ruled the roost.

  "But what about the damage? How bad?" My stomach churned.

  "There'll probably be more damage from water than fire. They hope to be able to tell us something shortly." He paused as Iris Jo and Tammy rushed up, hugging me and assuring me everything was going to be okay.

  I turned to Tammy to make sure she was all right, but she got to me first. "What happened to your eye?" she asked.

  "My eye?" I had totally forgotten about my dog bite. Suddenly, I realized my head throbbed. I touched the bandage gingerly. "Sugar Marie apparently doesn't approve of people hugging her mayor."

  "Sugar Marie? You've got to be kidding me." Tammy generally focused on whatever was right in front of her. "Sugar Marie?" She almost smiled. "She figured out you're afraid of dogs. Poor little scamp. I bet she's in big trouble now."

  "Poor little scamp?" I stopped short of arguing with her, remembering my business was burning. "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital, or have Kevin look you over?"

  "Oh, I'm fine," Tammy said, waving her hand, rubbing her nose with a tissue. "The worst part is watching our baby burn. This was going to be our year. I keep trying to figure out what I could have done. How could I have acted quicker?"

  I patted her arm and hugged her again. Down here in Northwest Louisiana, hugging saved a lot of words. People hugged you to say hello, say good-bye, to share your happiness and ease your sorrow. In the past year, I had become quite the hugger.