The Path to Piney Meadows

by Gail Sattler

  “Ted sounds like a smart man.”

  Anna raised her head. “But it made everyone very unhappy. The men were angry that they were told to wash dishes like the women, and the women were angry because they did not like the way the dishwasher washed the dishes.”

  “Then the dishes weren’t being rinsed before they went into the dishwasher, or they sat for days with gunk caked on.” He visibly shuddered. “That can be disgusting. But if the dishwasher is run every day, it’s more sanitary than washing by hand.”

  “Then you are not displeased with Elaine?”

  “Of course not. You mean she’s worried because I helped wash the dishes?” He sighed. “I knew I would have to learn about your culture here, but I had no idea how much. I have a feeling I’m going to be putting my foot in it often. I’m going to need your help. A lot.”

  Anna looked down at his feet in his brand-new boots. “Why would you step inside the dishwasher? That would not be sanitary.”

  He sighed again. “It’s an expression. ‘Putting your foot in it’ means to say something that puts you in an awkward spot. I’ve said something to Elaine and unintentionally hurt her feelings. How do I make it better?”

  Anna turned her head to the door, mentally picturing Elaine back at her job painting the wood. “I will speak with her and tell her this is how it is done in the cities. And you are not unhappy with the kitchen.”

  “Thank you.” Chad checked his watch. “I’m going to be leaving soon. I decided to go back to Minneapolis tonight instead of waiting until Saturday morning. I have a lot to do, and I must get it all done in one weekend, because I won’t be back. Anything I don’t get out this weekend, the landlord is likely to put out on the street for the vagrants.”

  “Will you need help?”

  William, who had remained silent until now, raised his head. “If you need help, I can go with you. I can help you pack and carry your furniture. What are you going to move?”

  Chad’s posture sagged. “I really don’t have much—I can handle it. I’ve been in contact with a few of my friends and they’re going to help, and I’m going to store my stuff in a corner of one friend’s basement until I know what I’m going to do with it. For now, I just need to pack and vacate the premises.”

  William nodded. “When you will be moving your furniture, there are many of us who can help you. You do not have to do this alone.”

  Chad gave William the saddest smile Anna had ever seen. “It’s okay. I don’t really have much stuff. Most of it wasn’t mine, and it’s already gone. It’s mostly just odds and ends left.”

  Anna blinked and stared at Chad. “Do you not have furniture?”

  He stared blankly out the window. “It’s a long story.” He checked his watch and stood. “I should go now. It’s going to be dark soon, and it’s a long trip to Minneapolis. I’ll see you both bright and early Monday morning.”

  Chad stood in the middle of the now-empty space that used to be his living room.

  He remembered moving in, and it had been nothing like this. He’d thought when he mixed his things in with Brittany’s that it had been the most important day of his life. It was a melding of like minds and lives, almost like getting married. Only they never got married; the engagement went on forever. Apparently, he’d wanted to get married much more than she had. Every time he asked about actually setting a date, she had some supposedly good reason for another delay and he’d had no choice but to go along with it.

  In hindsight, he wondered if she’d intended to marry him at all, or if she’d just used him for his half of the rent on a place neither of them could afford separately. Since she obviously valued his money more than she valued him, his gut told him that he’d probably find the expensive engagement ring, on which he’d spent a large chunk of his savings, on sale in a pawn shop somewhere, as well as some of the other expensive gifts he’d given her.

  Yet, he really didn’t care about any of that, the ring, or the money. Brittany had taken something far more valuable away from him, and even if he had to use up everything he had, he was going to get it back.

  He looked at the boxes piled up in the corner, leaned his back against the wall, and sank to the floor, landing with a thud.

  He’d thought he’d have more, but Brittany really hadn’t left him with a lot. When they first moved in together, Brittany said she liked her colors better than his, so they’d sold almost all of his furniture, one piece at a time, until there was almost nothing left. The few things they’d bought together, each putting in fifty percent of the cost, had disappeared the day she moved out.

  He’d gotten home from work expecting to go out for supper to find not only that Brittany was gone but that she’d taken almost everything with her.

  The only significant furniture left was his TV, stereo, computer, a desk, one chair, and his barbecue.

  It didn’t take a lot of work to pack up his computer or his stereo. The television was packed and ready to store at Todd’s place, at least for now. When he found out how to get cable hooked up, then he’d be back for his television and a few more bulky items. He’d thought about getting satellite, but at least in the initial stages of trying to fit in with the community, he didn’t want to be the only one in town with a television.

  He looked at the ratty recliner that had been his father’s favorite chair before his parents moved into a smaller place and gave it to him. Brittany hadn’t wanted it in the living room, but he’d insisted. Maybe he would take it to Piney Meadows when he found a place of his own to live, but for now, he couldn’t take it to Ted’s house.

  He turned and stared blankly out the window.

  For now, all he could take was what fit in his car.

  He wondered if his new employer had an employee discount or purchasing plan so he could buy some of the furniture the factory manufactured.

  Or, if he wanted to be cold and practical, he didn’t know how much furniture Ted would be moving versus selling. It was a long way to ship furniture from Minneapolis to Seattle, and expensive. If Ted’s situation was the same as his own had been, Miranda probably already had an apartment full of nice furniture, and Ted would probably be selling at least a portion of the furniture he had to leave behind. If so, Chad hoped he got first dibs.

  Chad stared at the one photo of him and Brittany left on the wall. Ted’s situation wasn’t anything like Chad’s.

  Ted and Miranda were getting married. No doubt about it.

  It was also totally obvious, even though he’d only met them once, that Ted and Miranda were completely in love, and they were perfect for each other.

  He couldn’t remember the last time Brittany had said she loved him. He now wondered if she’d ever loved him at all.

  But it didn’t even matter anymore. What did matter was she had something he would always love. And he was going to do everything he could to get it back.

  Chad pushed himself up to his feet, walked around the boxes, plucked the photo off the wall, and dropped it into the garbage bag. He didn’t even want to salvage the frame.

  He’d been packing all weekend. Todd and Matt would arrive in a few minutes to put everything in either Todd’s truck or Chad’s car. They’d stack what little furniture he had left in the corner of Todd’s basement, and then Chad would drive back to Piney Meadows and stay.

  For today, he didn’t want to call this a bitter end but a new beginning. It wasn’t all bad. He could see great possibilities in the business, and he had the experience and education to make it work.

  All of the staff were very pleasant and honest people and he liked that, too. Besides Anna, the person he’d be working with the most would be William, the accountant. Even though William wasn’t very talkative, he was a pleasant fellow, and he’d found William to have an unexpected sense of humor.

  The best part of Piney Meadows, at least so far, was Anna. He was tired of all the petty games and self-seeking and backstabbing that surrounded him here.

  When he looked at Anna, a
ll the truth and honesty in her soul showed through her eyes, making him feel that life could be good. If the rest of the residents of Piney Meadows were half as sweet and pure of heart as Anna, he could be convinced that maybe, just maybe, God hadn’t forgotten him and left him in the dirt after all.

  Things were good and would continue to be good. By the time Anna decided to leave, he would be settled in and would be fine without her. Yet, already, after only a week, he knew he would miss her, but the difference—now he was wiser. She wasn’t his friend or his lover. She was only his administrative assistant, and therefore, when she left, he wouldn’t feel like his heart was being ripped out of his chest.

  When she left, he would deal with it. Until then, he would take every day as it happened.

  8

  Anna reached for her coffee mug without looking at it, and while skimming an order on the computer, she raised it to her lips. Instead of soothing warmth, her lips met only air.

  She lowered the mug and looked up at the clock. Like yesterday, she didn’t know where the day had gone, but it was nearly time to go home.

  This was now the second week without Ted, and things were going well—so well that Bart had only been in for an hour yesterday and today he hadn’t been there at all. Bart’s confidence in Chad felt reassuring. William also seemed comfortable with Chad, which said a lot, because William had always been cautious.

  The other employees also felt it, because all the work had continued with a minimum of disruption as Chad continued to learn Ted’s job.

  Tonight, however, she knew they would all be staying late. They needed to complete a quote for a new client, and they needed to prove to each other they could carry on with a minimum of disruption.

  Anna picked up her mug and stood. She reached for William’s mug, but he covered it with his hand and shook his head.

  Anna had learned quickly that her new boss was a heavy coffee drinker, so she turned and stepped into his office, knowing she didn’t need to ask if he wanted more coffee—he always did.

  Again, Chad was concentrating so much on the computer screen that he didn’t appear to notice her enter the room. Not wanting to disturb him, she stepped beside the desk and reached for his mug while he continued typing a long e-mail.

  She nearly dropped the mug. This was the first time she’d seen him type long sentences instead of notes or numbers. Ted had complimented her on her typing because even though Ted had gone to college, Anna could type just a little faster than Ted.

  She almost expected to feel a wind pushing her out of the office door at the speed of Chad’s typing. She didn’t know a person could type so fast.

  Even though she probably shouldn’t have looked at the screen as he typed, she couldn’t help watching the words form on his computer monitor. No mistakes and his sentences were complete and coherent thoughts, including correct capitalization and punctuation.

  Chad stopped typing in the middle of a sentence and looked up at her as she stood beside him. “Yes? Do you need to ask me something?”

  “I came to get your mug so I may bring you more coffee, but I have become distracted watching you type.” She wouldn’t say it out loud, but her boss appeared to type at least double or triple her speed. Maybe even faster.

  He turned his chair so his whole body faced her. “Speaking of that, I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you have any idea what your typing speed is?”

  “I do not know.” She’d always felt a good sense of accomplishment because she’d learned to type and use the computer when no one else she knew, except William, could use more than two fingers to type a short message.

  “I know you don’t have a computer at your parents’ house. Would I be correct to assume the only time you type is here, at work?”

  She nodded. “Ja. That is correct.” She would have liked to type at home, but her father would not allow a computer in the house.

  “Please take this only in the right way it’s meant, but I’ve been watching you type, and I’d like to see you improve your speed. Also, if you really want to move to Minneapolis and find a job there, you’re going to have to improve your speed significantly. Watching you, I doubt you’re typing any faster than twenty words a minute. Even for an entry-level position, you’d be expected to type at least thirty-five words a minute.”

  Anna tried to imagine calculating how many words she could type in a minute.

  Chad swept one hand in the air to encompass his own typing on the computer. “That means without mistakes. No going back and making corrections.”

  She turned to look at Chad’s monitor, which was completely filled with sentences and paragraphs in the e-mail he was typing to a client. “How fast do you type?”

  Chad shrugged his shoulders. “Last time I took a test, it was seventy-eight words a minute. I know I’m faster now. It’s a skill you’ve got to have if you work in an office.” He reached under his desk and pulled out a small, thin satchel that looked almost like a miniature suitcase. “I’d like you to improve your typing skills, so I’m going to loan you my laptop. Take it home and practice, and I’m sure you’ll see an improvement real soon.”

  “What do I type?”

  He looked around the office. “I’m not really sure what I can give you to practice on. Letters probably wouldn’t be the best to practice with because they’re short and concise. What you need is something with lots of words.”

  One eye narrowed and his lips tightened. “I know. Take your favorite book, and copy-type the book.” He grinned. “Just don’t get distracted with the story and lose track of what you’re trying to do. Although, if you pick a good book, then it will be an incentive to type faster, so you can read faster and see how the story goes. Do you read a lot? Do you have books at home?”

  Anna nodded. “Ja. Many books. I like to read.” What she liked to read were romance novels, where the man and woman in the book always fell in love and were either married or engaged by the end of the book. Such a thing would never happen to her in Piney Meadows. But when she moved to the cities, she would be able to join a big church, and if it were God’s will, she would meet a good Christian man to fall in love with on her own, a man whom her parents had not previously chosen for her. Of course, she would need her parents’ approval for such a relationship, but they couldn’t refuse if he were a man of faith.

  One day, that would happen.

  Chad grinned. “I was going to ask you to pick a book you don’t necessarily like, because you’ll need both hands to type so you can’t be holding a book open. You’ll have to rip the binding to lay the pages flat.”

  “Nein! I cannot destroy a book!”

  “I guess you can use an e-book reader, but you won’t have as much to type before you turn the page, because they only show one page at a time, not two.” He shook his head. “Forget I said that. You don’t have a computer, so you wouldn’t have an e-reader.”

  Anna knew she wouldn’t feel right about destroying a good book, or any book. Wasting things or destroying something someone else could use was wrong. But she had a goal that could not be reached any other way; therefore it would be a tool, not willful destruction.

  Knowing her boss typed faster and better than she did was humiliating. It was her duty to type for him, but his typing was far superior to hers.

  “I will do it.”

  Chad ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s been a long time since I learned to type. It’s something I’ve just always done. There might be a better way, but I can’t think of anything. It’s different typing words as you think than copy-typing something you see, but it gives you volume to blast through, so this will help.” He checked his watch. “I need to get this sent in a few minutes if I want to catch him before the close of business today.”

  Anna picked his cup up from the desk, which was why she’d come into his office. Standing beside him, she looked down into Chad’s face, her fingers wrapping around the cup’s handle. With Chad occupying this chair, she realized for the first t
ime that this was Chad’s office and Chad’s desk, not Ted’s.

  He leaned back in the chair and tilted his head slightly to one side. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Anna could feel the warmth of a blush on her cheeks. “I was wondering when Ted will be coming back. I know he will be able to show you things that Bart cannot.”

  “I got an e-mail from him about an hour ago. He says he’ll be coming back this weekend. The flight times weren’t the best, but he can’t wait any longer because he’s paying a fortune for parking his car. I know he put it in the long-term parking lot before he left, but that still is going to add up.”

  Anna nodded. Their people learned to be careful stewards from an early age.

  She backed up. “I will go get you more coffee so that you may finish your e-mail.”

  As she walked to the lunchroom, she felt her heart quicken. Chad taking over Ted’s position no longer worried her. Chad appeared to be a good manager, and nothing in the business had suffered. In fact, the opposite had happened. She’d helped Chad put together some new quotes that would probably get them additional customers. All the people who worked at the factory had accepted him.

  However, he wasn’t having the same success in the community because not many people had met him yet. Last weekend he hadn’t been at church; he’d gone back to Minneapolis to move his belongings and say goodbye to his friends. Very similar to Ted, Chad had not been very cheerful for a couple of days after his return, but she didn’t know him well enough to ask why.

  This weekend he would be able to attend church. Ted and Miranda would be back, which could be both good and bad for Chad. It would be good for him to have Ted help introduce him to everyone, and Ted showing his support and approval of Chad would help others get to know him.