Monday morning, February 16th
Mel was out the door before 6:00 AM. Now, it was me, Katie and Jef rushing to get moving too so we could be at the WIC office in Zanesville when it opened at 8:00.
Katie fed Jef and was dressing him and I’d showered and was getting dressed myself when the phone rang. I debated not grabbing it but when I saw that it was my old boss Russ Young, I went ahead and picked it up.
“Russ? You’re up and at it awful early.” If he was at home or in his office in Chicago, I thought, it was just after 6:00 AM there. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no. Sorry about this but I’m trying to get a jump on a few things before my flight to the West Coast for a consult. Are you up for a background check assignment in the Columbus area? It came up late Friday afternoon and I don’t have anyone in Ohio who can jump on it right away. I know it’s a bit of a drive for you but I thought I’d run it by you.”
“Columbus isn’t too bad Russ...an hour or so. What do you have?”
“A guy, Roman Bakula, Russian it looks like, here on an H1B visa for IT. His petition with his current employer is expiring and I guess he wants to move on. A Columbus hospital wants to pick him up and renew him for the remaining three years he can be here but, in the job, he would have electronic access to thousands of medical records and all of the associated personal data. They have his history before he entered the country nearly three years ago and his current employer has told them he has an exemplary work record with them but that’s all they’ve got.”
To my surprise, I heard the kitchen door open and Hannah call out. I poked my head out of my room and gave her a wave then pointed at my phone.
“So, what I’m hearing is,” I said, picking back up with Russ, “they want to know what he’s been doing, besides working at his current employer, since he got in country?”
“Exactly.”
“What’s the timeline?”
“They aren’t in a huge rush. I can give you this week.”
“What’s his address?”
“He lives in Whitehall.”
“That’s the east side of Columbus; a piece of cake for me except, where’s his current company?”
“Actually, I’m not sure but, to be honest, I had Rosita email you all the details this morning, just in case you said yes. Will you take it?”
“You’re going to owe her, dragging her in there so early!” I laughed and then told him, “Yes, I’ll handle it.” To myself I thought, I can start right after I take care of this stuff with Katie. How long could that possibly take?
“I didn’t expect you to come all the way down here, Hannah. I figured you’d just meet us at the WIC office in Zanesville. I hate that you wasted all that gas.” She was sitting at the kitchen table, still in her coat and hat, waiting patiently.
“It’s okay. I kind of wanted to get out for a bit even though it’s pretty cold out.” She sounded a little down.
“Is everything okay at home?” I’d picked up the undercurrent of tension between her and Jamie at breakfast on Sunday but I hoped in my own mind that it would all work out now that Katie would be staying with us.
“Jamie isn’t happy that I took the day off from school to help out today. We had an argument.”
“I see. Hmm, well, I can kind of see Jamie’s point and I can handle this. If you want to just take off and head to class...”
“No. I’ve promised Katie I’d help her and I want to be with her today.”
She wanted to be with her friend. She was an adult – more or less – I couldn’t force her to leave and go to class. Instead, I said, “Okay then.”
“What else is going on? I sort of overheard some of your call. Is there something you need help with?”
“No, no, but thanks. That was just an assignment from a company that I used to work for to do a little...freelance...work for them, is all.”
“If you have something you need to do, I can take Katie to that office. I looked it up. I know where it is.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You’ve done a lot for me and now for Katie and Jef. I want to help.”
I considered her offer while I watched Katie carry her snowsuit clad infant into the kitchen and work on buckling him into his car seat carrier.
“That suit’s adorable. Where’d you get that?” I asked her.
“I got it for him,” Hannah supplied. She beamed with as much light in her eyes as his mother did at my compliment.
“Katie, Dana has some work she really needs to do...”
I started to interrupt her but she interrupted right back.
“Would it be alright if it’s just me and you today? I know where we need to go.”
“Sure,” the younger woman said.
“See, it’s settled,” Hannah told me.
“Not quite. I do appreciate the assist but you at least need to let me give you some gas money. You’re going to have to take them all the way to Zanesville and then bring them back here.”
“Okay, fine.”
“And, before I forget, I need to talk with you later about how you got high school finished yourself so we can get Katie started on that.” I smiled over at the younger girl and she smiled back, seemingly very open to the idea.
“Do you want me to explain about it to Katie on the way there?”
“Sure. That’ll give you two something to talk about besides babies.” We all smiled at that.
They left right after that exchange. I put Boo’s little booties and doggy sweater on her, grabbed my coat and we headed out to the writing shed turned office Mel and I had set up for me.
After I cranked up the little heater and got Boo settled near it, I opened Rosita’s email and started doing the basic research on my new assignment.
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