At five a.m., only Duke had perked. The sun wasn’t ready, and I was too nervous.
I jogged and tilled and rummaged through my thoughts. My CD of the week was by CeCe Winans. My first lap was consumed with Mrs. Harvard,my first meeting with Katherine, Emma’s first appearance at her door, and the mean old lady who wanted to make jokes with my name. I considered Gregory’s question of whether this was a human-interest story at all.
As my thoughts grew more frustrating, I decided I needed one more lap around the park. This lap was for tilling and not thinking. Duke looked at me as if he would just as soon go back home, but I encouraged him to give it one more shot. After the pain in my right side began and the half-dead dog next to me stopped cold, we headed toward home.
Knowing I had to face work eventually, I showered, ironed, dressed, and made my way to the kitchen for something to nourish me until lunch. Mother was already downstairs. She had made a tremendous breakfast: bacon, eggs, homemade biscuits, cheese grits, and homemade hash-brown potatoes. At that moment, Victoria needed to be kissed. I was most willing to oblige.
“Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!” I said, planting a big one on her cheek.
“You’re welcome,” she said, laughing. “I knew you would be excited and would need some extra energy.”
“You were so right!” I said, stuffing a piece of bacon in my mouth as I fixed my plate and sat down.
Mother leaned across the counter and watched me devour my food.“Savannah, you need to quit chomping like that. You have to make a good impression with these people, so if you are going to eat in front of them, you need to get ahold of yourself.”
“I’m sorthwy,” I said with my mouth full, then swallowed a mouthful of juice. “I’m just so nervous.”
“You’re going to do great. You just give them your best story and put your personality in it, and you’ll do great,” she said, standing back up and turning around to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“Do you have any more thoughts on your story?”
“No, ma’am. I’m just going to see what I find out today. I hope Mr. Cummings will call me, give me some more information, but who knows. I hope I haven’t spent the last four days chasing a ridiculous story for no reason. If I have, then, we’ll just have to pull out my handy-dandy ‘Painting with Paige’ article from sophomore year creative-writing class. I figure I’m creative enough to give even that a different twist.”
She still had her back to me, but I could see she was laughing. “I’m sure you can.”
I got up and headed for the door. “I love you, Mother. Have a great day.”
“I love you too, darling. And I know you’ll do a great job. I like your shoes.”
“I do too.”
“I wish you would have worn your hair down. You look so much more ladylike with it down. Don’t you want some jewelry? I have a great silver bauble necklace that would accentuate your gray pants perfectly. I even have a gray straw hat, if you would like that.” I headed for a Coke.
When I entered the coffeehouse, everyone paused and then stared at me with their mouths hanging open.
“I know, I know, I look like a real person,” I said in mock disgust, walking straight for the Coke machine. I picked up a glass that was far too small. “Please tell me you have something bigger than this. I am requiring extreme caffeine.” Mervine smiled and headed into the stockroom behind Dad’s office. She came out holding one of the biggest cups I’d ever seen.
She set it down beside me, patted me on the back, and simply said,“Enjoy, honey.”
I was almost startled. In thirteen years, I had probably heard her speak no more than once per year.
“Savannah, what time do you have to be at your new job?” Louise asked.
“Well, I’m getting there a little early. I want to figure out where everything is and make a good impression,” I said, filling up my thirty-two-ouncer.
“Well, you look wonderful, darling,” Dad said, coming over to give me a kiss on the cheek.
Taking a long drink of my Coke, I took a breather to say, “Well, I’m not sure what newspaper people are supposed to look like, but this is my best shot at acting like I do.”
Then as if a dam had burst, Mervine spoke.“Well, I think you look like a princess, Savannah. You’re going to blow the roof off that paper, and I am so looking forward to reading your first article. You’re going to set this city on its ear.” By this time she had more motions than a tent-revival preacher on a Saturday night.
“And it’s about time we had some fresh faces and new life around here. I think that editor up there needs some new perspectives, and I believe you’re just the kind of person to give it to him. I also believe these young people with their pierced parts need to see a young and refined lady. Sure you have a little edge, but a little edge never hurt anybody. It’s about time someone your age left a mark on their own culture. Who knows, us old people might even learn something ourselves.” Then she stopped talking, returned to the counter, and simply smiled at us.
“I told you she talked,” Louise said.“Doesn’t even take a breath either. That’s what she does from the time she wakes up. Talk, talk, talk. Talks to her kids’ pictures, talks to the TV,my word, even talks to the Braves on TV.”And she walked to the front of the store just shaking her head.
Mervine grinned from ear to ear. Didn’t say another word, just grinned as she followed Louise. Dad and I just stared at each other, dumbfounded.“I have never . . .” was all I could say.
“I have never myself,” Dad agreed, still looking through the door that led to the front of the store. “In all these years, that woman hasn’t so much as asked what time it was. You might better watch out today, Savannah. I believe a new day has come.”
“Well, it’s calling my name. I’ve got to run. Wish me luck!” I did look back one more time, just to make sure that whole occurrence hadn’t been a brief apparition. But when my eyes revealed Dad still leaning against the counter staring in the direction of Mervine and Louise, I knew it was true. Mervine had spoken.
There was little activity at seven at the Savannah Chronicle. People were beginning to mill about, but only a few. I drove to the back of the building and parked my car in what appeared to be the newspaper’s parking lot.
Gathering myself and my new backpack, which I had settled on this morning instead of the purse, I decided to leave my Coke in the car and feel everyone out first. Who knew if they even allowed drinks inside? I wanted to fit in the best I could for the girl whose name had appeared in the paper more times than the mayor’s.
I walked through the front door and at first glance saw no one at the front desk. Then a bright lady with a determined step headed in my direction.
“You look new,” she said as she came around the corner with her hands full of papers. She smiled at my expression.
“So much for hiding my real feelings,” I told her, smiling back at her.
“Well,my name is Doris, Doris Berry. I’ve worked here at this paper for over fifty-five years. Yes, ma’am, fifty-five years. I started when I was eighteen, right after high-school graduation.” She looked good for seventy-three. Her hair was unashamedly silver and she wore little makeup. Only her hands told her age. I imagined this woman had lived well and enjoyed life. And the way she talked about this place caused me to believe she ran the ship tighter than Mr. Hicks.
I tried awkwardly to shake one of her hands, but they were encumbered with the files she was carrying. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Berry. I’m Savannah, Savannah Phillips.”
“Well, it’s Doris, and I know exactly who you are. Yes, ma’am, I know exactly who you are. You look like both your father and your mother. You have her nose and mouth and his everything else. Time will tell whose personality you have,” she said with a wink.“Follow me and I’ll show you to your desk.” I followed her after first offering to help her carry her load. She refused. I didn’t want to make her feel bad, so I never told her I had already seen my office.
We passed a small waiting area and the payment desk.“This is your corner,” she said, leading me to a corner cubicle in the very back of the first floor—no windows, no fraction of a view of the outside world, nothing to see but gray, fabric-covered, Styrofoam-like walls all around me. Perched atop the desk was a computer and a desk calendar. Underneath the drab gray desk was a drab gray wastebasket. I guess the shock of my surroundings must have registered on my face.“Is something wrong?”
“Well, kind of,” I said, hoping not to embarrass her. “I’m replacing Gloria. And I was here Saturday to do some work, and I’ve already seen my office upstairs, next to Mr. Hicks.”
I could tell that she was trying to stifle a grin.“Oh,well, I see, and I hate to tell you this, but you have to work your way to that office, Savannah. Geraldine O’Malley, who has been here for twenty years and runs our classified section, is getting that office. This,” she said, pointing to our dreary surroundings,“well, this,my dear, is your office.”
“Oh,” I said, mortified.“That was pretty presumptuous of me, wasn’t it?” I was thankful no one else was around.
“It’s totally understandable. And it will be our little secret,” Doris whispered. I could tell by her kind smile she meant it, and my gratefulness increased.“So, Savannah, this is the world of newspapers. It’s fast and furious with little glamour and long hours. Pretty soon you’ll forget you can’t see the world outside that you’re writing about in here.”
“Is it always this messy?” I asked, referring to the papers strewn about in every cubicle and corner.
“It’s a newspaper, Savannah. Paper is a part of our name.”
“After fifty-five years, haven’t you gotten tired of staring at gray partitions?” I asked her as I stared aimlessly at the sea of blandness in front of me and the chaos that surrounded me.
“Oh, Savannah,” she said, laughing. “After fifty-five years, you get an office on the third floor, surrounded with windows and looking out over Bay Street. Trust me, you’ll adjust. You’ll eventually adjust.” Then she added, “Just an FYI: Most people have laptops today, if you know what I mean. Work is where you make it. Just get acclimated here, then you can work wherever you need to. The only requirement is that your work gets done.”
I knew immediately I was going to like her. “Come on,” she continued.“Let me drop these papers off and I’ll give you the tour. It doesn’t get hopping around here until around eight thirty.” She dropped the papers off on a desk settled even deeper in the monochrome dimness. It was a glassed-in office, however, with a window and a view of the alley. Doris informed me that this office belonged to the editor of the news division, Don Jefferson. Then she informed me that she was the head of advertising.
“No wonder you know me so well.”
“Your mother has about kept this paper in business,” she said laughing.
“My mother has about kept this city in business.”
“That she has, my dear, that she has.”
“Does everyone know that Victoria’s daughter is coming to work here?”
“I’m afraid so. But they expect you to arrive in rhinestones, tiara, and four-inch heels, shouting orders and redecorating, so they’re liable to be disappointed,” she said, scanning my outfit.
“This will probably be the first time that I’m glad I’ve disappointed someone.”
“I’m with you there, honey, I’m with you there. So let me show you where we eat around here,” she said, going to the third floor.“This is our quaint break room.” Quaint wasn’t quite the word. It was old and tired, but it had a Coke machine, snack machine, and refrigerator. “Most people eat out,” she said matter-of-factly. “These are the restrooms for this floor. I’ll show you the others as we go,” she said, pointing out the two doors next to the break room. “These are the major points. Printing has all of the fourth floor. Advertising and the main offices take up the third floor. Business, life and living, and classifieds take up the second floor. And the first floor is the news department, which handles everything from national to local. You are governed by Mr. Hicks, however. He edits all local articles himself. He was really fond of Gloria, Savannah. I’m honestly shocked that he hired anyone for that position at all. How did you do it anyway?” she asked, stopping to face me.
“The story hasn’t gotten around?”
“No. No one is quite sure how you did it. Now, there has been a lot of speculation: new advertising from your mother, threats, bribery, and the like. But no one really believes any of that. And they sure won’t when they meet you. So how did you do it?”
“That will be Mr. Hicks’s story to tell,” I said with a raised right eyebrow.
“You’re good, Savannah. You’re really good.”
I stared at a computer I had never used, with the word IBM written across it. I had been a Mac girl since I learned how to use the computer in middle school. With each new one that came out, I would forgo anything—clothes, trips, food, anything but Coke—to get the next one available. My current models were the new iBook laptop and an iMac Cube, graduation gifts. That day I wished I had used an IBM at least once. If all else failed, though, the iBook was in my backpack.
After ten minutes of searching, I found the turn-on switch at the back of the computer. The screen popped up. Where was my AppleWorks, my Quark, my intimate friends? I decided to wait until someone came to show me how to use it, lest I begin my first day by melting down the mainframe. Hey, Mervine had spoken today; anything was possible.
Around eight o’clock, more people began to enter. I decided to unload my backpack and try to make this square, lusterless closet homey. I took out my pens, notebooks, pencils, Post-its, and my Day-Timer. Not that I had anything in the Day-Timer except my lunch plans, but no one else had to know that. By eight thirty the place was coming alive with chatter and people. I tried to look like I was working hard. Trying to write notes on my Emma conversation was virtually impossible, because it was so one-sided there wasn’t much to tell.
People were busy even as they walked through the door, so busy in fact that no one even noticed me. About eight forty-five, however, footsteps headed toward my desk. I heard them before I saw them—flip-flops. The flip-flops came around the corner; my eyes moved upward to the face of their owner. Curly Locks with the blue bike was standing in front of me. And to top it off, he held a cup of coffee in his hand. It was a white cup with that brown wrapper around the center. Coffee from that other place.
His eyes spotted me, registering shock at first before being overtaken by a wide, chafing little grin.“My, my, my. If it isn’t the girl without a name. But now I know your name. Because we’ve all been wondering when Victoria’s daughter was going to get here.”As if my new cell wasn’t enough, Curly Locks was going to be my cell mate.
Forget not having a story; being Victoria’s daughter would be my greatest challenge in this new job. I would face it head-on. I would face it like Savannah. And I would begin today with the man in flip-flops.
“Actually, the name is Savannah,” I said, rising to face him eye to eye. Well, eye to chest, but that’s neither here nor there. I reached out my hand to shake his. He looked at me with a half-cocked smile and returned the gesture.
“Hi. Joshua, Joshua North. You’re not quite what we expected,” he said with that same annoying grin as he eyed my attire and footwear.
“Well, what did we expect, exactly?”
Not realizing he would be forced to begin his day describing his prejudices, he looked a smidgen embarrassed.“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s all in good fun. We’re just glad you’re here. I sit across from you. Let me know if you need anything. I know this is probably a different world from the one you’re used to. You know, where people do everything for you. You’ll have to get your own coffee, I’m afraid,” he said, turning around and heading to his desk.
I could have let it go, probably even should have. I could have let him sit his little wrinkled khakis down and sip his little brown-wrappered coffee and prop his feet up with that smirk across his face. I should have. But I didn’t. I did, however, let him get good and situated, let him think for one brief moment he had left me speechless.
Then I rounded the corner of his cubicle.
“I did think about bringing my mother to work with me today. You know, to keep the mean people away,” I said in mock fear. He spun in his chair to face me.“But then I remembered that I’ve never asked my mother for anything. In fact, I started my first job when I was fifteen and was elected president of my high-school student body—without using any of my mother’s food or money to bribe the fellow students. I was the president of my college student body as well, and I didn’t even need her to campaign for me. Then, lo and behold, I went off and won a publishing contract,” I finished, leaving out the fact that she was totally responsible for that.
He leaned back in his chair as if to enjoy the show, which irritated me all the more.“Then I made a decision all by myself. Can you imagine that?” I said, slapping him on the shoulder and nearly knocking him out of his chair.“I made a decision and I decided to forgo book advances and fame and fortune to come here, to work beside you, to write stories that would influence the hearts of this city. I did it all without my mother’s influence, letter of recommendation, or coercion. Instead, I decided those values she instilled in me would work fine on their own. And you know what? They did. Because here I am. Right beside you! Aren’t you excited?”
“Extremely,” he replied.
“And no pomp or circumstance, just me, all alone. Why? Because I’m totally capable on my own. Now for you, my new friend, the name is Savannah, not ‘Victoria’s daughter.’ I get my own Cokes because, for your information, I don’t even like coffee, and if I did, it would be from my father’s coffee shop. If you have any more questions, remarks, or unsolicited comments, restrain yourself. I’ll contact you when I have the time to discuss them.” With that, I turned on my Kate Spade heels and headed back to my Styrofoam world.