As soon as he made the turn onto the town’s Main Street, he could see that this community was experiencing an economic resurgence. A number of storefronts had face-lifts and there was new construction visible everywhere. There was a definite brightness and life here. He knew this was a community with a growing pride in itself.
The sidewalks and the street were relatively clean, and the people who walked briskly in and out of the stores and up and down the avenue looked affluent. Everything about the village announced “upward, mobile middle-class.”
Most of the store owners had put up their holiday decorations. There was a festive atmosphere that was apparently contagious. People greeted one another emphatically; there was music in the air. It cheered him to see such happiness.
He pulled off to the side when he saw the school bus approaching. On the way into the village, he had passed the centralized school system. It was a modern, brick building with a great deal of window space, cheery, open, and rich. He had to pause on the highway and admire it and the beautiful playing fields to the side and rear.
He was proud of the way he sensed these things, proud of the way he always headed in the right direction. It was as though he could smell the possibilities. As usual, the trip had been worth it.
He got out of his car in the village and walked across the street to a cozy-looking luncheonette. All the customers turned his way when he entered. He went right to the counter and the woman behind it smiled at him warmly.
“Special of the day is fresh turkey,” she said.
“Sounds great.”
“The whole dinner?”
“Please.”
She shouted the order to the cook and turned back to him.
“Coffee?”
“I’ll start with a Coke,” he said. She poured it and brought it to the counter. There was something about him that told her he was a man she could talk to.
“Passing through?”
“Oh no. I want to settle here for a while.”
“Really? In business?”
“No,” he said. “I’m a tutor.”
“A tutor?”
“A professional tutor. I help kids who should do well in school, but don’t.”
“Oh,” she said, “you’ll have plenty of customers in this town. This is a hangout for the high school students, and I know from the way they talk, that a number of them could use a tutor.”
“Is that so? Well, maybe you can tell me a little about the people here,” he said. His smile brought her closer.
“Been here most of my life,” she said. “I can tell you just about everything about everybody.”
“That’s wonderful,” he said.
He began to ask questions.
The wind from the west brought in a solid layer of low, dark clouds and the shadows lengthened and deepened throughout the luncheonette. Outside, the residents of the community began to walk faster. They all sensed an impending storm.