7

Anna!” a female voice called out. “You must come quickly. It is Chad!”

Anna fumbled with her coffee cup, then set it down so quickly that coffee splashed out onto the desk. “What is wrong? Where is he?” The last she’d seen him, he’d told her he was going to the kitchen to get himself more coffee. Anna had offered to get his coffee for him, just as she did for Ted, but Chad had told her that he didn’t want to interrupt her work and left the room with his empty mug before she could respond.

At the desk next to her, William grunted and kept working. The financial statements Chad had asked William to prepare were unlike anything he’d ever had to do for Ted, and William had complained all morning. “I do not know where he has gone,” William muttered and kept punching numbers into his calculator.

Knowing Chad had gone to get his own coffee, she’d had a difficult time returning her concentration to her work, which was an order confirmation she should have sent out yesterday. She now noticed it had been nearly half an hour since Chad had left the room.

He had obviously done more than just pour himself a cup of coffee.

She sprang out of the chair and ran after Martha. Instead of going to the factory, where Anna was sure she was going to find Chad lying half dead on the floor, Martha turned into the kitchen.

Anna skidded to a halt behind her.

Chad stood with his back to them, at the sink, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows, with his hands immersed in soapy water. Beside him Elaine stood holding a towel, wringing her hands in distress as a man—not just any man, but the new general manager—washed dishes.

He ran a plate under the water and placed it on the rack, beside a couple of other plates and some cups. “There we go. Now it’s time to get back to work.” He lifted his cup from the stack, poured himself a cup of coffee, and turned toward the door, and toward her.

As his eyes met Anna’s, his face tightened and his eyebrows clenched. “Are you looking for me?”

“Is something wrong?” she choked out.

“No. I just realized what time it was and made myself a late lunch. Did you need me for something?”

“I . . .” her voice trailed off as she looked at Elaine, who looked like she was about to cry.

Chad blew across the top of his coffee, grabbed his suit jacket, which he’d slung over the back of one of the chairs, and dangled it over his shoulder by one finger while carrying his coffee mug with his other hand. He began to walk toward the office. “Okay, let’s see what you’re having trouble with and don’t want to tell me about,” he said as he walked past her into the hallway and toward the office, probably expecting she would trail behind him.

Instead, Anna looked toward Elaine. Lowering her voice so only Elaine could hear her, now that Chad was almost at the office, she stepped closer to Elaine. “What is wrong? Why was he cleaning? Was the kitchen dirty? Is he displeased?”

Elaine shook her head. “I do not know. I could see nothing wrong. We all cleaned the kitchen yesterday, with Odelle.” Elaine wrung her hands again. “Daut es mie onnbekaunt. I did not know what to do.” She held out the dishtowel with a shaking hand. “He told me to dry the dishes and did not allow me to wash them.”

Anna lowered her voice even more. “I will find out what was wrong, and I will let you know so it can be fixed. I must go.”

She turned and ran back to the office, where she found Chad seated at her desk, reading the spreadsheet she’d left open.

“I don’t see that you’ve done anything wrong,” he muttered as he added a comment to one of her entries. “But I do see that we need to get a better quote on shipping prices to the Eastern states. What were you having trouble with?”

Anna cleared her throat. “It is not me. It is Elaine. Can you tell me why you washed the dishes?”

Chad stopped typing. “Oh. Elaine. Thanks. I couldn’t remember her name. I will now. I told her she could dry, I’d wash, and it would be faster.”

Anna shook her head. “But she was going to wash your dishes, and you did not allow her.”

He stiffened in the chair. “Allow? What are you talking about? I made myself some lunch and washed what I used because the dishwasher was already full and running. The kitchen was so nice and clean, I didn’t want to leave a mess in the sink. I wanted to be a good example and show that everyone should clean up the mess they make. The kitchen at my old office was disgusting, and I don’t want that to happen here. Everything goes in the dishwasher, or it should be washed right away. Nothing gets left in the sink.”

Thinking of the dishwasher, Anna bowed her head and pressed her fingertips to her forehead. “I remember when Ted bought the dishwasher. Everyone was very unhappy. The men were angry because they do not wash dishes at home, they did not want to rinse their dishes and put them in the dishwasher here, but Ted insisted. Then the women were angry because they thought Ted bought the dishwasher because he did not think they did a good enough job cleaning the kitchen. He told me he did it so everyone would spend less time doing dishes and more time building furniture.”

“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, all 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.