Chapter 23

“ARE YOU HERE, JERRY?” Erin called when she stepped off the elevator Saturday.

“Kitchen!” he called back. She went to join him and found him rolling out pastry dough.

“That looks interesting,” she said. “Red wine or white?”

“Chicken pot pie,” he said. “Almost ready to assemble and put in the oven. White, I guess.”

Erin opened and poured the wine. She handed him a glass and they touched the rims.

“Salud!” he said.

“Are we still good for patio dining?” she asked. “It felt nice and warm on the way over.”

“Unless it’s suddenly gotten windy, we should be fine. It was beautiful when I went out a little bit ago.”

“I’ll set the table.”

Erin selected the dishes and silverware to take outside, then got a clean cloth and hot water to wash down the patio table and chairs. She couldn’t help but smile about how terribly domestic she felt. She hummed a little tune as she prepared the table. Back in the kitchen, Jerry was cleaning up, now that the pie was in the oven.

“It’s a small pie, so it should only take about forty minutes to bake. Shall we go relax on the patio?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful out. Perfect for the patio.”

“I love the space out here,” Jerry said as they settled in lounge chairs. “Sometimes I come out here with a couple of cubes and spend all afternoon. It’s harder when I reset my own puzzles. I end up trying to fool myself with blind twists. It never works.”

“I don’t trust my ability to scramble a cube randomly,” Erin said.

“But your cubes always seem to be scrambled better than mine.”

“I use the computer. There’s a program that will generate a random sequence. I carry around my tablet and just follow the instructions the computer gives me for each cube. I learned a long time ago it was difficult to reset your own cube and make it feel random,” Erin said.

“You are so devious! I can’t believe you’ve been using a computer program all this time.”

“Your mother taught me my first day on the job. I don’t think I’m particularly clever about it.”

“My mother is sometimes too smart for me. I wonder how long she’s used a program. I’d guess soon after she figured out that the cube had a calming effect on me. I was really quite a terrible teenager.”

“Really? Why do you think that?”

“I was constantly frustrated. And I couldn’t express myself. Words just got tied up in my mouth and that made me more frustrated.”

“You don’t seem to have any problem communicating with me. I’m glad.”

“When we met in the diner, I was trying a great experiment that Gene suggested and my therapist approved. I would hide behind the anonymity of my sweatshirt, mask, and shades. Since no one would know me, I was free to mess up. I didn’t need to go back. The first time, I was still afraid I’d make a fool of myself, but this very sweet waitress didn’t try to rush me or finish my sentences for me. She encouraged me to take my time. She asked questions I could give simple answers to. Over time, I was able to relax enough not to feel threatened by the situation.”

“I don’t recall that you had much difficulty when I came to work here. And you say you only figured out I was the same person when we were working on the presentation.”

“I tried not to say anything to you for the first two weeks,” Jerry laughed. “By then, you were so well established in the office you weren’t a threat or someone I needed to impress.”

“I’m glad of that.”

“The pot pie should be done. I’ll go get it.”

They had a good time as they ate the pot pie and talked more than Jerry had talked ... ever!

“What else do you enjoy doing?” Maizie asked.

“I like sports. Gene and I played basketball in high school. He’s the total opposite of me. Talkative and outgoing. I used to depend on him to get us both dates and I’d just ride along. I guess the main thing I like is cooking. I try to cook something special every Saturday. It’s my time in the kitchen. Sometimes I experiment with new recipes and sometimes I cook an old favorite like this pot pie.”

“I enjoy the social aspects of cooking and eating,” Maizie said. “I’m afraid, left to my own devices, I eat a sandwich in front of the television rather than cook for just myself. Aside from that, I read quite a lot—mostly business and biography. Occasionally, I’ll relax with a good novel.”

“Rather sedate,” he laughed.

“Don’t believe that. Remember, I joined a bowling league!” she laughed. “I had a great time traipsing all over the Cloudhaven property in my boots and jeans. I really love it out there.”

“I’ll take you to our cabin sometime,” Jerry said enthusiastically. “I want to build a regular house out there, but that probably isn’t until phase three. It’s at the far opposite end of the project from where the lodge will be. I could take you out fishing and we ... um ... uh...”

“What is it, Jerry?”

“I realized I was just painting a picture of things I’ve always wanted to do with a ... girlfriend. I didn’t mean to ... you know ... imply ... er ... Do you think I put too much tarragon in the pie?” he asked abruptly.

Erin responded to the question and analyzed the other herbs he’d used. All the time, she was examining her own feelings. How did she feel about that? When he was really just Jerry in the diner, becoming friends and flirting a little after her divorce seemed natural. She didn’t ever consider the possibility of dating when she came to work for Mr. Carver. Even over the past few minutes relaxing over dinner, she thought of him as Jerry, rather than the sort-of-rich recluse and master architect. Other couples managed to work out a professional and a personal relationship. She was sure Jerry wasn’t suggesting anything just now, anyway. They were just two friends having lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

“Perhaps you’d consider showing your friend Cloudhaven from your perspective sometime,” she ventured. “I think that would be okay.”

He smiled at her and nodded. After lunch, she convinced him to listen to her presentation prepared for the chamber. He was very helpful and pointed out a few things she might not have known before.

“Thank you for inviting me to speak this evening,” Erin said Tuesday evening. “As Mr. Duval indicated in my introduction, this is my first official appearance since joining JeriCorp.”

It wasn’t a big group, but Erin had been surprised to find that Duval was host of the Chamber of Commerce meeting. He’d given her a decent introduction as their speaker and she stood to deliver the fifteen-minute talk. She gathered there were several people who interacted regularly with JeriCorp as suppliers, contractors, clients, and business partners.

“We are facing a new era in our relationships with our customers and our business partners. We all had a wake-up call when the pandemic hit, and many struggled to adjust to new ways of doing business. But we learned. Let me describe a few of the ways we are moving forward in this post-pandemic work environment.”

She had spent most of Monday and Tuesday working on the presentation. She’d even talked to Dolores about it on Sunday. She decided talking about the effect of the pandemic on business relationships would transition nicely to an announcement of their new project and plan to attract digital natives for remote work in a resort environment.

“Why, after all, should a job be defined by four walls, or a cubicle? Many employees who work in cubicles have no real reason to be held captive in order to do their jobs. The equipment they need is not restricted to a single location. If we can provide an experience that improves work-life balance, so much the better.

“Think about how attractive our companies would be if our employees learned their jobs are compatible with a great lifestyle. I foresee us making the same changes in the larger community. Consistent wireless communications from anywhere in our town. Anywhere in our state or broader area. Comfortable places to work that are within community enclaves where childcare and activities are as convenient as another cup of coffee. Environments employees can customize with their own art, music, and services.

“We have built wonderful technology for humanity. It is time to make it serve our employees and each other. Thank you.”

There was polite applause. Erin didn’t expect anything more. She was proposing something that was still controversial. Many employers believed workers wouldn’t work if they weren’t in an environment controlled by the employer. They would find out, eventually.

“Thank you, Ms. Scott,” Duval said as he stood to conclude the meeting. “I’ve been at JeriCorp for over fifteen years, and I’m amazed that someone so new to our industry—and so cute—can be so articulate about it. Thank you for enlightening us regarding the future. You’re all welcome to stick around for another cup of coffee and to chat with our new JeriCorp CEO. The Tuesday meeting is now adjourned.”

Several people did stop to chat with Erin, but her mind had gone elsewhere with Duval’s remarks. She was furious. She smiled and shook hands, meeting executives and managers she knew she would be meeting again, and all smiling at her because she was cute.