Chapter 3

Moving like an old man, William slowly made his way to the conference room in the office area of the house. He felt stiff and dull witted, but life went on and he had things to do despite his desire to run and hide from the world. This afternoon he had to perform the final interview of the candidates for new staff positions. The current staff members had already met with them and passed only those they thought would be a good fit. This eliminated candidates who were unsuitable for life inside the household before he had to interview them. Ed would participate in this interview with William and Lucy to make sure that the candidates would be loyal.

Furnishing the conference room had not been the highest priority task prior to the move into the new house, but the job had been finished before they needed it for this, their first, meeting. Stepping onto the plush carpeted floor, William took a moment to look around. He was pleased by its appearance. The better features of the room were not visible, but those that were visible were impressive.

Despite attention to esthetics, the room was designed for work. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling with white board. There were magnetic holders for the markers placed every four feet along each wall. The far-end of the room had a drop down screen with a projection system built into the wall at the other end. Below the projector was a stone table on which food and other goods could be placed. Today, there were ceramic mugs and a carafe of coffee.

Occupying the center of the room was a huge conference table made of polished stone capable of seating twenty people. The table rather than being rectangular in shape was trapezoidal with the broad end open towards the projection screen. There was a seat at the narrow end of the table. This would give each person a clear view of the screen. The table was designed for work as well as talk. At each seat, there was a computer touch-screen monitor set into the surface of the table and a wireless keyboard and mouse. A small camera and microphone were arranged at the top of each monitor for use in teleconferencing.

There were two separate entrances to the room. One entrance allowed visitors to enter from a large tastefully decorated waiting room while the other allowed the staff to enter without having to deal with the visitors until they were called into the room.

Last to arrive, William walked to the seat at the foot of the table. Lucy was seated to his right and Ed was seated to left left. Barbara was seated next to Lucy and was closest to the door to the waiting room. Once he had taken his seat, William shifted around surprised at the comfort. Seeing that everyone was watching him, he said, "Let's get to it."

"Yes, boss," Barbara said. After studying the screen in front of her, she pressed a key on the keyboard and said, "Send in Cathy Burke."

On hearing the door open, William turned to watch the young woman enter the room. There was something familiar about her and the somewhat nervous manner in which she moved. It took him a second to recognize her as the Shawnee girl who attended the high school where he had met Greg Banner. Hoping his memory was correct, he said, "Hello, Cathy. How is your grandfather?"

"He's fine and sends his regards," the young woman answered rocking nervously from foot to foot. It was hard to believe that she was actually interviewing to work with Talks With Animals.

Raising an eyebrow, Lucy looked over at William and asked, "Do you know her?"

"Yes, I do. She was at the high school when I met Greg. She came to me and invited us to visit her tribe," William said feeling relieved that his memory had been correct. He also felt a little guilty that they had never followed up on that invitation.

"Oh," Lucy said. It always amazed her how many people William knew. She traveled with him and didn't seem to recall nearly as many people as he did.

Looking at Cathy, he asked, "Did you just graduate?"

"Yes," she answered amazed William had remembered her from one little meeting that hadn't lasted more than two minutes. It was reasonable that she would remember him; he was somebody important. It wasn't reasonable to expect him to remember her; she was a nobody.

Slightly distracted by the side discussion, Barbara said, "She has applied for the clerk position."

Lucy looked down at the folder with resumes. There was no resume for anyone named Cathy. She realized that the young woman probably had no work experience. It was interesting that Barbara thought to include her among the candidates. Curious, she asked, "Why are you here rather than heading off to college?"

"I'm not really interested in going to college. I want a basic job until I find a husband," Cathy answered.

"You can't be serious," Lucy said staring at Cathy horrified at the idea.

"I've very serious," Cathy answered without embarrassment. She had women react that way to her plans many times in the past. Looking at Lucy, she said, "Not everyone woman wants to be a business woman, scientist, or engineer. I want to raise a family."

Nodding his head, William asked, "Is there anyone in particular who you intend to marry?"

"No," Cathy said without embarrassment. She did not have a marriage prospect in mind and was willing to wait until the right man appeared in her life. There was a calm assurance that the right man would come in time.

Lucy was astounded that any young woman would see her place in life as nothing more than a housewife and mother. Shaking her head, she asked, "Don't you want more out of life than cleaning a house?"

"I don't want a life spent cleaning a house," Cathy answered. Seeing the confused look on Lucy's face, she said, "I want a life in which I help my husband become a successful man. I want to raise my children and watch them grow up to stand strong and proud. Until I find the right man, I will work and save my money."

"Don't you think going to college would make a wise backup plan?" Lucy asked.

"Going to college would require that I take some student loans. I don't want to bring thousands of dollars worth of debt into a marriage. I'd rather have some savings that can be used to start a good life," Cathy answered. The Native American college would be free, but it would leave her with an obligation to work for several years in her chosen field.

Although Lucy was dismayed, William was pleased at how Cathy had considered the ramifications of alternatives to her primary goal. Looking over at Lucy, he said, "I like that she knows exactly what she want to do with her life. While you may disagree with what she wants, you have to admire that she is pursuing it."

"I guess," Lucy said frowning slightly. It was beyond her why anyone would settle for less than everything and that is how she viewed Cathy's choices. She looked over at Ed and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think she is telling the truth and that she has given the matter much more thought than you would credit her," Ed said. Looking at Cathy, he said, "I think that wanting to be a good wife and mother is a wonderful choice. I respect you for making it."

"Thank you," Cathy said nodding her head to him in a stately fashion. Few people, particularly young women, understood her desire; even fewer people respected it.

Seeing that she wasn't going to get any support from William or Ed, Lucy decided that she would make college a job benefit. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Okay. I say hire her."

"Same here," William said. Turning to face Cathy, he said, "Welcome aboard. The job of clerk is yours if you want it."

"I want it," Cathy said with a smile.

"Have a seat over here by my father," William said.

Barbara looked up from her notes and said, "The next candidate has applied for the position of librarian."

"Okay, bring her in," Lucy said still distracted by thoughts about the choices that Cathy had made.

"It is a he," Barbara said smiling at the mistake. She had made exactly the same mistake. She pressed a key on the keyboard and said, "Send in Rudy Moore."

William glanced down at the resume and frowned. Handing it over to his father, he asked, "Is this true?"

Ed looked over the resume for a second before he said, "I see nothing wrong with it. Why?"

"He's a librarian at the Hooke Library at Oxford," William said. It was one of the premier libraries in the world.

"So?" Ed asked.

"Why would someone with his credentials want to work in a small private library?" William asked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Ed asked when a middle aged man entered the room. He looked at the man and noticed that he had the largest ears on a human being that he had ever seen. Even worse, they stuck straight out from his head.

Turning to the man, William asked, "You're a librarian at the Hooke Library at Oxford. What are you doing applying for a position in a small private library?"

The man chuckled and, in a heavy West Texas accent, answered, "Well, there are libraries and then there are libraries. Some are old and some are new. I'd rather start a library than maintain one, even one as prestigious as the Hooke Library. I've got a feeling that one day this small private library of yours is going to contain some of the most important documents of our time. I'd like to be part of that."

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Lucy said. She had been expecting an English accent and the West Texas accent had thrown her.

"To tell the truth, I'm just an old Texas boy who misses the desert. I know that I could probably be head librarian at some library in a medium-sized Texas town, but like I said -- this is exactly what I'm looking for career-wise," Rudy answered.

William leaned forward and asked, "What responsibilities did you have at the Hooke Library?"

"I started in research, but I'm now in acquisitions," Rudy answered looking at William. He wondered how much William knew about libraries. He said, "I was in charge of locating and purchasing rare books."

"Any management experience?" Lucy asked.

"I had a staff of three people," Rudy answered.

William looked over at Barbara and asked, "Did you show him our library?"

"Yes, I did," she answered.

Lucy asked, "What did you think of it?"

"You've got quite a few science fiction books," Rudy answered knowing that the first books of his that he unpacked were pulp westerns. He found it more than understandable that the first books they unpacked were science fiction. Of course, he had also seen the hundred boxes of books that were stacked along the wall. There was also a huge server filled with digital versions of newspapers, journals, magazines, and films. It might be a little private library, but it was also a thoroughly modern one.

William shrugged his shoulders at the observation and turned to Cathy. He asked, "Do you have any questions?"