Chapter 4: The Dead Zone

Summer in the Wenatchee Valley is predictable. Dry, sunny, and hot! Which is fine when you're living in a nice cottage on the Columbia River with a beach in your front yard. It's not quite as good when the shop doesn't have a proper air conditioner, and with the traffic in and out of the store the inside temperature gets pretty warm.

I never heard a whisper of complaint from either Jana or Jimmy. Mind you, on most days they were dressed in t-shirts and shorts. By the July 4th weekend, we had all become pretty comfortable with each other. Jana was getting over her shyness. She was also dressing a bit more like the girls her age would. Jimmy was demonstrating that he had quite a sense of humor to go along with his computer competence, and Terry was happy as hell that he wasn't being pressured every day to get more work done.

The boys elected to stay at the cottage on the holiday. No surprise. The quantity and quality of nubile young ladies was quite sufficient to keep them occupied. I drove into town to partake in the festivities and meet some of the civic leaders. Our business was well known and it was good PR to be visible.

I was interested in the vintage vehicle display and spent some time looking at many of the automobiles from a past era. Most were fifties, sixties, and seventies cars that had been either restored or modified. There was some exquisite work on display, demonstrating the talent of the builder. I stopped at a display of a farm tractor and fruit cart. It was a 1930's era John Deere and it was beautifully restored and painted in its trademark green and yellow. I wasn't really paying attention to anything but the tractor when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hi, Mr. Nelson."

I turned toward the voice and saw Jana standing there, dressed in gingham, and looking every bit the farm girl from decades ago.

"Hi, Jana. Is this your tractor?"

"My dad's. My grandfather once owned it, and Dad restored it. He's very proud of it."

"He should be. It looks terrific."

We'd pretty much run out of conversation material when a woman, close to my age, stepped around the tractor and approached us.

"You must be the famous Mr. Geoff Nelson," she said, holding her hand out.

"I'm Jana's aunt, Gisele Ardien. I've heard a lot about you," she smiled as I gently shook her hand.

"I don't know about famous, but I am Geoff Nelson," I grinned. Aunt Gisele was a fine looking woman, nicely dressed in a summer outfit, and very attractive. Her face looked European somehow, I thought. Perhaps the darker complexion, or the deep brown eyes.

"You've transformed my niece in a very short time," she claimed. I looked at Jana and she was blushing and looking very uncomfortable.

"I've got to help Dad, Mr. Nelson. I'll see you next week at the shop," she said hurriedly, then escaped to parts unknown.

"Just how have I transformed Jana," I asked Gisele.

"Well, to begin with, you gave her a job that she truly enjoys and makes her feel much better about herself. Secondly, she's working side-by-side with a young man of her own age group and it's doing wonders for her self-confidence."

"Ah ... that would be Jimmy Rideout. He's a very bright young man. They make a great team."

"Yes. I think Jana has a crush on him but is far too shy to tell him. However, her time at your business has helped a great deal. I can see the difference even in such a short time."

"Yes. I can too. I'm really pleased about that. I think she could be a very valuable asset to the business when she gets over her shyness. And she looks very pretty in that period dress. I wish she would dress a little more like her age group, but I dare not say anything to her about it."

"Don't worry. I'll look after that," she grinned. Her clothes have been her protection mechanism. They ward off unwanted attention. There's a reason for it, but that isn't important. What's important is that she's beginning to enjoy herself and feel good about herself for the first time in years. I thank you for your helping make that possible."

"Someday I'll tell you about how her hiring came about. It wasn't a conventional decision."

"I'd like to hear that. Perhaps we can have coffee or lunch some time when you're not too busy."

"I'd be pleased to." I gave her my business card. "Call me when it's convenient and I'll make time." I was aware that I was smiling and enjoying the presence of Gisele Ardien.

She reached out and touched my arm lightly, smiled, then turned away and walked behind the display. It was the first time in more than a month that I had been conscious of an attractive woman and the thoughts she could stir in me.

The holiday had been on a Sunday, so the shop remained closed on Monday and we enjoyed the long weekend. The boys had found a couple of new friends in Orondo and were showing fairly impressive tans. Their new friends were both attractive young girls and very polite as well. I was introduced to them and found out they were local; both their parents were in the tree fruit business.

I had put Matt in charge of Ross. He was eighteen and I wanted him to be responsible for both his brother and himself. I couldn't watch them when I was at the shop, so I had to trust they would behave themselves and not get into trouble. They had never given their mother or me any reason to think they would be a problem, but I was happier if Matt was riding herd on his brother.

Terry had come up to the cottage the week after July 4th and after watching Matt handle the boat, gave his permission to use it without my being there. I wasn't totally sold on the idea, but I had a long talk with Matt and Ross about it and had them promise me that they wouldn't do anything that would cause Terry or me to regret giving them this freedom. It was a matter of trust and both Terry and I were sticking our necks out for them. I think the message got through to them.

Normally, mid-summer was a bit slower in the business, but not this year. Terry and I had worked on two submissions for the school board and the local college and were happy that we received the contract for all of the college facilities and almost half of the school district. That changed the amount of work we had, since the systems had to be ready to go when school resumed.

When Terry and I sat down and looked at the extra business, it was obvious we were going to be very busy. Jana and Jimmy would be going back to school and we had visions of working nights and weekends to keep up. We needed more staff.

"Terry, what if we keep Jana and Jimmy on part-time? Maybe a couple of hours after school and some weekend time. At least that would help us from working ourselves into an early grave."

"Yeah. Makes sense to me, Geoff. But even so, that won't be enough. If we do a real good job with the school board, they'll give us the rest of the district. We'll be right back where we started. I don't want to lose those kids, but we need permanent staff. At least one person. Maybe two."

"Well then, I guess I'd better get busy and start looking. First though, let me talk to the kids and see if they're willing to work part-time."

I caught up to Jana and Jimmy at lunch and sat with them.

"You guys have done a terrific job for us this summer. I can't tell you how much difference you've made. Now, we've got some new business and we're going to need help year around. Terry and I were wondering if you'd like some part-time work during the school year?"

"Sure," Jimmy said immediately. "What kind of hours?"

"Well, that would be up to you. You have your studies and you do need some free time for yourselves. What do you think would work?"

"I don't know," he responded. "I'd need to think about that and check with my folks."

I saw Jana nodding. "I'd need to talk to my Aunt and Dad. But if I can, I'd really like to keep working here."

I smiled at both of them. "Great. Let me know what works for you. In the meantime, I'm going to start looking for one or two permanent employees. This business is suddenly growing ... and I think it has something to do with you two," I grinned.

Two days later we had worked out a schedule. The two students would come to the shop after classes for two hours each day, then a full day Saturday. That would give them and us eighteen hours to help cut down the workload. Terry and I would open the shop on alternating Saturdays.

The larger problem was finding a full-time employee. I thought about it for a while, and then returned to a proven resource.

"Mr. Drummond, it's Geoff Nelson calling. I just wanted to let you know that both Jana and Jimmy have turned out to be a big help to our business. In fact, we're keeping them on part-time when they go back to school."

"That's great to hear, Mr. Nelson. In truth, I have spoken to both their parents and they are very pleased with how they are doing. It sounds like Valley Computer Systems is a very good place to work."

"Nice to hear that, sir. Actually, I have another request. I'm now looking for one or two new full-time employees. I wondered ... with your experience ... if you knew of anyone who might be suitable. I'd love to have two more Jimmys or Janas."

He laughed. "Well, nothing comes to mind right off hand, but give me some time to think about it. I've had a lot of bright students go through my classes and maybe I can find one or two who might fit. I have your number, so I'll call you back. By the way, congratulations on obtaining the contract for the college. You were clearly the best bid of any of them, and not just because you were local."

"Should I assume you were on the selection committee?" I asked.

"Good assumption. The last thing I wanted was someone making the decision who didn't know what was required. I'm pretty confident that we've made a good choice."

"Thank you, sir. We'll work hard to confirm your decision."

When I hung up, I was pleased with myself. I had an inside friend at the college and it had helped us get the contract. Now we had to make sure we didn't let him down.

It only took a day before Mr. Drummond called me back.

"First of all, we've been talking to each other enough that I feel I can call you by your first name if you'll call me Lowell."

"Of course. It's Geoffrey, but almost everyone calls me Geoff."

"Great. Now down to business. I have a question for you. Do you have any problem hiring the handicapped?"

"Well, I haven't really thought about it, but no ... not really. I mean ... the issue is can they do the work and can they be here regularly. Other than that ... well ... what are you thinking?"

"Some years ago I had a very bright student who was accepted at West Point. He received his commission and ultimately chose to become a career officer. Two years ago he was wounded by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. He lost both legs. He resigned his commission and came home, but he hasn't had much luck getting on with his life.

"Some of it was self-pity, and some of it was shame for not being the whole man he once was. His wife left him and he started drinking. Some of us who knew him decided to make him our personal project. We've got him back to sober and at least looking to get on with his life. I think your business might be just the solution.

"You'd need to convince yourself that he has the ability to do what you want done, but I'm fairly confident that he's turned his life around. I guess the only other question is, would you be willing to talk to him?"

"Wow. That's quite a story. Look ... Lowell ... this shop isn't wheelchair friendly. Is that going to be a problem?"

"It shouldn't be. He has two prosthetic legs and a special set of crutches. He's fairly mobile, but he'd need a place to sit for most of his work."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Why don't you have him call me and I'll set up an interview."

"Very good, Geoff. I'm grateful and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by him. His name is Bernie Redmond, but most people call him 'Red.' When you meet him, it will be obvious why. Thank you again. I'll be thinking about anyone else who might fit your needs. I'll call you if I do."