Chapter 2

The second week of May Bill posted his next advertisement. The morning the notice appeared in the paper he got a string of four calls that he was able to wash out on the phone for various reasons. Then he got a call that sounded OK and set up an interview for the following day. A little after noon he got a very strange call asking about the job.

"Good afternoon, Black residence, Bill Black speaking," Bill answered.

"Em, a, hello. Is this the right number for the advertisement for a live in housekeeper," the caller asked hesitantly?

"Yes," Bill answered. "I am looking for a live in house keeper that can also cook."

Bill could hear a lot of noise in the background. It sounded like the girl was calling from a gymnasium or something. And it did sound like a girl.

"Well, ah, I would like to apply for the job," the caller said. She still sounded hesitant.

"OK, do you have experience keeping house or cooking," Bill asked? He was feeling a little unsure of this call too and was starting to think it was just another washed out applicant.

"Well, I have kept house before and cooked, but I haven't done it as a job. It was just something that I had to do," the caller said. She sounded tired or like she had just lost hope. "I have been told that I am a very good cook," the girl timidly offered.

"OK," Bill said and hesitated. What the hell he thought. It wasn't like he was interviewing a brain surgeon. He could at least meet the girl and talk to her. He didn't have to hire her and, if he did, it couldn't work out any worse than Nancy had.

"Why don't I meet you tomorrow and we can talk about the job," Bill said making a decision. I can meet you anytime in the morning.

"Oh no," the caller said. "I would need to meet you today. If I don't get a job I may not be in town tomorrow."

Now that set him back on his heels. "What a strange statement", he thought.

"Ah, well, ah, do you have a car? You can drive out to my house and I can talk to you about the job if you want," Bill said slowly.

"No," the caller said in a low voice. "I don't have a car."

"LAST CALL FOR KINGMAN AND LOS ANGELES," blared in the background and Bill knew the girl was at the bus station.

He was silent for a moment then heaved a sigh and said, "OK, I will pick you up and we can talk about the job. Wait out front. I will be in a white Ford super duty crew cab pickup. It will take me about 30 minutes to get there. How will I know you? What are you wearing?"

"Ah, I have a brown coat on. It is kind of long, down past my knees," the caller said.

"OK, what's your name," Bill asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Black. I'm Linda. Thank you Mr. Black," Linda said.

"I'll see you in about 30 minutes Linda," Bill replied brusquely and hung up. "Now why did I agree to meet her," he asked himself. He hadn't been planning on driving into town today and it was a hassle. "Ah Hell," Bill muttered to himself as he got ready to leave.

Thirty minutes later Bill was parked about a block down the street from the bus station. He was staring in disbelief at the woman that was standing in front of the station. She was small, just a little over five feet tall and looked like a very young girl from a distance. She had brown hair and even from this distance he could see the red highlights. He couldn't tell much about her body, because of the big brown coat she had on. It didn't really fit her and she looked like a little girl playing dress up with her parent's clothes. The coat didn't look like very good quality even from this distance. It was more like something someone would pick up in a thrift store. The woman's looks weren't what had him staring in disbelief. It was the two smaller girls with her that had Bill considering just driving away. He needed a house keeper and wasn't interested in running a damn day care center.

Finally, Bill let out a long breath in frustration and shook his head while he put the truck in gear. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he kept muttering to himself as he pulled up to the bus station. He unlocked the doors and rolled down the window on the passenger side.

"Are you Linda," Bill called?

The woman nodded but didn't move. She had that deer in the headlights look that people get when they get in a situation that is beyond their control and they don't know what to do.

Bill shook his head again. He muttered, "Stupid," then called, "Well, get in. I guess we can at least talk about the job after I drove all the way in here."

Linda face blanched slightly at his tone and hurriedly motioned the two girls to get into the back seat as she clambered into the front. It was hard to tell what the girls looked like under their heavy coats. Bill decided they must be coming from someplace farther north to be wearing such heavy coats. Both girls had a small satchel with them and Linda had a satchel that was a little larger than theirs.

Bill looked over his shoulder at the girls in the back seat then back to Linda questioningly.

Linda ducked her head and hunched her shoulders slightly. "These are my daughters, Susan and Hanna," she said hurriedly and quietly as she looked at her feet.

Bill just stared at her a moment, let out a long breath and muttered, "Stupid," again.

He hated seeing anything cringe the way she was. He grew angry when he saw a dog cringe away from its master because he knew it was a learned response caused by harsh treatment. "I imagine it is the same with people," he muttered shaking his head again.

"How about we have a late lunch and talk about this job," Bill said out loud. It actually came out more of a growl than a suggestion and he noticed Linda flinch. "It's OK," he said resignedly. "Everybody, buckle your seatbelts," he ordered over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Linda said quietly as she kept her eyes on her feet. "I should have told you about, ah, about my daughters. We were waiting for a transfer and someone left a paper on a seat. I saw the advertisement and thought housekeeping and cooking was something that I could do. We needed a place to stay and, and, well..." she trailed off hesitantly.

Bill shook his head again as he pulled away from the bus station. "What time does your bus leave," Bill asked, or growled.

"There is a nonstop that leaves at six that goes all the way to Amarillo," Linda replied so quietly that Bill could hardly hear her.

"What are you going to do in Amarillo," Bill asked as he weaved through traffic to get to a pizza place he knew about. He figured the kids would like pizza, and he didn't mind it occasionally. He really didn't care what she was going to do there. He was just making conversation so they wouldn't have that uncomfortable silence hanging in the air.