Chapter 21: What I Wished For

Friday, August 1^st, was our first official day of ownership. We called all the staff together before opening that morning and Eddie and Arnold were introduced by Paul before I was announced as the new manager. Beginning Monday, the store would be closed and we would begin employee evaluations. Those who would remain employees would be paid for the period the store was closed and would be asked to participate in the renovations. Those who were not retained would be given severance appropriate to their length of service.

It was a very quiet group of people that I stepped up to face.

"I'm sure you think I'm pretty young to be running this market," I began, "but as Eddie and Arnold will tell you, I've done this before. The Valley Farm Market is going to be the best grocery store in the Comox Valley in the next year, if not sooner. Our owners, Top Valu Foods, have a reputation second to none in West Vancouver and Vernon. We intend to add this store to that list.

"There will be no more short-cuts or second-class products. There will be no more short-changing our customers. It's going to take time to restore our reputation, but with top quality product, top quality service, and top quality people, we will do it. I hope all of you will be with us when we reopen the market. It's going to be quite an experience. Are there any questions?"

It was quiet for a moment before a middle-aged woman spoke up.

"Will we be getting new suppliers? Some of the ones McVeigh was using were crooked."

"That's almost the first thing we will do. We already have proven suppliers at our other stores for meat, dairy, bakery and produce. You will see a noticeable difference in the quality and variety of product from them."

I saw some nods and smiles in the group.

"How will you decide who stays and who goes?" a younger man asked.

"Interviews and actions. The next few weeks will tell us a lot about you as we thoroughly revamp this store. We want our employees to be proud to work here. Personally, I hope that all of you are here when we reopen. Time will tell if I get my wish."

"Will our pay still be the same?" another woman asked.

"I can't say. I'm not sure how your pay structure works, so we will have to review that almost right away. I can tell you that Top Valu pays at the top end of the salary scale, and it has very good benefits. I don't think anyone will be disappointed."

"Are we going to be open all day today?" an older man asked.

"Yes, usual hours today and tomorrow. However, I will have some tasks for people in the meat, dairy, bakery and produce departments. I want to cull out any poor product, and put the rest of our perishable merchandise on sale. I don't want to see any past sell-before dated product go through our checkout."

"About time!" I heard from the back.

That seemed to bring an end to the questions.

"Okay then, I want to see the people in the produce department first, then meat, then dairy, then bakery. We'll get you started on moving out the dead product."

By six o'clock on Saturday I was exhausted. Eddie and Arnold had gone back to the River House Inn for the night. Eddie would fly home tomorrow while Arnold would stay over to help me with the interviews and the changes we needed to make in the store.

The undercurrent and feedback I got during the two days was pretty uniform. This was long overdue. They knew they were giving their customers less than a fair deal. They knew they were losing business and they also knew that they, themselves, weren't being treated fairly. However, jobs were scarce right now and most of them weren't in a position to quit and look elsewhere. I did learn that a few good people had been lost in the past year.

I arrived home just after six-thirty and Dory greeted me with a smile and a warm kiss.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"Not bad. It's a larger staff than we had at Vernon, but the problems are pretty much the same except for the crappy product that they were forced to sell. Like Vernon, no one objected to changing suppliers and getting rid of the second-rate product. If two thirds of them sign on to what we want to do, we'll be all right. I brought home the employee records and pay scale. I want to see who was paid what."

"Are you going to work tomorrow?"

"Just a couple of hours at the kitchen table," I reassured her.

"We have a wedding in three weeks today, remember."

"How could I forget? I've been waiting for this for six years."

"Six years? Not quite," she snorted.

"Maybe not for you, but I knew you were the girl for me after our first date, and that was almost six years ago."

"I don't know if I believe you," she said, looking at me carefully. "I know you've said something like that before, but it seems so hard to believe."

"Why do you think I was always there when we broke up? Why do you think I didn't and couldn't date any other woman successfully? Every time I was with someone else, I was comparing them to you. Even if it was just a social setting, I was comparing."

She looked at me, half smiling, half questioning. "I guess I didn't think of it that way. I wasn't very mature when we first met. I didn't have any experience with boys. You were my first boyfriend. I wasn't very sure of myself ... or you. I thought you might be just out to get what you could from me then move on. When you didn't do that, I was confused."

"Maybe I wasn't very mature either," I admitted. "Let's face it, we were both pretty inexperienced. You were the first girl I ever made love to. Now, you're the only woman I've ever made love to ... and it's going to stay that way."

I was sitting on the new sofa and Dory was straddling me, her arms wrapped around my neck. I was massaging her hips and butt as we kissed, the heat rising as we did so.

"Should we christen the sofa?" Dory asked.

"Aren't you afraid we might stain the material?"

"We had it Scotch-guarded, remember," she grinned.

"Oh yeah," I recalled, beginning to pull her top out of her shorts.

We were out of our clothes in no time at all and she remounted me without any foreplay.

"Are you ready?" I asked, gently thumbing her lovely big breasts.

"I've been ready all day. Get to it, Stud."

We'd promised ourselves we would find a way to make love in every room of our house, but so far the bedroom and living room had been the extent of our efforts. I couldn't have cared less. Having her naked and in my arms anywhere was just fine with me. Being inside her was the cherry on top of the sundae.

"Oh, Stevie, I need this so much. I love you baby. I love you so much."

"Yes ... oh yes ... I love you too," I grunted between strokes.

We didn't last very long. We were both very wound up and stimulated by each other. She collapsed on me and we spent a few minutes just holding each other as we came down from our high.

"Hungry?" she asked.

"Yeah. Let me have a shower first."

"I'll join you," she teased. "We both need one."

Dinner was late that evening.

Arnold and I met for breakfast on Monday morning early at his hotel before going to work. The store normally opened at eight o'clock, but we were planning to be there at seven-thirty to see who came early. We had changed the locks when the bank formally handed over the title to the property, so only Arnold and I had the keys at this time.

"Do we do this as a team or separately?" I asked him.

"We've got twelve people to talk to, so I think separately is better," Arnold said.
After that, we can compare notes. Have you thought about how many people you will need ultimately?"

"I'm thinking twelve is close to the right number if they're in the right place. It would be a place to start. We're a six day operation from Monday to Saturday, and open until nine on Friday. That's sixty three hours if we are eight-to-six on regular days. I guess first things first. Let's see what kind of talent we have."

We arrived at the store just after seven-thirty and were surprised to find several people already there. Considering we didn't plan to open the store for business, this was a surprise.

"Good morning," I said as they left their vehicles and gathered around the front door. "Good to see you here early and ready to go. When everyone is here, we'll set the assignments and begin interviewing each of you. What we would like to know is what you've been doing here in the past and what your interests are. We need good people in each department, so don't be afraid to speak up when we talk."

Arnold unlocked the door and ushered everyone into the store. Most of the un-saleable perishables had been removed and disposed of on Saturday afternoon. We still had a lot of good items that would go to waste if we didn't move them. I contacted several of the local golf courses and explained what was available at very reduced prices. Two of them were interested and would send someone over that morning.

We ended up with a bit of meat, some dairy, some bakery and quite a bit of produce left over. I told the staff to help themselves or it would be disposed of. By the end of the day, all the eggs, ice cream, and meat were gone. Some of the staff went home to get coolers to haul the stuff away. If nothing else, they were in a good mood when we interviewed them.

We had notified all the suppliers that the store would be closed for the balance of the month, re-opening September 2^nd, the day after Labour Day. I hoped that was enough time to get everything that I wanted accomplished. Essentially, we were going to take the inside of the store apart, clean and paint it, then put it back together again. When our customers walked into the place on September 2^nd, they wouldn't recognize it.

When Arnold and I got together later that afternoon, we had interviewed only eight people, but we could finish the next day.

"Well, what's your opinion, Steve?"

"A lot like Vernon. Some pretty discouraged and underappreciated people who felt trapped in their jobs. There are a couple of them I didn't care for. Mostly their attitude."

"Let me guess, Ms. Cormack and Mr. Younger."

I smiled. "Right on. She was a surly woman, that's for sure. I don't think she's cut out for retail sales and I don't think she was trying very hard to convince us to keep her, either. On top of that, she was paid more than anyone else."

"Younger sounded like he wanted to start a unionizing campaign right away," Arnold said. "'Oppressed workers' seemed to trip from his tongue a little too easily. He wasn't that interested in how we ran the business, he had his own agenda."

"I didn't like him on general principles. He seemed to think he should be running the store, not us. I wonder what kept him around when everything here was going to hell?"

Arnold shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I don't think they are the kind of people we want."

"Nope. Let's see what tomorrow brings and we'll know what we've got. I haven't found any hidden talent like I did in Vernon, but maybe there's some out there to be discovered."