Chapter 3: Bit by Bit

Gus slept in Sunday following the fishing trip. He was sure Tatya would as well. She wasn't used to being on a boat for any length of time and wouldn't realize until afterward just how much energy it would take out of her. Throw in the excitement of her first fish and the sighting of the Orca pod, and she would be well worn out by night.

That proved to be the case when she thanked all three of them profusely for a wonderful day and left for home just after ten that evening. She had been trying to hide her yawns, but they were getting the best of her.

Mary, Donald and Gus sat around the living room and talked about the day.

"I think you could invite Tatyana to go fishing with you anytime you wanted and she'd be agreeable," his mother said.

"After today, I'm sure you're right," Gus nodded. "I couldn't have written a better script for her if I'd tried."

"Maybe that will help put an end to your skirmishes on the job," his father suggested.

"I hope you're right, Dad. She's like two different people. Today, you saw the best of Tatyana. I realize it can't all be fun and happiness at work, but something about the two of us seems to have us butting heads."

"She's a very strong-willing young woman, Gus," his mother said. "She's gone through some difficult times and done exceedingly well for herself. She's very proud of her accomplishments and is driven to succeed."

"I get that, Mom, but she doesn't have to stomp all over everyone to get there."

"Is she stomping all over everyone ... or just one particular one?" his mother asked with a sly smile.

"You think she's picking on me for a reason?" Gus asked in surprise.

"Well, don't quote me, but she might be trying to get your attention. It isn't an original idea, you know."

"She has my attention," Gus said, mystified at what his mother was suggesting. "Why would she need to deliberately be antagonistic? I don't get it."

"There are dozens of different mating dances, you know," Mary said, adding a chuckle to her knowing smile.

"Mom, that's crazy. We hardly know each other. Today is the second day that we've ever spent together off the job and we had chaperones."

"Did she hesitate when you asked her if she'd like to play golf?"

"No ... no ... she didn't."

"You didn't see the look on her face when she was watching you as you worked on the boat. She's seriously interested in you. You just have to figure out how to handle her on the job. Don't you agree, Don?"

Gus's father held up his hands in surrender. "I'm out of this discussion. I'm just an innocent bystander. I bow to your mother's superior awareness," he said in mock seriousness.

"Thanks a lot," Gus grumbled.

Gus pushed himself out of bed Sunday morning. He'd spent several minutes going over yesterday and the unsettling conversation after Tatya went home. Was she really interested in him? Was he interested in her? Yeah ... he had to be honest about it. He was interested. What he needed was a strategy to deal with her during the weekdays on the site. In the back of his mind an idea was forming.

"Good morning, Tatya. I just called to make sure you got home all right last night. You were pretty tired when you left the house."

"Oh, yes. I was really more tired than I expected, even with the sleep I had in the afternoon."

"That's the effect of the boat. You're more tense than you realize on a boat. That takes a lot of energy out of you over a few hours. I hope you're okay today," he said kindly.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you Gus. It really was an amazing day. I was just looking at some of the pictures I took. I'm e-mailing them to my mother."

"Tatya, I had an idea that I wanted to bounce off you. I was thinking we could meet first thing each morning and I could go over what we were doing each day so that we might eliminate some of the surprises or conflicts we've been having. How do you feel about that idea?"

"Oh ... I guess so. We could meet at your office, I suppose," she said sounding tentative.

"Yeah. That's the idea. We could try it and see if it helps. If it doesn't ... well ... maybe we can try something else. What do you think?"

"Yes ... I suppose so. What time?" she asked.

"First thing. I'm usually there by seven. When would it be good for you?"

"Seven is fine," she answered slowly. To Gus, she sounded a bit uncertain.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning at seven, then. Thanks, Tatya."

He hung up the phone and wondered if this might defuse some of the tension that existed between the two. He was willing to try just about anything. Twenty more months of unarmed combat was more than he could handle. They had to find some kind of truce that would last.

"Okay, Tatya, here are the worksheets for today," Gus said, laying down the computer printouts of the task schedule for the various sites. "Let's go over them and make sure we're in agreement."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "I have those same schedules. I know what is supposed to happen. It's when changes are made that I don't know about that causes problems."

"I understand that. Any changes or revisions are printed in red to make them obvious to everyone. As you can see, there are no changes on this list."

"Good, then we have nothing to discuss. Is that all?"

"Well ... no. Our landscape contractor is having trouble finding enough semi-mature trees for the upper park area. He wants to substitute either less mature trees or a different species."

"Absolutely not on less mature trees. It will look like hell if we do that. What species was he supposed to supply?"

"Maples, Cedars and Dogwoods. He's having problems with the Dogwoods."

"I'm not surprised," Tatya said.

"Uhhm ... Tatya, I don't know anything about trees. Do you think you can talk to him and work out a solution?"

"What makes you think I'm knowledgeable about trees?" she asked with a frown.

"Uh, well, I thought you would be able to make a better decision than me. I'm sure you can come up with something that will work."

She looked at him with a strange expression. This was something new and unexpected. He wanted her to handle the decision.

"Okay ... I guess that makes sense. I'll call the landscaper right away and set up a meeting."

"Thanks, Tatya. I appreciate that," Gus said with a sigh of relief.

Again, Tatya looked at him questioningly. Was this the beginning of a new more civil relationship? She was probably suspicious. Time would tell.

For his part, Gus gave another sigh of relief when Tatya left to deal with the landscape supplier. He'd successfully avoided another confrontation and put the onus on her back to resolve the problem. He wondered why he hadn't done that sooner. Give her some of the decision making that he went through several times each day. It might just work.

"Okay, that looks like everything for this morning. Anything you want to discuss?" Gus asked Tatyana.

"Yes. What are you doing this weekend?" She was smiling at him.

"Ah ... well ... nothing in particular. I was going to ask you if you'd like to play golf. What were you thinking?"

"I was going to suggest we play golf," she laughed.

"Saturday?"

"Sure. Can you come to dinner at my place afterwards?" she asked.

"I can. Thank you."

This was a pleasant surprise. Things had been going quite well in the past week. They had avoided any confrontations and their morning meetings were helpful in working out problems before they became a point of contention.

It began to dawn on him that they had been dating regularly now for a month. Two games of golf, the fishing day, a trip up to the peak of Mt. Washington to view the scenery, followed by dinner at Crown Isle. It had almost sneaked up on him that they were becoming closer to being good friends. She had never turned him down at any suggestion he had, and now she was asking him for a date.

Mary laughed when Gus explained what was happening.

"I told you, didn't I? I think you've got a girlfriend and you don't even realize it."

"Mom, I realize it. It's just that I didn't set out to make it happen. It just ... happened."

"Does that deflate your male ego, Gus? Tatyana has decided you are worth the effort. She has her eye on you and is making it difficult for you to say no. She has your undivided attention now. She doesn't have to beat you up to make you pay attention to her. You just made it easy for her when you decided to defuse the acrimony with your daily meetings. I thought that was brilliant of you, by the way. You brought her right into your trap."

"Mom, it wasn't a trap. All I was trying to do was end the everlasting feuding. It seems to have worked. Now we can at least have a civil discussion without arguing."

"And she can feel free to ask you for a date," his mother smirked.