Chapter 6: Back to Business

Monday morning brought about a return to normalcy. None of the four ladies referred to or even hinted at our weekend activities. It was back to business and there was plenty of that to take care of. By Friday, I was bushed. We had accomplished a lot that week. Jimmy had set up the secure wireless and had configured all the sales laptops to meet our security standards while giving them access to the information as it came on line. For now they had only a little, but soon we would have the full package available to all the staff. Based on the speed with which Jimmy was working, I had no doubt we'd be fully up to date by early December. Sue and Jan were busy with getting their staff to load the data as it became available. Lori and Lexi were looking after their own areas themselves, with occasional help from Jan or Sue.

In the meantime, I was getting to meet some of our key clients and letting them know of all the changes that were in store. What concerned me was the lack of interest on what had happened to Walter Trimble. It would appear that few of our customers knew him and even fewer were curious about his whereabouts. I took the opportunity to sound out new product opportunities and market information. I'd been doing this for a long time and I knew how to get the most information from even the most reluctant and close-mouthed buyer.

It was also a teaching exercise for the sales people. When we finished a call, we went over what was discussed and what the information we gathered might lead to. It would take me two or three weeks to get around to all ten sales reps, but it had to be done. I needed to find out where the strengths and weaknesses were in that group. So far, I was reasonably satisfied. So far.

Jan had been tasked to look for all the potential customers in the existing area Black Gold covered. What I hadn't yet discussed was expanding our territory. Portland was looking after south-western Washington and I had no problem with that. However, we had few if any customers east of the Cascades. That encompassed the Wenatchee Valley, Yakima, the Tri-Cities, and Spokane. All of those areas had a population that could support an effort by us. It was a question of how to go about it. Jan's project was to find out how our competitors did it.

It was just after five on Friday afternoon when I walked out of my office to find myself alone in the building. Everyone else had gone home for the weekend. I packed up my laptop, locked my desk and office door and left for the hotel. It was raining and cold. Not a hard rain and certainly not the cold of winter in Colorado, but it was a penetrating, damp cold. I had very little ambition at that moment. My exercise regimen would likely be indoors this late November weekend.

Thanksgiving was almost upon us and I decided I needed a break from my work. It was something I had finally grasped. I couldn't continue to work all the time. That had destroyed my marriage and I finally got it through my thick skull that I needed to change, whether I was married or not. Dave had invited me to spend the long weekend with him and Gloria. They were empty nesters and welcomed the company. I suspected my parents would put in an appearance at some point as well. That would be a nice bonus.

I booked a business class ticket for Thursday noon with a return on Sunday night. I was fortunate to be able to get a seat. My nearly half-million air miles did carry some weight with my preferred carrier. The Monday before the holiday, I had a morning sales meeting scheduled at the hotel. I was generally happy with the progress we were making, but I could see room for improvement as well. As a whole, the sales guys weren't used to being aggressive in searching for new business. It wasn't going to be easy to change the culture for some of them.

I had made absolutely no progress on finding myself a place to live. I had been living over a month at the Evergreen Suites and it was only laziness that kept me from looking for a more permanent place. I liked the idea that someone else made the beds, did the laundry and cleaned the bathroom. I had a small kitchenette which served me for my simple breakfasts, but other than that I was eating at restaurants, most often in the hotel's facilities.

I parked in the lot and pulled my raincoat collar up around my neck and walked briskly to the building. When I got inside, I saw Sue and Jan standing there, apparently waiting for me.

"Buy a girl a drink, sailor?" Jan snickered.

"I can do that," I agreed, looking to Sue who was smiling and intending to join us.

"Just the two of you?" I asked.

"Yes," Sue replied. "Lori is at the dentist and Lexi is visiting her grandmother in Bellingham this weekend."

"Ugh," I grimaced. "The dentist on a Friday night."

"A dark and dreary night, I might add," Jan smiled.

"Yeah, this winter weather is going to take some getting used to," I said sourly.

"The bad news is we're still a month away from winter yet," Sue complained.

"Well, enough of this depressing weather talk. What have you ladies got planned for the weekend?" I asked as we found a table in the lounge.

"There's a nice little town on the coast that has a lot of arts and craft shops along with some decent restaurants," Sue explained. "It's full of tourists in the spring and summer, but pretty quiet at this time of the year. It's a great place to shop for funky Christmas presents."

"Well, now, that sounds interesting," I said brightly. I could use some ideas for a family who has everything.

"Hey, join us," Sue said immediately. "We'd love the company. We're going up tomorrow morning about nine o'clock. It's only an hour's drive."

"Thank you. I'll take you up on that. What's the name of the town?"

"La Conner. It's near Skagit Bay. The weather won't be wonderful, but it's a nice place and lots to see."

"Great. What can I get you to signal the start of the weekend?" I asked.

They looked at each other briefly before Sue ordered two dry martinis. I added a third.

"I'm going to fly down to San Francisco on the long weekend," I mentioned after the drinks were served. "I haven't seen my parents in quite some time. My brother and sister-in-law are on their own, so it will be a nice family weekend."

"Oh, that's nice," Jan said. "I was hoping my son and daughter-in-law might visit, but they're off on a Caribbean cruise that they got cheap on a last-minute deal. I'll have to catch up to them at Christmas."

"I didn't know you had a son," I said, surprised. "Are there any other offspring?"

"No, just the one. They live in Idaho, near Coeur d'Alene. He's a mining engineer."

"What about you, Sue? Any children?"

"No. Sadly my husband was killed before we had any. It was one of those things I regret. We kept putting it off and putting it off, then ... it was too late."

"Oh, that is sad," I said. "Sorry to hear that. I guess my story is similar in one way. Marion and I kept putting off children while I was getting myself involved in the business. Then, like in your case, it was too late. I think that might have been the last straw for my ex-wife. I know I felt bad about that. Still do."

That seemed to put a down note on our Friday afternoon and soon we broke up, the ladies heading to their home in Mountlake Terrace and me upstairs to my room. At least we had tomorrow to look forward to.

La Conner turned out to be a very pleasant day out. We had a bit of luck with the weather when it turned out to be mostly sunny with some clouds around the mountains. There was a brisk wind but, with the sunshine present, it was tolerable.

Jan and Sue were right. The town was quite an interesting place. It was a combination of a small fishing village, an artist's outlet, and a tourist trap. It was the art stores that caught my interest. Wood carvings and ceramics outnumbered the paintings. One store featured some very interesting and very expensive woodwork, most of it created from driftwood. I had several ideas for Christmas in that one place alone. I must have spent an hour arranging for packaging and shipment to San Francisco. The owner promised it would be there for my pickup on the holiday weekend.

I also knew from listening to the ladies talk when we browsed the store just what interested them. I could come back here on my own and find some gifts for them. I was really pleased that I was invited to join Sue and Jan and I told them so as we had a pleasant lunch at a seafood restaurant. We arrived back in Mountlake Terrace just after five pm.

"I made a lasagna last night," Sue said. "Why don't you stay for dinner? All I have to do is put it in the oven for a few minutes."

"That's sounds very nice," I smiled, happy not to have to eat alone once more. "Thank you, but let's stop at that specialty grocer and I'll get some wine."

By then I knew the ladies would prefer red to white, so I bought two bottles of an Italian Valpolicella that I knew was good quality. I picked up another bunch of brightly colored flowers as I was about to pay for my purchases and added them to the bill.

"Oh, flowers!" Sue said with a big smile. "They will really brighten up the table. Thank you, Gabe. That's very thoughtful."

"You're welcome. Thank you for inviting me. It sure beats eating alone."

"Well," Janet said in a sly tone, "You know how to solve that problem, don't you?"

I didn't respond. I knew exactly what she was referring to.

The ladies busied themselves with getting the simple meal ready. I could smell the lasagna as it baked in the oven. Jan made a salad while Sue made some garlic toast that would heat while the lasagna was standing after cooking. I watched them working together, never getting in each other's way, looking like they had done this many times. It was much like their behavior at the office. Their efforts were seamless and efficient.

It was almost seven before we ate. The lunch was a fair meal in itself, so we weren't starving. As usual, I found it hard not to have an appetite for a homemade lasagna. Both my mother and my ex-wife made a very good one, and Jan's effort was easily up to those standards.