Coming soon! Atlanta Stories: Fables of the New South. Eight stories about people coming to Atlanta to reinvent themselves. Stories include:
Release date: August 1.
Available at online bookstores and direct from the author.
In late-October, Abigail receives an invitation for an interview at Emory Medical School scheduled for January. She once again consults Winn, who gives her an overview of what to expect.
“Your grades are exceptional, your MCAT was in the top percentile, and you have professional experience in a clinic, not to mention your extracurricular activities. It might not seem like editing a book or playing music would matter for medical school, but it shows you’re a well-rounded individual and that you can multitask.”
“Great. How do I handle the interviews?”
“Be yourself. They want to get to know you. In my experience, they were more like conversations than straight Q&A sessions but it differs from school to school and between interviewers. They have certain things they want to know, but they’re more interested in how you conduct yourself, how you’ll fit in and adapt, how you perform under stress.” He leans forward and rubs her shoulder. “Don’t worry. They’re going to love you.”
Since she’s local, Abigail arranges to stay at Leah’s the two days she’s to be at Emory so she can better utilize public transportation. She hasn’t yet told her mother because Rhiannon is coming to town in early-November, and Abigail wants to tell her in person. Rhiannon has stated she wants to meet all the friends and family Abigail has connected with in the short time she’s been in town. Winn and Roger insist on hosting another party for them. Abigail requests that Rachel and Claire be included on the guest list as well as Gloria. Genevieve requests that Steven be added.
In the meantime, Abigail, Genevieve, and Gloria continue to gather and edit Rebecca’s blog entries. Genevieve has noted several themes in Rebecca’s writing and proposes grouping them together accordingly which meets with the approval of the others. At length, they weed it down to fifty articles from which to choose, several of which are multi-part posts which they combine into single essays. They meet at Leah’s to hammer out the final selection and the ordering and to finalize a rough draft — Abigail feels they should be grouped by publication date, whereas Genevieve believes they should be grouped by theme. Gloria proposes a compromise, grouping them thematically, but ordering them by date, to which the cousins agree. At length, they settle on twenty-four articles for the first collection. Once the final rough draft is done, Gloria volunteers to work through it, editing for grammar, punctuation, and continuity, with Genevieve backing her up. For a title, they agree to use the name of Rebecca’s blog, The Frantic Feminist.
Rhiannon arrives November 3 for a week-long stay, and books a room at the Hyatt Regency downtown where her conference will be. Abigail meets her there, and over dinner at the Polaris, the blue domed restaurant at the top of the Hyatt, she tells her mother about her interview with Emory.
“I am so proud of you, kiddo,” Rhiannon says, putting her arm around Abigail and giving her a squeeze.
“Don’t you think I’m a little too old for you to call me that now?”
“Okay, how about Dr. Kiddo, then?”
“That’s better.”
Abigail spends the night in her mother’s hotel room, catching up on news of her grandmother, and friends from Seattle. The following evening they have dinner with Genevieve and Leah, and the evening is spent trading stories about Rosalind. Leah’s easily rival those of Rhiannon. Genevieve shares a few, but mostly listens.
Abigail is surprised to learn of the educational resources available through her company. When she mentions to her supervisor that she hopes to attend medical school, she’s pointed to a host of programs Bickering Plummet provides to employees who want to pursue higher degrees. Since Abigail’s focus is on becoming a researcher rather than a practicing physician, that’s viewed as a potential asset to the company, and funds are available to assist. She begins to wonder if she’ll need the money Leah and Alyssa set aside for her.
“I’ve never had so many people who wanted to just give me money before,” she confides in Rhiannon. “Plus Emory offers scholarships.”
“You’re worth it,” her mother says. “If you don’t think so, it’s time to start.”
At the party, Rhiannon hits it off with Winn, Roger, and the Caines, who bring the baby. Leah Naomi quickly becomes the center of attention for the other guests, everyone wanting to have a turn holding her, or fawning over her. Abigail is happy to see Gloria seems to fit in with everyone, especially her mother. Rhiannon is happy to see Rachal again, and Claire seems to hit it off with Roger and Winn, spending much of her time talking to them. When she’s introduced to Genevieve, and hears how she came into being, Claire takes an extreme interest in the process. Leah and Genevieve give her a brief overview, explaining about the remaining embryos. This sends Claire back to talk to Winn about a confidential matter. Neil and Zoë are there and Neil teases Winn about the circumstances of Leah Naomi’s birth. Winn takes it in stride. “You did good little brother.”
By mid-December, Abigail, Genevieve, and Gloria have settled on a final manuscript of The Frantic Feminist, and print out copies for Steven, Rachel, Claire, Alyssa, and Leah to read over and offer comments. The final version contains twenty-four essays covering several of Rebecca’s favorite topics, including movies, music, relationships, and politics and is around two hundred pages. Steven is extremely happy with the manuscript, and treats the trio to dinner at a nice restaurant. Claire requests that several references to “the girlfriend” be altered, as she feels they too closely identify her, and Genevieve, who has come to know Rebecca’s writing the best, undertakes the assignment. Everyone else responds positively, including Tim, who’s read Alyssa’s copy. Satisfied, Abigail contacts the literary agent who knew Rebecca, who requests a full copy of the manuscript.
As January rolls around, Abigail becomes more anxious about her interviews, despite reassurances from everyone she knows. Rhiannon tells her during one of their regular phone calls that she wants to know immediately how Abigail feels she did. The night before, Leah takes her and Genevieve out for dinner and a musical event at the Rialto downtown to help get her mind off things.
The following morning, Abigail heads to Emory’s campus where she spends the next two days in a whirlwind of activity, meeting faculty and students, discussing her goals, interviewing for two concentrations, and hopefully making a good impression. She befriends several other prospective students including a guy from Oklahoma, a woman from Kenya, and a married couple from Columbia, and they all hang out between scheduled events. When it’s all done, she heads back to John’s Creek to assess all that went on and begin the process of worrying again.
Fortunately, she has her music to distract her. She and Gloria have been writing songs and playing at open mic nights as Worthy Savage and have been getting much positive input. She especially likes it when they’re on the bill with Neil’s band, who, with the core of Neil, Zoë, and Genevieve, have undergone a number of personnel and name changes. Recently they’ve been going by Kneel, suggested by Zoë to placate her boyfriend over the fact that she and Genevieve get most of the attention. Neil doesn’t seem fazed, though, as he’s integrated himself into a group of musicians who perform jams around town, playing covers of classic bands like The Stones or Steely Dan, and genres like Prog or Country Rock.
Abigail receives notice in mid-February that she’s been accepted for matriculation at Emory, and is invited back for a revisit in March. At about the same time, she hears from Rebecca’s friend who tells her a publisher is very interested in The Frantic Feminist. She and Steven meet to discuss how they’ll proceed. Since he doesn’t have a background in literary contract negotiations, he arranges a meeting with a colleague who does. After a few meetings with the agent and publisher’s representatives, they agree on terms, and a timeline for publication. Separately, Steven and Abigail agree on the percentage she and the others will receive on any royalties or other profits the book earns, and the terms meet with the approval of Genevieve and Gloria. The remainder will go into a separate account which Steven plans to use for philanthropic endeavors in Rebecca’s name.
At her revisit with Emory in March, Abigail makes her final decision to attend. She’s happy to see a couple of friends she met during interviews are there as well. When the session is over, she gets a packet containing the form she needs to return once she’s made her decision.
“Can I just fill it out and give it to you now?”
With that, she completes all the requirements for admission. As she heads home on MARTA, she finally sits back and allows herself to relax. She has no idea what the future holds, but for once, she’s confident she’ll be ready.
Note: This concludes the serialized episodes of Worthy. Please use the link in the blog’s header to catch up on previous sections. I’m hoping to have the editing completed before Summer. Keep an eye out for the finished book.
It takes Abigail a little over a week to arrange an outing including Genevieve, Neil, and others in the band for Gloria to meet them. They’re playing at an open mic competition at a club in Norcross, not far from where Gloria lives, and this time, Abigail insists on picking her up. She and Gloria also have a surprise for the others, since they’ve been playing and writing songs together for several days. They’ll also be competing in the open mic as a duo.
“I can’t explain it,” Abigail tells Genevieve in a phone call, “the moment we met, I felt a connection. Ever since, we’ve just gotten closer.”
“I’m glad to hear you’ve found someone. I’m always worried you’re too driven to have a personal life. The band is the only thing you’ve done for relaxation.”
“I like to work. Sue me.”
“By the way, I may have convinced Steven to come to the show.”
“How did you manage that?”
“He was at the office the other day and I played him an MP3 from our last show.”
“And he wasn’t just saying he’d be there to get you to stop bugging him?”
“No. He sounded genuinely interested. But, he might bring a date.”
“You know, if you looked around, you could probably find some geeky guy at Tech you’d have a better shot with.”
“Yes. I know. Leah says the same thing.”
“Well, maybe you should listen to her. She knows Steven better than you do.”
“And she says he’s not looking for a long-term relationship currently.”
“Why does that encourage you?”
“Because I’m not either. Hopefully, by the time I am, he’ll be.”
“Sounds like a long shot.”
“Sort of like coming all the way to Atlanta and having a medical recruiter introduce you to the love of your life?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
On the night of the show, Neil reserves a block of tables for the crowd they expect. He and Zoë get there first, followed soon after by Genevieve, Abigail, and Gloria. Abigail makes the introductions and everyone welcomes Gloria. They head over to the tables while Genevieve waits in front for stragglers.
Steven arrives with an attractive woman who appears to be of South American descent. He introduces her as Matilda Alavares, a public defender for Fulton County. As they’re shaking hands, Genevieve says something to her in Spanish. Matilda, a bit surprised, replies in Spanish, and she and Genevieve have a brief conversation, mainly relating to family origins.
“My friends call me Mattie,” she tells Genevieve.
“Genni.”
Genevieve leads them to the tables the band has reserved.
“Is Leah coming?” Neil asks.
“No, she has plans with her college friend,” Genevieve says.
“You’re the one who delivered Alyssa’s and Tim’s daughter, aren’t you?” Steven asks Neil.
“Yep, that’s me,” Neil says.
“Oh, I have got to hear about this,” Matilda says. “Someone in the office was talking about it when it happened.”
Neil and Abigail tell them the story.
The band is scheduled to go on toward the middle of the show, which gives them time to get acquainted. Abigail is pleased to see Gloria seems to fit in well. Matilda recognizes her from a poetry slam a few months ago in Decatur.
“I think I should let everyone know why I can’t play tonight,” Abigail says.
“Yeah. I was wondering about that,” Neil says. “Hang on. I saw a group in the lineup called Ab & Glo.”
“That’s us,” Gloria says. “We’ve written a few numbers we’d like to try out.”
“You’re stealing her away from us already,” Neil says, shaking his finger at Gloria.
“Does that make me Yoko?” Gloria says.
Neil considers it. “No. If you’re Yoko, then I can’t be John Lennon. You can be Linda Eastman.”
“What’s the big deal?” Genevieve says. “I can play everything Abby can.”
“That’s true,” Zoë says. “And I can play just about everything else.”
“Stop,” Neil says, holding up his hands. “You’re not kicking me out of my own band.”
“What’s up with Freddy, by the way?” Abigail says.
“Annie insisted he return to Portland,” Zoë says. “She gave him an ultimatum; either he comes back or she’s going to drive his Mustang off a cliff.”
“Okay.” Abigail shakes her head. “I thought they were in therapy.”
“It actually seems to be working,” Neil says. “Before she’d have just done it.”
The show runner signals to Neil to get ready.
“That’s us,” he says. To Abigail he says, “Hope you brought your A game, sis. We’ll be hard to beat.”
“You’re playing one of my songs,” Abigail replies.
“Then we’ve got this in the bag,” Neil says over his shoulder.
With Freddy absent, Neil takes the drumming duties, while Genevieve and Sarah team up on vocals. They do an Abigail original and a Neil and Zoë collaboration. Each group gets two songs, and if the audience likes them enough to make the final three, they get another song. The band’s set is very well received.
There are two acts between them and Ab & Glo, and while the second group is finishing their first song, Abigail gets the nod from the show runner.
Their set consists of two collaborations, combining alluring harmonies with complex guitar work, which also has the crowd on their feet. Neither group is surprised when they both get called back for the final three. The crowd seems to respond to the trio a bit more, so they end up in first place with Abigail and Gloria second. Still, they regard the evening as a success.
“So, what did you two think?” Genevieve asks Steven and Matilda.
“I had a great time,” Matilda says.
“Same here,” Steven echoes. “You’re very talented, Genevieve.”
Genevieve later confides to Abigail that she also regards the evening as a success.
Abigail’s recruiter follows through on his promise to set up a meeting between Abigail and his other client, Gloria Savage. After making sure both are okay with the idea, he texts each one the other’s number. Abigail wrestles with the decision to call or wait to hear from Gloria. She lets a day pass before deciding to take the initiative herself, but just as she starts to dial Gloria’s number, a call comes in from Gloria.
“Gloria? Hi, I was calling you. Yes. I just keyed in your area code.”
They talk for about twenty minutes, mainly comparing likes, dislikes, and entertainment preferences, and discussing where they should meet. They learn that they live reasonably close to one another, Abigail in John’s Creek, and Gloria in Norcross. At length, Gloria proposes meeting for coffee after work at Cafe Intermezzo on Ashford Dunwoody Road, where they’ll have numerous options for dinner if they don’t fill up on pastries.
That night, while helping Alyssa tend to Leah Naomi, Abigail brings up a sensitive topic.
“How would you feel about me having guests over?” she asks Alyssa.
“You should consider this your home. If you want to bring someone over, we’ll accommodate them.”
Abigail hesitates a moment. “What if that someone wants to spend the night?”
Alyssa smiles. “Ah. Of course.” She considers her answer. “Your room is at the end of the hall, and I’m pretty sure you’d be conscientious of the noise level.”
Abigail laughs. “I’d do the best I could.”
“Just let us know someone’s here so there aren’t any awkward encounters.”
“No problem.”
A day or so later, Abigail heads over to meet Gloria. As she’s walking in, she looks up and comes to a stop. Standing a few feet in front of her, also stopped and staring, is the woman she recognizes from the photo Robert sent her.
“Gloria?”
“Yes. You must be Abigail.”
They shake hands and remark on the coincidence of them arriving at the exact same time despite their different modes of travel.
“I usually plan to arrive a little early,” Gloria says.
“Tell me about it. The traffic is terrible over here. That’s why I took the train.”
They enter and find an out of the way table. Abigail immediately feels comfortable around Gloria.
“The desserts here are excellent,” Gloria says. “You spring for coffee and I’ll get the dessert since it was my idea.”
“Sure.”
They check out the desserts and decide what they want. Back at the table, Abigail says, “What do you do for Allied?”
“I’m a nurse in one of their clinics — my first job since graduation.”
“Where’d you go to school?”
“GSU, School of Nursing.”
“My mother’s a nurse. Very challenging profession.”
“It is, but very rewarding.”
“Definitely.”
“What do they have you doing over at Bickering Plummet?”
“I conduct genetic research for their pharmaceutical division.”
“Cutting edge work. That’s pretty challenging as well.”
As the date goes on, they find themselves getting along very well.
“I’d really love to continue this evening someplace less public,” Gloria says.
“I was just thinking the same thing. How far is your place from here?”
“I’d rather not go there. I’m currently living with my family until I get some of my debts paid off.”
“You haven’t told them?”
“Oh, I have. They’re just not very good with privacy.”
Abigail thinks about it.
“The couple I’m living with are pretty cool. But there’s a baby.”
“You’re not sleeping in the nursery are you?”
“No. The baby actually sleeps in the room with her parents.”
“Sounds perfect.”
They settle their bill and head out to Gloria’s car. Once inside, they look at one another and, on a whim, Abigail leans in to kiss Gloria. They end up making out for several minutes.
“Wow,” Abigail says. “I have never acted like that before.”
“Yeah, me neither. How far is it to your place?”
“John’s Creek, just off Peachtree Parkway.”
“Good. I know a short cut that should get us around traffic.”
When they arrive at the Caine residence, they find Alyssa and Tim entertaining friends, who’ve come to see the baby, out by the pool. Abigail introduces Gloria.
“You’re welcome to join us,” Alyssa says.
“I think we’re going to head upstairs for a little while,” Abigail says. “She really wants to see my room.”
“Well, then, have fun,” Alyssa says with a wink.
A little over an hour later, they rejoin the group outside. They’re holding hands and are very affectionate toward one another.
“I guess she likes your room,” Alyssa whispers to Abigail at one point.
“Definitely,” Abigail replies.
The following morning, Abigail wakes up beside Gloria, who appears to still be asleep. She rolls over to watch her.
Gloria opens her eyes.
“Morning. Did I wake you?”
“No. I was just lying here with my eyes closed. Remind me again, when did we meet?”
“Yeah, I know. I think this fulfills all the qualifications for a whirlwind romance.”
“Robert wasn’t kidding when he says he does his research.” She rolls over to face Abigail. They kiss. “So, we’re together. It’s Saturday. What do you want to do?”
“Why do we need to do anything?”
“Good question.”
“I dread when we start learning all the horrible things from each other’s past that will come between us.”
“Have you been picking up men at rest stops and murdering them?”
“Would that be a problem?”
Gloria shrugs. “Depends on the men, I guess. For my part, I promise I don’t moonlight as a stripper named Glory.”
“Too bad. You’d probably make a fortune in tips. Get those loans paid off quicker.”
“Okay, at some point, we can head over to my place and you can meet the family. If that doesn’t scare you off, it must be love.”
“Sure. Later I’ll introduce you to Neil and Genevieve. But we don’t have to do anything right away, do we?”
She leans back and Gloria puts her head on Abigail’s shoulder. “Not at all.”
After much discussion, they come to an agreement that if they’re still together in three months, they’ll start looking for an apartment together.
The office where Abigail will be working is in Chamblee, but for her initial orientation phase, she’s stationed at the main office downtown for several days, until all her paperwork goes through. There, she takes all the required coursework, ethics, time charging, security awareness, and other topics, all designed to insure she’s acknowledged every rule and regulation and can begin her employment well informed. Since she’s still relatively new to town, it’s also recommended she sit in on the Atlanta newcomers orientation, which tells new hires how to navigate the city along with places of interest to check out. Leah has already supplied her with a similar list, which, she stated, are all the generic tourist spots which show up in every guide to the city and which should mostly be avoided.
On her first day with Bickering Plummet, Abigail learns of the odd reputation of its president, who everyone refers to as Mr. Bickering. It is said that those who address him otherwise run the risk of being “busted back to a banana” which is a common threat of his, with no explanation as to what that means. When she came to process in, while waiting for her supervisor to usher her into the restricted areas, Abigail noted an older gentleman seated in the lobby, just sort of hanging out. When she made eye contact with him, he gave her a friendly smile and nodded, with a pleasant, “Good morning.” She later learns that this is Mr. Bickering, who frequently hangs out in the lobby watching people come and go, until such time as he’s needed upstairs and someone goes to fetch him. Once she knows who he is, she sees him quite a bit, wandering around the floors, seemingly deep in thought. Sometimes, over the intercom, she’ll hear an announcement, “If anyone knows the whereabouts of Mr. Bickering, please call the front office.”
This afternoon, Genevieve is driving Abigail home so she can visit Alyssa, Tim, and the new baby. Abigail is expecting Genevieve around five, and she plans to be in the lobby in time to intercept her cousin to limit the time Genevieve spends at Bickering.
Around four-fifteen, her phone rings.
“Abigail Worthy, you have a visitor in the lobby.”
“A visitor?”
“A young woman who says she’s your cousin.”
“Genevieve? She’s not supposed to be here yet.”
Abigail hangs up and gathers her belongings, then hurries to the lobby to find her worst fears realized; Genevieve is seated, talking to Mr. Bickering. They appear to be having a nice conversation.
“When I was your age, I was working at Six Flags,” Mr. Bickering is saying as Abigail walks up. “I worked Rides.”
“That must have been fun,” Genevieve says.
“No, not really. I didn’t get along with anyone on the crew. They never let me operate the rides, just cleanup.” He notices Abigail. “Oh, hello, you must be Abby.”
He rises and offers his hand.
“Yes. Mr. Bickering. I am.”
“So nice to put a name with a face.” He indicates Genevieve. “I’ve been having a lovely chat with your cousin.”
“I see that. What are you talking about?”
“Mr. Bickering was telling me about some of the places he’s worked.”
“Oh yes,” he says. “Mostly my employment history is somewhat boring — various family endeavors — but once, I struck out on my own and worked at Six Flags.”
“Interesting,” Abigail says.
“I was so surprised when Genevieve walked in. I haven’t seen her since she gave that remarkable speech at her school in Seattle.”
“You remember that?” Abigail asks.
“Oh, indeed. It was one of the best student presentations I’ve heard.”
“I’ve never understood why you liked it so much,” Genevieve says. “I really trashed your company. All your handlers were totally pissed off.”
“Young lady, nothing you said in that essay was untrue. Your talk was well-researched, well-prepared, well-written, and very well delivered. It took a lot of courage to stand on that stage and give that speech especially with me sitting right behind you. I hear a lot of student speeches that sound like they were written with faculty advisers reading over their shoulders, but you spoke your mind, and I was very impressed.”
“Thanks,” Genevieve says. She looks at Abigail. “Would you mind taking a picture of us, Abby?” She looks back to Mr. Bickering. “I’d sort of like to make up for the one I took at school.”
“Sure,” Abigail says and takes out her phone.
Genevieve and Mr. Bickering pose with their arms around one another and with big smiles.
“Please send me a copy as well,” Mr. Bickering says.
“I will, just as soon as I’m set up on email,” Abigail replies.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I’m supposed to be in a meeting now.”
Genevieve watches as he boards the elevator. “How can such a sweet man be in charge of such a rotten company?”
“Seriously, Genni, a lot of what Bickering does is very beneficial.”
“Yeah, that’s what I hear. A lot of it isn’t.”
Abigail says, “Even though you’re early, I’m ready.”
She and Genevieve head out to the parking lot.
As apprehensive as Abigail is about working for Bickering Plummet, she’s even more so about telling Genevieve. Cataloging corporate wrongs is a favorite pastime of her cousin’s, none more so than Bickering. During a career day at one of her schools in Seattle, Genevieve was asked to present an essay about Bickering Plummet to honor their president, Clayton Bickering, who was visiting to award them with a grant. Genevieve wrote a scathing exposé denouncing Bickering’s questionable activities in Latin America which she concluded by singing a Brazilian protest song in Portuguese with her fist raised in solidarity. Most of the company’s representatives were fuming and ready to withdraw the grant they were awarding the school as well as having Genevieve questioned by the FBI.
The only person who wasn’t phased by it was Mr. Bickering, who smiled cheerfully throughout the presentation then gave her a standing ovation and congratulated Genevieve on her “fine speech”. He was so genuinely pleased with her effort, he asked for a copy, then offered to increase the grant amount on the spot. A few weeks later, Genevieve received a package containing lots of Bickering company merchandise, including coffee cups and a T-shirt, from Mr. Bickering himself, with a nice, handwritten note again praising her speech. His response was so positive, she actually felt bad for deliberately looking glum in the photo she took with him while shaking his hand before the presentation.
Needless to say, Genevieve is very disappointed to learn Abigail has “gone over to the dark side” and snubs Abigail for twenty-four hours, until Leah insists she invite Abigail to dinner. For her part, Leah is not at all supportive of Genevieve’s attitude toward Bickering.
“Rosie may have encouraged you to take stands on issues but I don’t want you stirring up trouble with Bickering Plummet,” Leah tells Genevieve when Abigail joins them for dinner. “I partner with them rather frequently.”
“You do? They’re a global defense contractor. Why would they need to outsource security?”
“The government is required to follow every fair hiring regulation it imposes on employers,” she explains. “A corporation like Bickering often needs to work with a small, minority, or woman-owned business to go after certain government contracts. With my company, they’re two for three — three for three if I tell them I’m Jewish. I win the contract and hire a few of their workers, or I’ll subcontract when they need expertise in a given field.”
“I never pictured you as a corporate drudge.”
“That is not what this is. When I’m the primary, I have the final say on all work. You don’t understand how things work in the real world.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Corporate America is like a massive social network. Who you know is almost as important as what you know. It can take years of knocking on doors and shaking hands to establish a reputation. Once you’ve got it, you guard it with your life because when you lose someone’s trust, you rarely win it back.”
“I can see how that would be problematic,” Genevieve says.
“How did you get in with Bickering?” Abigail asks.
Leah chuckles. “I hacked their system.”
Genevieve leans forward. “No you didn’t.”
Leah puts up her right hand. “I certainly did. In fact, I hacked every corporation in Atlanta and prepared a dossier on each to show them what I found.”
“Weren’t they angry?” Abigail says.
“Angry, but most were damned impressed as well. Some of the CEOs complained to my father about what I’d done. After chewing me out, Dad told me he advised them to hire me.”
“I’d like to poke around in Bickering’s files. No telling how many skeletons are lurking there.”
Leah gives Genevieve a frustrated sigh.
“All you see is this monolithic corporation. Do you have any idea how many people would be out of work if Bickering closed its doors? Tens of thousands in the Atlanta market alone. Hundreds of thousands nationwide, and an astronomical number if you include their overseas ventures. In some countries, they’re the major source of revenue for a given community.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
“Apparently not.” Leah turns to Abigail. “What are things like in your division, Abby?”
“The head of my division is a black woman. That’s kind of unusual in corporate America.”
“Would that be Lisa Summers?” Leah asks.
“Yes, that’s her. Do you know Lisa?”
“We’ve met. She was project manager on some contracts I did with Bickering when I was fixing their security flaws a few years after they merged with Cairo. I heard she’d been promoted to management. About time.”
“I’ve also noted quite a few women and minorities in key corporate positions,” Abigail continues. “Very impressive, actually.”
“Good for them,” Genevieve says. “But if I see something that’s wrong, I say something. That’s what Mom taught me.”
“And that’s fine,” Leah says, “but you’ve got to be diplomatic about it. At least learn the nuances before stirring up stuff.”
“Nuances. Got it.”
Travis Maudlin is a man of many quirks and peculiarities, much of which he keeps to himself, though some of his oddities can’t be so easily contained. On more than one occasion, his coworkers have noted his habit of muttering to himself under his breath; his almost pathological refusal to use anyone’s name in conversation; his notable discomfort whenever anyone gets closer than three or four feet from him, and his curious tendency to wear the same clothes over and over throughout the month, usually without washing them in between wearings. His colleagues in the technical support unit of the enterprise software division of Bickering Plummet Incorporated in Atlanta universally regard him as the quintessential loner, a “quiet man” who may one day snap and arrive at work in fatigues with something concealed under his jacket. They often express amazement at the fact that he is, in fact, married to a lovely, vivacious woman named Heidi, who, in all respects, is the total antithesis of her husband.
Those who refuse to scratch the surface of Travis’ demeanor have no idea of the dark and troubled man underneath. He, too, is surprised at his good fortune at winning a woman like Heidi, though he often regards their marriage as the proverbial double edged sword. Though she has always acted toward him with nothing but the utmost grace and charm, almost every aspect of her character seems designed to play upon his natural insecurities and paranoia. Again, he’s mostly able to keep the more undesirable of his tendencies to himself, but he cannot help but be totally unnerved by her superficial cheerfulness, her unflagging optimism, and her obsessive extroversion. There are no strangers around Heidi.
Perhaps his greatest fear is that he’ll return home one weekend and find that Heidi has invited one of those home improvement shows in to redesign a room for him. Nothing could be more galling to him than the thought of having a camera crew tramping around in his private life, cajoling Heidi to recount some lovable quirk or colorful tendency of his to win lovely prizes, while they systematically destroy some favorite refuge inside his castle, transforming it with a lousy paint job and cheap furnishings. He’ll hate the results but have to pretend he loves it because the cameras are rolling thus denying him expression of his true feelings about the indignity. This is not an irrational fear on his part, because Heidi is obsessed with the home improvement shows she sees on her favorite cable network, and spends far too much of her time watching them while Travis is at work.
This, my friends, is the painful reality of Travis Maudlin, and his life in the midst of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Careful readers will have already deduced that he is, in fact, who they believe him to be; he did do exactly what everyone remembers him as doing in much the manner that it has been recounted. What most don’t know is the sad tale underneath and that is the subject of this discourse, the forces that drove him to that tragic afternoon of September, 2005, to the pleasant neighborhood in Dunwoody where he shared a modest, but exceptionally comfortable home with Heidi, a dwelling which would forever after be inextricably linked with the While You Were Away Massacre.
