It Shouldn't Be You, page 9
* * *
Travers had never been to a corporate party like this. This would be a human resources nightmare by any standards. There were people there of every age, and each one took the time to meet him and let him know what they did in the company.
He had met the women who did the knitting for the blankets. Each one had a specialty, and they wanted to make sure he knew what it was. Next were the older men who came in to let him know they pulled the down from the ducks, and they sheered the wool from the sheep in a humane and organic way. Last were the teens and the older women who told him how they washed and spun the wool for the knitters. Each one was so proud, and after he gave them a nod of approval, they all went to the grill line and began to eat like it was a picnic.
“Mr. Warner, we’d like you to meet our lunch lady, Candice,” May said. Moonbeam told him the lunch position was always held by a woman who was looking for a husband.
“Hello Mr. Warner, I’m so glad to finally meet you,” she said in such a slow, sultry voice it had him leaning a little closer in order to hear her. Travers could see how Candice might be enticing.
“Oh, excuse me. Travers, did you take your medication for your condition? Colleen was kind of enough to enlighten me on your condition. You know we’re all as close as family here.”
“Condition?” Travers echoed.
Candice stepped back and then nodded before going on her way. Travers turned towards Colleen. “Was that necessary? Medication really? What did you tell her was wrong with me?”
“I’m here to make sure you don’t make an HR faux pas besides that wasn’t important. I’m just trying to be efficient and save you from making bad choices,” she said with a smile.
Travers put his arm around her and walked over to the grill.
“I guess that just leaves you, Red. Everyone else here is off-limits. To make sure I don’t fall prey to the other women, you’re going to have to ride shotgun for the rest of the night.”
“Or I could get that picture I have of you as a mermaid, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about people thinking you are such a smart catch.”
“You have a pic—?” He laughed, following Colleen to the grill.
“Get me some food, and I might be able to keep it to myself. I’ll get us a seat on the side over there,” Colleen said, pointing to where May and Moonbeam were sitting.
Travers didn’t want to sit next to Moonbeam. It must have shown because Colleen wagged her finger. “Ask yourself, what would Aquaman do?”
By the time he made it back to Colleen, he found her sitting with a grin on her face that said he should be ready for the unexpected.
Colleen jumped up to get the plates from him and began talking.
“While you were gone, Rosa Links, the head of your Human Resources department, wanted to meet you.”
Travers lifted his eyebrows in shock and then turned to face an elderly woman who couldn’t be a day younger than her late seventies.
“Hello, Ms. Links.’
“What did you say? Talk slower so I can read your lips. I didn’t think we were having a company meeting today, so I sent my hearing aid off to get fixed.”
Travers looked at the woman in the face and enunciated slowly.
“I –am – so – sorry – to – inconvenience – you.”
“No worries, I’m here to serve,” she said with a smile.
Travers looked over his shoulder and saw Moonbeam and May smiling.
“Just so you know, Ms. Links was retired and she wasn’t making enough on her social security. When she applied for work at the factory, David recognized how using her experience in HR would be a great thing for both parties. She initially signed up to be a knitter, but June sent her to David to help her find a good fit in the factory. Travers turned back to Ms. Links.
“I’m so happy to meet you,”
“What? You’re what?”
“Let – me – know – if – I – can – help – you?” Travers said. He thought that was going to be the end of it, but Ms. Links had other ideas.
“I’m glad you offered, because I do have an issue.”
Travers turned back to Rosa, but not before he heard the giggle from Colleen.
“Yes?”
“You know I have to read all of the documents that come from Butler Hotels. A lot of it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, or it just goes around and around the block to say the simplest things. I know you can’t tell, because I do a good job, and no one complains, but those documents are hard, even for me sometimes.”
Travers could see Ms. Links was serious, and she had trouble with the documents. “I see,” he said in his best voice.
“I think it’s good that you do. Now, we have some people who brought some documents today. They bring them to every event, and I’d like you to take a look at them and see what I mean. Those pages go on and on and on.”
Travers looked over Rosa’s shoulder, and sure enough, he hadn’t noticed it before, but someone had roped off an area and hung a sign on it that said Human Resources. He saw a line of people signing a clipboard that was hanging on a tree.
“So, they need those documents read for them?”
“Yes, you know, to explain it to them.”
Moonbeam cleared her throat. “We’ll get to it, Rosa, but we gotta eat first, and then we can get to the rest of the business.”
Travers looked at Moonbeam and mouthed, “Thank you.” Just then, he saw Colleen with tears in her eyes, trying to hold back her laughter.
He turned to Rosa and reached out for her hands. She was immediately engaged.
“Rosa? May – I – call – you – Rosa?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I – know – this – is – a – problem. So – I – brought – Butler’s – star – attorney – to – help – out. Colleen Bowers. She’ll – get – you – straight.”
Rosa looked around Travers.
“You don’t think she’s a little young?”
Travers kept his smile as he heard the small gasp behind him. “Maybe – but – she’s – gifted.”
Rosa patted his hand and nodded. “I trust you, Warner boys,” she said.
Rosa walked off, leaving him with those words, and Colleen had to place her hand on his back to remind him to eat.
The Warner boys echoed in Travers’ head. He never thought he’d hear that. It settled on him, and it didn’t sound like the curse it once did. The Warner boys. It brought back days of him following David around. Then, he knew his brother was second only to his dad. Back then, Travers knew they’d be the Warner boys. It was odd that it had all slipped away, and he couldn’t even remember when.
Chapter Seventeen
Colleen watched Travers blindly go through the pleasantries of eating with others. Some people came up to him, and he smiled and shook hands, but he wasn’t into it. Every so often, she would catch him looking over at the human resources space. She couldn’t stand to see her usually confidant and sure Travers in this slump. She had to get him back on his game. After she was done eating, she took Travers’ plate.
“You’re done picking,” she whispered in his ear. Then she turned to the rest of the people around them. “Please excuse us we need to go over some work before the HR group,” she announced. Everyone waved them on except Moonbeam, who gave her a concerned look.
“We have no business to talk about, so exactly why are we walking away from the party into the woods where who knows what lives?” Travers asked.
“I figured if we went for a walk, you’d find yourself out of a sense of self-preservation,” she said.
“I’m here. It’s just a lot.”
“I know it’s hard finding out that you have family who is so kind and considerate,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
Colleen stopped walking and looked back at Travers.
“Certainly you’ve noticed something about most of the employees in this company? These people would be hard-pressed to find a job anywhere else. With a heart that big, maybe I’m with the wrong Warner.”
The tease was enough to jump-start him into action.
“Hey, there’s only one Warner for you, and he’s right here. Besides, the other one is taken.”
Colleen stopped and cocked her head to the side. “I guess you’ll have to do then. I mean, if I don’t have any other options.”
He waited until they were out of sight before he pulled her into his arms. “So I’m the Warner of last resort now?” he laughed.
She ran her hands through his hair and pushed back that errant curl in the front. It hadn’t been there in the beginning of the journey. Colleen wondered what Travers would think if she told him even his hair was going through changes on this trip.
“You’re the only Warner for me. Now, get your game face together, and let’s go handle HR.”
Travers groaned. “You’re going to help me, right?”
“Well, I think it’s a bit late for that question after you already volunteered me. By the way, when did I become a part of the Butler legal team?”
“When you knew how to talk, lawyer, and people.”
Colleen laughed it off, but she could see Travers wasn’t laughing. “You’re not laughing.”
“I don’t usually laugh when I make an offer for employment,” he said with a grin.
“I already have a job.”
“Look, I understand you have a strong attachment to Chusada. I don’t understand it, but I get that you have one. I’m willing to work with that. It’s becoming obvious to me there is an unmet need, and it's pretty deep. Now I’m not saying that this “factory” is the best example we could look at when it comes to employees, but I will say that if they are having problems, there are probably others who are having issues and can’t or won’t come forward.”
Colleen blinked and shook her head.
“To think I was coming out here to help you and get you back in the game. Then out of left field, what did you do? You go ahead and offer me a job. Tell me, what am I to do with you, Travers Warner?”
“Is that an open question? More importantly, can you ask this question again when we have some privacy?”
Colleen smiled. “Sorry, limited window, and it’s closing. Let’s go take care of your people.”
Travers put his arm around Colleen and hugged her close. “Aw Red, you’re really growing on me.”
“So does fungus, and no one wants that. Keep your eye on the prize, Sunshine.”
“Oh, I am, Red. I am.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I understood you.” Travers was about to pull what hair he had left listening to the different ways no one understood the legalese. Just when he thought they had run into a person who understood what a payee was and what a subscriber was, he was hit with another one.
“Yeah, you see it says here that I need to put my beneficiary. The problem is, I can’t put her down because she ain’t born yet,” Mr. Eddings said. Colleen reached out and touched his hand as she leaned forward.
“I’m a little unclear. You want to leave your life insurance to your unborn . . .”
“Granddaughter,” Mr. Eddings said with a smile. He was about five foot, even and balding. Travers could tell the man had some health issues with the pallor of his skin. Yet he seemed spry, and his mental acuity was still intact enough to tax Travers.
Colleen smiled. “I understand. You actually need some other kind of legal document to do that. Let me get some more paper, and I’ll write up what you need. Everyone just stays here.”
As she walked away, Travers looked at the smiling man looking at Colleen and tried to get his attention.
“So Mr. Eddings, why are you leaving this policy to a child you’ve never met?”
“You’re David’s brother?’
Travers had to bite his tongue. He wanted to say, No, I’m Travers Warner. “Yes, I am.”
“Let me tell you a bit. I’ve known ducks all of my life. I raised them. Trained them at zoos, and at one time, people would bring me in to look at their ducks to see if they were healthy or not.
“Then, time moved on, and I got old. No one cared about the health of the ducks. They wanted quantity and faster. My clients who asked about health now wondered if this hormone was detectable and if it would give them bigger ducks. I’d met David at the town meetings we had once a month, so he knew I was a duck man.
“One day, your brother comes and says to me. I hear you know about ducks. I was not in as good as shape as I am now, mind you. Still, he came and said he worked for a hotel, and they had the softest pillows from duck down. In fact, he had plucked some down, so he knew.
“I laughed at him. I told him the softest down is shaken, not plucked. Then he offered me some money, and you know, two months later I asked him why he took a chance and came looking for me. He said the only thing worth working for is your future. My grandbaby is my future.”
Travers nodded and looked away. Another story about Saint David. He had to find a way to reconcile these stories with the brother, who was barely there for him. His thoughts were interrupted by a low whistle that didn’t go very far. Travers looked up and saw Mr. Eddings looking at Colleen. She had been stopped by another person, and her nature had her helping them all.
“Oh, if I were a younger man, I’d give you a run for your money. She’s smart and considerate. She reminds me of my Lily.”
Travers tracked Colleen.
“I don’t know if anyone else has said it, but I’m glad you showed up. Some people were saying they weren’t sure they were part of the fancy Butler chain. It was like no one knew we were here.”
Travers looked back at the man. “The truth of it was I didn’t know you were here until about a couple of days ago.”
“Wow, that sounds like something you need to take up with Operations. Whoever the operations guy is, you need to do a real talking to that man. I mean not knowing about a whole factory—”
Travers sighed. “I’m the Chief of Operations at Butler.”
Mr. Eddings shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. “Sorry, you found out late. Not sure what made you come anyway.”
“Colleen did. She’s a lawyer and a force of nature. When she decides we’re going to do something, we do.”
Colleen returned to the table. “Gentlemen, I’m so sorry for the delay. Mr. Eddings, I started writing out what you need in a will. Take it to the local lawyer, and they will know what to do to get you set upright.”
Mr. Eddings nodded and thanked them both.
The group was done, and Ms. Rosa was on her way to them. Colleen stood up.
“As an employee, I don’t feel as though this wrap-up conversation is for me.”
“You’re my lawyer!” Travers said.
“I hear you, Sunshine, but I think she wants to talk to you one on one. I’m going to mingle around the group and see if I can get any juicy gossip on the new Warner in town,” she said as she finger-waved goodbye to him.
Travers was thinking Colleen didn’t have to leave because Ms. Rosa was here. There was nothing he wouldn’t share with her, including his life at this point. He just had to find a way to let her know.
Chapter Eighteen
Colleen walked away from the crowd to a little trailer that was set up on the picnic grounds. She had to admit, when she heard they were having a party, she thought they were having it at Moonbeam’s house. However, she explained they were going to the campgrounds, and they’d put up some trailers. In honor of Travers being here for the first time, they set up a trailer for him. It was a good thing because she needed it.
It was so funny to see someone have all the things you ever wanted. Colleen wasn’t jealous of Travers. She was just taking a self-pity moment. Travers had siblings. Siblings who didn’t like him now because they loved him too much. It was convoluted, but he had them.
Moonbeam obviously loved and adored her daughters, May and June. Whatever was important to them was just as important to Moonbeam. Her parents were good parents by all measures. They had money, good education, and understood the statistics on divorce and the psychology of a child. It was just a shame they didn’t know any useful information. Like just because you tell a child the divorce wasn’t their fault doesn’t mean they accept it and move on.
Colleen could hear the music from outside. The company employees had embraced Travers as if he were family. Colleen thought about the first employee she had hired in the town. She had found a person who would work with her, but Colleen knew they hadn’t accepted her. They had just tolerated her as long as she did something for them.
It was obvious to her that she needed to be a good lawyer because, with her height and her hair, she was too odd to have a family and live a regular life. More importantly, everyone knew she had problems because her own family didn’t stay around. Her father and mother had left, leaving any memory of their daughter behind.
Her parents might have divorced when she was ten, but they had left her a long time ago. All of this culminated in settling for Luis. How odd that Travers thought his family so dysfunctional but never once wondered at his own worth. The loved boy had become a headstrong and determined man. Looking at everyone around her, she realized that she never had this kind of love. The love that Moonbeam gave out effortlessly. It was freeing and depressing at the same time to realize that if it hadn’t been for her best friend, Elissa, she might not know what love was at all.
Perhaps the biggest hurt during this whole trip had been that Luis had been the only one who wanted to know where she was. She had told Elissa, so that was fine, but she’d think on the eve of her getting engaged that one or both of her parents would try to contact her. Colleen didn’t even want to think about the fact that Luis may have called her parents, and they just hadn’t bothered to give her a call.
The people here in North Carolina, the ones she had just met, would be more concerned about her welfare than the people who had known her all her life. It was humbling. It was demoralizing, and it was so sad that Colleen had to sit down so the weight of it all wouldn’t knock her to her knees.
