Texas Gal
by C. Sprite
© 2001

 

Chapter Twenty         That's A Computer?

The following morning, Thursday, Susan and I put on more conservative business suits than we usually wore while traveling for Grandma, which essentially meant that the skirt hem was lower. I dressed in a dark gray suit with a white blouse and Susan had selected her navy blue suit with a very pale blue blouse. We both wore 2-inch heels that matched our suits.

Earl had managed to get exact directions to the school and we arrived outside the administration building ten minutes early. We sat in the car for five more minutes before going into the building and following the signs to the computer center, which was located in the basement. Across from the Operations Center were the administrative offices of Mr. Jeffries. I knocked and we entered when I heard 'come in.'

An attractive woman sitting behind a desk looked up at us and smiled when we entered. She said, "May I help you?"

"Good morning," I responded, "We're here to see Mr. Jeffries or Mr. Winston. I'm Darla Anne Drake and this is my sister Susan."

The woman cast an appraising eye at us and picked up the phone receiver. She pressed a small red button on the front beneath the dial and waited for a couple of seconds, then said into the receiver, "There are two young girls out here to see you. A Darla Anne Drake and a Susan Drake." Again a very brief pause and then, "Yes, sir." Then to us she said, "Mr. Jeffries will be with you in half a minute."

"Thank you," I said.

I glanced around the room while we waited. There wasn't a single picture or decoration in evidence. One wall had a strip of wide paper, with tiny holes along the edges, taped to it. The paper was an event schedule of upcoming activities at the school. Classes would be starting in a little more than two weeks. I didn't have too much of a chance to read it because a small, portly gentleman came out of another office.

He said, "Miss Drake?"

Both Susan and I said, "Yes?"

He laughed, "I'm sorry. Which is Miss Darla Anne Drake? I'm Ben Jeffries."

"I'm Darla Anne," I said, "and this is my sister Susan."

He offered his hand and I shook it and then he turned and shook Susan's hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you both. You've caused quite a stir in this county. Overnight you've become one of the largest employers by acquiring your two companies."

"We're happy that we could add to the economic well being of this area," I said. "Your county is a beautiful place to live and work."

"Thank you. I think so also. And to what do I owe the honor of this visit. Mr. Winston said that you wanted a tour? Not thinking of buying the college are you?" He laughed at his joke and we politely giggled along.

"No, Mr. Jeffries. This is a fact-finding mission. I want to learn about computers. I believe that they are going to play an increasingly important role in business in the future, and we will undoubtedly acquire one for ourselves. I want to know what to look for."

"You're very astute, Miss Drake. You're right about the importance of computers. The day will come when every mid to large business will have to have one. Many small businesses may even have to acquire one or rent time on someone else's. The prices keep falling, and they come out with more powerful CPU's every few years."

"CPU's?"

"Central Processing Units. That's what the main part of the computer is called. It's where all of the calculations and processing are done. The other components are for input, storage, and output. Follow me, please."

We trailed Mr. Jeffries as he led the way out of the office, across the hall, and into the operations center. There were several women working at machines that were shaped sort of like desks, but had an assembly on top that held two stacks of cards. Mr. Jeffries stepped over to a table in the center of the work area and took several of the cards out of a long box and handed one to both Susan and myself. "This is called a punch-card," he said. "The operators type information into the machine and it punches holes into the card using a code which indicates what each character is. These cards then become the input information that is fed into the computer."

He then led the way to a set of doors and then into an incredibly noisy room. We walked up a ramp, which took us to a raised floor, and we saw a computer like the one that I had seen in the book in my office. Mr. Jeffries led us to a point where large machines surrounded us. Pointing at one large blue machine, he said, "That's the CPU. It's an IBM model 1401. This will be our last year with it. At the beginning of next summer, we'll be getting a System 360 model 50. The new computer will dance circles around this one. We're also moving to another building where it will be easier for the students to use the facilities of the center." Pointing to another large machine where an operator was stacking cards into a slanted tray he said, "That's the card reader. That's how we get the information into the machine. Over there are the disk drives. That's where the information is stored. Those round cases are the removable drives. That's so you can have a lot more usable information than can be stored on just two drives. The operators change the disks as different applications are run. The noisiest machine is our 1403 printer. It's a high-speed unit that goes through an incredible amount of paper each week. When the cover is up you can barely hear your self think."

To demonstrate his point he pushed a button on the machine and the cover started to rise. He was right. The noise was deafening. Worse than the factory floor at our plant. After about 15 seconds he lowered the cover so that we could talk. He said, "The operators wear earplugs in here when the cover is up. Well, any questions so far?"

"Yes, what are the holes in the sides of the paper for?"

"That's so the machine can pull the paper through the printing area. They're called pin feed holes. All computer printing paper has them. Some paper is perforated so that the edges can be removed easily after the printout is done. We also have a machine called a 'burster' that can trim the edges as it separates the pages."

"What's the purpose of this raised floor?" Susan asked.

"Good question. The cables for the computer are enormous. The raised floor allows them to travel under the floor so we aren't tripping on them. Also, the air conditioning vents up under the machines to help keep them cool."

"How many different forms do you use?" I asked.

"I don't know. We have an entire storeroom of different forms. Mostly we use the green bar paper that you see printing right now. We have that in two sizes and each size come in multipart from one to six parts. Then we have preprinted forms for student schedules, grades reporting, purchase orders, payment registers, checks, payroll forms, etc, etc, etc."

"Could I get some samples of the forms which are not in controlled distribution?" I asked.

"Of course, follow me" Mr. Jeffries said.    

He led the way back out of the Operations Center and down the hallway to a large steel door. Unlocking the door, he opened it and stood back so that we could enter. As soon as we were in he released the door and it slammed shut. "Fire regulations, because of all of the paper stored here," he said by way of explanation for the way that the door closed. Then he led us down past several rows of shelves, ripping off a sheet of paper here and there from open boxes. Some were blank sheets and some were preprinted. When our path brought us back to the entrance he opened the door and held it for us.

"Is there anything else that I can do for you today?" he asked.

"What kinds of applications would be used in a commercial business?"

"There's an incredible variety of applications. Payroll seems to be one of the first that most companies install. Then there's Accounting Systems, Accounts Payable, Invoicing, Accounts Receivable, Forecasting and Projections, Spreadsheets, Inventory, Fixed Assets Management. The list goes on and on. Almost anything that you create a manual system for can be adapted to a computer system."

"I think that that's what I was looking for," I said. "Thank you very much Mr. Jeffries."

"You're most welcome ladies. I hope that when you get around to setting up your computer center, you'll entertain the idea of recruiting some of our Data Processing graduates."

"Of course, Mr. Jeffries. Thank you for your kindness. Goodbye."

"My pleasure, goodbye."

Earl was sleeping in the car when we got back. I understood why he couldn't sleep at night. We climbed into the back seat and slammed the door. That woke him up.

"Whenever you're feeling awake, Earl, you can take us to the plant."

He said contritely, "I'm sorry, Miss Darla. There's just something about a warm car that makes me sleepy when I'm sitting without anything to do."

"I understand completely Earl, and I don't have a problem with it."

Earl smiled and said, "Thank you. Miss Darla. We'll be at the plant in approximately a half-hour."

As we relaxed in the rear of the limo Susan said, "Well, did you learn what you wanted to learn?"

"Yes, how about you? Did you learn anything?"

"It was very informative. I have a little better understanding now of what computers are all about."

"Can you envision a need at Piermont in the future?"

"Like Mr. Jeffries said, most businesses may need one in the future. They can sure print invoices, statements, and everything else faster than a typist can. Did you see how fast that printer was? I couldn't read the stuff coming out."

"Yes. I especially liked the comment about how it 'goes through an incredible amount of paper each week,'" I said.

"So that's it. You hope to sell paper to the college."

"Not just the college. I want to sell to everyone that has a computer. And that will be every business some day."

We continued to discuss the potential paper sales all of the way back to the plant. True to his estimate Earl had us there in 30 minutes. The guard saluted as we passed the booth, but we had to slow because the barrier had to be raised for us to pass.

"Earl, how come he's using the barrier now?" I asked.

"They always use it, except during shift changes. There are so many cars coming in then that they just leave it up until the shift is underway but everyone has to stop and be identified. That doesn't pertain to you of course. I signal that you're in the car by flashing the headlights."

"How many security guards do we have? Do you know?"

"Yes, six. I know because one of them patrols the plants, office building, and grounds on each shift while the other mans the gate. The patrolling man stops and has a cup of coffee in my office on his rounds. It's become their 'unofficial' office."

As we pulled up in front of the building, we thanked Earl for driving us to the college. He opened the door and we walked up the steps and entered the building as he drove around to his entrance. Doris was busy on the phone but she smiled and mouthed 'Good Morning' as we passed. Nancy was at the reception desk when we entered the executive offices and after greeting us she handed me several telephone messages. I looked through them and we continued on to my office.

The light was on in the kitchen and a fresh pot of tea was on the stove. Nancy must have calculated when we would be back because she knew that we had the appointment this morning. After we poured a cup of tea, we spread the forms that we had brought back from the computer center out on the conference table and examined each of them. They were in every size and color. Some were multi-part forms with carbon paper included between the sheets.

We continued to work in my office for the rest of the afternoon. Mostly we continued our reading of the books and magazines, and we made our own lunch from what we found in the kitchen. Before we left we organized the books and magazines and moved them from the conference table to the storage closet in my outer office.  We only kept the ones that we would read tonight. Then I called Earl to bring the car around.

 

The executives began gathering in my office at 10 am the following morning for our meeting. Nancy had laid out notepads, pencils, cups, and 2 pitchers of water. She had also brewed up an urn of coffee, and brought in a couple of boxes of doughnuts. I had had Nancy get a tape recorder and two microphones for the conference table so that we could tape the meeting.

When everyone was there, I called the meeting to order. Nancy took notes while someone from the pool manned her desk. Her notes would act as backup to the tape recordings. I determined to act like I had seen Grandma act during meetings in Portland. It didn't seem so hard. All I had to do was open the meeting and let the others talk.

I took a deep breath and said, in as confident a voice as I could muster, "Thank you for coming today to our first weekly meeting. I think that you all know one another by now, or at least who is who. I'd like to start off by getting a status update of each of your sections. Mr. Warren, as Acting Executive Vice-President, would you care to begin?"

"Of course, DD. I don't want to steal anyone else's thunder, so I'll just talk about the general situations and each of the section heads can go into more detail when it's their turn. The general health of the company looks good. We've completed all of the details of the transfer from Mr. Piermont to Ameri-Moore and cleared the arrears with the banks. We're looking into moving the debt to a bank with more favorable terms. The note has been brought current through collections of the outstanding accounts receivables. The plant is currently running one shift, with operators monitoring certain key process functions 24 hours a day. The first shift is only using the equipment in Building 1 at present. As we ramp up, we'll go to a second shift and then a third before opening up the lines in Building 2 because that allows the most efficient use of the facilities. Well, that's a basic rundown on the state of the company."

"Thank you, Bob. Mr. Phillips, would you give us the situation in Personnel and Employee Relations, please?"

"Of course, DD. We've made wonderful progress in filling the positions that were vacant. We've recalled enough factory workers to staff the first shift, and filled many of the positions that we needed in administrative offices. The only section that is badly understaffed is Sales. We've had a number of applications from former Sales Department employees, but Mrs. Moore ordered that no former employees from that section be rehired, based on your recommendation. I'll keep recruiting but we might better consider a training program for existing staff."

"I'll consider it. Thank you, Ben. Mr. Marshall, would you please give us the situation in Accounting?"

"Yes, ma'am. We've made excellent progress in organizing the situation that we encountered when we first came in. We found $237,000 in past due accounts receivables when we first took over. Previous accounting management was not actively pursuing delinquent accounts. We've had good success in collecting some of the money and continue to pursue the other accounts that are still tardy. As Bob as said, we've collected enough of the past due accounts to pay the $75,000 past due on the note, and expect to collect enough to pay the first payment owed to Matt. We've revised the accounting systems in place to match the systems used in the other three divisions of Ameri-Moore.

Things are well enough organized now that we can soon start releasing some of the Ameri-Moore people to return to their normal work locations. The Piermont workers recalled from layoff are being trained in the revised systems and are adapting very well."

"Thank you, Bill. I'll leave the decision regarding separation of other division employees in your department entirely up to you. Send them home if you can do without them. Mr. Harris, Purchasing and Procurement?"

"The situation has turned around entirely. As soon as suppliers learned that Piermont was now a division of Ameri-Moore, unlimited credit was re-established from all of our suppliers. Bill's department has cleared up all of the seriously delinquent account payables and arranged payment schedules to take care of the rest. The suppliers know that they'll be paid and have stopped calling with demands for payment."

"That's good news, Tom. Mr. Piermont, I realize that the Sales Department is seriously understaffed but how are things going?"

"Excellent, DD. I've been reestablishing contact with our old customers and the orders have picked up tremendously. I have two girls from the pool working with me to take repeat orders from customers who don't need my personalized attention. We'll get by and keep the orders flowing while Ben fills our vacant positions."

"Excellent, Matt. Keep it up. Mr. Fahey? How are things in the Chief Engineer's office?"

"We're making progress, DD. Ben has found me one junior engineer so far. He's a little green but he learns quickly. He's been a big help and I think that he'll work out well. Between the two of us, we have everything running smoothly. I still want to hire two more guys so that we'll be ready when it's time to put on the second shift, but things are looking good."

"Great John, Mr. Turbill, do you agree that everything is well in your capacity as Director of Plant and Warehouse operations?"

"Yes, ma'am. I do. The employees are genuinely happy to be back to work and are working their backsides off. They know that their efforts will bring the plant back to full operation and ease the employment situation in the community. There are still a lot of brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters still waiting to come back to work. They really want a second shift put on as quickly as possible."

"Good. That's our goal too. Okay gentlemen, thank you for your reports."

The second part of the meeting was for brainstorming the future of the company. I explained that I was looking for ideas and suggestions about anything and everything that would concern the company over the next five years. We discussed personnel needs, old and new product lines, installed equipment capabilities, new equipment needs, plant capacities and growth, and even new acquisitions.

At noon, the lunch that I had ordered through Matt, from the B&B, arrived. I had ordered seven seafood and seven beef dinners figuring that almost everyone in the group of ten would have a good chance of getting something that they liked. When everyone had chosen we had one beef and three seafood dinners left so that meant that everyone had gotten their pick of the two meals without having to 'settle' for a second choice.

Addressing Matt, I said, "Matt, do you know of anyone that would enjoy any of the extra meals?"

"I thought that you might have some leftovers when you asked me to order them so my two order entry girls are waiting to hear from me."

"Put the meals in the outer office and give them a call, Matt. Notify the person that is covering for Nancy at the reception desk also. We have one more lunch. Anyone else have a candidate?"

Tom Harris spoke up first and laid claim to the extra meal so he went to the phone to call the person that he was thinking of. Then we sat down to enjoy our lunch and continue our meeting as we ate. I told Nancy that she didn't have to take notes until she was done eating. We would rely on the tape recorder to fill in the gap.

Everyone at the table knew that this meeting was wide open to any topic so everyone got a chance to voice their opinions and promote their pet projects or even pie-in-the-sky ideas. Some of the suggestions were more suited to companies a hundred times our size but everyone was recorded for consideration. We took a couple of breaks for beverages and rest room usage every couple of hours and I finally called an end to the meeting at 6 o'clock. Everyone was so enthused that we probably could have gone on until midnight, but we were going off on tangents at times and I felt that we had covered the important ground for now. A lot of the conversation was discussion of details that didn't concern us at this level, and at this time.

As the meeting broke up I said, "Thank you Gentlemen. Same time, same place, next Friday please."

Susan and I helped Nancy to organize the B&B's dishes so that they could be picked up on Monday. The dishes for the extra meals had been returned and Nancy had brought them in from the outer office. Rather than have dirty dishes lying around all weekend, we put them in the dishwasher and turned it on.

When we were done I thanked Nancy and said, "Would you begin work on preparing a full transcript of the meeting when you come in Monday?"

"Of course, Miss Drake. Is there anything else tonight?"

"No, Nancy. Have a nice weekend. Goodnight."

"Thank you, and the same to both of you. Goodnight."

I went to the phone to call Earl as Nancy left and told him that we were ready to leave. He said that he would have the car in front in five minutes. Susan and I picked up some study materials, gathered our things and left to meet Earl.

A half-hour later we were back at the hotel. We were both exhausted after the all day meeting, so we watched a little television after eating dinner in the dining room, and then went to sleep early.

 

The next morning was Saturday and Susan and I took our time getting ready in the morning. We had breakfast served in our room for a change. I wished that we were home so that we could go for a ride with the horses, but this was a work trip and we still had a lot to do. I had felt sort of lost since we had first arrived here. I had been bluffing my way through the past week, trying to appear confident so that no one would ever guess how nervous I was inside. Susan knew, of course, but she would never let on to anyone else.

I had asked Earl to have the car ready at 10 o'clock and he was waiting for us at the front door when we left the hotel. We drove straight to the plant. The guard saluted as we passed the guard booth. Earl dropped us at the front door, as usual, and continued around to the parking place near the entrance to his basement office. The parking lot contained quite a few cars. The plant operated seven days a week, although staff was limited mainly to the pulping operation on weekends. Almost all office personnel were gone, with only a telephone operator working, and most of the warehouse personnel worked only Monday through Friday. Some of the plant equipment was never turned off though, and has to be supervised anyway, so it made sense to keep it producing in a limited fashion. Of course, the security people ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Susan and I took the elevator to the 2^nd floor and walked to my office. After making a pot of tea we began to discuss the topics raised at the executive meeting. We only had one week left to develop a master plan for the company so we started to list the things that could reasonably be achieved early and those things that we would like to establish as long-range goals for the company. By 6 o'clock we had completed the outline of the plan, and I called Earl to let him know that we were ready to return to the hotel. Susan and I each took a pile of books and magazines that covered topics that we wanted to review prior to completing certain parts of the report. Earl was waiting for us as we emerged from the building.

 

On Sunday, we stayed and worked in the hotel room, only taking time out to have our meals in the dining room, and to use the pool for an hour.

  

Monday morning saw us beginning to work on specific sections of the outline and by 6 o'clock it was starting to shape up. We continued our efforts on Tuesday and completed our work on the plan by end of the workday on Wednesday. Nancy had already gone home, so I wasn't able to give it to her for typing until Thursday morning.

With the report complete, or at least as complete as we could make it in the time allowed, we found ourselves without anything to do on Thursday, so after putting all of the magazines and books away, we went on another tour of the plant. The pace in the plant seemed to have picked up since our tour just a week earlier. The warehouse was busier than I had seen it previously as the crews worked to load three tractor-trailers. Susan and I stood well out of the way as they worked. Mike Turbill saw us and gave us the thumbs up gesture and a smile from across the loading dock as he spoke to one of the truck drivers.

We returned to the office after a short stroll around the grounds. We had been working so hard that the sudden inactivity was unbearable. We occupied ourselves by making a slightly early lunch of salad and fruits. By the time that we had finished eating, Nancy had completed typing the report and we could then proofread it. Nancy hadn't made any errors but we found a couple of things that we wanted to change after seeing it in an almost final form so we made the changes and gave to back to Nancy for modifications and reproduction. It was such a beautiful day that we went for a walk down by the river that ran past the plant. The river was pretty but the water near the plant was cloudy and had a strange smell. I guessed that it had something to do with the discharge from the plant.

The report was ready when we returned to my office. Nancy had made the copies and had had someone bind the report into special folders, making it look very businesslike. I guess that it was appropriate since this was the draft of the 'official' 1968 Master Plan for the company. We made the final arrangements for the meeting tomorrow, including having the lunch catered as before by the B&B, plus early refreshments of pastry, doughnuts, coffee, and tea. For the first time since we had arrived here, we left the office a little early.

Arriving back at the hotel, we started to prepare our things for our trip home tomorrow. Our final packing would be done before we left for the plant in the morning. I had already arranged to have the plane ready from 2 pm on.

With most of our work behind us, Susan and I enjoyed a leisurely dinner and then watched some television. We went to sleep before the ten o'clock news after arranging for an early wake-up call.

 

In the morning, we finished up our packing and called for a bellboy after we returned from breakfast. The hotel manager, Mr. Cummings, came out as we were signing out.

"We're sorry to see you leave us, Miss Drake. Do you expect to return soon?"

"Not too soon, Mr. Cummings. I start college next week and I don't expect to be back during the next several months."

"Well, then, good luck with school. It has been a pleasure having you stay with us."

"Thank you, Mr. Cummings. Your hotel is excellent. The staff has been courteous and helpful, and the restaurant is wonderful. It has been a pleasure staying here.

He beamed at me. "Thank you, Miss Drake. I wish you both a safe trip."

After the bags were placed into the car, I gave the bellboy a healthy tip and we left for the plant. Nancy was already hard at work preparing the conference table and refreshments. All was ready when the managers began to arrive for the 9 o'clock meeting. Because we had so much to cover, and because we were leaving today, I had moved the meeting up an hour. I enjoyed a cup of tea as we talked prior to the meeting, and called the meeting to order promptly at 9 am. I wasn't as nervous as I had been before last week's meeting, but I still felt like I had butterflies in my stomach.

I started with, "Good morning everyone.  I think that we should start out by hearing updates from each section head. Mr. Warren, as Acting Executive VP, would you care to begin?"

"Yes, thank you, DD. We continue to make good progress in our efforts to restore the plant to its previous output level and industry position. We are completing arrangements to move our debt to another financial institution that has offered us more favorable rates. With the security of Ameri-Moore behind us, and its wonderful credit rating, the rate has been lowered considerably. We have even been offered a five million dollar line of credit for our future expansion plans."

"That's wonderful news, Bob. Excellent work. Mr. Phillips?

"Yes, ma'am. At present we're concentrating on trying to fill the positions in Sales. We have received a stack of resumes and will start interviewing next week. The prospects look quite good. Matt will join me in the interviews." He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "In a side note, I was informed this week that one of the former sales people was overheard admitting that he had accepted a substantial sum of money to quit Piermont when he did. He said that he was promised a better position when the new company took over. He was intoxicated, and grumbled about being refused employment here now."

"Thank you, Ben. That person has proved where his loyalties lie, and they aren't with the company that gave him an opportunity to earn a good livelihood. He made his own bed. I don't feel guilty about showing him the same fidelity that he exhibited towards Piermont." The expressions on the faces of those at the table showed that they agreed with me. "Mr. Marshall?"

"Yes, DD. Things are running smoothly in accounting. Past due accounts receivables have been coming down as we concentrate on collecting more of that money, and everyone is quickly becoming acclimated to the new accounting system. We have made arrangements for all of the Ameri-Moore accounting personnel, except for myself, to return home to their original positions, in two weeks. I'll probably be here for a couple of more months while we find and train my replacement."

"Thank you, Bill. Mr. Harris?"

"Everything is running fine in Purchasing and Procurement. There are no more phone calls for delinquent payments and we expect to have everything returned to a 30-day payment position by the end of this month. Our supplies are arriving without delays."

"Thank you, Tom. Mr. Piermont?"

"Everything is looking good, DD. As soon as we fill a couple of positions we should really take off. One of the girls from the secretarial pool, that has been helping me take repeat orders, has been doing so well that I want to move her up to a permanent sales position. She has displayed a real knack for the job."

"Fine, Matt. I'll leave you to work out the promotion with Ben. Mr. Fahey?"

"We're in good shape in Engineering, DD. We've found two more people for the vacant positions and they'll be starting next week. The man that we already hired is doing very well and I'd say that we will definitely be ready to add another shift in about a month. With orders coming in as quickly as they are, we'll probably need it by then."

"Excellent, John. Mr. Turbill?"

"Plant and Warehouse Operations are fine. The people that we've recalled have been so happy to be working again that productivity has reached new highs. We did cull a little of the deadwood out in our recall so far. A few lazy-johns and rabble-rousers have been skipped over."

"Wonderful. I'm happy to hear such good news all around. We can now move on to our main business of the day. In front of each of you is our proposed business plan for the next five years. It incorporates many of the ideas and suggestions that were discussed last week, and is close to being our final plan. I'd like to discuss each section in detail again. We'll prepare the final plan based on today's discussion."

Starting with the section entitled 'Year 1,' we again got into considerable discussion on the merits of the proposal after each person at the table had had a chance to review it. We managed to cover most of the proposal before lunch was delivered, and continued on as we ate, finishing our work by a little after one.

In addition to the business objectives we had included other plans such as the creation of a small cafeteria in a corner of the largely unused basement so that our employees could get hot meals during the cold months. As a part of Ameri-Moore, new benefit packages would be extended to all employees also.

When we were done, I said, "Thank you everyone for your help. I think that we now have a defined plan to achieve the goals that we have established. Even though we have not all agreed on every point, we appear to be in agreement that the overall plan is sound and one that we can all support fully. You will each receive a new copy of the plan once the minor changes that we have made today have been incorporated. Thank you all for your input and I look forward to working with all of you as we implement the plan. I know that, together, we can achieve a prominent position in this industry, and help to insure a healthy local economy for our families, friends, and employees."

I took a breath and continued, "My sister and I will be leaving today. School is starting soon and we have to get home. I'm not sure when I'll be back but I can always be reached if problems develop. Mr. Warren, as Acting Executive Vice-President, is of course in charge during my absence.  I shall look forward to reading the transcript of each weekly meeting. Thank you, and the meeting is now adjourned. Have a nice weekend."

We spent the next ten minutes saying goodbye as the department heads slowly filtered out. Bob Warren was the last.

"DD, I've been wanting to talk to you about the possibility of staying on here."

"You mean that you don't want to return to Portland once everything is running smoothly and we find a suitable replacement."

"That's right. I would like to stay here as your Executive VP. I'm originally from Maine so I'm comfortable living in the Northeast again. Most of my extended family is now within easy driving distance. I'd like to settle down here."

I thought for a few seconds before saying, "I have no objections to your move, Bob. I think that you're an excellent administrator and I'll endorse you for the position, but the final decision rests with Mrs. Moore. She may have other plans for you. We are, after all, just a small part of Ameri-Moore, but if she approves I would welcome your appointment."

He smiled at me as he said, "Thank you, DD. I'll contact Mrs. Moore and request to be reassigned here on a permanent basis."

"Good luck, Bob."

After everyone but Nancy had gone, I gave her instructions on the changes to be made to the business plan, and told her that I would contact her to give her my address at school once I knew it.

"Good-bye, Miss Drake. Good luck at college."

"Thank you, Nancy. I'll be in touch. Good-bye."

I called down to Earl as Susan and I got ready to leave, and a half-hour later we were at the airport. The pilot had started one of the engines as soon as he saw us enter the airport's grounds, and the plane was ready to leave once our bags had been put into the storage hold and we had boarded the plane. In minutes we were rolling down the active runway, and then we were off.

We were both extremely happy to be on our way home. Even though we had spoken to Mother every other day, at the very least, we felt really detached from the family. Part of it may have been the pressure of the job. The responsibility of running a company wasn't something that we had sought, and I was glad that my active role was over for a while. I was tired of bluffing my way through each day.

  

Less than four hours later, Captain O'Toole announced that we were about to descend and that we should put our seatbelts on. I got very excited as the ranch house came into view when we had dropped low enough. Captain O'Toole made a wide swing around the house as he lined up with the runway for our final approach. Susan and I could see someone leave the house and walk towards the car garage. We assumed that it was Mother.

As the jet rolled to a stop near the hanger we saw Mother getting out of the car. It would make it easier with all the luggage that we had. As soon as the steps were down we rushed out and hugged and kissed in greeting. There was nothing like coming home after an extended stay away in a distant place. Like Frank Sinatra sang in his song, 'It's so nice to go traveling, but it's so much nicer, yes, it's so much nicer, coming home.'

The copilot put our suitcases in the car and we said our good-byes to him and Captain O'Toole before they turned the plane around and left us. We expected that it would be many months before we met again.

As the jet rose into the sky, we piled into the car and rode up to the house. It would seem that there would be little to say since we spoke almost every day, but we had no trouble keeping up a running conversation over the next few hours as we unpacked and then sat down in the kitchen to have a cup of tea. Mary and Judy were not home yet, but should be here shortly. Today was their last day at their summer jobs. Auntie was away at one of her drilling sites and wasn't expected back until late.

   

Judy arrived home first, and Mary arrived a short time later just as we were sitting down to supper. From the greetings that we gave each other, a visitor would have thought that we hadn't seen each other all summer. Over dinner we exchanged stories about our experiences during the past two weeks. It was during this meal that we learned that Mother had hired a cook/housekeeper. Rosa Lopez would arrive in the morning and move into the servant's wing that was located off the kitchen. Since we had lived here, the servant's wing had never been occupied. Mother explained that Rosa would stay to do the housekeeping and cooking while she traveled to Austin with Judy and myself.

"Your Aunt and I decided that this would be the best course of action. Judy is almost old enough to be on her own at college, but Darla Anne is not."

"But Mother," Susan said, "Mary and I are still going to be here. When do we get to see you?"

"I'll be home a lot of weekends, dear, and your Aunt will make every effort to be here each evening. This was the only solution to our problem short of taking you and Mary to Austin. But then you couldn't attend Hillock Academy. I'm sure that you wouldn't want to transfer to another school for your final terms."

We all sat around the table thinking for several minutes. Mary broke the silence with, "I agree that you've come up with the best solution. We'll miss you, all of you, but we'll get together on weekends. Maybe we can even come down there some weekends."

"Well, of course," Mother said. "There will be special weekends at the school when Judy and Darla Anne will want to stay there. For those and other times, everyone can come to Austin."

"Have you found a place large enough for all of us?" I asked.

"Your grandmother is taking care of that and she'll come over tomorrow to tell us about it. We'll be going to Austin on Sunday. Auntie, Mary, and Susan will come down with us and stay for a few days since Mary and Susan don't start school for another week."

"Who'll take care of the horses?"

"Rosa's son."

"Son?" we all chorused.

Mother smiled. "Yes. Rosa has a son that will be living here also. He will help take care of the horses, and will have a few other chores also. He won't be permitted on the second floor though."

Judy said, "Um, how old is he? Is he cute?"

"Very cute. I met him the other day. Rosa has been working for a family in the next county for the past six years. The family has to move to Wisconsin and Rosa didn't want to go with them even though they did try to convince her to come. Mabel heard about her situation and put me in touch with the family almost two weeks ago. Rosa and her son came down to visit and look at the house this week. She's a lovely woman and I'm sure that you'll all like her. Her son looks like a young Desi Arnez."

"But how old is he?" Judy said.

"He just turned ten last month."

"Ten?" Mary exclaimed. "That's even too young for Darla Anne."

Susan, Judy, and I giggled.

"I was shopping for a housekeeper, not for playmates for you girls," Mother said. "And after dinner you can help me get their rooms ready. I want to change the bed linen and air the rooms out. They've been unused for so long that it will probably take a couple of days to get them smelling fresh again."

  

When Auntie arrived home at 9 p.m. we were just finishing up downstairs. Mrs. Lopez would have a large bedroom with a small, attached sitting room that contained a television. Her son would be right across the hall in a slightly smaller room, but still twice the size of my bedroom back in New Jersey.

While Auntie went to change, Susan and I warmed up some dinner for her. Judy and Mary had gone outside to take care of the horses. We all joined her in the kitchen when her food was ready and we again discussed the previous two-week's events. We went to bed after we had cleaned up. Today had been a long day and tomorrow would be another, but it was wonderful to be home again and to sleep in our own beds.

   

We went for a long ride right after breakfast the next morning. We'd been looking forward to it for two weeks and we took advantage of the beautiful weather to let the horses really stretch their legs. We made sure to be back to the house by noon because that was when the new housekeeper was supposed to arrive. We had rubbed down the horses and let them out into the corral before we heard a car climbing the hill to the house.

It was a black Plymouth, about 10 years old, driven by a short woman that we assumed to be Rosa since she had Mexican features and was accompanied by a young boy with jet-black hair. Mary, Susan, and I walked from the corral while Mother and Judy came out of the house to greet the new arrivals.

As we neared the car we could see that the back seat was packed, and the trunk lid was tied down to keep the contents of its overfilled cavity from spilling out.

Mother had already introduced Judy by the time that we reached them, and she turned towards us saying, "And these are my other three daughters. This is Mary, this is Susan, and this is my youngest, Darla Anne. Girls, this is Rosa, and this handsome young man is her son, Ricardo."

"Hallo, gulls," Rosa said in her thick Mexican accent. "I'm happy to meet all of you. I recognize Miss Darla from the newspaper pictures, but you all look so much alike that I could have confused you easily."

"We're happy to welcome you and Ricardo to our home" Judy said.

Mary, Susan, and I all smiled and added our welcoming sentiments as well, and with the greetings out of the way, we helped Rosa and Ricardo carry their things into their new quarters. When everything was in the house, we went to clean up and change from our morning ride while they unpacked. It felt strange to have new people in the house. Until now only family, or very close friends, had stayed here.

After changing we went to the kitchen and prepared lunch. Mother took some hot food downstairs for Rosa and Ricardo, and when she came back we sat down to eat. Auntie had gone to her office early so it was just the five of us until Grandmother showed up. She had already eaten but she sat down to have a cup of tea while we ate. I retrieved the folder of papers that I had prepared for her so that she could read while we were occupied with the food and lighter conversation.

When we had finished eating, Grandmother said, "I like your business plan. Well done, Darla and Susan."

"It not the final copy," I said, "but the changes are minor. You'll receive a final copy when my secretary completes them this week. I left instructions to forward a copy directly to you."

"Good. Bob Warren called me yesterday. We discussed his staying on up at Piermont on a permanent basis. He said that you approved it contingent upon my approval?"

I nodded.

"I told him that we'd miss him in Portland but I approved his transfer. I'm sure that he'll do a fine job for you."

"I think so too. He's very capable. I could never have accomplished what he did. He has things running at peak efficiency. Susan and I were left to work on the business plan without being disturbed by day to day business activities."

"I was surprised to learn that you hired back the former owner. I hope that it doesn't cause problems."

"Matt's a very capable and pleasant person who has suffered some severe personal losses. He understands his new position within the company and accepted it before he was placed as National Sales Director. The plant employees are happy that he's back, and his experience is invaluable. He has already been responsible for bringing back many of the accounts that had left when delivery couldn't be assured. Eventually, we hope that he can bring them all back and form a solid customer base from which to seek out new business."

"What about the rest of the staff?"

"We still have to replace the managers who are on loan from Ameri-Moore, but except for the Sales department, we have been able to call back experienced, furloughed workers for many of the open jobs. I think that we should be able to fill the vacant positions over the next few weeks."

"Good. I like your idea about exploring the new markets for computer paper. We've been looking into getting a computer for the Portland office. It seems like a real growth area."

"The ability of the machines to prepare invoices and reports is incredible. Every company will have to have one eventually."

Grandmother nodded and then smiled. "I'm very pleased with your handling of the company so far. I couldn't have done better myself."

"Susan deserves half the credit. We did it together."

"I didn't mean to slight Susan. You have both done very well. I'm very proud of both of you. I shall miss having you around while school is in session. Speaking of which, the house is ready to move into."

"House? I thought that we were getting an apartment?" Judy said

"It started out that way. We maintain a small office in Austin, so I told our people to find something nice, not too far from the campus. After looking at what was available, we decided that a house would be better. And since we were going to need it for four years, or maybe more if either Mary or Susan attend college there, I decided that it would be best to purchase a house, and then sell it when we were done with it, rather than paying rent for those years. We found a very nice place just a couple of blocks from the campus. During the past few weeks, I've had the house redecorated and furnished so it is all ready for you to move into. It has four large bedrooms and three bathrooms, plus a large kitchen and living room."

"That sounds lovely, Mabel," Mother said. "I think that a house will be much nicer than a small apartment. We'll have enough space so that Mary, Susan, Kathy, or you, will be able to come down and visit on weekends without crowding anyone."

Taking an envelope from her purse, Grandma said, "Here are the keys, the address, and a picture of the house plus directions on how to find it. Just bring what you will need for a couple of days. I'll have the rest picked up on Monday and brought down to you. I've given the telephone number to Bob Warren in case he needs to contact you, Darla Anne, and the Austin office will relay your mail to you."

We passed the picture of the house around the table. The house appeared to have been well maintained, but we would reserve judgment until we could see it in person tomorrow. With that out of the way we returned to talking about Piermont. Grandma stayed for another two hours listening to Susan and myself as we told her everything that we felt was relevant about the paper plant, and a lot of things that we had learned that had never made it into any reports.

After Grandma had left I went to my bedroom and started to pack for the trip. I retrieved a couple of large shipping cartons from the basement and packed all of the clothes that I wanted to bring for the semester. Judy did the same, and when we were done we worked together to drag them to the elevator and left them in the front hallway for the delivery van. Then I packed a suitcase with enough things for several days. It was approaching dinnertime when I was finished so I went to the kitchen and helped Mary and Mother. Judy and Susan had gone out to take care of the horses.

Mother had told Rosa that she would 'officially' start tomorrow. Tonight she would just prepare food for herself and her son in the downstairs kitchen and get used to the layout of things. The upstairs kitchen would remain the family kitchen but most meals would be served downstairs, in the dining room, from now on beginning with breakfast tomorrow.

 

Auntie arrived home just as we sat down to eat, and over dinner we discussed our drive to Austin. We planned to leave around ten a.m., which should see us arrive around lunchtime.

After dinner everyone else went to pack for the trip. Auntie helped Mother with her packing, and since Mother would be spending the semester with us, she filled a couple of the cartons from the basement also. As before every big event in my life, I was starting to get a little nervous. I wondered if I would be able to fit in among students that were mainly 5 to 8 years older than I was. My only comfort was that I looked more like a 15 or 16-year-old than the 13-year-old that I really was.

 

It was strange going downstairs for breakfast in the morning, but Rosa had created quite a spread. Not really knowing what we liked she had made an assortment of things, including some Mexican breakfast items. We were so used to serving ourselves that we had to fight the urge to help carry things from the kitchen and then clean up afterwards.

After breakfast we went out to take care of the horses. Ricardo came along so that we could introduce him to the horses, and to the way that we did things. He exhibited no fear of the horses at all, and pitched right in when we mucked out the stalls. It turned out that he had had some experience with horses at the home of his mother's previous employer, although they had only had two horses. He seemed to genuinely enjoy himself as he tended to our horses. We explained our schedule of care and he told us about his previous experiences with horses. Since he had been born in the U.S., he spoke English without a trace of a Mexican accent, which was a little surprising considering his mother's thick accent. I guess that the years in the public school system accounted for that.

Mother spent quite a bit of time with Rosa before we left, giving her instructions for while we were gone and for when Auntie, Mary, and Susan returned. She left her a list with every phone number that she thought relevant including the Vet, Hillock Academy, Grandma's numbers, and our new number in Austin. Auntie showed Rosa and Ricardo how to use the burglar alarm system and gave them the special password that the security company needed to hear if the system was activated by accident. I imagine that Rosa's head was swimming by the time that we left, but she just smiled and took it all in.

 

(continued in part 21)

Author's note : I want to express my grateful appreciation to Debbie Cybill and Lynn Jennings for their proofreading help and story suggestions.

 

 

 

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