A Second Chance

By Dawn Natelle

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WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2016

Doug Northland rode his sister’s bike in the dark. It was just before 5 a.m., and in an hour or so his sister would have to use his bike, with the big front newspaper carrier, to deliver the papers on his route. It took him over an hour to deliver the newspapers, and would take her at least a half hour more, based on the few times she had done the route for him in the past.

Doug arrived at the bakery, and parked the bike at the rear. He could see a man inside, flitting from one position to another. He went to the back door, and knocked: gingerly at first, and then harder. He realized that equipment was running inside and a small knock would not be heard.

A harried man answered the door. “Yes, can I help you?”

“Rachael … Rachael Cartright said you might be interested in hiring a student to work mornings and Saturdays.”

“Rachael? Come in. I’m a bit busy right now, but we can chat as I work. My name is Geoff.”

“Doug. Doug Northland. What are you doing?”

“Rolling dough for buns,” Geoff said. “Want to try? Take off your jacket and hang it on that hook near the door.”

With that Geoff showed the boy how to roll buns, and soon they moved on to other tasks. As they worked, they chatted, and Geoff felt sorry for the boy, who apparently needed work to help support his mother and sister. His mother took in pre-schoolers in a baby-sitting service, and was limited to how many children she could take before falling under the stricter day-care rules. As a result, money Doug earned helped keep the family solvent.

“When will you decide about the job?” Doug asked after about an hour in which Geoff had shown him many of the tasks involved in baking.

“About a half hour ago,” Geoff said. “You can keep working until 8:30. There is a shower upstairs, so you can clean up before school. I assume you start at 9?”

“On alternate days I start at 9:45. I have a spare first period on those days.”

“Excellent. Those days you can work until 9. Is 5 a.m. too early for you?”

“No sir. I’ll come in earlier, if you need me,” Doug said.

“I probably do, but I think three and a half to four hours is enough for someone going to school. On Saturday I could use you at three a.m., if you are up for it. It will be a full day, at least eight hours.”

“I will be, sir.”

“Rule number one, son,” Geoff said. “My name is Geoff, not sir. Got it?”

“Yes, sir, I mean Geoff.”

“Now, do you need cash? I can pay you an advance for today’s wages. The job pays minimum wage, which is $11.40. It is due to go up by a twenty cents in the fall.”

“I can always use cash,” Doug said.

“I’ll give you an advance of $40. That is a bit more than you have earned today, but you are a good worker, and I think you’ll be back tomorrow, won’t you.”

“Yes sir,” Doug said enthusiastically. He didn’t make much more than $40 all week delivering papers. “I mean Geoff.”

They continued working, and soon Doug saw a pretty blonde lady come into the bakeshop.

“This is Maria,” Geoff said. “Doug has started working mornings for us,” he told Maria.

“Good. You need the help. Perhaps I should start in the front then, if you are training him.”

“Good idea,” Geoff said. Turning to Doug he added: “We also have Carol, who comes in at 9, and my mother, who comes in for a few hours at lunch. And it looks like I might have to add Rachael to the payroll. She is in after school more days than not. Of course you already know her.”

“Only from talking to her on the phone last night,” Doug said. “She doesn’t go to our high school, I think.”

“She will next year,” Maria said. “She is in grade eight right now.”

“Really? She sounded much older on the phone.”

* * * *

Maria spent the morning prepping for opening. Carol showed up at 8:30, causing Geoff to shake his head over his staff always coming in early. Carol got a chance to meet Doug when he came down from his shower. Geoff loaned him an old Rolling Stones t-shirt for school, and told Doug to bring in something clean to wear after his shower in the future. The t-shirt he had been wearing got quite sweaty in the hot and humid bakery.

Carol helped Maria prepare the store, and they opened the door at 8:54, with three customers already waiting. Then it was busy until after lunch again. Maria recognized Bill Strong, one of her former patrons from Joe’s café. He owned a pub downtown and a motel on the outskirts of town, and also was a town councilor. The incubator project that had enabled Geoff and the others to start businesses here had been largely his work.

“Hi Bill, what brings you around here?” Maria said with a smile.

“Tracking you down. Oh, I see Carol is working here too? She will be interested in hearing this too. Apparently Joe’s café is no more. The health inspector was there yesterday morning and closed the place down. Apparently the place was filthy. So today I heard that Joe has left town. The last waitress, his girlfriend apparently, did not go with him. She wants to reopen the place, but really doesn’t have any legal rights to the place.”

“Or the skills to make it work,” Carol commented nastily. “I noticed how dirty it was when I was working there last week. It never used to look like that.”

“That’s because I was always nagging Joe to clean up when he had slow times. I guess Callie had other things for him to do when they weren’t busy.”

“Horizontal things, I’ll bet,” Carol said.

“Anyway, I wonder if I could talk to you for a few minutes?” Bill said. “Is there somewhere close?”

“We could go down to the library. It is fairly quiet down there. I’ll go and let Geoff know that I’m taking 15 minutes.”

It was closer to an hour when she returned. Carol had the store under control, so Maria went straight back to talk to Geoff.

“What was that all about?” Geoff asked.

“Bill Strong was in. He’s thinking about opening a café in the vacant shop next to us.”

“Oh, that would be good. It would fill the strip. For a long time it was just me and the Dasilva’s.

“He offered me a job,” Maria said. “He wants me to manage the place for him.”

“What?” Geoff almost shouted. “I need you.”

“He offered me $1200 a week salary. It’s a lot of money. Even with all the hours I do here I only get about $600. But I love it here,” Maria almost wailed.

“Well at least it will be close. I’ll be able to see you occasionally. I … no, I can’t match that salary, but I can sweeten the pot a bit. “I’ll move your salary to $16 an hour. That is $640 base, and with the overtime you work it should be over $800 a week. Did you accept yet?”

“No. It isn’t something I could decide immediately. I have to talk it over with Rachael, for one thing. She is so sensible on matters like this. I have to think of the kids. If I am manager it will mean more hours, probably. That means less time with the kids. I won’t be using the bus like before, but the hours at the café were terrible, and running a place would be worse. At least now I have time with the kids in the evenings. I need to think about it.”

“Look, I want you to take off early when Rachael comes by. I’ll hang around in case Carol needs help. You will come in tomorrow won’t you?”

“Yes,” Maria giggled. “You can’t open a new restaurant in just a few hours. It would be months before they open the new place. And I will give proper notice.”

“Phew,” Geoff said. “I know that they can’t be open that quick, but Mr. Strong is a mover. If he decides to do something, it will get done. And he will need a manager to help him get the place fitted out and such.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Maria said. “And that brings up another point. He wants me to look over some sketches he has drawn up for the café, and a sample menu. He thinks it will take an hour or so.”

“And he thought that your meeting today would take 15 minutes,” Geoff said. “If you decide to work for him, there isn’t much I can do about it. But if you are still thinking of staying, then I will give you the afternoon off. Mom can come in to help.”

“You are a doll,” Maria said, and then impulsively leaned over to kiss Geoff on the cheek. Geoff’s eyes widened, and Maria sprang back, wondering if she had overstepped some bounds. Neither said anything for a moment, and just then they could hear Rachael’s voice in the bakeshop.”

“I should see her,” Maria said clumsily.

“Yes,” Geoff said. “And take the rest of the day off, like I said.”

Rachael and Bobby had left the others when they came into the bakeshop, and after Maria explained about the job offer, the three Cartrights headed home. They could barely see the others several blocks ahead. That was fine, Maria wanted to talk, which they did until they reached Grandpa’s house.

“Next week we will be home by now,” Rachael said as they dropped in to visit the old man. Bobby went next door to see if his four-legged friends were home. Maria sat and told grandpa about the job offer. She admired the old soldier, and respected his opinion. And he was less tactful than Rachael had been on the walk home.

“You like this man?” Grandpa asked.

“Yes. Geoff is the best boss I’ve ever had,” Maria answered.

“I don’t mean like that. You love him, don’t you?”

Maria sputtered. “I … well … he is my boss. I can’t …”

“You can do whatever your heart wants, my girl,” Grandpa said. “If it leads to something else, so be it. But I think you love him. And I know he loves you. He is just too damned afraid to say it. I saw him at dinner with you on Sunday. He adores you.”

“As an employee …” Maria started.

“As a woman,” Grandpa cut her off. “A damned fine woman at that. You are pretty, shapely, and have a good head on your shoulders. Any man who isn’t attractive to that is probably one of those gay fellers.”

Maria looked at Rachael, who shrugged her shoulders. “I was thinking the same thing,” she told her mom. “We just have to get Geoff to ask you out. Once he kisses you, it will be game over for him.”

“I kissed him today,” Maria confessed.

“What?” Rachael almost shouted. “When? Why? Was it good?”

“He was just being his normal sweet self, offering me time off to work things out, thinking of me instead of himself. I just kissed him on the cheek. It kinda surprised us both. He didn’t run away screaming, or yell at me. And I kinda liked it. I wished there could be more.”

“There can,” Rachael said. “There will be. I’m going to call him and have him come to dinner tonight.”

“He has to sleep,” Maria protested.

“No, he will be helping Carol closed with you not there, He will be ready for a quick meal. Do you think we could have it here? Grandpa needs some attention before we all move in on him. A dinner here would help him get used to the chaos.”

“But what about my bike?” Bobby asked having just returned from his romp with Mrs. Lajoie’s dogs.

Rachael slapped her head. “I forgot all about that, Bobby. Look. You and I will go to the old house. You’ll get your helmet and I’ll make up a package of things I need to cook at Grandpa’s. Then you and I will go to the church and see if Gary has finished your bike. If he is, I suppose you will want to ride it over to show Marc, right?” Bobby nodded. “I’ll bring the things back for supper, and you can visit Marc. But I don’t want you riding all over town. You stay on our street, okay? After you get a bit more experience with the bike you and the boys can ride around a bit further.”

“Remind me again, which one of us is his mother?” Maria said in wonderment as Rachael had given Bobby such sound parental advice again.

“You stay and keep Grandpa company,” Rachael told her. “Text Geoff and get him to come here for dinner.

Rachael and Bobby were at the church, and found Gary inside polishing the pews again, even though they were spotless. He smiled when he saw them, and led them out to the shed. Inside, he pulled out a beautifully restored classic 1970s bicycle, looking like it just came from the store.

Bobby’s eyes lit up seeing the bike. “It is beautiful,” he said in a whisper. He pulled on his helmet and let Gary help him up onto the bike. He circled around twice, and on the second pass yelled “I’m going to Marc’s. See you later.”

“Don’t you have something to say to Gary, Bobby?” Rachael called after him. He turned around and made another big circle back, stopping in front of Gary and hopping off. Rachael held the bike as Bobby gave Gary a huge hug, saying: “Thanks so much, Gary. You are the best Fixer ever. I love you.”

He then hopped back on the bike and rode off. Rachael looked at Gary, who had a tear in his eye. “That all makes it so worthwhile,” he said softly to Rachael. “I was nothing a month ago, and now I am important. A little boy loves me. His smile when he saw the bike for the first time just filled me with pleasure. And then when he hugged me …” Gary choked up, and Rachael patted his back.

“That’s alright, Gary,” she said soothingly. “Perhaps one day you will have a son of your own to fix things for.”

“No,” Gary said adamantly, “I had my chance. I had a wife, and a business and a family and I let it all slip away to the bottle. I’ll just be happy helping others. Love has passed me by.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Rachael said. “You might get a second chance. It happens.”

She then left the ecstatically happy caretaker, and headed back to the old house to pick up her groceries to take to Grandpa’s. He had most of the basics, since she had been doing his shopping on weekends for him. She thought about taking one of Keri Peter’s chickens, but knew that she wouldn’t have time to marinade it. Then she put it in the bag anyway, planning to make another meal there on Thursday or Friday. Tonight she would do a ham she had in the fridge that just needed warming up.

Back at the house, she went straight to the kitchen, and started preparing a meal. She knew that Geoff wouldn’t stay late, so she wanted to have the meal ready when he got there. As she worked, she recounted the touching scene at the church for Grandpa and Maria.

“He certainly is a changed man from what he was a few weeks ago,” Maria said. “I remember giving him a roll for sweeping, and he was so grateful, claiming that he was working for his angel. Now he is an important part of the church community.”

“He just needed a mission: something to do with his life: a focus. At first it was just keeping the street swept and litter free. Now it is the church,” Rachael said.

“Do you know he still comes and sweeps the street at sunup? Geoff has seen him out there at 5 a.m. He has us give him the staff discount when he comes into the shop. He never buys sweets, but likes Love bread and the rolls I used to give him,” Maria said.

Bobby came back soon after. He had impressed Jerry and Marc with his new bike. “Jerry said it was better than the new ones,” Bobby enthused. He parked the bike at the back of the house. Soon Geoff appeared at about a quarter after six.

“Have you made up your mind yet?” he asked Maria, but it was Rachael who interrupted.

“That can wait till after we eat,” she said. “Dinner first, then business. We have some ideas.”

That last statement left Geoff looking confused. He fully expected Maria to resign. She had to think of her family, and so much money …

After grace they all ate healthily, and when Maria and Rachael had finished clearing the table the three sat down around it again, with Grandpa and Bobby in a chair, reading.

“We see a third option to consider,” Rachael led off. “This is one option that you probably haven’t considered. What about making Mom a partner in the bakery?”

“What?” Geoff was taken aback. “You mean give her half of the business?”

“I think to make it legal she would have to buy her half for a dollar,” Rachael said. “But the key is that she would no longer be an employee. I know you have a thing against dating your employees. Would you also refuse to date a partner?”

Geoff thought about it, and suddenly he saw it and his eyes lit up. “That’s brilliant. We could date, and … maybe more.”

“We all hope for more,” Rachael continued. “But you know Mom well enough that if things don’t work out the way we all want them to, she would sell her half of the bakery back to you. She wouldn’t cheat you out of your life’s work.”

“That means she isn’t taking the restaurant job?”

“She can’t, if she is part owner of a bakery.” Rachael said.

“What do you think about all this,” Geoff said to Maria.

“I’ll show you what I think,” Maria said, and stepped up to Geoff and kissed him on the lips. For a few seconds he was in shock, but then he relaxed and soon was kissing back just as ardently as she was kissing him.

After a minute or two Rachael made them break it up. “Okay, you two need to think this through. Geoff has to get a few hours sleep before morning, and Mom needs to settle down too.”

With that Geoff walked back to the bakery, while the Cartrights spent another hour with Grandpa. Rachael helped him out of his day clothes and into pajamas, noting that soon she would be doing this every day for him. He was grateful. His gnarled old hands were not very handy with shirt buttons. She had been doing his laundry for a few weeks now, and he loved having a clean, freshly-made bed to climb into at night. “I’ll bet they don’t treat the old men like this in those old folks homes,” he said as she kissed him goodnight.

“No, but they don’t have the love for you that we do,” Rachael told him before turning out the light as she left.

Back at the old house Rachael read to Bobby before going to bed. She then went to sit with her mother, who was in the living room.

“So, was there any spark?” she asked.

“Spark? Between Geoff and I? You would need a power plant to generate what I was feeling. And I think he felt the same. Do you really think it will work?”

“I hope so Momma. You need someone, and I think you have found him. I’m sure there will be some hurdles to overcome. And I know he will be a great dad for me, and especially for Bobby. Take it a day at a time. I mean, you still haven’t had an official date yet.”

Yes, that will have to be on a Saturday night, when he can stay up late. And me too. Now that I’m starting to work earlier mornings, I need my sleep. I think I will turn in now.”

Dear Lord

Please let Geoff and Momma get together. They are so perfect … it is like you made them for each other. Let Bobby be safe with his new bike. It is a huge thing for him to be able to spread his wings and explore the town with his pals. He is growing up, and I’m proud of him. And bless everyone else too.

Amen