Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 57897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
I nodded.
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“That’s all we ask,” Everett said. “Welcome to the company.”
21
BETH ANN
I emerged from my long weekend of hard work Monday morning and stared at my phone. It was sitting on the nightstand, where I’d left it for the duration of my technology protest. Maybe it wasn’t so much a protest as it was a detox. I liked the way that sounded better. It felt like it was doing something good for me. It meant avoiding the calls and texts and all manner of other notifications that came in throughout every day was for my benefit, rather than just being about staying away from Jason.
But when the weekend ended, it was time for me to return to the outside world. Monday morning meant the workweek was back in full swing, and I needed to be accessible. I felt a combination of relief and disappointment picking the phone back up and powering it back on. Part of me was glad to feel connected again, but the other part enjoyed the peace and focus that came with not always getting those notifications or being tempted to scroll through social media or to lose myself in the whirlpool of online research about nothing in particular.
Just like I expected, when I got my phone on, I didn’t have any missed messages or voicemails from work. They were usually really good about not bothering workers on weekends unless there was a major project and we’d been informed ahead of time that we’d need to work extra.
What I did get was several missed messages from Jason. In every one of them, he seemed to be leaning into one of what was apparently an assortment of emotions and reactions to the situation. Some seemed more upset and even angry, and some seemed sad and even confused. But they all had essentially the same meaning behind the message.
He wanted to know why I’d left his house in the middle of the night without saying anything and wondered if I would call him back at some point. There was no pushing, nothing pressing in the sentiment. A couple of the messages from before I turned off my phone had sounded more urgent, with a hint of something close to anger. But that faded quickly, and now the messages were just confused and curious.
I erased all the messages and put the phone aside so I could start my day. While I sipped my coffee and cooked a pot of oatmeal, I went through the schedule of work I needed to do for the week. I could already tell it was going to be a busy week. There were a lot of projects that needed to be handled for my actual job, and I didn’t want to lose any momentum on what needed to be done around here.
Now that the idea of bringing the farm back to life had gotten into my head, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I still didn’t know exactly what I was supposed to do, or how I was going to pull it off, but it was exciting to contemplate a future where the house was beautiful again and the land was alive and vibrant. The thought of people coming out here to enjoy the space and make it a part of their family holiday celebrations gave me a little bit of a thrill.
This definitely wasn’t the kind of future I ever would have envisioned for myself, but I found myself really wanting to see what could come of it.
As enthusiastic as I was, though, I needed to start small. I couldn’t just dive right into clearing out trees and advertising the farm. First, I needed to create a living environment that felt like an actual home rather than like I was just borrowing the space. I didn’t intend on staying in the trailer indefinitely. My goal was to get the big house in good condition again as soon as possible and be able to move in there.
But for now, I needed to get the trailer under control so I could feel more settled. While I drank my coffee and ate breakfast, I did some of the regular work I needed to do for the day. I worked for a couple of hours before the business calls started coming in. Managing those and doing the work they brought took another hour, and then I set it aside to get working on the trailer.
I’d been focusing mainly on the living area and the kitchen, and now I turned my attention fully to the bedroom. It needed to be cleared out like the rest of the trailer, but I had a feeling it was going to take much more energy and attention to get it done the right way. The time I’d already spent in there sorting through the possessions stacked in the corners and stuffed under the bed and in the closet told me this room was where the most valuable and meaningful things were kept.