Post by Floyd Looney on Oct 1, 2010 1:08:14 GMT -5
Adventure Seeker
“I have every interest in doing this the proper way” said the man to the guy behind the desk “I wouldn’t think of skipping out on my responsibilities”
The second man nodded, he knew very well it had been a bald face lie. This whole situation occurred because the petitioner hadn’t accepted his responsibilities. Indeed, he had fled from them at the first opportunity.
“What exactly are you asking for?” the minor official asked
The petitioner rubbed his hands together “I just need a little more time. Things have been hectic as of late and I haven’t been working full time”
The low-level bureaucrat knew the whole truth, of course, but knew he had to play his part.
“I realize that you have problems, everyone has problems. It seems that many of your problems are the result of your own actions” he said “This petition, in my opinion, contains false pretenses and absurdly unrealistic promises”.
The man looked defeated for a moment and rubbed his face with both hands. “My wife and child are staying with her parents. I’m living out of a tiny rental. Doesn’t this count as a good faith effort to reduce my expenses?”
The functionary couldn’t contain his exasperated sigh. Sometimes it was painful to hear the stories from petitioners and their debt burdens. This man in front of him, Sam Waterford, was by no means a sympathetic character even if his tale of woe was a good one.
“Let’s start from the beginning Mr. Waterford” he said leaning back in his chair “How did this mess start? It was your own fault wasn’t it?”
With a nod Sam Waterford started his tale again, just like it was written down in the petition document with the signatures of others to testify that it was true.
“I was not a very hardworking son to my father. I loafed whenever I could get away with it, I cut corners and I rushed the chores. I let my imagination stray at the slightest inclination and then there was the hope that I would have at least one great adventure before… well, before I gave in to real life”
........
The teenage boy was supposed to be picking the plums from the tree but his basket lay nearly empty at his feet. Instead he was looking at the clouds and the far off mountain and the birds and anything else but the work at hand. That is when the clip-clop rhythm of the hoof caught his attention and he turned to the dirt road that headed into town.
Two horses were pulling a wagon and in the back of the wagon was a teenage girl with luggage, including a large trunk. The wagon was being driven by an older man, probably a hack from another town. Sam ran to the fence to get a better look at this girl.
She was looking down at nothing in particular, likely just tired from the trip. She had the same brown hair and ponytail that a lot of girls had but Sam thought she just looked sad. It might have been his imagination but she wasn’t coming to this village out of choice.
As the wagon moved passed he imagined all the reasons a young girl would be arriving in the village of Shade Tree. Most of the fantasies involved her being sent away by overbearing parents but that didn’t really make sense. Who would send their daughter to Shade Tree? It didn’t have a boarding school and as far as Sam knew no other reason for the girl to have been sent.
Sam instantly decided to forego his chores and to get to the bottom of the mystery. He took off for town on foot since getting one of the ponies would have alerted his father to his “foolish shenanigans”. About halfway to town Sam wondered if the wagon was passing through and not stopping in Shade Tree at all. That would sort of make his whole trip pointless but at least he was getting out of chores even if he did have to endure the wrath of father later.
Shade Tree was not far and it was not very big. Searching the whole place for the girl didn’t take long but seeing the empty wagon heading away was a big clue. Soon he figured out that the girl was staying at the home of the Winston family. Now what relation could she be to those stuffed shirts? Even their kids were boorish and kept their noses in the air. Sam got it in his head that the poor girl was being pressed into servitude.
How to save her?
It occurred to Sam that he didn’t actually know the situation and before he did anything stupid he should simply ask. He knew Tolbert Winston and while they weren’t friends or anything, they weren’t enemies and Tolbert had a lot of those. He was always rubbing people the wrong way with his arrogant and snobby attitude but Sam never took it personally. That was just how that family was.
Sam walked the three blocks to the Shade Tree Pawn & Loan store and was able to locate Tolbert Winston looking through its books. This was as dirty as the hands of a Winston got, overseeing the jobs of the underlings. Tolbert’s father expected his son to work and earn his way just as Sam’s father expected him to work the farm.
“Lo, Tolbert”
“Eh. Oh. Lo, Waterford. Why are you always calling me by my first name?” the boy asked in his haughty style. “Always so dismissal of social convention, aren’t you?”
“Oh, alright then Winston, I have a question to ask” Sam told him
Tolbert sat up straight “Is this a social call? You do understand that I am working here?”
“Let me ask my question before you get testy” Sam said while putting up both hands palms out defensively.
Tolbert Winston closed the leather-bound book on the desk in front of him and took a breath before saying “Very well, then. Let us hear your inquiry”
“I saw a wagon coming from out of town and it carried a girl to your house. Do you know anything about this? Who she is and why she’s there?” Sam asked
“Oh that”
“Yes, that”
Tolbert took a handkerchief from his blazer and wiped his forehead. He probably enjoyed making Sam wait for whatever delay he could muster.
“She is a cousin of mine. Her name is Julie and she has been through some rough times lately, her parents died when their home burned down. She was left homeless and penniless and she is coming to live with us for a while”
Well that explains her sad demeanor.
“I see” Sam said “That is unfortunate and I did get the feeling she was a bit sad”
Tolbert nodded and said “I suppose I should have been there to greet her. I just wanted to be somewhere else because of a tiff I had with my father. I’ll have to apologize to him. I should never have been so rude and insolent”
“You argued with your father?”
Tolbert smiled “You do it all the time. I’m not sure I have ever found myself in a situation where I would defy my father like this. I just hope the girl doesn’t take this personally, me not being there”
Sam could tell there was something he hadn’t been told, he also got the impression that Tolbert Winston was dying to tell him. The idea that Tolbert Winston had argued with his father and stormed off when he was expected to do something else was pretty shocking. It was very out of character for the guy.
“Why would she take it personally?”
Tolbert stood up and pretended to be examining some objects on a shelf. “My father has taken the notion that I should marry the girl”
That was unexpected. Sam’s imagination reeled through a hundred scenarios. Then he shook it off and stood up “Your cousin?”
Not that it was uncommon or anything but Sam never got the impression that it was something the Winston family would ever allow.
“Yes” he answered “I don’t think I want to have my parents choose my wife and I doubt this girl will want to be pushed into marriage either. She will be relieved; I’m sure, not crying her eyes out for someone she has never met”
Sam thought and thought. “What if your family insisted?”
Tolbert turned around to face him. “Impossible, I hope. I think the best thing that can happen is that meets someone else and falls for him. There is no way my father will insist if she is in love with someone else, don’t you think?”
Sam nodded. That was a good point. “Is she in love with someone else?”
Tolbert shook his head. “Not that I know of”
“So you don’t actually have a plan?”
“I was thinking of introducing her to Miles” Tolbert said. Cope Miles was an abominable snit from the next village. “What do you think?”
Sam shook his head “He is unbearable. Is she the kind of girl who has their whole life planned and spends their time trying to impress other high and mighty types?”
Tolbert almost laughed “You get right to the point. Miles would be insufferable for Julie, but you realize I don’t have many friends. Julie was never rich, her family produced apple juice, apple cider, apple sauce and apple butter for a living. It was a small operation that died with her parents.”
Sam almost laughed. “So she is definitely not the type to play along with the snobs?”
“Snobs?” Tolbert asked and then said “Look, if you’re going to be so rude.”
“Hold on Tolbert” Sam said “I would very much like to meet Julie”
“You would? Do you think you have anything to interest her? I am trying to get her to marry someone else, how do I know you wouldn’t be a waste of my time?”
“Well, if you would rather be forced into marriage” Sam said acting as if he would leave.
Tolbert put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Maybe we can come to an agreement, Waterford”
“I have every interest in doing this the proper way” said the man to the guy behind the desk “I wouldn’t think of skipping out on my responsibilities”
The second man nodded, he knew very well it had been a bald face lie. This whole situation occurred because the petitioner hadn’t accepted his responsibilities. Indeed, he had fled from them at the first opportunity.
“What exactly are you asking for?” the minor official asked
The petitioner rubbed his hands together “I just need a little more time. Things have been hectic as of late and I haven’t been working full time”
The low-level bureaucrat knew the whole truth, of course, but knew he had to play his part.
“I realize that you have problems, everyone has problems. It seems that many of your problems are the result of your own actions” he said “This petition, in my opinion, contains false pretenses and absurdly unrealistic promises”.
The man looked defeated for a moment and rubbed his face with both hands. “My wife and child are staying with her parents. I’m living out of a tiny rental. Doesn’t this count as a good faith effort to reduce my expenses?”
The functionary couldn’t contain his exasperated sigh. Sometimes it was painful to hear the stories from petitioners and their debt burdens. This man in front of him, Sam Waterford, was by no means a sympathetic character even if his tale of woe was a good one.
“Let’s start from the beginning Mr. Waterford” he said leaning back in his chair “How did this mess start? It was your own fault wasn’t it?”
With a nod Sam Waterford started his tale again, just like it was written down in the petition document with the signatures of others to testify that it was true.
“I was not a very hardworking son to my father. I loafed whenever I could get away with it, I cut corners and I rushed the chores. I let my imagination stray at the slightest inclination and then there was the hope that I would have at least one great adventure before… well, before I gave in to real life”
........
The teenage boy was supposed to be picking the plums from the tree but his basket lay nearly empty at his feet. Instead he was looking at the clouds and the far off mountain and the birds and anything else but the work at hand. That is when the clip-clop rhythm of the hoof caught his attention and he turned to the dirt road that headed into town.
Two horses were pulling a wagon and in the back of the wagon was a teenage girl with luggage, including a large trunk. The wagon was being driven by an older man, probably a hack from another town. Sam ran to the fence to get a better look at this girl.
She was looking down at nothing in particular, likely just tired from the trip. She had the same brown hair and ponytail that a lot of girls had but Sam thought she just looked sad. It might have been his imagination but she wasn’t coming to this village out of choice.
As the wagon moved passed he imagined all the reasons a young girl would be arriving in the village of Shade Tree. Most of the fantasies involved her being sent away by overbearing parents but that didn’t really make sense. Who would send their daughter to Shade Tree? It didn’t have a boarding school and as far as Sam knew no other reason for the girl to have been sent.
Sam instantly decided to forego his chores and to get to the bottom of the mystery. He took off for town on foot since getting one of the ponies would have alerted his father to his “foolish shenanigans”. About halfway to town Sam wondered if the wagon was passing through and not stopping in Shade Tree at all. That would sort of make his whole trip pointless but at least he was getting out of chores even if he did have to endure the wrath of father later.
Shade Tree was not far and it was not very big. Searching the whole place for the girl didn’t take long but seeing the empty wagon heading away was a big clue. Soon he figured out that the girl was staying at the home of the Winston family. Now what relation could she be to those stuffed shirts? Even their kids were boorish and kept their noses in the air. Sam got it in his head that the poor girl was being pressed into servitude.
How to save her?
It occurred to Sam that he didn’t actually know the situation and before he did anything stupid he should simply ask. He knew Tolbert Winston and while they weren’t friends or anything, they weren’t enemies and Tolbert had a lot of those. He was always rubbing people the wrong way with his arrogant and snobby attitude but Sam never took it personally. That was just how that family was.
Sam walked the three blocks to the Shade Tree Pawn & Loan store and was able to locate Tolbert Winston looking through its books. This was as dirty as the hands of a Winston got, overseeing the jobs of the underlings. Tolbert’s father expected his son to work and earn his way just as Sam’s father expected him to work the farm.
“Lo, Tolbert”
“Eh. Oh. Lo, Waterford. Why are you always calling me by my first name?” the boy asked in his haughty style. “Always so dismissal of social convention, aren’t you?”
“Oh, alright then Winston, I have a question to ask” Sam told him
Tolbert sat up straight “Is this a social call? You do understand that I am working here?”
“Let me ask my question before you get testy” Sam said while putting up both hands palms out defensively.
Tolbert Winston closed the leather-bound book on the desk in front of him and took a breath before saying “Very well, then. Let us hear your inquiry”
“I saw a wagon coming from out of town and it carried a girl to your house. Do you know anything about this? Who she is and why she’s there?” Sam asked
“Oh that”
“Yes, that”
Tolbert took a handkerchief from his blazer and wiped his forehead. He probably enjoyed making Sam wait for whatever delay he could muster.
“She is a cousin of mine. Her name is Julie and she has been through some rough times lately, her parents died when their home burned down. She was left homeless and penniless and she is coming to live with us for a while”
Well that explains her sad demeanor.
“I see” Sam said “That is unfortunate and I did get the feeling she was a bit sad”
Tolbert nodded and said “I suppose I should have been there to greet her. I just wanted to be somewhere else because of a tiff I had with my father. I’ll have to apologize to him. I should never have been so rude and insolent”
“You argued with your father?”
Tolbert smiled “You do it all the time. I’m not sure I have ever found myself in a situation where I would defy my father like this. I just hope the girl doesn’t take this personally, me not being there”
Sam could tell there was something he hadn’t been told, he also got the impression that Tolbert Winston was dying to tell him. The idea that Tolbert Winston had argued with his father and stormed off when he was expected to do something else was pretty shocking. It was very out of character for the guy.
“Why would she take it personally?”
Tolbert stood up and pretended to be examining some objects on a shelf. “My father has taken the notion that I should marry the girl”
That was unexpected. Sam’s imagination reeled through a hundred scenarios. Then he shook it off and stood up “Your cousin?”
Not that it was uncommon or anything but Sam never got the impression that it was something the Winston family would ever allow.
“Yes” he answered “I don’t think I want to have my parents choose my wife and I doubt this girl will want to be pushed into marriage either. She will be relieved; I’m sure, not crying her eyes out for someone she has never met”
Sam thought and thought. “What if your family insisted?”
Tolbert turned around to face him. “Impossible, I hope. I think the best thing that can happen is that meets someone else and falls for him. There is no way my father will insist if she is in love with someone else, don’t you think?”
Sam nodded. That was a good point. “Is she in love with someone else?”
Tolbert shook his head. “Not that I know of”
“So you don’t actually have a plan?”
“I was thinking of introducing her to Miles” Tolbert said. Cope Miles was an abominable snit from the next village. “What do you think?”
Sam shook his head “He is unbearable. Is she the kind of girl who has their whole life planned and spends their time trying to impress other high and mighty types?”
Tolbert almost laughed “You get right to the point. Miles would be insufferable for Julie, but you realize I don’t have many friends. Julie was never rich, her family produced apple juice, apple cider, apple sauce and apple butter for a living. It was a small operation that died with her parents.”
Sam almost laughed. “So she is definitely not the type to play along with the snobs?”
“Snobs?” Tolbert asked and then said “Look, if you’re going to be so rude.”
“Hold on Tolbert” Sam said “I would very much like to meet Julie”
“You would? Do you think you have anything to interest her? I am trying to get her to marry someone else, how do I know you wouldn’t be a waste of my time?”
“Well, if you would rather be forced into marriage” Sam said acting as if he would leave.
Tolbert put a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Maybe we can come to an agreement, Waterford”
