A Womanizer Reforms

"Yeah well that's how I regard my work and so should you. Feel it as part of you. Anyone can operate a keyboard baby but the question is can they inject creativity? Every story is different and all stories require different treatment. That's the nature of journalism; it goes beyond crafting. Think of it as the ownership has when a farmer looks out at his corn field."

"God Hal you're an inspirational genius."

He grinned and told her to fuck off.

"Let me know when you want it Hal," she giggled.

* * *

Macy hung out with some of her friends after work and when she arrived home found her parents, as usual, having a pre-dinner drink. As she entered the room her mom Davina felt the radiance of her daughter than went beyond her excited smile.

"Oh darling, what is it?"

Macy caught her father's concealed grin and was disappointed to learn that he knew.

"Oh I met this gorgeous man today and know he and I are destined to have a tumultuous affair," she said, driving the grin from her dad's face.

"Oh yes and who is he? Not someone from the newspaper I should hope."

"Hal Person," Macy said in triumph, watching her dad's nearest fingers ball into a fist and then heard the horror in her mom's voice.

"Oh god no. Not Hal Pearson," her mom cried, laying back in her chair and pressing her diaphragm as if in need of increased air supply.

"If that bastard lays a finger on you I'll gun him down."

"Frank speak responsibly to your daughter. Darling Mr Pearson might be a bit of a celebrity as a newspaper journalist, um in fact the only one in our city, but that man harvests women and then spits them out like crumbs, or so I've heard said."

""Gee mom, don't you find that fascinating?"

"Not when my daughter is next in line I don't."

Macy confessed she'd only met him that morning.

"At first I thought I would dislike him intensely with his improper innuendoes but as the day worn on he really got through to me."

"I can't believe any man is that impressive," Davina snorted.

"Well his the only guy who's ever learned my bra size without removing my bra and in fact he's not even said he will date me."

Macy heard her father cracking his knuckles.

"Cool it dad. He's not touched me and neither has he made an improper suggestion as far as I can recall. But he is so manly, so awesome. He even knows the names of old Ted's kids."

"And who is Ted?" he father asked.

"He a maintenance guy from Accommodation and Supply. His daughter is a florist and his son leads a crew maintaining jet aircraft engines. Dad that's why Hal is a celebrity and excels at his craft, he knows everyone and they like the interest he takes in him. I couldn't believe that tough news editor Mrs Masters straighten his hair and jacket, taking a motherly interest in him.

"Gillian treats him like that, Gillian?" Frank asked in awe.

"Yes and she obviously loved it when he swatted her butt."

"Well actually I more than like him, but I mean that in the nicest possible sense," Davina said. "His smile knifes through me and nobody says my name like he does."

"There's only one way to say Davina," Frank said.

"He says it kind of breathlessly, saying 'Dav' and then leaves a slight pause before finishing the 'ina'."

"Mom he's romantic. But he has yet to look at me like that. I just feel his presence and I presented him with a story after being told to make calls and thought he'd grab it for himself. But no he sent me out with a photographer and then in the hour after my return taught me more about reporting, photo choice and writing than what I learned in three months, perhaps longer, at journalism school."

"Well yes dear and I'm aware he's acknowledged as the consummate professional amongst his peers. They just ignore his woman-devouring reputation."

"Mom most of that will be just gossip. He probably bowls five women and gets credited with thirty successes. You know what women are like."

Macy said with quiet reverence, "Mom thanks to Hal unless something big came up I'll have the lead in tomorrow's editions."

"You're joking?"

"No it's true," Frank grinned proudly. "I read it in the minutes of the mid-afternoon news conference and felt it necessary to call through for confirmation. Ollie Edwards said it was the pick of the bunch and good enough to hold off anything for that spot baring a catastrophic event and then that probably would have to be local to topple Macy's placing."

"Omigod. But the word I was getting darling was you were next to useless. Did Hal write the story for you?"

"No he sat at my shoulder and criticized my perfume and told me to wear something like Joy."

"Oh not to the office darling but I have a bottle that will upgrade you. And after the criticism?"

"He told me to write the rough as if I was telling the story to grandma and then I could review my work as many times I wished and he would discuss possible changes with me. Mom the man's a genius."

"Well I could have told you to embark on that approach darling. Don't they teach you anything at that School of Journalism?"

"Of course they do. Mom I think the photographer could be gay but she was practically drooling over Hal when he congratulated for getting great shots from a nothing situation."

"What sort of nothing situation?"

"Three people standing over a mattress."

"Yes that's a sort of nothing situation. So why is it the lead story in our newspaper tomorrow?"

"Mom wait to you read it. Basically it's a story that tells itself but I'm excited because it gives me a bit of credibility. People have been treating me like I was crap. Don't tell her dad because I want my mom to be surprised in the morning."

"Well nothing Hal Pearson is associated with would surprise me darling," her mom said dryly. "Some of my girlfriends say his column is about the only thing they read in the business pages apart from interest rates and specific stock prices."

"Belinda Evans is too old, too out of touch and too stale mom. Once Hal Pearson has me up to speed writing half of his column for him I will be asking the editor to replace Belinda with me as the Page 5 Columnist."

"Frank?"

"A horse never jumps a fence until it reaches it darling and our daughter will have to lean to use similar restraint and patience."

"Mom listen to dad and please try not to unduly influence me. If Hal Pearson seduces me so what? Other chicks have had that questionable honor and here's something to consider mother: Hal Pearson is one of the few males on the entire staff of The Sentinel who was not ready to dismiss me as a bimbo and he didn't even know me but had heard about me. Think hard about that mother."

"Well at least that's something. Do you wish me to invite you to your birthday party at the restaurant on Friday?"

"Oh god no. You and dad would buttonhole him and warn him off me. No way do I wish him to loose interest in me, professionally or otherwise. You must know what it's like when you feel like the touch of a good man mother?"

"Yes that's why I sometime call you father home for a couple of hours," Davina said dryly.

Frank stared at the ceiling and endued the cackling of his wife and daughter.

In the morning Davina waited for almost twenty minutes at the front door until the delivery kid thudded the newspaper on to their front porch. She raced out to retrieve it and flew back to bed with it, leaving the front door wide open.

She elbowed Frank awake as she tore off the wrapper and yelled, "Macy."

They waited until Macy came in and jumped into bed with them, stowing away a rogue breast and sweeping untidy hair out of her eyes.

Davina unrolled the newspaper like Queen Bee, her husband and daughter lolling against her.

The heading read, 'American Colonel in Afghanistan Awaits Water Bed.'

"Omigod," breathed Davina.

"Heads will roll over this," Frank yelled. "That word 'rookie' in the byline is banned in my newspaper."

"Oh calm down Frank. That will just be Hal Pearson winding you up. He will have also warned the news editor if anything attempt was made to rewrite your daughter's story they would be answering to you."

"Great guess mom. He did issue that warning."

"Oh darling hasn't your daughter done well, sniffing out this story and then writing it. It should be going on the wire."

"We use email these days Davina. Get up to date. It has been sent to international news agencies and will now be arriving on to the desk of agency subscribers around the world."

"Omigod around the world. Macy Law, you may have just achieved the biggest first for a rookie reporter in world journalism."

"Congratulations my sweet girl. It is indeed a tremendous feat."

"Thanks guys," Macy said snuggling down alongside her mother. "Dumb bimbo eh."

"It's doubtful you'll ever hear that label attached to you again by anyone in journalism baby," said her father snaking a hand down his wife's thigh and getting it smacked away.

* * *

Macy arrived at work next morning minutes ahead of Hal and paled when she clicked on to the personnel network to find a message to all staff containing a big photograph of her with a terse caption:

Anyone working on this newspaper who has regarded Macy Law as a dumb blonde and a misfit in journalism ought to be now questioning their judgment and assessing their suitability to remain in journalism. This waterbed effort from Macy will not be the last news missile you'll see from her. She found the story unassisted and wrote it with very little assistance required from me.

Macy's mentor Hal Pearson.'

As Macy finished reading the message for the second time she saw responses appearing from people also reading the message.

'Great work Macy. Welcome to the team.'

'We expected nothing less from the Executive Editor's daughter and you delivered.'

'Amazing. I consider myself a good reporter but worked here four years before I got my first lead placement. You are amazing.'

'So young, so pretty, so loaded with talent and now you have unloaded the fruits of that talent. Congrats Macy.'

"Wow that story and who produced it stunned me Macy. Ps Never turn your back on your mentor although if you do you may not be disappointed.'

Oh god. Well Alan Wright was her boss. She'd go to him and face the music because that story had not passed through his hands. He'd be furious.

Reporters and the two business sub-editors were at their desks when Macy began walking through the room. A guy yelled oh here's the white-hot Macy and a female called "Brilliant work Macy" and began clapping and everyone stood and clapped. Alan came out of his office with his PA and they were clapping and smiling.

Macy waved a little nervously and went and asked Alan could he see her in his office. He hugged her and released her said, "We are so proud of you Macy. In future if you get a big story pass it through my hands, ignore your, what does he call himself, your mentor."

"I was coming to apologize for that. I thought it was a breach of procedure but I got carried away by Hal's generous verbal support and disbelief that he thought my story would make the front page."

"Yes a compulsive rule breaker is Hal Macy, you just make sure it's not contagious. Back to work everyone. That is probably the biggest story this newspaper has ever produced in terms of readership Macy. General news will have a team on to it now to write about the wrath of military chiefs and claims they have been ridiculed and no doubt politicians will be jumping in to grab the limelight. Meanwhile during the next twelve hours people around the world will be reading your story, er at least some of them."

"I hope a reporter calls on the colonel's parents about this."

"Jesus," Alan said, pulling out his phone.

Half and hour later Macy was collected by a general news reporter and photographer to call on the colonel's parents. The reporter wanted a photograph of Macy meeting the parents and the reporter had coached Macy about some of the comments she should make.

Macy arrived back at 11:30 and Hal said, "Where have you been?"

"I left you a note."

"I would prefer you being here rather than being out of the office and leaving notes that I don't have time to read. I received a call at 7:00 this morning advising that Johnstone Industries would be announcing at 8:00 it would be laying off 470 people. I got a photographer and another reporter that should have been you to join me and now I'm writing the front-page lead for tomorrow's paper. That will keep me busy so I want you to write the column today. Your deadline is at 5:00."

"Oh god, what will I write about, who will I call?"

"You should have began your calls at 8:00. I suggest you just write something to introduce yourself as assistant business columnist."

"And write about what?"

"How would I know? You are today's columnist."

Unsure of herself, Macy called her mom for help. Her mom had been features editor for many years.

"You have company stock worth tens of thousands of dollars. Write about that."

"I can't that would be akin to boasting to many readers and power investors would sneer a portfolio that small was chicken shit."

"But I was meaning write how you came to hold that stock."

"Oh mom, you're a genius."

Macy had gone for the day when Hall went to his computer and pulled up her story filed via Alan. He expected it to be okay but still was responsible for the content of his column and so checked it out. He finished reading it grinning and thought she really had nothing to worry about if committing to a future in journalism.

Frank brought the paper in next morning, poured coffee and took the tray back to bed and gave Davina what she usually demanded, the front news section. But instead she demanded the business section. She read with great fascination.

By Deputy Business News Columnist Macy Law

Today we discuss a way to be extra nice to your kids or grandchildren. Buy them stocks and hand over the holdings to them administer when they are eighteen or even much older if you prefer.

I was six and apparently talked almost nonstop. One day I told my maternal grandmother I liked ice-cream so much I wished I could own the store that made it. Gran thought that was fine and said she would pay some money so I could own part of the business.

Apparently I thought she meant she could only afford to buy part of one cow that made the cream that was turned into ice cream. It was unlikely I ever figured out until many years later how they put the flavor in ice cream but then people today have shares in Microsoft and will have no idea about how the screens that display their company sells actually made the color renderings or where are the chips to be found or how can there be memory when you can't see memory?

From then on my smart grandmother gave me a certificate for my birthdays and at Christmas, while other people gave me dolls and books and even more exciting things than a stupid piece of paper... but of course later electronic transactions replaced paper transactions.

Gran decided not to over-spoil me and so purchased stock in minimum parcels. Sometimes she confided things had gone wrong. For instance the airline I had stock in went under, whatever that meant, and she said she should have brought me a heap of dolls instead but I said that would have been silly because I had Rebecca, my favorite doll.

Gran knew I liked her taking me to Sears so purchased some Sears stock at one time and added Westinghouse, Johnson and Johnson and Kellogg.

I wanted to own a part of my school but Gran said the only money they'd take in my name would be a donation and offered no return on that.

When I won a scholarship to college Gran was so proud of me she bought me 1000 Apple shares to go with holdings in my name in oil, gas and gold exploration. She could never find a doll-maker for me to have an investment in and the bicycle-maker she invested in using my name was another to flop.

Unbeknown to me my benefactor was building wealth for my future and because she started on this twenty-four years ago with stock in an outfit that made ice cream and raised capital from the public and now it's part of a multinational corporation through DIPS and DRIPS, terms I only came to know about from about the age of eighteen. I had no idea that most of the stock held in my name was increasing in value over time, above and beyond the value of Gran's original investment in me.

Grandma and Granddad became millionaires when in their mid-thirties by selling their ranch they'd worked hard and with the hope of reasonable favorable seasons to make debt-free. They had almost reached that goal when a guy came along and wanted to build houses on the ranch that was adjacent to their city. But that's another story.

When I turned twenty and was at college Gran handed over the portfolio of stocks she'd purchased for me over the years and I was flabbergasted at how much I was worth. Now six years later I know a great deal about trading in stock but the funny thing is I've changed nothing because I am convinced Gran's conservative investment program has proved it's worth and so I decided to let them ride. Gran stopped her stocks donations when giving me the Apple shares when I graduated high school. But when I gained my masters in media studies (print journalism) she gave me a new car and sadly that proved to be her worst investment on my behalf apart from those companies that went belly up. Each year that car lost value in depreciation and I realized the loss I'd suffered, less the value of usage as transport of course, when I sold it and went overseas on a working vacation for two years.

Now here's the crunch. Through grandma's generosity, wise purchasing and the accumulation of good fortune owning stock in some companies that benefit stockholders, my Gran's investment in me today is valued at just under $150,000. I've never worked for any of those companies and indeed have never visited any of them and not attended any of their functions. In fact I have never actually contributed a cent to them apart what was removed from my dividends account with a broker to meet special offers of advantage to me or to be reinvested.

Think about this if you have children or grandchildren. Some young people without children to date set up an education fund for their future children and that's a marvelous, forward-thinking commitment. But my Gran, who is still alive, taught me endowment could be even more ambitious. I have to report I have no idea how much money Gran invested in me but she said it was more or less chicken shit. Even so I know sometime ahead it will be spent on buying a house, a big house, because some guy will be asked to front up with his share of our joint home.

Thanks to those who coped with my ramble. I wrote it like this to get my message across.

The next day Macy began the routine of making calls from 8:00 and filed three items for Hal to add to his column and turned one into a double column story she filed with Alan for the general news business pages.

On Thursday's edition The Sentinel ran an illustrated story of the waterbed being loaded on to a road freighter to begin its journey to Afghanistan. The military chiefs had wisely decided to leave it to the General who had the colonel under his command to figure out what would happen to the waterbed when it arrived, as there would be media interest in the event.

Later than day Macy counted the emails she'd received from the public about her story, some writers being critical that the story had been published. She'd received sixty-six emails since publication of the initial story.

As she was leaving work Hal told her he'd already written a column for Saturday and would be attending a business conference all day next day. He suggested she try to find general stories for Alan.