Marti: A Romance with an Enigma

Story Info
She falls for an enigma (no sex).
26.6k words
4.84
13.8k
23
Share this Story

Font Size

Default Font Size

Font Spacing

Default Font Spacing

Font Face

Default Font Face

Reading Theme

Default Theme (White)
You need to Log In or Sign Up to have your customization saved in your Literotica profile.
PUBLIC BETA

Note: You can change font size, font face, and turn on dark mode by clicking the "A" icon tab in the Story Info Box.

You can temporarily switch back to a Classic Literotica® experience during our ongoing public Beta testing. Please consider leaving feedback on issues you experience or suggest improvements.

Click here
TexasFarmBoy
TexasFarmBoy
1,185 Followers

Martha Henderson, known to her friends as Marti, was sitting at her desk blankly staring at the stack of papers sitting in front of her. Without looking at a single one, she immediately knew what they were. They were the reason that she would sit at home alone over another weekend. They were the reason she got her relatively decent paycheck every month. They were the reason that she remained employed by the State even though the elected leaders resented a woman as department head. In fact, they resented women in government except as eye candy at reception desks and in other minor clerical roles. The good old boy network was still strictly reserved for the boys.

Marti had gone to work at the State as an intern while in college. When she graduated, they moved her into the Compliance and Records Department as the head of the Compliance Section. Being the head of the section earned her a little more money but also meant that she spent her days poring over a myriad of documents filed by various city and county entities as required by several antiquated laws. She would dutifully review and approve them before passing them on to her data clerk, who would enter the pertinent data in the computer before the original form would be filed with other similar reports in an ever-growing number of filing cabinets, where they slowly deteriorated in the humid, basement storage room.

To stifle her boredom, she enrolled in Law School intending to complete her degree in two years and then find a job outside of government. That plan was delayed two years previously when there was a minor scandal in her otherwise sedate department when the head of the department suddenly left town with the head of the Records Section. That the two had been having an affair was common knowledge in the building but their sudden departure left a wife and child hanging as well as a humble husband. Being an election year, a scandal of this magnitude was politically unacceptable and certain payments were paid to the injured spouses for their silence.

However, this required that a new department head be named quickly to fill out the organization chart. With no suitable candidates waiting in the wings, an advisor to the incumbent governor suggested that Marti be promoted to fill the vacancy. The argument was that have a female department head would look good to voters and since she had no record of rocking the boat, she could certainly fulfill the needs of the tedious job that no one else wanted. The fact that she was also suitable eye candy was not lost on the decision makers. In a matter of two days, Marti was promoted, confirmed, and given another small increase in salary. Her formal instructions were simple; do more with less and don't show up in the newspapers or on the nightly news. That meant that she did most of her previous work without a replacement and added the oversight over the other department that kept paper copies of every single receipt for any routine commodity purchased by the State.

The additional work and responsibilities required her to cut back on the number of classes should could take but now, she only had one class left. That thought was the only thing that kept her going. In three months, she would be finished could seek a more fulfilling job and move on with her life. But today promised another weekend of going through the stack of papers in front of her, trying to make time to read another chapter in a boring book on the legal requirements for towns and cities, and wishing that she had a date. It had been six months since her last social outing and it had been very much less than memorable. The class she was taking was equally boring because it covered the very things that she had to deal with on a daily basis.

As the magic quitting hour approached, she put the papers in a box to take home and double checked her e-mail. Oddly there was one from her boss asking her to stop by to see him before she left. He seldom even spoke to her much less asked for a meeting. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he knew what her department did. The political people seldom knew what their area of responsibility was supposed to do but took every opportunity to find their way in front of a camera to sound like they knew what they were talking about.

Rather than wait, she took the elevator to the third floor to get this meeting over with so she could get on with her weekend. The mere idea of dressing comfortably, even if she had to work, had become the high-water mark for her weekends. Her boss' secretary had already left since they seldom worked past three on Fridays. She knocked on her boss's door and was told to enter.

Once inside, she noticed that two men were seated in the only two chairs in front of the massive desk. She knew her boss but had no idea who the other man was.

"Ah yes; thank you for joining us, Martha. This is Bill Blaylock." He didn't say what Blaylock did but Marti knew who he was by name. He was one of the political advisors to the governor and was reputed to be the front man for a lot of wealthy and powerful people.

Blaylock looked at her in a condescending way and bluntly asked, "Do you understand the basic laws and rules that apply to townships in this state?"

Marti felt six years of bile rise within her but she held it in check as she replied, "I suspect that I am the only person in this building who understands that subject and I would like to think that this was the reason they promoted me to this job. So, yes."

Her boss looked her with daggers in his eyes but before he could say anything, Blaylock replied, "Good. There is a property up north that has some confusion about their status. Go up there and straighten it out. One of the governor's supporters has big plans for that area and there appears to be a stumbling block. Fix it. Here is a map of the area and the name of owner of the property." He handed her a piece of paper. "This area used to be a township but it died. Now someone is doing something there. The developer wants to make it productive again. Rumor has it that it may be another "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" thing going on. A lot of truckers top there and a bunch of women seem to run the place. Find out who and what they are doing." He then abruptly left without saying anything more.

Marti turned to leave when her boss warned her in a menacing tone, "Don't fuck this up! You don't know who you are dealing with. I want a report at our Tuesday morning meeting."

Marti paused at the door and was tempted to tell him to fix it himself but thought better of it. She walked out but left the door open behind her. The few people who knew her well would know that she was upset; most others would only see a woman totally focused on the task in front of her. She took one look at the box of papers sitting on her desk and smiled. "You can wait until next week; I'm going on a road trip." She grabbed her purse, locked her door, and left for the weekend. An hour later, she put a small suitcase in her car and drove north.

Two and a half hours later, she pulled into a parking lot that held about two dozen cars and trucks. She could see the few buildings of the township lining the street next to the parking lot but this building seemed to be the center of activity based on the signs of life there. She entered and was assaulted by the smell of meat being grilled and vegetables being steamed. She also detected the smell of fresh bread being baked. The smells reminded her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast.

As she looked around, she found eight tables that would each seat eight people but there was no sign of a waitress or hostess at the door. She stood looking around in confusion until a woman rose from a nearby table and approached her.

"May I help you? You look a little confused."

"Thanks. I...I just drove here and didn't know what to expect. Is someone named Jeff Bannister here?"

"Yes and no. Jeff is usually here but he and the other men are out this weekend picking up some equipment that we need. Come on over and have dinner with us and we can try to help you out."

"Uh...do you have a menu or something?"

"No, we don't. It is a buffet style. Just go get what you want and join us over here. Most of us just started eating and we would enjoy some new company."

Marti carefully walked to the serving table, still unsure of how things worked. She was surprised that the serving table was full of salads, vegetables, and breads with a smiling person waiting at the end to serve the meat of your choice. Tonight, the choices were roast beef or grilled ham or chicken. Marti chose the chicken and realized that her platter was very full. Then she went to the table where her hostess was sitting and took a seat across from her.

"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Amanda and this is Gwen, Tommie, and Sarah. I didn't ask your name."

"Sorry; I am Martha but go by Marti to most people."

Gwen asked, "Mandy said that you were looking for Jeff. Is there a problem?"

"I don't know for sure. I work for the state and was told that there was some confusion about the status of this town. Is there?"

The four women laughed. Amanda replied, "I can understand that. Jeff bought all of this land four years ago and has spent the time since untangling that whole mess. You will need to wait for him to get back and he can fill you in on the details."

Sarah asked, "Where are you going to stay while you are here? Unfortunately, the hotel is booked for tonight and tomorrow night. The nearest other place is about 60 miles."

"There is a hotel here?" Marti asked with a surprised voice.

Tommie answered, "Yes. It actually has ten rooms but only four have been refurbished and opened. We hope to have two more open before fall."

"Wow! I had no idea so much was going on here."

Amanda answered for the four, "Sometimes we look around and are surprised at all of the changes that have taken place in the past two or three years too."

Sarah offered, "You can stay with me if you don't mind sleeping on a sofa. I hope that next month I can get a guest bed."

"If it wouldn't inconvenience you too much. I don't want to be a burden."

Amanda reacted pleasantly, "It wouldn't be a burden. We all like newcomers to talk with once in a while. That is one of the things we miss. We have all gotten to know each other pretty well but as we grow, we find new excitement with new people."

"How many people live here? I was told that the town had died."

Tommie replied again, "It basically was dead. There was an old woman, who had lived here all her life, and Jackson and I. We had the truck repair shop on the highway when Jeff bought everything. Since then, we have added about twenty-three or four new people. Eight of them are married couples and the rest are single women. There is another couple and another woman who are considering moving here. We hope they decide to join us; they are really nice." The other three women nodded in agreement.

"I am confused. The town is virtually dead, Jeff buys everything, and now it is growing again. What is he doing or what is he planning?"

Amanda responded, "That is a good question. I'm not sure that he has a specific plan except to make this a community again. He lets us run things and build it like we think it ought to be."

Marti couldn't restrain her confusion any longer. "You must be kidding! No one invests that much money in a place without a plan."

Sarah replied quietly, "You haven't met Jeff yet. He may have a plan but he doesn't tell us what it is or what to do. He asks us what we want to do and then supports us in doing it."

"But...but how do you make a living? It is a long way to any town and there isn't much around here. Is there?"

"That is what makes this place so special." Tommie replied. "We were barely surviving with the truck repair shop until Jeff came on the scene. The first people he brought in were farmers. They immediately cleaned up part of the back and planted a large garden to grow food for all of us. They have expanded it every year since. I think six of the men are farmers or gardeners. Some of the women had experience in restaurants, so we opened this up as a community kitchen for all of us. Some of the truckers who drive by here regularly started stopping, so we expanded it into a restaurant. When the carpenter arrived, he started remodeling some of the buildings like the hotel and we opened it up to visitors and truckers who needed a place to stay. Since then, every new person who moves here brings a new set of talents and pursues what they do best."

Marti just stared at her. "This sounds like being in a history book about the pioneers who moved west."

Amanda smiled and replied, "We have all said the same thing at various times. But we no longer think about it that way; we are just a group of people supporting each other. Like a community or something."

Marti stopped to think and looked around. The room was now almost empty. "Where did everyone go? I wasn't aware of anyone leaving."

"Yeah, well most the guests need to get on home before dark. They eat and go."

"Where is the cash register to pay?"

Amanda grinned, "We don't have one. There is a box by the door. Just leave what you can afford or you think the meal was worth. Ladies, let's put out dishes up and get going. Do you want to join us for coffee, Marti?"

"Sure. But...but how do you know if you are making any money off of the restaurant? Don't you get stiffed a lot?"

Tommie replied, "This is the community meal. Visitors are welcome and all we have to do is add another potato to the pot. If someone can't afford a meal, we feed them anyway. Sometimes they stop by at another time and pay us. Sometimes they don't. We aren't going to let anyone go hungry especially if they have kids. That is what community is all about."

Sarah added quietly, "Actually, we cover our costs and contribute to the overall success of the community. We used to worry about how much it would cost us but not anymore. We grow most of our own food and people like what we prepare. Very few people don't pay anything. It works out."

After putting their dishes onto a cart, the five women headed towards the door. As she passed the box, Marti noticed that the box was over half full mostly with ten and twenty dollar bills. If she had to guess, there was $2-300 in the box. By doing some quick mental math, she felt that most people paid about $10 for their meal. She put a ten in to join the other bills to pay for her meal.

The five women walked around the back of the center towards a grove of trees where another six or seven women were seated under a tree with a large coffee urn on a table. Sarah quietly spoke to Marti as they approached the others, "This is our evening get-together. Don't be surprised at anything that might come up."

Marti wasn't sure what to expect based on what Sarah had just said but so far, everything she had seen and heard had been a surprise to her somewhat well-ordered existence. Since Tommie appeared to be the de facto leader of the group, the other women turned to her as they were curious about the newcomer.

"Good evening all. This is Marti. She came to see Jeff but it appears that she will have to wait until he gets back. Unless she has other plans, she will be visiting with us for a couple of days. Introduce yourselves and make her feel at home."

Marti quickly got lost in the list of new names until the last woman spoke up. "Hi Marti; I'll bet that you don't remember me but we went to high school together. I was a year behind you. I'm Jenna Smith but I was Jenna Motherly back then."

A flicker of recognition came to Marti's face as she slowly replied, "Choir; third period. You sang Soprano. Right?"

Jenna smiled and replied, "Yes; you have a good memory. What are you up to now?"

"I work for the state. An issue came up about the status of the town and they sent me here to straighten it out."

One of the other woman responded, "Good. You can carry a bunch of papers back with you. I was going to be taking them to the Post Office on Monday but they are a pain to pack up and send."

"Really? What papers?"

Sarah replied, "Jeff has been working with the lawyers on straightening out the status of the township. I don't know the details but apparently, reports haven't been sent in and lot of other stuff. They finally got through it all. Poor Jeff had to spend two hours signing all of the papers."

Immediately, Marti realized what this stack of papers must look like. It would easily fill a box like the one she left on her desk for next week. It also added a bit of anxiety to her. Her orders were to "Fix it" and "Don't fuck it up." If things were already fixed, it may be that someone else fucked things up before she had arrived. Or it might fuck up a powerful person's plans. For some reason, that thought made her smile.

"I'll be glad to look at them and make sure they are correct before I take them back."

They heard a bell and six of the women got up. One said, "Sorry that we haven't had more time to talk tonight. Movie night for the kids is over and us momma's need to rescue Melody. We'll talk more tomorrow."

That bit of information shocked Marti; she hadn't noticed or even thought about children. "I didn't realize that there were children here too."

Amanda responded nonchalantly, "Sure. There are eight of them from four to ten. We are really lucky because one of the woman who came is Melody, who was a teacher, and she became our teacher and child care person."

"There is a school here?"

"Technically, it is a home school program but if we get a few more kids, we will probably have to change it to a community school or something like that. Jeff worked out the details."

"It sounds like Jeff really has his fingers in the middle of things."

Jenna responded, "That is true. When he bought everything, there were a lot of messes to be cleaned up. He never complained but told us not to worry, he would get it straightened out. It is like nothing really gets under his skin. I have never met anyone quite like him."

Sarah added, "Jeff will surprise you. He is everything that we have told you but if you didn't know, you would be surprised when you meet him. He is very low key and laid back. We don't know where he got his money but that has never been an issue for him. He just supports us. I expect that if anyone threatened him, all of us would defend him. He has saved all of us in one way or another."

Before Marti could ask, Jenna said, "We don't talk about it much anymore because Jeff always tells us to look forward rather than backwards but Sarah is right; he has saved all of us in one way or another. I was trying to make it as a singer but wasn't having much success. I was on my way to a gig and my car broke down. Jeff stopped to help me and drove me to my gig. He stayed and then brought me back here. I haven't left."

One of the others said, "My husband and I had a small farm. We had put everything we had into it. I was working in the grocery store in town and my husband was busting his ass to make the farm work. We were just starting to break even when the state said that they were going to widen the highway and took our land by eminent domain. The money they paid us just about paid our loans off but left us with nothing. If it hadn't been for Jeff coming to save us, I think that my husband would have killed himself. He was totally depressed. He argued with Jeff but Jeff just told him to shut up and load the equipment on the truck he had brought. He brought us here and put us in our house. All he told my husband was to make the land grow. He told me to find a way to make a contribution. With my grocery experience, I started taking our produce to the farmer's market and selling it. That is what I still do although we now have two teams that go to two different markets. It took my husband a couple of months but once he got back to work, he returned to being the great guy he always was. If someone came after Jeff, my husband would shoot him before he got near enough to do anything." Retelling their story must have gotten her dander up because she added even more passionately and loudly, "And do you know what the real pisser is? They didn't widen the highway; they just repaved it and built a truck stop on our land. A fucking truck stop!"

TexasFarmBoy
TexasFarmBoy
1,185 Followers
123456...8