Marti: A Romance with an Enigma

"I guess that I don't see what could happen that would be that bad."

"Most people wouldn't but when you stand between a crook and a couple million dollars, he will have no hesitation to lash out and hurt anyone who is in the way. You are just on the periphery of this but he would use you in a country minute if he could use it to his advantage. Now, I have to go into town for some things. I expect that you will be going back this afternoon. Have a safe trip and I look forward to the next time we can talk and see each other." He rose and left towards his office leaving both Sarah and Marti.

"Sarah, what did he just say? I mean what did it mean?"

Sarah thought for a minute before replying, "On the first part, I could say that he was paranoid except that knowing Jeff, he is just being cautious. He doesn't freak out over many things. On the second part, I am not certain but I suspect that he is interested in you outside of this stuff but wants to take it very slowly. That is Jeff to a tee. He won't rush you or himself but I have never seen him show that much personal interest in anyone."

If Marti turned red before, her present state would be described as fiery crimson. The concept that he would be interested in her personally was a shock but if she was being honest with herself, she would admit that she liked and even loved that concept. She would also have to admit that she was more than just interested in this complex and charming man. But having very little history with these kinds of feelings, she felt the need to flee and find a safe place to hide.

Sarah watched her new friend and realized the level of her conflict. "Marti, listen my friend; in a very short period of time, your old world has been turned upside down not just by Jeff himself but by everything that you have experienced since you have been here. You can't absorb it all in minutes or even hours. It is time for you to go back and find out how all of these new experiences fit into your life. If they don't fit, you have still grown a lot. If they do fit, then you will be growing in new and wonderful directions that no one can predict the outcome. Either way, you will come out stronger and better. Don't try to understand it all right now. Let the learning curve take you where you need to go. Come on, let's go pack up your things. Since you have to be in your office in the morning, you need to get on the road."

As they walked to the office to gather the papers, Marti quietly asked, "Sarah, I can't say that you were wrong just now but I am confused. No one knew I was coming until I got here yet you and everyone seemed prepared for me. I finally meet Jeff and he is quite honestly overwhelming. Now you tell me that he is interested in me personally. How am I supposed to process all of that? It doesn't seem real."

They stopped under a tree in front of the bank building. "Marti, I don't know everything, like I told you. What I do know is that Jeff has been working for months with the lawyers on all of this paperwork. When he came back last week, he told me and several others that they had finished and all we needed to do was file them. He then said that very likely we would be visited by someone from the state but he didn't know who. All he said was to treat whoever it was like they were a friend rather than an adversary. He told me privately that it might be you since you were the head of the department involved. All he told me was to be open and honest with you. Fortunately, I liked you right away. I would like to think that we have become friends. The only other thing he said was that to make sure that you and he were not left alone for any period of time since that could be used in an inappropriate manner. That is what I know for certain. As you might have guessed, he has sources for information that I and the others have no knowledge of. He pretty well said that he knows something is going on behind our backs and is being very cautious about that."

"He pretty well told me the same thing but didn't say who or what. He did warn me that I was in a politically vulnerable spot although I still don't see how. On one level, I am just a high-level clerk."

"If you think about everything at the national and local levels, you see that when something does hit the fan, the powerful people only get bruised but not hurt. The people who suffer are the mid-level clerks and functionaries. It isn't right but that is the way it is. When I was in my other job, it was always the little people who got blamed for mistakes even though they were following instructions from the higher ups. I think that Jeff realizes that and that is why he has been so protective towards you. That is the way Jeff is; he won't let someone get thrown under the bus for no reason if he can help it."

"Ok, you have my attention. What should I do when I get home?"

"I think that Jeff was right. Do your job the way you have always done it. If you cut corners for us, it could blow up in your face. You probably didn't notice it but Jeff didn't relax at all until you told him that you couldn't even find a typo in the reports. If you had, he would have insisted on getting them fixed. As for everything else, he has no control over anyone you deal with but I suspect that he doesn't trust them very much. He gave you a hint but it might have escaped you. He said to give it a month before you tried to contact him or us. He always preaches patience and letting things evolve over time. But he also said that you could keep in touch through me. Honestly, I would like that anyway. I think that we have become friends and I would like it to stay that way."

Marti thought for a minute before she replied, "I would like that too. Now that I have been here, I don't want to lose that connection. Honestly, I don't have a lot of close friends but right now, I feel closer to you than to most of the others. I would love to maintain that contact."

"That's what I want to hear. Let's get you on the road now. You need a good night's sleep in your own bed before you go back to the lion's den in the morning."

With that, Marti's adventure outside of the capital environment was over. She and Sarah traded personal phone numbers and e-mail addresses, loaded her things in her car, and Marti began the two and half hour drive home. As soon as she entered the city limits, she knew that she had entered a different world. The air smelled of car exhaust, the roads were crowded with people trying to get home, the signs everywhere promised everything with a clearly posted price tag. Even her townhouse looked gloomy and dark. She had chosen it because it had great windows and light but once inside her haven, she realized that the windows were still small and the nearby building blocked the blue sky and sunshine she had been experiencing for three days. It immediately came to her that she missed the simplicity and openness of the community. She felt very alone in her own space.

She arrived at work Tuesday morning having slept but she was not totally relaxed and fresh. The first thing she did was take the Crossroads documentation to the data clerk and gave her the go-ahead to enter them. Then she went to her desk to prepare for her 10:00 meeting. Her preparations mainly consisted of reviewing her journal of activities for the previous two weeks and highlight anything special that might be brought up. She wasn't certain if she should bring up the weekend in the meeting or wait to talk to her boss in private. She decided to be prepared but not bring it up until he asked. In general, she had worked with the other department heads for over five years and while they seldom interfaced on a daily basis, they shared a mutual dislike for their bi-weekly meetings. Few things were brought up that were of importance to the others and the regular bi-weekly sermon from their boss was more like a slap in the face than a pep talk.

She refilled her coffee cup to take to the meeting and found that it tasted flat compared to the coffee she had enjoyed with Sarah. She joined the others, who smiled and nodded their acknowledgement of her presence. Then they waited for the "Man" to appear. As usual, he blustered in ten minutes late with a sour look on his face. His entrance turned out to be the highlight of the meeting. First, he berated the head of the Operations Department for failure to complete the refurbishing of the lobby. The department head met the challenge by reminding him that he personally had called the contractor away from that job to take care of a small job for the Governor. That job had taken three of the five days away from the refurbishing and would add another 25% to the invoice. Then they listened to a five-minute diatribe about incompetent subcontractors.

Then it was Marti's turn. "All right, Ms. Henderson; did you take care of that problem up north?"

"I went up Friday but Jeff Bannister was not available until Sunday. Yesterday morning, he provided all of the documentation that was missing and I reviewed it thoroughly and found that it was complete. I signed and dated the documents and brought them back with me. They are being entered into the system now."

Her boss' face turned bright red and he looked about to explode. Surprisingly, he actual sounded somewhat calm when he asked, "Ms. Henderson; exactly what were your instructions?"

"As I recall, I received two sets. Mr. Blaylock told me to 'fix it' and you told me 'to not fuck it up'." That brought a snicker from her compatriots.

"Did it ever cross your mind that your job was to close that piece of shit down?"

"As a matter of fact, it did not cross my mind. My job is to ensure that documentation is accurate, complete, and properly recorded. I do not recall that closing anyone down is part of my job description. That is usually left up to the state troopers after appropriate warnings and warrants are produced."

"That is enough insubordination from you. Consider yourself on probation until this can be satisfactorily resolved. You will have no contact with Mr. Bannister or discuss this with anyone except me or Mr. Blaylock. Get out of here."

With his venom spent, he turned and left while the other department heads stared after him with open mouths. The head of Operations turned to her and offered, "Lucky you. Sounds like it is time to take a vacation. Maybe he will have a heart attack before you come back." Then he patted her on the shoulder and followed the others out of the door.

Marti sat stunned. She had done her job and had been rebuked in front of others. The fact that the others supported her didn't soften the blow. Her first thought was to escape and go back to Crossroads and collect her thoughts. But she remembered Jeff's admonition to be patient and that this was probably not the last battle. It took a moment but she decided that he had been right. Whatever happened, if she became closely associated with the community, someone would use it against her and them. Still shaken, she walked to the building next door and into the Human Resources office where she asked to see the assistant administrator. While not a really close friend, Marge Hopkins and she had talked on a number of occasions since they had both interned together a number of years before.

"Hi, Marti; how is the world of Compliance and Records?" She asked brightly.

Marti sighed and replied, "The same as always but now I have a problem, Marge. My boss didn't like something I did and put me on probation."

"You! The most efficient person in the whole damn state! He damn well better be able to justify this one or his head might be used as a soccer ball."

Confused, Marti asked, "What do you mean? He called me down in our bi-weekly meeting."

"In front of witnesses! Oh, this will be good; my boss will love it. He has talked to him several times about his management style or lack thereof. Marti, you are the fourth department head he has put on probation but none of them were justified. If you were doing your job within the guidelines, don't worry about it." She tapped her computer for a moment and then said, "Shit! Marti, you have six weeks of leave on the books. Take a vacation for a couple of weeks or a month and let this blow over. Do you have someone you can name as acting department head?"

"The head of records is the only one in the department but he has only been there for two years."

"Crap. I'll find someone, if I can. The problem is that there are six openings in his operation and no one with the experience or rank will even consider working for him. The few new hires we have brought in have quit before their first review. Leave me your e-mail address and go away. Clear your head. I'll let you know when things clear up. Go and don't worry about it. You are about as safe as anyone in the Administration."

All Marti could do was mumble an unenthusiastic "Thanks" before going to her office to collect her purse and briefcase. As she drove to her house, gloom settled over her in spite of the praise given by her friend in the HR office. Walking in the door, her depression deepened because everything looked sterile and bleak. She slumped down on her sofa and began to cry. She continued crying until she exhausted herself and fell asleep. She didn't wake up until after four in the afternoon.

Still drowsy and depressed, she automatically booted up her laptop and checked her e-mail. There were a dozen ads for things she had no interest in but there was one that caught her eye. It was from an address she didn't recognize but contained her name "Marti" in the subject line. Officially everywhere, she was Martha. Only the people she knew closely or worked with knew her as Marti. Still cautious, she opened the mail.

It simply read. "Bad things happen to good people. Go to the Hotel Galvez in Galveston." There was no signature or reference to anyone or anything that might tell her who sent it. Her immediate thought was Jeff but she dismissed that. He was the one who had cautioned her about not making contact. Sarah? But how would she know anything. Of course, Jeff seemed to be able to find things out and could have told her. But even that seemed to be a stretch. The only thing that remained was that the suggestion about Galveston and the Hotel Galvez seemed to be a good idea. The more she thought about it, she felt that it was a very good idea. She had been there a number of times when she was younger and had stayed there with her family. It brought back good memories.

Suddenly feeling a little brighter, she looked up the number and called. "Yes, my name is Martha Henderson and I would like to see if I can make a reservation starting tomorrow?"

"Thank you, Ms Henderson, we confirmed your request earlier and have you reserved for three days. We look forward to you being here. The weather is perfect and the beach is in good shape."

All she could do was stutter, "Thank you." What was happening? Someone else had made a reservation for her. Jeff? Sarah? She shook her head again and decided that however it happened, she was going to force herself to have a good time in Galveston and forget this mess.

Two days later, she sat down for a seafood dinner in the main dining room. As she began to eat, someone pulled out a chair and sat across from her. It was Megan. "Hi there, stranger. Mind if I eat with you?"

Marti looked up, smiled, and replied, "You better! I love it down here but I am getting lonely."

"You talked me into it."

"Wait a minute; did Jeff send you? Or Sarah?"

"Of course not; Mr. Stubborn Man doesn't try to tell me anything anymore. Actually, Sarah was going to come with me but something about the well came up and she decided to work that out. I was coming down anyway for my annual training update to keep my nursing license current. Jeff suggested I stay for a couple for extra days. So here I am."

"Well I am glad that you are. I have to leave tomorrow though. My reservation was for three days and they are over tomorrow. I guess I will be going home."

"I am only here for tonight. Tomorrow, I am taking my family's boat out for a sail down to Corpus Christi. Want to come along?"

"I have never been out on the ocean in a boat. Is this a power boat?"

"Nope. Too much noise and too many problems. The wind will blow us down and hopefully back. Come on; it will be an adventure and I won't work you too hard."

"You would sail it alone!"

"Sure. I've done it a dozen times. When I was younger, I used to enter a race they had every year from here to Corpus. I never won but I did well in the single-handed category. There are some really fast racers down here. Our boat is more of a cruiser."

It only took Marti a minute to decide her near-term future. "You've got crew but you will have to teach me everything."

Megan grinned, "That will be fun. Let's finish and do a little shopping. I need a few things and in the morning, we need to get some food for the trip."

The prospect of something new and different seemed to instill new life and replace the remaining gloom that Marti felt. They laughed as they walked the Strand shopping for shorts and tops suitable for the water. They each also had a couple of island special cocktails as they shopped. When they got back to the hotel feeling very light-hearted and relaxed, they stopped for coffee in the coffee shop.

Marti said, "I didn't get to talk to you much over the weekend but you seem to have a different relationship with Jeff than the others."

Megan looked at her for a moment and then replied, "I guess so. I have known him longer but don't know much more than anyone else. He is my cousin. I am ten years younger than he is and he was in college when I got old enough to be aware of him at family things."

"Seriously? I mean, no one mentioned his family at all. Did he recruit you to be the nurse at the community?"

"Yes, but not because of the family connection. Well at least, not primarily because of it. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be a school nurse. Jeff was already tied up in his business stuff and we seldom saw each other. I got a job at a school district down south and loved it. I especially liked working with the girls in high school. One girl got pregnant and was reluctant to say who the father was but everyone knew anyway. I suggested that she get a DNA test to prove paternity and to seek child support so that she wasn't totally straddled with the cost of raising her child. She did and talked to the guy about it. He told his parents who were fairly wealthy and well connected and they hit the roof. One day I was visited by one of the local school board members who suggested that I resign or I would be fired and have my license suspended. The next day, Jeff showed up and asked if I was ready to move on with my life. So, he brought me to the community and told me to keep people healthy. And that was that. It was a little over a year ago and I enjoy this even more than the school work."

"Until a week ago, I thought that the power of politics was more of a joke than real. But now it seems that every time I turn around, I find that it is dirty and unfair."

"You had to learn that sometime. From my point of view, the name of their game is to support the old 'boys will be boys' thing. But when a 'girls will be girls' crops up, the girls are stigmatized and punished by having to raise a child on their own with no support."

"That is sad." Marti thought for a moment and then asked, "Are there any other family members in the group?"

"No; well not really but almost. I don't know what Sarah told you but she was going with this guy and he dumped her. That guy was my brother. He has always been kind of a jerk. Anyway, I had never met her until I came to the community. She is my best friend there now although I am closer to Jeff's sister but she isn't involved in the community and has never been there. She and I get together when I come down here but she was tied up with something important this week."