arrivals.
Within a few minutes, she had a series of flights that seemed to work. Newly humble, she crossed to Roberta. “Is this all right?”
Roberta inspected the notes and then looked up. “It’ll do.” She didn’t even try to keep the shock out of her voice.
Anne-Marie wanted to crow, but she swallowed the impulse. It wouldn’t help. Not really. All she said was, “Oh. Good.”
“Let’s call TWA.”
Once the call was half over, they were put on hold. “You should start with the next one while you’re waiting,” Roberta instructed.
Anne-Marie took the next page from the stack and shuffled through the rate books, trying to find the right one. “How long does each reservation take?”
“Once you get the hang of it”—Anne-Marie doubted that would ever be the case—“about forty-five minutes.”
Anne-Marie hadn’t taken much math since high school. The two years’ worth of home economics classes she’d taken at UT before leaving to marry Doug hadn’t included anything but the numbers used in cooking. But despite her deficiencies, forty-five times all those papers… was a big number.
For the rest of the morning, Roberta checked her work, for which Anne-Marie was grateful. The other woman might not want her there, but Anne-Marie would rather not make a mistake.
The morning passed quickly. After a nice, albeit quick, lunch with Mr. Chambers—who insisted on calling her Annie and suggested that things with Doug might still blow over—she tackled more of the stack.
She wasn’t sure how many weeks of reservations it represented, but she might not ever catch up, particularly not when people kept bringing more of them over to her.
Maybe it was a hazing. Maybe when she finished the last one, they’d induct her into the team.
Mr. Chambers came to usher everyone out just before five—so much for the idea of getting home early—and Roberta said begrudgingly, “Good job. You’re getting the hang of it.”
“I’m grateful. You’ve been so helpful.” Only one of those things was true.
She trudged out to her car. She’d never wanted a job. At school, she’d met women who did seem to envy their boyfriends. Bookish women who liked to talk about anthropology and who burned their cakes. Anne-Marie had been in awe of them even as she’d known she wasn’t one of them.
It made the current situation a tad funny. She was working. Outside the home. For money. And once she got the people at work to see that she wanted to be good at it, she wouldn’t even be sorry. It was one more important step toward independence. And for that, she’d put up with Roberta’s attitude.
When she pulled into the drive, her appreciation and gratitude burned up. For there in the front yard stood her mother, her children, her next-door neighbor, and his dog.
“Hey, Mom,” Anne-Marie said as she climbed out of her car. Gosh, she sounded even more weary than she felt.
“Honey! You neglected to tell me who your neighbor is .”
Anne-Marie had left that out purposefully. She’d hoped to omit it forever. Maybe he’d just take the partying and the blondes and the big blue eyes and the stargazing and the propositions somewhere else. Maybe she’d never have to tell them about his day job—
“Did you know he’s an astronaut?” Freddie demanded, all earnest shock and admiration. “Did you know that he held the highest altitude record in 1957? That he flew thirty-nine combat missions in Korea?”
Did he also mention that he’s a cad ? But all the frustration she felt evaporated when confronted with her son’s brown eyes. “Fancy that.” She pulled the boy in for a hug. Over his head, she said, “Good evening, Commander Campbell.”
“We’ve been over this, and I’m starting to get a touch offended. It’s Kit.”
His voice scratched in the right places and rubbed in the rest. As if he hadn’t been annoyingly kind and then made a pass. As if he hadn’t been a bother as she’d unpacked for a
Within a few minutes, she had a series of flights that seemed to work. Newly humble, she crossed to Roberta. “Is this all right?”
Roberta inspected the notes and then looked up. “It’ll do.” She didn’t even try to keep the shock out of her voice.
Anne-Marie wanted to crow, but she swallowed the impulse. It wouldn’t help. Not really. All she said was, “Oh. Good.”
“Let’s call TWA.”
Once the call was half over, they were put on hold. “You should start with the next one while you’re waiting,” Roberta instructed.
Anne-Marie took the next page from the stack and shuffled through the rate books, trying to find the right one. “How long does each reservation take?”
“Once you get the hang of it”—Anne-Marie doubted that would ever be the case—“about forty-five minutes.”
Anne-Marie hadn’t taken much math since high school. The two years’ worth of home economics classes she’d taken at UT before leaving to marry Doug hadn’t included anything but the numbers used in cooking. But despite her deficiencies, forty-five times all those papers… was a big number.
For the rest of the morning, Roberta checked her work, for which Anne-Marie was grateful. The other woman might not want her there, but Anne-Marie would rather not make a mistake.
The morning passed quickly. After a nice, albeit quick, lunch with Mr. Chambers—who insisted on calling her Annie and suggested that things with Doug might still blow over—she tackled more of the stack.
She wasn’t sure how many weeks of reservations it represented, but she might not ever catch up, particularly not when people kept bringing more of them over to her.
Maybe it was a hazing. Maybe when she finished the last one, they’d induct her into the team.
Mr. Chambers came to usher everyone out just before five—so much for the idea of getting home early—and Roberta said begrudgingly, “Good job. You’re getting the hang of it.”
“I’m grateful. You’ve been so helpful.” Only one of those things was true.
She trudged out to her car. She’d never wanted a job. At school, she’d met women who did seem to envy their boyfriends. Bookish women who liked to talk about anthropology and who burned their cakes. Anne-Marie had been in awe of them even as she’d known she wasn’t one of them.
It made the current situation a tad funny. She was working. Outside the home. For money. And once she got the people at work to see that she wanted to be good at it, she wouldn’t even be sorry. It was one more important step toward independence. And for that, she’d put up with Roberta’s attitude.
When she pulled into the drive, her appreciation and gratitude burned up. For there in the front yard stood her mother, her children, her next-door neighbor, and his dog.
“Hey, Mom,” Anne-Marie said as she climbed out of her car. Gosh, she sounded even more weary than she felt.
“Honey! You neglected to tell me who your neighbor is .”
Anne-Marie had left that out purposefully. She’d hoped to omit it forever. Maybe he’d just take the partying and the blondes and the big blue eyes and the stargazing and the propositions somewhere else. Maybe she’d never have to tell them about his day job—
“Did you know he’s an astronaut?” Freddie demanded, all earnest shock and admiration. “Did you know that he held the highest altitude record in 1957? That he flew thirty-nine combat missions in Korea?”
Did he also mention that he’s a cad ? But all the frustration she felt evaporated when confronted with her son’s brown eyes. “Fancy that.” She pulled the boy in for a hug. Over his head, she said, “Good evening, Commander Campbell.”
“We’ve been over this, and I’m starting to get a touch offended. It’s Kit.”
His voice scratched in the right places and rubbed in the rest. As if he hadn’t been annoyingly kind and then made a pass. As if he hadn’t been a bother as she’d unpacked for a
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