Taking Texas By Storm
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 47 

Pistol Packin Mamma

Allie was really wound up after we found the treats to hand out.  “Dad, what should I do to ask people to the party?  I’d like to ask people from both schools?”

“Allie, the best way to ask people would be to give them an invitation.  I would like for the parents to sign a note for them to return to us, so I know the parents have given their permission for the boys and girls to attend.”

“It’s too bad that Jim and John have to go spend the weekend with their father.  They really don’t want to go, but this is the only weekend they don’t have something going.”

When Grandpa Darryl and Uncle Tom arrived, Grandpa Darryl apologized, “Sorry for skipping out on you for dinner, but some of us wanted to repay Doctor Cochran for her kindness.”

I shook my head, “Grandpa Darryl, think nothing of it.  Doctor Cochran has been very good with you, and Mikey, as well.  We’re thrilled that your eyesight is so much better.”

It was almost ten o’clock before Brahim surfaced.  He looked really tired. “Ed, let’s go to bed and I’ll explain why I’m so late.”

Bra took a shower and fell onto the bed and by the time I came out of the shower, he was already asleep.  I decided that he had to be really tired.

I was awakened the next morning by a rejuvenated Brahim, using his special oral skills to make me feel loved.  There wasn’t time to reciprocate.  I hugged Brahim, “Tonight’s the night.”

He started to sing, “Promises, promises.”

I decided to leave early for the office, since I didn’t want Dr. Kit Graybill to arrive before I did.  A lot of good it did.  I walked into the office with my latte and Danish and Dr. Graybill was sitting on Tammy’s desk, talking to her and J. R.  I heard her ask, “Does anyone know why I was summoned to the upper sanctum so early in the morning?  I hardly had time to fix my hair.  It’s frizzing all over the place.”

I started to laugh, “Dr. Graybill, I don’t think anyone is going to be worried about your hair.  Your hair doesn’t control what happens in the offices.  Tammy, bring Dr. Graybill whatever she’d like to drink.

“Dr. Graybill, won’t you please join me in my office and I’ll explain why you were summoned to be here at the this ungodly hour.”

After we were seated, I looked at Dr. Graybill, “Sorry to have you report so early, but Shell has a problem that needs to be resolved.  As you know, we have been clearing out the dead wood, so to speak, in the company.”

She interrupted, “President Waller, I’m well aware of what’s been going on.  I’ve been following your and your people’s exploits and cheering all the way.  I don’t understand what that has to do me and the Advanced Plans Division and Mr. Wall in particular.  I would almost bet that Mr. Wall’s division is one of the best run divisions in the company, if not the best.  We may not be as flashy as some of the other divisions, but we do what we’re suppose to do and do it well.”

I put up my hand, “Dr. Graybill, slow down.  I’m well aware of how effectively Mr. Wall was running his division.  As a matter of fact, I offered him the position of Vice President For Technical Services but he declined the offer and recommended that I consider offering a  sassy broad like you the position.  Are you ready to continue the interview, or would you like to terminate this conversation?”

Dr. Graybill fell back against the chair and took a deep breath, “President Waller, you could cause an old woman to have a heart attack by springing surprises like this on them.”

“If I were talking to an old lady, I would have handled the start of the interview differently.  I know for a fact that you’re 42, single and have been working here at Shell for ten years.  Why is it that I didn’t see you yesterday morning when I was in the Advanced Planning Department?”

“You don’t miss much, do you, Mr. President.  If you must know, I was in court yesterday morning being sentenced to a life of drudgery. My life may never be the same.”

I was having a difficult time following the conversation, “I don’t suppose you would care to explain what you meant by that last comment, do you?”

“This has to do peripherally with my employment.  I was in court gaining full custody of my sister’s three children.  They have been living with me ever since their mother died.  Their father didn’t want them, but he wanted me to pay to have them awarded to me.  We were finally able to get rid of that barrier and now, I’m the proud parent of three young people.  I may be single, but I am a parent.”

“Dr. Graybill, the position of Vice President for Technical Services is yours if you would be interested in accepting it.”

“President Waller, surely you jest.”

“Dr. Graybill, I don’t have time to jest.  You have until the start of the staff meeting to make up your mind if you want the job or not.  I need to take care of some issues.”

“President Waller, I would be delighted to have the opportunity to take on that challenge.  You do realize that the good old boys aren’t going to be responsive to such an appointment.  They are of the opinion that women are to be gawked at and not be in control.”

“It will be your responsibility to prove their conceptions wrong.  I have taken the liberty of choosing administrative assistants for whomever accepted the vice presidency.  I’ll introduce you to them at the staff meeting.”

I picked up the phone, “Tammy, would you please call Doris Lane and have her report to the office?  I would like for her to attend the staff meeting.”

At the staff meeting, I announced that Dr. Kit Graybill was being reassigned as the Vice-President for Technical Services and that Eric Strong would be her executive assistant.  Doris Lane will be the executive assistant for Vice President Bloom.  “Are there any questions?”

Katie asked, “Where does that leave Joe, Grant, Oz and me?  Whom do we report to?”

“You will continue to report to me, but you need to be responsive to Mr. Bloom and Dr. Graybill’s requests.  In fact, Joe and Katie, I want you to come up with a diagram of how the headquarters is to operate down to the Department levels, so there is no question whom anyone works for.”

“On another note, we will be hosting a company wide training session here at our facility.  Greg, you will need to make the travel arrangements if need be, and I’m appointing Eric to be the contact for the accommodations and social arrangements.  Oz and everyone else needs to be prepared to pitch in.  Katie, Joe and Grant, you will need to work on an agenda as soon as I receive information from the headquarters as to what they‘re looking for.”

“Mr. Odom, do you have anything you would like to say?”

“Can’t think of a thing.  I would like to meet with Kit and you for lunch.  If anyone else would like to join us, we’ll be at the Pit Stop at noon.”

Steve came to the office about ten thirty, “Ed, there isn’t much more room on this floor for offices.  I hope you aren’t planning on adding any more staff.  What do you know about Dr. Graybill?”

“Not very much, other than she comes highly recommended.  Why do you ask?”

“When I asked how she wanted her office to be decorated, she answered, ’Make it a very basic office.  I don’t plan to spend a lot of time there.’  What did she mean by that?  Isn’t she planning to be at work very much, or what?”

“Steve, I’ll find out what she meant.  I think I can assure you that she’ll be around more than people might like.”

Lunch turned into a very informational session.  Dr. Graybill was a full blooded native American.  Her sister had died, leaving her custody of three children.  The children’s parents had been divorced.  Dr. Graybill was finally able to adopt the three young people yesterday, after their father was arrested for trying to sell his children. 

Dr. Graybill added, “My life has been turned upside down, now that I have a sixteen year old son and eleven year old twins.  I’m going to need to find someone whom I can trust to help me raise the boys, especially Damon.  He is already rebelling.  He gets irate when he has to stay at home and take care of his brother and sister, while I teach my classes at the university.”

Our lunch was interrupted by Joe, “President Waller, who do you want to go to the Civic with you?”

“Joe, I don’t plan on speaking, but I probably should take Todd with me, just in case.  Mr. Odom and Kit, please excuse me.  I need to prepare to go forth into battle, again.”

 When Todd and I arrived at the Civic Center, it was a far cry from what we encountered on Tuesday.  There were lines of people entering.  One of Mayor Parker’s aides came and ushered us into the hall.  Mayor Parker came and shook our hands, “Ed, I never guessed that your presentation would shake the rafters as it did.  I understand that you had some unwelcomed visitors as I did.  It was you who suggested that we invite the media people.”

By two o’clock, the seats were all filled and there were actually people standing when Mayor Parker went to the platform.  “Thank you for coming.  President Waller of Shell Oil is with us today and will answer any questions that have to do with his presentation, at the completion of tape.”

It felt so strange to watch myself on the big screen and I kept thinking I could have done that better.  After the tape ended, there was an ovation.  I went to the podium.  “I see there are some of the people here who visited me at my office, bemoaning the fact that I said the city employees were not doing their jobs.  I hope that you people now realize that perhaps the city employees have reason to be scared if they reacted so vehemently to the media’s comments, which, by the way, were the media's comments and not mine.  If any of our people at Shell had responded as you did, without having the facts, they would already be looking for a new job, and that includes the city council people who came to see me.”

I didn’t even wait for any questions, but simply walked away. Todd and I slipped out the back door and made our way back to the headquarters building.  When I walked into the office, I looked at Tammy and J. R., “I want to make it clear that I’m not in, to anyone wanting to talk about what happened at the Civic Center.  I’ve had it up to my ears with those bureaucrats.  I’d love to be on a team that goes into the city offices and tears them apart.”

It was almost four thirty when Mr. Odom came in, “Ed, you nailed the perfect person to be your Vice President for Technical Affairs.  Dr. Graybill has already made an impact.  Once her promotion was made public this morning, people have been visiting the Human Relations department checking into retiring or resigning.  You need to have a meeting and explain to the people in the technical divisions what is happening and what they should expect.”

“Tammy, send out a message announcing that there will be a mandatory meeting of all employees of the technical divisions at one o’clock tomorrow.  There will be no excused absences.  Where is Dr. Graybill?”

“She and Eric left here right after you did, and I haven’t seen either of them since.  I heard Dr. Graybill mention something about giving Eric his first lesson in how she operated.”

I looked at the clock, “People, let’s go home.  It’s been a long day.  The people know the way out if they’re still in the building.”

When I arrived at the house, Allie was doing laundry. “Hi Dad, I called Grandpa and Grandma and asked them to come for the weekend so Grandmother can help me get ready for the party.  They’ll be here tomorrow evening, in time for dinner.  That’s okay, isn’t it.”

“Of course.  I’m surprised that they would come.  Have you had any responses yet to your invitations?”

“Everyone I invited is excited about coming, but I don’t have permission slips yet.  I won’t see some of the people until tomorrow.”

Allie and I were eating when a car drove into the garage, “I thought Grandpa Darryl and Uncle Tom had gone back to Illinois?”

“They did.  That has to be Bra, but he never gets home this early.”

We heard the back door slam, so we knew something was wrong, because that is not how Brahim usually entered.  Allie went to get him a plate of food and I went to see what was wrong,”

Brahim shook his head, “Ed, I don’t want to talk about it, right now.  Can we go to the parents’ ranch this weekend?  I want to get as far away from here as possible.”

“The parents are coming here for the weekend and we have to be here for Allie’s party on Saturday night.”

“How come no one ever tells me what’s happening?  It’s as if I’m not part of the family, anymore.”

“Brahim, relax.  We only decided that Allie could have a Halloween party, last night.  If you will recall, you were so exhausted last night that you passed out after your shower and I never had a chance to explain what was happening.  I didn’t know that Allie had invited the parents until I got home tonight.  Sit down and relax and you can tell us what has you so upset when you are able to compose yourself.”

To say that the rest of the meal was strained would be an understatement.  Allie kept looking at me as if asking what we should do.  Finally I had all I could take, “Bra, did Allie or I do something to upset you?  We can’t do anything to remedy the situation if we don’t know why you’re so upset.  It has to be something really big, after what we’ve been through.”

Brahim expelled a big breath, “Ed and Allie, the problem has nothing really to do with you.  I quit the opera.  I will not tolerate some person who thinks he’s Cecil B. DeMille and Leonard Bernstein with a little bit of Ziegfeld thrown in for good luck trying to make himself look good at everyone else’s expense  The stupid man wants to change the entire first act, just when it was beginning to take shape.  I don’t care if that takes away any chances I have at being an opera star.  It’s not worth my health and my family.”

The remainder of dinner was not a fun experience.  I was wondering what I should do, but I didn’t have any idea how to remedy the problem.

We had cleared the table and Allie announced, “I’ll take care of the dishes.  Brahim, you and Dad can finish stuffing the trick or treat bags to take you mind off of what’s bothering you.”

Brahim frowned, “What’s so important about Halloween that you’re having a party and making trick or treat bags?”

Allie shrugged his shoulders, “Bra, I don’t understand what all the hoopla is about, either.  I figure that if you can’t beat them, then join them.”    

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Allie is certainly jumping into the American celebration of Halloween, whole hog, isn't he? 

It looks as if Bra has burned a bridge or two, but knowing how much talent he has, I doubt that people who know him will allow that talent to go to waste. 

Those of you who have read some of E Walk's other stories already know that, later on, Bra's talent will shine very brightly. 

I am not giving anything away by telling you that.  I am also thinking that heads will roll, when it becomes known why he left the opera.  I am pretty sure the reason will not be lost on those who support the opera, financially.  I would hazard a guess that Bra's popularity will put him in good stead, and that the pompous buffoon will not be a happy camper, and may not be working there for very long.

I can hardly wait to see what will happen next.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 11/05/10