Chapter One, Episode 115 - From Below - Situationally Theirs

Review, Revision, Edit and Update

I've often mentioned the writing exercise nature of these episodes.  Character development is an important part of learning to write story. Writing a vignette, when the character is on her own, gives the writer an opportunity to really listen to and watch that character.

The most important revision was the addition of a sentence in the third paragraph (second sentence). Others were grammatical improvements to two different sentences.

From Below

There was no reason for it. Here she was in the middle of the lake in her kayak, her parents cabin in the distance. Her thoughts drifted just as she was drifting, while her paddle rested, barely dipped in the water. Personal Assistant.    Lady’s Maid. Those two titles, if they could be called titles, seemed barely close in meaning. But she was both of them for the same person. 

29 year old Brigitte Smithson, a young woman who, before working for Miss Em, drifted from job to job, had little interest in what her parents called ‘higher education’. In her circle of friends, the education may be higher, but when it was time to get a job, it didn’t seem to have made much of a difference. Brigitte dipped her paddle in the still water and set her kayak in motion, drifting a little further away from shore. She had just been to a four day orientation for a Lady’s Maid. The last component was introduction to the possibility that the job description may develop into more of a Personal Assistant or Secretary or Companion. Developing the ability to transition would be key to continuing in a preferred employment.  

Brigitte dipped her paddle on the opposite side of the kayak to keep its nose pointed towards deeper water. Her thoughts swirled beneath the placid surface of her visage, so like the waving weeds below her kayak. What have I worked at? Which ones are closest to my work with Miss Em. In the distance, she heard the splash of a fish jumping out of the water. Brigitte swung her gaze toward the sound, watching for any bears. Tree planting? Not really. “Just because the apple orchard is made up of trees doesn’t mean I know anything about them.” Brigitte’s voice echoed across the silent lake. “A nanny…..how many kids? Three? No - well maybe. “Not the kids, but dealing with their parents.” She was suddenly really hungry. Checking her waterproof watch, Brigitte decided to return to the cabin for a late lunch. “Breakfast was a long time ago. I’ve been out here for three hours!” 

Brigitte put up and secured the kayak on the side of the boat house, hung up the paddle inside the boathouse and walked through the sand to the cabin. Tea kettle on to boil water for tea, she poked her head in the refrigerator. “Sandwiches.” She pulled out the loaf of rye bread, the sausage roll of salami, a jar of dill pickles, radishes and mayo. She filled her water bottle from the water pitcher in the refrigerator. Propping open the orientation book against the cookie jar her mother kept full, she set about making her sandwiches. She had opened the text towards the back: Interpersonal Relations with your Boss. The next part was a list of questions that they had gone over in the orientation, but they were to answer them more fully before the online part of the course started. Brigitte pulled a dripping pickle from the jar. With a crunch she read the questions aloud, pickle juice dripping down her arm and from her elbow. “Number One…..Do you like your employer and if so why?” She picked up one of the crisp radishes. Crunch. “Number Two…..How long have you worked with him or her?” Separating two slices of bread, she reached for the butter. “Number Three…..Has  your employer/employee relationship changed recently and if so, how?” Buttering the bread and then smearing both pieces of bread with mayo, Brigitte reached for the cutting board, the salami and a sharp knife. “Number Four…….Do you like the change and if so why? If not why not?”  Slicing a thick piece of salami off, Brigitte took a big satisfying bite. The next slices were thin. She layered them onto one slice of bread. “Number Five…..What do you want from this relationship?” She returned to the fridge and pulled out the lettuce container. “Good thing I washed it all yesterday after I got groceries.” Taking out some of the romaine, she covered the salami with the lettuce and closed up the sandwich. “These questions are tough.” Getting one of the ‘cabin’ plates down - the blue one with the chip on the edge where she had dropped it when she was ten - she set up her lunch. Salami sandwich, two more dills, three more radishes and two of her mom’s snickerdoodle cookies. “I think I’ll take this over by the fireplace and start working on them.” Sinking a tea bag of red rooibos tea into one of the ‘cabin’ mugs - a piece of pottery that her dad picked up at a garage sale - she went to the desk opposite the fireplace for a notebook and pencil. Without spilling a drop of the hot tea, Brigette tucked the notebook under her arm, held the pencil with her free hand, and returned to the fraying overstuffed easy chair. Setting her tea down by her plate, she slid the notebook from under her arm and picked up her sandwich. “Now, where am I going to put my notebook so I can start writing? Or should I just eat?

~~~~~

Two and a half hours later, there were only crumbs left on Brigitte’s plate and the light was fading. Her written answers, which started out very organized and neat, had deteriorated to sideways scribbles and scratched out answers. Crumpled pieces of paper were on the floor.  “I think I have an idea of what I want from this job now. I think.” Brigitte got up and stretched, took a trip down the hall for some relief and then went outside in the cool early evening air.

“I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these

‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Occasionally, I find an answer.”

~ Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time