Package Deal (4 page)

“Hav
e
you talk
e
d
with your chairman?”

“Not y
e
t. I
want
e
d
to s
ee
if I could solv
e
th
e
issu
e
mys
e
lf—and
working from
hom
e
has, mostly,
tak
e
n
car
e
of that.
I’m
the most junior faculty
member
. I don’t want to ask for favors
, especially not this
early in the quarter.
But
I still n
ee
d
to be available
so the
stud
e
nts can r
e
ach m
e
wh
e
n th
e
y com
e
in for h
e
lp.”

“Talk to your chair. I know
Gr
e
g
Hillie
r. H
e cares about his faculty
. I’m sur
e
h
e
’
ll
want to know if
Carl
is giving you
trouble
.”

“You’d b
e
tt
e
r not call him
Carl
if you want him to call you back
. H
e
insists on b
e
ing call
e
d
‘Prof
e
ssor’ by th
e
stud
e
nts.And h
e
told m
e
…
all of
us
…
at
our
first
faculty
meeting
to
use his full name
.”

“S
ound
s
like a
blow
hard
to me
. Talk to Gr
e
g. H
e
’ll mak
e
sure
he
shares.
”
Marcus
smiled as he
stood up.
“
Maybe he was an on
ly child and never learned
to play well with others
.
”

“Or maybe he’d never been taught manners.”

After walking back with
Marcus
across campus,
Amanda
headed
toward her
department
.
What was it about
him
that appealed to her
?
She wanted to know more.
Maybe JJ would fill her in. She seemed to know everyone.
As she entered
the
office
, sh
e
rubbed Shakespeare’s head
on the sculpture
positioned on a stand
near the
outer
door of the department
then
turned and
entered
Beatrice
’s office
.

“Is
Greg
availabl
e
?” she asked the older woman
.

“L
e
t m
e
t
e
ll him you’d lik
e
to s
ee
him.”

Minutes later,
Beatrice
ush
e
r
e
d
her
into
the chairman’s
offic
e
.

“Amanda! I’v
e
b
ee
n m
e
aning to com
e
by and s
ee
how things ar
e
going. Do you lik
e
your class
e
s?”
The Australian gentleman known for his exquisite manners, leonine mane of white hair, and formal manner of dress
smiled
at her as he ushered her into a seat.

“Th
e
y
’
r
e
fin
e
. I’m
e
sp
e
cially
e
xcit
e
d
about th
e
small group that sign
e
d
up for my Dickinson s
e
minar. I think w
e
’r
e
going to hav
e
fun
e
xploring h
e
r
lesser-known
po
e
ms.”

“That’s nic
e
to h
e
ar. What about th
e
freshman
class
e
s?”

“Th
e
y ar
e
larg
e
r
than I
’d
expected
for a private college
, and I know
most
of
the
stud
e
nts
ar
e
not
E
nglish majors, but I’m
okay
with th
at
.
When I was a TA, I had large
sections
.
”

“Glad to h
e
ar it. What’s on your mind?
By the way, I don’t believe I’ve said how happy we are that you are with us. I’m
pleased
you’
ll be
doing more magazine
articles
, for the professional journals and the commercial ones
.”

Amanda leaned forward in her chair and looked down at her hands. “
I’m not quit
e
sur
e
how to say this, but I’m having som
e
difficulty in my offic
e
. T
he arrangement with Carl
,
that is,
Carl
ton
Winslow.”

“L
e
t m
e
gu
e
ss.
He considers your joint office his private territory,
”
Greg
d
e
clar
e
d
, his fing
e
rs forming a t
e
nt in front of his fac
e
.

Amanda could not suppr
e
ss a soft chuckl
e
. “How did you
know
?”

“
It’s my
business
to know what goes
on
in my department
. I’ll talk to him. Th
e
two of you ar
e
equally
entitled to use
that
space
until the renovations are completed
. I
t’
s not his
alone
.” H
e
smil
e
d
at h
e
r, his
green
e
y
e
s bright against his pal
e
skin.
He stood
up
and reached for her hand.
“Amanda. You have a bright futur
e here. I want you to know we’
ll do everything we can to help you achieve what you want to accomplish.”

“
Thank you
.
”
Relieved, s
h
e
turn
e
d
to go.

That Friday, j
ust as she prepared to
go upstairs to kiss Cecelia good
night
, the phone rang.

“Amanda, i
t’s Marcus—Dunbar, j
ournalism. Remember me?”

“
Did you forget a question
for
your
article?”
Did her voice betray
her
pleasure
at hearing from him?

“Not for the article. When we had coffee the other day, y
ou said you wanted to get to know the area.
I’d like to volunteer
as
your tour guide.”

“
When do
you suggest we do that?”

“How about this weekend?”

“I’m sure my daughter would love that.
”
She
had
promise
d
Cecelia they would reserve Saturdays for the two of them.
“
She’
s welcome to come,
too,
isn’t she?”

His long pause told her he
had
n’t
expected
to make their tour a threesome
, but he recovered quickly. “Of course
,
yes, that would be ok
ay
.”

“
When should we be ready
?” She twirled a pen as she waited for his reply
, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind
.

“How about ten
?”

“
Great!
Do you need my address?”

“No. Beatrice gave it to me already.”

“We’ll see you then
.”
When did he talk to Beatrice?
She hung up and headed
for
the stairs
, more excited than she
wanted
to adm
it.

But h
er mother’s pointed questions during their last phone conversation reverberated in h
er
mind.

“Well? Have you met anyone at that college
yet
? Or in town?”

“I’ve met lots of people, Mother.”

“What about the soccer coach? Cecelia says he’s very nice. What does he do for a living? Is he married?”

“He’
s a teach
er at the Campus School—and
, yes,
he’
s married.
Besides, he’s in his late
fortie
s
. Don’t you think that’s
a little
old for me?” Amanda
gritted her teeth, wanting to
change the subject
.

“Well, what about the other faculty me
mbers? Are they all married
? And old,
older than you?
You’re going to be
thirty-three
your ne
xt birthday. Your friends
from high school
…
all but one
of
them are married
and having babies—
have been
for the last
few
years.
You should have thought of that when you
went back to grad school and then you
took that job.”

“Mother!”
Amanda paced. “
I didn’
t come
here to find a husband.
I was hired to
do a job.
If I find someone I like, I’m sure Cecelia will tell you
all about him
.
For no
w, there is nothing to tell.
” She
had
slammed the phone
back in its cradle
and
stepped
outside to sit on the porch steps to calm down.