29: FIRST DAY JITTERS

Emma woke to the sound of a car horn blowing outside their home. She groaned as she rolled over to look at the time on the alarm clock. Realization set in when she saw the time was 7:30 am. They were supposed to have been up at 6 am but they had stayed up late last night exploring new ways to satisfy their sexual hunger. “Oh no guys we overslept! The truck with the animals is already here, and you should be on the road to work.” Emma shouted.

Emma rushed around grabbing whatever clothes she could find and raced down the stairs to answer the door. Just as the doorbell rang for the millionth time, she threw the door open already in the middle of apologizing. “Good morning, I am so sorry that I have kept you waiting. We overslept this morning.” She was sweet and chipper, but this man could have cared less. He just rolled his eyes and walked toward the truck. People in the city just weren’t as friendly as the southern country folk were.

A loud clang from the back of the truck made her jump. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She was so excited to get started. First out were her goats. She now had about ten of them, with several more on the way. They bleated impatiently trying to get off the trailer as fast as possible. Emma grabbed them up and walked them over to the gate that led out to the pasture. That was where most of the animals would go. It led up the hill to the barn where they would get their feed and water. Then came her two donkeys Fred and Wilma and all her beautiful egg-laying hens, and the very feisty rooster, that was about to flog the handler. Emma giggled to herself watching him fight with the rooster. She walked over and gently took him from the grumpy man and the rooster went as calm as could be. He just rolled his eyes, but Emma laughed again.

The next hour was a blur of activity. Emma, with the help of the grumpy yet strong delivery driver, coaxed, nudged, and occasionally carried the animals to their new homes. The air was filled with all her favorite barnyard noises. By the time the last chicken was placed in the hen house, Emma was covered in hay, sweat, and a wonderful sense of accomplishment. She felt like she was finally home. Everything was back to normal. Her stomach growled a loud announcement making her remember she had not had breakfast this morning and now it was after lunch.

When inside she cleaned up and started making herself a sandwich. Emma thought back to her loves. They had been in such a hurry this morning that they ran out the door kissing her on the cheek, causing a stare from the delivery driver, and then they sped out of the driveway. She missed them already, but she hoped they had the best first day. Emma knew Jackson could do anything, but he got in his head sometimes thinking he wasn’t smart enough.

Meanwhile, miles away in the sterile environment of Brayden’s high-rise office building, Jackson was experiencing those first-day jitters. Gone were the familiar comforts of his farm. His tractors, the farmland, the animals, he even craved the barnyard smells. Here everything was spotless, not a speck of dirt in sight, and the air smelt of paper and freshly brewed coffee coming from the Starbucks by the cafeteria.

He shuffled nervously beside Brayden as they walked to the elevators.

“Don’t worry, it’s less intimidating once you get to know everyone,” Brayden said, flashing a reassuring smile. “You are going to do great at this job, Jackson. I know it is a totally different experience, but once you get into the farming part that you love, you will feel more at home. Today is more of the boring formalities. I need you to meet our team and learn what each person does around her.

Jackson shook his head understanding what Brayden was telling him, but it was easy for him to say. Brayden practically exuded confidence, from his perfectly styled hair to his expensive-looking suits. They were going to need a shopping day for Jackson to update his wardrobe.

The elevator doors opened to a vast, open-plan office buzzing with activity. Jackson felt a wave of dizziness. Rows of identical desks stretched as far as the eye could see, each occupied by someone who looked like they knew exactly what they were doing.

“Welcome to the chaos that is, Smith and Smith, Jackson,” Brayden announced, clapping him on the shoulder. “You won’t be working out here with any of these employees. I have set you up an office right beside mine, but you will need to know where each department is in the building and what they do. There will be times when you need to call upon some of them to help you. For instance, this department is like a call center. Any companies looking to obtain our product call here and place the orders. Then we have ones that are finding trucks to ship our products. We require large, enclosed trailers, sometimes refrigerated, to carry our loads so that makes it more difficult to find drivers. Those trucks are expensive so not everyone has them.” Jackson listened intently and shook his head in understanding.

Next, they walked into a conference room. It held a large table that probably sat thirty people at a time. At one end of the room was a markerboard, a projector, and all the essentials for having a meeting.

“You will be in here quite often,” Brayden turned to Jackson saying. “We have meetings in here every Monday morning about the week’s plans and what everyone needs to be doing to keep this business going. Jackson, you will be helping with a couple of teams. We need your expertise in finding good farms to grow our products. I need to know if the farmers know what they are doing, that they have good equipment to farm the land, and that they will get me the products that I need when I need them. A lot of times we have deadlines to meet.” Jackson felt like his head might explode from all this knowledge overload Brayden was giving him.

Brayden continued, “The most important thing I wanted you here for was for your product knowledge. You know what grows best and when, and what the consumers want.” Jackson felt good about how Brayden talked him up and made his confidence level rise.

“So, you have been very quiet, Jackson. What are your thoughts?” Brayden had sat down at the head of the table motioning for Jackson to sit also.

Jackson sat down beside him, “Well it is a lot of information, but I am excited for this new adventure. Change is scary but I want this challenge. So, what’s next?”

Brayden leaned back in his chair smiling when he said, “Lunch! I am starving since we missed breakfast this morning.” Jackson laughed as his stomach growled so loudly Brayden heard it. “So, you agree then. Let’s go down to the cafeteria and get something. Plus, I would really like to call Emma and see how her day is going.