Across My Heart

1

When my phone rang, I was surprised at the contact name displayed. I had forgotten that Mrs. Johnson was still a contact on my phone. It had been five years since I had seen Samantha and her mother, Mrs. Johnson.

Curiosity got the best of me, though, and I answered the phone. Mrs. Johnson said, "Hello, Jeff, it's been a long time. I heard you moved to Dallas. How are you doing?" I told her I was fine, that I did live in Dallas now, and that I was doing well.

After a few other pleasantries, I asked why she had called. Mrs. Johnson said, "I'll get right to the point. Sam needs someone to help her drive a U-Haul truck back from California." After a few seconds of me not responding, Mrs. Johnson asked, "Jeff, are you still there?"

I responded that I was surprised by her request. I told her it had been years since I had talked to her daughter and couldn't imagine why they would ask me to help her now.

The whole idea seemed ridiculous. We had not parted on good terms, and I could not imagine spending several days in a truck cab with Samantha, driving back across the country. I had not even known that she was in California.

Mrs. Johnson asked if I could take a week off work to help, and I responded that I did not know. She asked me to at least think about it and said she would check back with me tomorrow. She told me it was good to talk to me again, and we ended the call.

Getting the days off would not be an issue. I worked so many overtime hours lately that I could take a month off. But I could not imagine Samantha asking me to do this and wondered if she knew.

That phone call was still on my mind the following day. My engineering team members were all in the break room, having just completed the formal project turnover meeting. I did all that was required for the turnover, but the lack of my usual enthusiasm was evident to my team.

When asked why I seemed preoccupied today, I told them about the call, and Elle immediately proclaimed, "She wants you back!" You could almost hear the women on the team roll their eyes.

In the next ten minutes, six women gave me their theories on why her mom had called me and their advice on handling the situation.

Elle, who watched too many Hallmark movies, said my dilemma reminded her of several movie scenarios and suggested I enroll Samantha and me in a cooking competition in one of the small towns we would pass through.
     
The consensus from the guys on the team was simple: "Don't do it. She'll use you, put you through hell, and then drop you in a heartbeat," which quickly drew the ire of the women.

Margaret, a senior admin for one of the company owners, was in the break room and asked if she could suggest something. Margaret was older and provided a more mature perspective.

Margaret indicated that I had already decided I would go. She said the girl's mother knew I would help when asked, even if I didn't want to. That was why she ended the conversation before I could say no. Margaret suggested I set some ground rules.

First on Margaret's list of ground rules was that I needed to get paid. I would be using my vacation, and my time was worth something. She suggested that it be a nominal amount, maybe a hundred dollars. Not so much that I would feel bad for taking her parents' money, but if the situation warranted, I could inform Samantha that I was being paid to make the trip.

Margaret said that if Samantha had no interest in a relationship, it might put her at ease. The downside is that knowing I was being paid would likely make her angry if she is interested in a relationship, but the nominal amount might assuage her anger.

Second, see if her mom can get Samantha to ask me to go. That would solve most of the potential conflicts before the trip even started.

Lastly, I should keep my mouth shut. I had nothing to gain by talking and everything to lose. My answers should be limited to yes, no, and I don't know. Samantha will probably do most of the talking, so I should shut up and pretend to enjoy the ride.