The Promise

Chapter 5

If you do morning prep, you get to eat first. It was a wonderful rule that my growling stomach appreciated immensely. I had been smelling food all day and had had nothing but water. I was getting used to eating only once a day, but it's tougher when watching it being prepared. There was no cheating or snacking in Sadie's kitchen. I even had to wait for "Sugar Magnolia."

Luckily, Houser was near the front of the line. I waited until he sat down before I started eating. It wasn't so much manners as it was a show of friendship. I liked him liking me without the need for my past. I loved feeding off his lazy enthusiasm for life. It was refreshing. Houser lamented about the desert. He hated Jell-O day and passed his wiggly lemon chunk to me. I like Jell-O. The mix of coolness and sweetness always seemed to please my taste buds. Amber used to make triple-layered Jell-O concoctions for me, mixing flavors that should never go together. She never could find a combination I wouldn't eat.

"Good evening, Houser." Sadie had snuck up on us in the middle of our desert discussion. Houser nodded with a mouth full of food. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. He nodded again. Sadie placed a plastic wrapped brownie on Houser's tray. Houser smiled, showing all his awful teeth.

"I gots to get you warmer clothes," Houser said, never taking his eyes off the brownie. I snapped my eyes up, looking after Sadie. She was moving off, back to the front of the line. Her flowered skirt, greenish this time, swaying confidently back and forth. The books must be in really bad shape.

Houser showed me the shelter where I could get some warmer clothes. It wasn't exactly stylish, but I was now wearing an old brown jacket that looked like it might have been used by someone in construction, and a pair of military boots. The laces in the boots were brown and looked strange against the black leather. It was better than the old loafers I had been walking around in. I really looked the part now. Everything mismatched, but functional.

The next morning started the same as the first in all but one respect. Sadie was smiling when she opened the door. The books must be an absolute disaster. I took a shower, which I now appreciated greatly, and then met Kevin. Kevin was a shy younger man who was to replace me on prep. We shared the dryer. Not unexpectedly, there were two of everything waiting for us. Two towels, two toothbrushes, and two shampoos and soaps. Sadie never prepared more than necessary. Exactly what was needed and nothing more.

Sadie took me into a small office connected to the kitchen. It looked as clean and organized as the rest of the building. There were three four-drawer black file cabinets labeled by year, plus a small desk with an old computer and small printer. A stack of folders, each labeled with a month and year, were piled next to the keyboard.

"These are this year's receipts." Sadie pointed to the stack of folders, "I hope you are familiar with the accounting system." She logged into a small business system I was quite familiar with. I nodded my head. So far so good. "Can you make sure it is all correct? Nothing can be wrong." I looked at her worried expression. All of this seemed too neat and orderly to be worrisome.

"You just want me to audit the books?" I asked, the surprise evident in my tone.

"Please, it's important." Sadie left before I sat down. She never even doubted I would do it, but I did note she used the word "please."

I made myself familiar with Sadie's chart of accounts and printed off a balance sheet as of the first of the year. With that starting point, I began matching receipts to journal entries. Her record keeping was meticulous. I had very little trouble reconstructing what she had done. There were no journal entries without supporting documentation and each receipt corresponded to an entry. I was impressed. It is rare to find such perfect record keeping. I ended with printing a current balance sheet and income statement. Everything was perfect to the penny. It had only taken me four hours to complete.