The news came as a surprise, but Gary tried to show little reaction. He knew things had been difficult with Owen. He wasn’t able to work as fast as the others, and he was still making a lot of mistakes despite having worked in the department for over two months.
“Gary, I’ll show you where you’ll be working and what you’ll be expected to do,” Mr. Payne declared. He looked at Owen. “Sorry to rob you of a man, but for now I think this is best.”
“And you get a pay raise,” Herc said to Gary. “You get all the breaks. You won’t work nearly as hard in parts.”
Gary couldn’t tell if Owen was in on this or not. He had a frown on his face as if this were news to him and he wasn’t sure how to make do without his man, but on the other hand, Gary knew changes had already been suggested.
Gary followed the shop supervisor out of the building,crossing his arms against his chest as he often did when things grew tense.
“I know you’ve been trying your best, Gary,” Mr. Payne said, “and I want you to know that’s the only reason I’m keeping you around. I don’t think you’re lazy, just misplaced.”
Gary looked at the older man. “I really like working for the Santa Fe, but I don’t seem to have any talent for working with my hands.”
“You’ve never had to. Most of these boys have worked with their hands all their lives, either on farms or ranches or construction. You can’t be blamed for not having been brought up that way, but you have to understand that we don’t have all the time in the world for you to learn. The train boilers are too critical to have someone there who doesn’t know what he’s doing. Two and a half months is long enough to learn the job. We like you well enough to move you to another department, so don’t get angry because you’re not with Owen and the others.”
“I’m not angry. Just, well...” Gary shook his head. “I guess I just wonder if I’ll ever be good at anything.”
Payne stopped and looked him in the eye. “You’re the only one who has any say over that, son. If you want to be like those boomers, never having any purpose but to get what you want and move on, then that’s all you’ll ever be. I suggest you figure out what you really want in life. Maybe working for the Santa Fe isn’t where you belong.”
“That’s the trouble. I don’t seem to belong anywhere.”
Owen looked for Gary after the whistle blew at the end of the day, but the boy was nowhere to be found. Owen hoped the change to parts had been a good one for him. The mood of the boomers had been far more negative after Gary left, but Owen couldn’t help that. The other men who worked for Owen wereglad for the change, even though they liked Gary. They were tired of having to redo the boy’s work and told Owen they hoped Gary fit in with the parts department. Owen hoped that as well. Above all, he hoped that Gary knew Owen didn’t wish him any harm or ill will, and that was partially why he planned to go to the hotel after getting cleaned up. He wanted very much to see how Gary’s day had gone and to let him know that he was still there for him if he needed anything.
He also wanted to see Susanna and learn how she was doing in the aftermath of the fire. He knew she’d been very upset, even suspicious. She’d mentioned at one point that she wasn’t convinced it had been an accident. Neither was he.
Owen made his way to the Grand Hotel about half an hour after the evening train arrived in San Marcial. He hoped that was enough time for any passengers who wanted to check in to the Grand to do so, and that Susanna would now be free for the evening.
She looked up from the check-in desk the minute he walked through the door. For a moment she did nothing but watch him, but finally she straightened from where she had been making notes in the registry book and smiled. “Good evening, Owen. To what do I owe this visit?”
“I came for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to check on Gary.”
“I haven’t seen him. He must have gone to the house or off to eat with his friends. Why did you want to see him?”
“Mr. Payne moved him from my department today. I wanted to make sure he wasn’t mad at me or upset.”
She looked concerned. “Where did they move him?”
“Parts. We have hundreds of parts for the repair work we do. Invoices come in for parts, and the runners fill the orders and deliver them. That’s what Gary will be doing.”
“It sounds a lot easier than welding boilers.” She smiled and brushed back a wisp of honey-brown hair.
“It should be. I think it will suit him well. Mr. Payne just showed up, however, and took Gary away without warning. I wanted to make sure he knew no one was mad at him.”
“You mean you wanted to make sure he knew thatyouweren’t mad at him.”
Owen smiled and looked at the floor. “Yeah, well, when you put it that way...” He let the words trail off.
She understood. “Like I said, I don’t know where he is, but you’re more than welcome to wait for him.”
Owen looked around. “Where’s your father?”
“Good question. He hasn’t been around much since the fire. He told me yesterday that Mother is much too upset for him to leave her side. She apparently went on and on about how if they’d been living at the hotel, they would have all been killed.”
“Or they would have been there, and the fire never would have happened,” Owen countered.
“That’s exactly my thought. Come on back. I’ll fix something to eat, if you like. It won’t be anything fancy. I haven’t been to the grocer for a while.”
“Why don’t I take you to a little café I know? They have the best Mexican food you’ll ever try.”
