PRESENT TENSE
Chapter One Hundred Nineteen
June 22, 2009
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Rose stepped out of the women’s restroom and
walked toward the Dawsons’ campsite, walking slowly in an effort to keep the
dust off of her elegant pin-striped pantsuit.
It was her first day of work at The
Chippewa News, and she wanted to make a good impression. She hadn’t even
gone through the usual interview process like most employees, so she was even
more concerned with making a good impression right from the start.
Jack was sitting at the picnic table near
their tent with Lizzy, eating breakfast and listening to the little girl
chatter on about everything she wanted to do that day. He looked up when he saw
Rose approaching and hushed Lizzy.
Rose walked up to the table, smoothing her
jacket nervously. "How do I look?" she asked, turning around for them
to see her whole outfit.
"You look good. Very professional,"
Jack told her. She was dressed differently from her usual casual Bohemian
style. He thought that she looked good any way she dressed, but she obviously
wasn’t quite comfortable with the change from her usual jeans or flowing skirts
and loose tops.
"You look pretty, Mommy," Lizzy
told her admiringly, abandoning her cereal to run over to her mother. "I
wanna fix my hair like yours."
Rose’s hair was pulled back and tied at the
nape of her neck, leaving it in a loose, attractive ponytail. Lizzy touched it
admiringly as Rose picked her up and gave her a hug.
"I have to go to work now, Lizzy,"
she told her, tapping her nose and making her giggle. "You be good for
Daddy, okay?"
"I’m always good!" Lizzy protested,
running back to the table to finish her breakfast.
"You’re going to sign her up for school
today?" Rose asked Jack, walking over to him and sitting beside him for a
moment.
"Yeah, at the same elementary school
that I went to. It’ll be something, seeing that again."
"Yeah." Rose glanced at her watch.
"I’d better get going. I can’t be late on my first day."
Jack gave her a quick kiss. "Good luck,
Rose. You’ll be brilliant."
"Thanks. I’ll do my best."
*****
Rose pulled into The Chippewa News
parking lot, her brightly painted hybrid standing out from the rest of the
vehicles parked there. After giving herself one last look in the rearview
mirror, she got out and headed for the entrance.
The receptionist nodded to her as she walked
in, signaling that she would be with her in a moment. She returned to her phone
call, her fingers tapping her computer keys as she talked. Someone hurried past
Rose and out the door.
It was obviously a busy place. As soon as the
receptionist hung up the phone, Rose approached her.
"I’m Rose Dawson, the new local features
writer. I believe that I need to see Patricia Roth."
"Oh, yes." The receptionist checked
something on the computer screen. "Yes, I was told to expect you. You’re a
few minutes early, so just have a seat. I’ll let her know you’re here."
A few minutes later, a tall,
professional-looking woman with brown hair came through the door from the
office area. "Rose?" she asked.
Rose got up from her seat. "Ms. Roth?
I’m Rose Dawson."
"Please, call me Patricia."
"Patricia."
"All right, Rose, we just have a few
things to take of in Human Resources, and then your editor, James McConnell,
will show you the ropes and where you’re going to work."
*****
It was actually mid-morning before Rose met her
editor. James McConnell was in his early sixties, balding and with a toupee
that wasn’t quite in place, making him look as though he was wearing a small,
furry animal on his head. His manner was exuberant and welcoming, so much so
that he didn’t notice Rose staring at him.
"This will be your office," he told
her, leading her to a small cubicle. "No window, but you do have a live
plant in here, and you can bring in pictures or knickknacks or what have you to
decorate. For the computer—or any computer here—your login name is your first
initial and last name, all lower case, and here is your password." He
handed her a slip of paper. "You may want to change it."
"Okay." Rose sat down at the desk
and logged into the computer, then turned to her new supervisor for further
instructions.
"You have full access to the Microsoft
office program for typing up your articles, as well as calculating any
statistics and the like. This program is your e-mail, and you have complete
access to the Internet—no filters. Now, I’m given to understand that you
relocated to take this job, so do you know your way around yet?"
"Basically," Rose told him.
"My husband grew up here, so he showed me around."
"Good. You’ll need to go to community
events, political meetings, the school board, the city council, etc. Most of
what you’ll be writing about will be local happenings—both in this town and in
the county as a whole—although state, national, and international events may
come up, too. You’ll be paid for your mileage, and we pay for any travel you
need to do."
"Right. That’s what I was told in the
interview, and that’s what my contract says."
He nodded. "I read your work before I
requested you for the job, so I know that you can write well and that you seem
to do a good job of checking your facts. However, I have to ask you about your
knowledge of laws regarding plagiarism, libel, and protecting sources."
"I think I know those things pretty
well," Rose told him. "I worked on my high school newspaper when I
was a freshman, and the teacher did a good job of driving all that into our
heads. I know that was quite a while ago, but I’ve written more
since…obviously." Rose was a little nervous. "I’ve also written and
performed songs, since I’m also an entertainer, so I know quite a bit about
what is and isn’t legal."
McConnell looked impressed. "An
entertainer, too, you say?" He had read her resume, but he had been more
concerned with the things that applied to the position he was looking to fill
than with anything else. "That may be useful, too."
"I may go back to entertaining in
addition to this, once I find a potential audience here."
"If it’s to be found, a reporter in your
position is likely to find it," he agreed. "Now, as to what you know
about the law…"
"Right. Regarding plagiarism, you need to
give people credit if the idea or the material isn’t yours, even if it’s just
calling them an unidentified source...and they always have the option of not
being identified. Besides," she added, grinning irrepressibly, "that
way, if you’re wrong, you can blame it on somebody else."
McConnell laughed. "Just try to avoid
that if at all possible."
"Right. As to libel, I need to make
sure—as sure as I can be—that I’m printing the truth about people and
organizations, and I should never make anything up or falsify sources. Am I
right so far?"
He nodded. "You are. And about
protecting sources?"
"I am under a legal obligation not to
reveal sources without their permission, even if subpoenaed."
"All right, Mrs. Dawson—"
"Rose."
"Rose, you seem to know what you’re doing.
You’ll be working five days a week, with at least three articles a week, plus
whatever time you need to spend attending meetings and events outside of your
work time, and doing research or conducting interviews. You’ll be paid overtime
for your extra work. Now, sometimes I’ll give you an assignment, and sometimes
it will be up to you what you write about. For today, your assignment is in
your e-mail. You’ll be writing a column introducing yourself to The Chippewa
News readers. Bring me a copy of your column when you’ve written it and
I’ll look it over and make any necessary suggestions. Once you prove yourself,
you’ll probably have more freedom to write what you choose."
"You seem to have a lot of confidence in
me."
"Is there a reason I shouldn’t?"
"I hope not." Rose paused.
"But I am new, and…"
"Well, we’ll see how you do. Welcome to The
Chippewa News, Rose." He offered her his hand.
"I’m glad to be here, and I’ll do my
best." She shook his proffered hand, smiling.
It looked like things were going to work out.