The next morning, Kaethe's day began with work. After going to bed, she had slept for what seemed like an eternity and not risen until nearly nine. When she had finally gotten out of bed and dressed herself (after several minutes of waking up and then stretching luxuriously) she had gone into the kitchen and fixed herself a quick breakfast of toast, eggs, and milk before starting her housework for the morning -- dusting, sweeping, organizing -- whatever she thought needed to be done, she did it.
Now, she was standing at the sink, washing the breakfast dishes and listening to the radio as she considered potential plans for the day. I've got to work at the restaurant today, but that's only for a short part of the afternoon, she thought as she rinsed off a plate. After that, I could go to the park and do some sketches -- I haven't done that in a while. Or I could go to one of the bookshops in the older district and look around. Or--
At that moment, the phone rang. Startled, Kaethe quickly brought her hands out of the soapy water, dried them on a nearby dish towel, and dashed over to pick up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Kaethe," Mrs. Armani said on the other end of the line, sounding a little tired. "Good morning, mia cara."
"Oh!" Kaethe exclaimed, trying to hide her confusion. "Mrs. Armani! Good morning to you, too."
She heard Mrs. Armani chuckle weakly. "Listen, Kaethe... I'm going to be quite frank here: is there any way you could come to the restaurant within the next hour?"
"Oh, no..." Kaethe felt her heart drop in her chest. "Is there something wrong? Do you need me to come in extra early?"
"No, I don't need you for work. It's... " She sighed. "... someone here wanted me to get ahold of you so the two of you can discuss something immediately."
"... 'someone'?"
"Sì. I-It's too complicated for me to explain beyond that," she said, sounding very flustered. "Anyway, can you do that? Come in soon, I mean."
"Yes, of course," Kaethe said, her voice growing very quiet. "I'll be there shortly."
"Thank you, Kaethe." Mrs. Armani sighed again. "I'm sorry, I didn't think I was going to have to call you in this morning -- but here we are."
"It's okay, Mrs. Armani, really. I'll be down there in a while."
"Alright, Kaethe. Thank you. See you then." And with that, Mrs. Armani hung up.
Kaethe bit her lip as she put the phone back on its receiver. And to think that I was genuinely certain this week couldn't get any stranger, she thought to herself as she rose to go change into something nicer than her housework clothes. Clearly, I was wrong.
A short while later, Kaethe walked into the restaurant. Upon entry, she moved past the few employees who were working and poked her head into the kitchen where Carlo Armani was working. "Good morning, Carlo!" she called cheerfully.
Carlo paused in the midst of tossing some pasta into a pot of boiling water to give her a grin and a wave, and replied cheerfully, "Ah, hello, Kaethe! You're looking for Signora Armani, yes?"
She nodded. "I am actually, yes."
His grin widened a little as he gave her a knowing nod. "She's in the back room."
"Danke, Carlo. Best of luck with today!"
"Prego, Kaethe." With this statement, he returned to his cooking.
Kaethe took this action as her cue to leave and continued into the back room, her heeled shoes clicking softly as she went along. She stopped when she finally reached the door to the room that served as Mrs. Armani's office of sorts and raised her hand to knock -- but stopped, realizing that there were voices coming from inside. Surprised and curious, she let her hand slowly fall as she listened.
"So, you've already said she's a very hard worker, punctual, et cetera," a strange woman's voice was saying. "I take it you mean that you've never had trouble with her, right?"
"Absolutely not," came Mrs. Armani's voice in unwavering reply. "In the twenty-some years I've been in business, I don't think I've ever had a more reliable employee. She's smart, dedicated, and I honestly couldn't tell you that there's a single bad bone in the girl's body."
"Mhm," was the somewhat detached response, and Kaethe thought she could hear the tip of a writing utensil scratching across a piece of paper. "And you'd personally trust her with confidential information?"
Confidential information? Kaethe thought, the ghost of a frown coming onto her face. What on--
"Oh, I'd say so, yes," Mrs. Armani agreed. "Like I said -- not a bad bone in the girl's body. She does whatever it takes to get the job done."
There was silence from inside the room, and then the strange woman asked, "Anything? As in, anything for her line of work?"
"From my experience with her, yes."
"Interesting," the woman murmured, and the same scratching noise from earlier was heard. "Well, really, I think that's all I need to know until she arrives. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Armani -- on behalf of TF Industries, it's greatly appreciated."
"You're very welcome. As I've said, she's very punctual, so she ought to be here soon--"
It was at this moment that Kaethe decided that it would be best if she finally made herself known, lifted her hand, and solidly knocked on the door.
"Oh! That must be her," Mrs. Armani commented, and Kaethe noted the unusual quietness of her voice. There was the sound of shoes clicking, and the door opened to reveal Mrs. Armani's smiling face. "Miss Daube! Hello, my dear!"
"Hello, Mrs. Armani," Kaethe said as she returned the smile, relieved that her sudden agitation wasn't too visible. Mrs. Armani never calls me Miss Daube, she thought in utter shock as she went on in her usual graceful manner: "Sorry I'm late -- traffic was... well."
"No, no, no, you're fine! Come in, come in!" She waved Kaethe into the office and closed the door behind Kaethe after she entered. "Thank you for coming in on such short notice, it was very important." She motioned off to the side, and when Kaethe turned to look she noticed the woman who had been standing there the whole time. "Miss Daube," Mrs. Armani went on, "this is Miss Pauling from TF Industries."
Miss Pauling gave Kaethe a flat smile. "Miss Daube," she said pleasantly enough. "I've heard a lot about you. It's great to finally meet you."
Kaethe tilted her head a bit as she took in Miss Pauling's appearance -- a purple blouse, black skirt with an accompanying wide-buckled belt, black pumps, dark hair pulled back into a neat bun, and blue-green eyes behind cat-eye glasses that held an unnerving calm. It suits her almost too well, she thought to herself before she smiled and replied amiably, "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Pauling."
"I'm glad to hear that." Pauling's smile twitched a bit before she went on: "If you don't mind, I'd like to skip the pleasantries and ask you some questions in private." Her words sounded as though they were scripted.
"... questions?" Kaethe frowned. "Is this an interview?"
"You could call it that."
"I..." Kaethe knit her brow. "I never... asked for an interview with anyone."
"We're well aware, and that's why your time here would be much appreciated."
Kaethe cast her eyes off to the side, meaning to exchange a look with Mrs. Armani -- but to her slight shock and dismay, Mrs. Armani was just slipping out of the office. She glanced over at Kaethe, smiling and mouthing "You'll be fine" before she shut the door behind her and the latch clicked.
That left Kaethe with Pauling -- and no other choice. "I suppose so, yes," she said after a moment's pause, trying not to sound too weary.
"Fantastic!" Miss Pauling continued to smile blandly as she motioned to the table at the edge of the room with one chair on each side. "Have a seat, please."
Kaethe bit her lip as she nodded and walked over to the table. Pulling out one of the chairs, she sat with her ankles crossed and her back ramrod straight, her eyes on Pauling. "Would it be too much to ask what it is that you're interviewing me about?" she asked carefully as Pauling crossed the room and came over to the table.
"Technically, yes," Pauling answered as she herself took a seat. "The most I'm allowed to say is that..." She hesitated briefly, then went on: "Well, we'll get to that." Her smile widened, becoming ever-more stale as she took out a folder and thumbed through the papers inside. "So, Miss Daube -- I already know a bit about you, but if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you tell me a little about yourself."
"I already know a bit about you." Upon hearing those words, Kaethe only just barely restrained herself from uncomfortably fidgeting. "Well, if you only want to know a little, there's not much for me to say," she said, laughing a little nervously. "I've lived here in Boston as long as I can remember -- grew up in this part of town, attended school in this area -- you know, that sort of thing."
"Mmhmm." Pauling was now writing on a clipboard she had taken out when Kaethe had begun talking. She looked up, raising an eyebrow. "You said you grew up here -- but not born here?"
Kaethe shook her head. "No. I came to Boston after my parents were gone -- may they rest in peace -- and my grandfather raised me."
"I see." Pauling continued to write furiously on the clipboard. "So you went to school here?"
"I did, yes. From kindergarten to my senior year."
"Uh huh..." More scribbling, then another question: "And college?"
Kaethe bit her lip at the stinging reminder. "... yes. And no. I... had to drop out in the middle of my sophomore year to take care of my grandfather, you see. His health began to fail, and what with all the medical expenses and such, we... he..." She sighed. "We couldn't afford to keep me in school. So I left, got a couple of jobs to pay for his assisted living and for my apartment, and... here I am."
"Are you planning on going back to your academics and finishing college later?" An intent look was on Miss Pauling's face as she looked up from the clipboard.
"When I can afford it, absolutely. Right now, it's just out of the question."
"Mmm," Pauling murmured thoughtfully, her pencil still moving across the paper on the clipboard. She looked up, her gaze meeting Kaethe's eyes. "What was--is," she corrected herself, "your planned major?"
"Communications, with a minor in linguistics."
Pauling's left eyebrow arched unexpectedly, then quickly returned to its original position. "Communications," she repeated to herself, and resumed writing. "What skills do you have that would assist you?"
"German and English are my first and second languages respectively, not to mention that I possess modest sign language proficiency, am familiar with the basics of conversational Spanish and Italian, and am slowly learning French." Kaethe found Pauling's sudden pique in interest somewhat uncomfortable, and she cleared her throat a little awkwardly before saying in a low voice: "I also know very small amounts of Russian -- but it was all self-taught... for, um... rather obvious reasons."
Pauling raised an eyebrow again, but nevertheless nodded in understanding. "Of course." She began to jot down another note, pausing briefly. "Anything else?"
Kaethe bit her lip, thinking for a moment before finally saying, "I'm also familiar with shorthand and Morse code. Once again, self-taught."
Pauling looked a little surprised, but nodded again and wrote it down. "Alright." She looked up again. "Anything else?" she repeated.
The way the question was asked made Kaethe suspect that Pauling was looking for something more than the simple answers that had been given already. "Nothing specific that would directly contribute to any kind of communications position, no."
"Okay." She reached up to adjust her glasses a bit before continuing: "What about team cooperation? How well do you work with others?"
Kaethe considered this question very carefully before she answered. "It depends," she said finally. "Like most people, I think, I would prefer to work with those who are willing to put in as much effort as I contribute, and I dislike the company of unpleasant people as much as the next person." She paused momentarily before she added, "However, regardless of the situation I'll do my best to work with anyone to the best of my abilities if that's what's required of me." She met Pauling's gaze with her own determined one. "So to answer your question, I suppose I work with others fairly well... under desirable circumstances."
Pauling pressed her lips into a thin line, a clear indication that she knew exactly what Kaethe had been trying to say. "I see," she said crisply, her pen moving across the clipboard once more. "Just a few more questions if you wouldn't mind, please."
"Naturally."
And so the interview continued for a time longer, with Miss Pauling asking more and more questions: did Kaethe have any experience with self-defense, and if so, could she please describe the scenario in which it was required; how well could Kaethe receive information and relay instructions based on that information; what kind of schedule did she have; how many hours of sleep did Kaethe get every night, and what was the minimum that she could function on if necessary, and so on. It seemed as though the onslaught of inquiry might never come to an end, but Kaethe managed to answer every single question she was given as patiently as she could.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Miss Pauling unexpectedly capped her pen with a satisfied nod. "I think that's it."
"Really?"
Pauling nodded again, removing the sheet of paper she had been writing on from the clipboard and putting it inside a folder. "Yes." She smiled a little for the first time since the beginning of the interview. "Thank you for your time, Miss Daube. I apologize that you had to be called in so unexpectedly, but it was absolutely necessary."
Absolutely necessary, indeed -- I wouldn't know, because she hasn't so much as told me why this happened so suddenly. Still, I'm sure it's not her fault. "It's not a problem," she said, though this wasn't really true -- she just couldn't think of anything better to say. "Although, might I ask you something?"
Pauling looked somewhat uneasy, but she nodded. "Sure, go ahead."
"Alright." Kaethe inhaled deeply before she spoke again. "Would it be too much to ask that you tell me why it is that you called me in on a Saturday morning? I mean no disrespect when I say this, but you must understand that it's rather unusual that this should happen."
There was nothing but stunned silence from Pauling for several moments. Finally, she replied very slowly: "It's somewhat complicated due to confidentiality matters, but you'll know soon enough."
"... 'soon enough.'" Kaethe couldn't help but feel a twinge of discomfort. "How long until I do know, exactly?"
"Within the next couple of hours, at most."
Kaethe very nearly asked another question that was resting on the tip of her tongue, but decided against it. "Alright."
Pauling gave Kaethe that same stale smile before continuing: "Anyway, would you mind if I make a phone call?"
"Not at all." Kaethe instinctively rose from her seat upon hearing the words "phone call", and was already tentatively inching towards the door. "Take as much time as you need."
"Thank you. It shouldn't be too long."
Kaethe nodded her understanding, and exited the room without another word, intending to make her way to the kitchen and put the wait to good use.
As time passed, the decision to be productive turned out to be a wise one, for the phone call did not come to an end nearly as quickly as anticipated. The minutes came and went, turning into a quarter hour, then a half hour -- and by the time almost forty-five minutes had gone by, there was still no word from Miss Pauling. "When I passed by the office, she was still talking," Mrs. Armani said in a low voice when she briefly joined Kaethe in cutting vegetables. "She must have an interesting idea of what 'not too long' means, because I think you and I both know that it's going to be quite a while longer."
Kaethe did not reply -- she only nodded and continued to cut tomatoes.
Another fifteen minutes went by, marking a full hour since Kaethe had been politely dismissed, followed by another quarter hour exactly identical to the previous one. Kaethe temporarily pushed aside the reason she was even at the restaurant as she lost herself in a frenzy of sliced produce and rapidly moving blades, even beginning to ignore Mrs. Armani always going in and out of the kitchen. She could wait -- she had done plenty of waiting before now, and a little more now wouldn't hurt her.
Finally, after almost an hour and a half of waiting, Mrs. Armani unexpectedly called Kaethe out into the hallway the next time she popped into the kitchen. "Miss Pauling's asking for you," she told Kaethe as the two of them walked back to the office. "I'm sure you guessed that already, though."
Kaethe nodded. "Ja."
The two of them continued on in silence, nothing but the sound of their shoes clicking on the tiled floor. The silence persisted until the two of them reached the office door once again, at which point Mrs. Armani turned to Kaethe with a shockingly grave expression. "Kaethe," she said somberly, "whatever happens, you know you'll always have all of us here, right?"
Kaethe couldn't help but be startled by this sudden statement. "Well, yes, of course," she stammered, "but I don't understand... Mrs. Armani, this is nothing more t-than just a spontaneous survey or something bizarre like that... right?" When Mrs. Armani did not reply, she went on uncertainly: "Right, Mrs. Armani?"
Mrs. Armani sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and looking very tired all of a sudden. "I wish I could say," she said a bit dully. "But it's not my place to say."
"... 'not your place'? What on earth are you--"
At that moment, Pauling's voice called from inside the office: "Alright, Miss Daube, come in!"
Bewildered, Kaethe looked over at Mrs. Armani, who only sighed and shook her head. Suppressing a sigh of her own, she reached for the doorknob, turned it, and slipped quietly into the room.
Miss Pauling stood in the middle of the room as she waited for Kaethe. Strangely enough, she appeared to be a little red in the face -- yet she struck Kaethe as being oddly excited about something. "Miss Daube," she said, smiling and motioning for Kaethe to sit again. "Thank you for being patient."
"Of course," Kaethe said, trying not to let her mounting suspicion show through as she took her former seat.
Pauling's smile widened as she herself took a seat as well. "Now, you were asking about why it was that you got called in," she said, skimming through the papers that were attached to her clipboard. "Without divulging too much information, I can say that the company I work for -- TF Industries -- is looking for someone with your set of skills."
There was that name again -- TF Industries. Kaethe had heard of them prior to today, but she hadn't the faintest idea of what they did. She brushed this thought aside, frowning a little as she considered this statement. "Someone... with my set of skills... you need a linguist or a translator?"
"Not exactly, no. Your language proficiency is helpful, but not essential. If you want to be specific, we're looking for someone who specializes in communication and is familiar with various forms of information relays -- and you have just been approved for the position."
An electrifying silence hung in the room for a solid ten seconds as Pauling's words sank in. Finally, Kaethe broke the hush with a trembling voice: "Beg pardon?"
"You've been approved for a job in communications," Pauling repeated. "You see, your interest in the field and in getting a relevant degree caught the attention of our company."
Kaethe's head began to spin as she tried to wrap her mind around this fact. "Well, that's all fine and good, but..." She drew a sharp breath as she put a hand to her head. "... I... I didn't know this was a job interview... and... I... I'm... not looking for a job at the moment?"
"We're well aware of that," Pauling said brightly. "We were hoping that once you know the details, you'd find yourself interested. Trust me, if you hear me out, it'll be well worth your time."
For a split second, Kaethe very nearly said that perhaps she didn't want to hear whatever Pauling had to say -- but before the words could fall off of her lips, she felt a tug of curiosity inside her that was gently coaxing her to listen, so she bit her tongue and just said tiredly, "Alright."
"Thank you." Pauling continued to look through the papers on the clipboard. "As I've said before, I can't tell you everything the job entails due to confidentiality matters -- not until you've signed a contract, that is. However, what I can tell you is that your job is, of course, extremely communications based." She looked up from the clipboard, meeting Kaethe's gaze. "In the most basic terms, you will be required to work with someone that the company has deemed... unruly, but still necessary."
Oh, dear. "How will I be working with this unruly person?"
"Said person has a certain... task to accomplish, which you'll learn more about later. While he's working to accomplish this task, it's your job to remotely communicate with him and advise him on how to best proceed."
Kaethe knit her brow, unsure of what Pauling's vague wording meant in exact terms. "So... act as an advisor of sorts."
"Essentially, yes. Now, the specifics of what you'll be communicating are a lot more complicated than what I described, but you'll learn that in good time."
"... this... job..." Kaethe bit the inside of her cheek. "... will it require me to move?"
"Well, no -- but you'll be doing a lot of travel."
Kaethe's eyes widened a little as she fought to keep an excited look off her face. "Really?"
"Yes! And by a lot, I mean... well, almost every day of the year, anyway."
"... ah." Kaethe's brief enthusiasm fizzled back into concerned pensiveness. "And how soon until I'd begin?"
"This Monday, actually! So you see... it would be really great to have an answer before you leave today."
Kaethe's heart sank a little, yet continued to pound wildly in her chest. So little time to make such an enormous decision, she thought, somewhat distraught. I'm not... unhappy exactly, but I'd love a different job where I get to travel. And yet... This place... it's my home. My neighbors and friends are like family to me... and Grandpapa... Her brow creased as she thought of her grandfather's smiling face, so happy to see her. What would he think of me leaving so unexpectedly?
Seeming to sense what Kaethe was thinking, Pauling contributed another point: "If you're having difficulty deciding, you've got until tomorrow at three to let us know."
Kaethe remained silent, brow creased in deep thought and concern, trying to formulate a statement that would appropriately correlate with the thoughts whirling around in her head. Finally, she said very slowly, "Do not mistake my hesitation for disinterest -- I am far from that. But... I still have my doubts." She looked Pauling in the eye. "I need you to assure me that if I do this, if I say yes to this crazy offer and leave this place... the payoff will be worth it."
Pauling's self-assured smile faded into an unreadable, flat expression. "Um..."
"Miss Pauling." Kaethe's voice became sharp. "I'm no idiot. From the sound of it, I'm not going to know a blessed thing about this job you're so eager to recruit me for until the moment I sign that contract you've got. And I simply cannot and will not take that risk unless you can give me one good reason why I should leave behind everything I've ever known."
Pauling looked very thoughtful for several long moments, that same unreadable look on her face until she brightened as she thought of something and said, "Like most jobs, the amount of work you put in will affect how much you get out of it. This job that you're going to have... isn't going to be like most jobs, and it's challenging at times. But," she continued when she saw Kaethe's skeptical expression, "judging from what I've heard, you seem as though you're well-suited to what needs to be done, and I think you'll enjoy it." She grinned, clicking her pen. "So... what do you say, Miss Daube?"
For a fraction of a second, Kaethe contemplated outright saying no -- partly out of a single rare shred of spite that was motivating her, partly out of an innate desire to play it safe -- but in that fraction of a second, a spark of curiosity flew up as she eyed the clipboard that Miss Pauling held. Natural instinct cried that she should refuse, but the spark sang to her as it set her alight, intensifying ever the more as it told her that something about saying yes just felt right beyond any words. You need to do this, it whispered to her as common sense screamed and kicked and begged. Just say yes. Your grandfather will understand.
And with those words, the spark won.
I'll do it, she thought as she silently reached for a pen that rested in the middle of the table. Oh, it's the craziest thing I've ever done, and I might regret it -- but I'll regret not doing this even more. "Where do I sign?"