Page 3 of Rumors in Bayberry
“I’m sorry.I know this isn’t what you want to hear.”There was a weary tone to his voice.
One thing that hadn’t changed about her father was that he was old-fashioned.He felt that the way things were done in the past was good enough.He didn’t want to hear how she’d installed new software and how the online version worked.It was good that some of the staff understood how these things worked.
Working on theBayberry Gazette, she’d changed the format.Prior to her taking over, the front page of the paper was filled with stories of the political landscape in Washington DC and top stories from around the country.On page two were stories from around the world.Page three was about business and Wall Street.Page four was the classified ads.From what she could gather, these ads were the most read section of the paper next to the crossword puzzle.People would sell livestock, handmade fashions, and all sorts of things.
Now, local news was on the front page.National headlines were moved to page two.The rest of the news was truncated to allow for recipes, a large crossword puzzle, and a knitting or crocheting pattern.
The biggest thing she’d done was decrease the paper from seven days a week to three days a week.The problem with issuing it every day was that the paper became all about news beyond Bayberry’s area.She wanted to lower it to one day a week, but she didn’t want to give her father another heart attack.
So, her father did have reason to be upset with her.But if he would just stop to think about it as a businessman and not with the sentimentality of what his family had done in the past, he would realize the paper could have only last another year without change.Her changes had given the paper new life—a life that could stretch out for a few more years.There was the potential for it to last longer if the staff was cut down and they only published one issue a week.
Over the past week, she’d attempted to engage him in a talk about her changes.She didn’t want him caught off-guard when he returned to the office, but he hadn’t shown any interest.
Most of the time when she’d visited him at the house, he’d had the phone pressed to his ear.She had no idea who he’d been talking to.He never mentioned it.And she didn’t ask.
Even though her father was being stubborn, she still didn’t regret giving up a plum assignment with a reputable news agency to pitch in and keep the paper afloat while her father recuperated.She would do it again, but hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.
His head was lowered as he read some papers on his desk.It was as if she’d been dismissed.It seemed that he hadn’t changed all that much.
She struggled to keep her frustration under control.After all, her father was still recovering from complications following major heart surgery.“It’s after quitting time.I’m out of here.”
She turned on her heel before she said something she’d regret.Her hand was on the doorknob, and she’d just swung it open when he spoke.
“You should know that there are going to be some changes around here.”
Changes?She wondered what her father was referring to.
“I want to meet with you first thing Monday morning.”
Was he planning to remove all of her updates to the business?It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him, but she bit back the words and kept going.
She closed his office door behind her.The more she thought about her father’s parting words, the more frustrated she became.She checked the time.It was after five thirty—well past quitting time.She gathered her purse and jacket.
On her way to the door, she glanced around and found everyone else was gone for the evening.She couldn’t blame them.It was a beautiful evening.
The staff consisted of only seven other people.One did clerical.Two were reporters.Another two sold ads.And the rest were jack of all trades but mainly did the typesetting.
Everything else fell onto Sadie’s shoulders.And while her father was away, the changes she’d made had been sweeping.It meant he was going to have to calm down and find out what she’d done or he would be utterly lost when he went to do anything.Although, she had made certain to have procedure manuals written for each position.
As she made her way along the sidewalk, she thought some more about what her father had said.It would be a shame if he undid her work, because she’d worked hard to build up the newspaper’s social following.The number of followers wasn’t huge, but it was growing steadily.She made sure to make the articles stand out.The quirkier or more shocking the headline, the better.
It wasn’t like theBayberry Gazettegenerated hard-hitting news.Far from it.These articles were more like unique snapshots in otherwise normal lives.In fact, some of her stories had been picked up by a newswire.Her favorite had been a few months ago:Hampton the Pig Adopts Baby Duckling.It had happened on one of the local farms.
Hampton’s babies were stillborn.She’d fallen into a funk without her babies, and then Quackers, a two-week-old duckling, escaped her pen and made her way to Hampton.When they were separated, Hampton would call for Quackers, and eventually the duckling would make her way back to the pig.This happened over and over again.Eventually, the farmer gave up and let them stay together.
The pictures of the unlikely duo had gone viral.It was so strange to open up her social media and find her photo and story being shared thousands and thousands of times.It even ended up being picked up by the morning news shows, and from there it was picked up around the world.Everyone loved a feel-good story.Bayberry had finally made international news.She never thought that would happen.
Bayberry would never be able to compete with hard-hitting stories, for which she was grateful.Thankfully, Bayberry never had any catastrophic events, but on the other hand, no famous people ever graced their small town.But when it came to wholesome, feel-good stories, this town had an abundance of them.
Sadie had always thought it was the wars and the strife that made you a great journalist.Maybe that was still true.But by staying in Bayberry and throwing herself into managing the paper, she found the human-interest stories had also thrown her onto the international stage.Who’d have thought that would happen?Certainly not her.
There was even talk of Hampton and Quacker’s story competing for an award.Sadie didn’t really take it seriously, but stranger things had been known to happen.
The thing she’d learned about herself was that she loved ferreting out the human-interest stories over the political and war-ravaged stories.She was now able to recognize that the hard-hitting stories about the underbelly of societies had taken a toll on her.She didn’t know how much longer she could continue to do them.
To her surprise, Sadie really enjoyed her time at theGazette.She’d been able to help keep her community woven together with these stories.And once in a while there were serious articles to be written, a heartbreaking auto accident here, or sadly a barn fire there.It all came together to tell the full story of Bayberry.
She hadn’t anticipated enjoying working at the paper.Sure, she’d done it off and on since she was a teenager, but she never invested herself in it like she had over the past several months.
