Page 34 of Dreaming at Seaside
The combination of Mr. Healy and this being her first time giving her spiel made her stomach knot up. She glanced at the couple, who were still engrossed in catching up on the latest gossip, giving her a second to gather her courage.
“I’m Bella Abbascia, here to see Mr. Healy.”
A smile softened his weathered cheeks and gray eyes. “I’m Healy. Come around the desk and follow me.”
She followed him through a door at the back of the cramped reception area and into a surprisingly neat office with a window facing the woods.
“Have a seat,” he said with his back to her as he went to the other side of the desk and lowered himself into a leather chair that conformed to his large body.
Bella sat in the chair across from him, noting the dust-free bookshelves, the neat stack of papers on the desk, and the lack of mechanic’s stench that the bays and the front office seemed to be drenched in.
“Bella Abbascia.” He had a smoker’s voice and followed his words with a loud sigh. “Is your father Milton Abbascia?”
Bella tried to hide her surprise. “Yes.”
He smiled. “Concord station wagon, Buick LeSabre.”
She furrowed her brows as he rattled off the cars from her youth.
“Some people remember faces; for me it’s names and cars. I worked with my pop before I took over. Your name isn’t common, so I looked through the old records, and yup. The guy I remembered—tall, rail thin, serious minded. I assumed he was your father.”
Relief swept through her. Her father was all those things, plus a careful and meticulous man. If he trusted the Healys, then she knew she could as well.
“He’s driving a Taurus now.” She crossed her legs and drew her shoulders back, concentrating on, and pushing past, the nervous energy that had her fidgeting with her purse.
“Mr. Healy, I know you’re busy, so I’ll try to be succinct. As I explained on the phone, I’m working with the school system to put together a work-study program. Have you hired a teenager as an apprentice or mentored any of the local kids?”
His eyes grew serious again. “We hired a kid a few years back. Rat stole two hundred dollars.”
Great.“That’s unfortunate, but not all kids are like that. The program I’m putting together is geared toward helping those who can’t afford to go to college, or perhaps don’t have an interest. I’m asking local businesses to help these kids learn trades and responsibility. We’re talking only about fifteen hours a week at minimum wage.”
He leaned forward and rested his massive forearms on the desk. “Bella. Is it okay if I call you Bella?”
“Yes, of course.” By his serious tone, she knew she was about to be turned down, and she fought to keep the irritation from her face.
“Bella, what you’re doing is commendable, but winters around the Cape are very different from summers. It’s pretty desolate, and kids aren’t as inclined to ride their bikes to a job they’d rather not be doing in ten-degree weather.”
“You’re on public transportation.”
“True, but they have to pay for that transportation.” He lifted his thick, graying brows. “I could give you ten practical reasons why a kid would do a crappy job or not show up for work, but you’re a smart woman, so I won’t play that game. I’ll give you one honest answer.
“I’m not willing to spend time training kids that I don’t know and trust. I’ve had the same employees for the past eleven years. We run an efficient business, and as much as I want to help the kids around here, I’ve been burned once, and that was enough.”
“Mr. Healy, you got your start working with your father. Many of these kids don’t have that option, so I’ll ask you this. What options would you have had if your father hadn’t owned this shop?” Bella held his gaze, hoping he’d soften to her plight.
He narrowed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “Great question, and one I’ve thought about a million times in the last twenty years. I’m not sure what my options would have been. But I’ve spent a lot of years building a business people can trust. The residents here rely upon me to do business fairly and to provide quality work.” He shrugged as if he’d provided an answer.
“How does hiring a student who can learn and grow from your efforts hinder that business?”
“If I could be assured they were here only to learn, that would be one thing.” He pushed to his feet. “Come with me.” He led her out the office door, through the reception area to the parking lot, where he pointed to a car. “See that red Corolla?”
“Yes.”
“It was broken into two nights ago. The radio was stolen, along with some CDs. The checkbook the customer had in the glove box was left behind. That tells me kids were involved, because a practiced thief would have taken the checkbook and known what to do with it a few towns away. Letting teenagers in is giving them an open door to scoping out inside jobs.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Like I said, I’ve been burned once. It’s been a long time since I was a kid, and I know every generation says the next is worse than theirs was.” He shrugged. “I can’t do it, but I appreciate what you’re trying to do, and I’ll tell you what. Let’s see how the first year of the program goes. If the businesses don’t end up with more trouble than they asked for, I’ll consider it for the following year. Maybe some of the larger companies can hook you up this year.”
Bella drove straight to the Chocolate Sparrow and bought a hunk of fudge. She needed a dose of sugar to chase away the ills of reality. She sat outside the little white shop with a thick chunk of peanut butter fudge, silently giving herself a pep talk. Of course she’d run into this type of thing. Why would she think otherwise? Teenagers were teenagers. They weren’t wired to be well behaved all the time, but if they didn’t have the opportunity to focus on more productive ideas and challenge themselves in ways that were conducive to a responsible future, then what did people expect? Idle hands…
She closed her eyes for a second and tilted her head up toward the sun, thinking about Caden. In a few hours, he’d be at her cottage installing extra locks to ensure her safety. She still thought the locks were unnecessary, even with the recent break-ins. There had never been any trouble at Seaside. Someone was always home, and they were tucked away from the main road. She felt safe there. But she loved that he cared enough to do it, and she was excited to see him again.
