sides, it may even prove to be enjoyable - and I could use some extra money right now.”
They both talked for at least an hour, discussing in detail what needed to be accomplished before Bill came back with, “I’m really surprised that things have worked out between us - because I had no intent of ever helping you again when I came in here.”
Dave laughed. “Bill, I don’t mean to change the subject, but Bakencamp’s Nursing Director walked out on him last week, probably because he’s asked her to help him cover his tracks. She must’ve anticipated the level of scrutiny they’re going to be under, so now he needs a top notch Nursing Director - one who has no ties with the past. He needs somebody like a Mary Swanson,” Dave whispered, looking ill at ease as he uncomfortably shifted his position. “Have you kept in touch with her?”
With that Bill sat back and laughed so loud that almost everyone in the restaurant looked his way.
“You sure know how to use a guy!” He howled, biting at his lower lip and shaking his head from side to side. “Yes, Mary and I have kept in touch. In fact, she’s one of the few people I still trust.” With that, he looked directly into Dave’s eyes with a crafty grin. “Why do you ask if I’ve kept in touch?”
“Well, I want you to persuade her to take a sabbatical from her retirement and help get some standards back at this hospital. As you know, this New World Oligarchy is trying to deregulate everything so they can steal with impunity.”
Bill could only think of how wonderful it would be to have Mary working with him again, but he also knew that she was now financially set for life, and he already suspected she’d have almost no interest in getting back into this ridiculous rat race for more big bucks.
“You know damn well my chances of getting Mary to help us would be far greater if you were to call her,” Dave explained with a wily grin.
“Well, you better not get your hopes up. I doubt very much if she’d ever get back into this rat race. She’s worth several million dollars and seems very comfortable with her present life in Florida.”
“Wasn’t her husband a well known surgeon?”
“Yes he was,” Bill, said thoughtfully. “In fact, he was a very close friend of mine - but sadly he died of a stroke shortly after they retired to Fort Myers.”
“Oh my God - I’m so sorry to hear that. How old is Mary?”
Bill frowned, looking away for a moment - “Perhaps late forties, maybe forty-six or seven.”
“Why don’t you at least call her, and see if she shows any interest at all. Even if she’d only take on a short term assignment, she could be a big help right now.”
Pausing a moment, Bill finally said with a sympathetic smile, “all right - I should call her anyway. I really need to see how she’s been handling Doc’s death.” Folding his napkin and placing it neatly on the table he continued. “Yes, I agree, she could really straighten things out fast - but I just don’t feel she’ll take on this can of worms.”
* * * * *
As soon as Bill arrived home he called Mary. The phone rang several times before she answered.
“Mary? This is your old friend Bill Warner.”
“Bill,” she cried, pleasantly surprised. “It’s good to hear your voice. I think of you often.”
“Mary, I’ve been meaning to call you for some time. But as you know I’m not very good at that. How have you been?”
“Oh, pretty good. My friends have been a big help since Doc’s death. They certainly haven’t given me much time to think about myself. How about you? I worry about you.”
“Mary, I’ve been busy writing, but I’m not sure anyone wants to read what I have to say. I guess I’ll have to get my name on the front page of the New York Times before they’ll realize I have something worthwhile to say.”
“Hey, that powerful Oligarchy doesn’t want the public to ever understand what’s really going on in this country - do they? But we’re all going to have to face up to the facts someday, or go broke - and I don’t know anyone that can tell the truth better than you,” she added. “So what’s up?” she asked, knowing Bill would never have called just to chitchat.
“Mary, do you remember Dave Nelson, with The Harrington Associates?”
“You mean your good friend who was as wide as he was tall? Wasn’t he the one that played football?”
“Boy - that photographic memory of yours is still working, isn’t it? - Yes, that’s the guy. We just had a three-hour discussion on a very serious problem at one of the local hospital here in Colorado - and I promised him I’d call you and ask if you’d be interested in helping us out. I guess you’d call it a crisis.”
“Now that sounds interesting!”
Although Bill hadn’t anticipated it, he could sense an excitement in Mary’s voice.
“In fact, that’s the most interesting thing I’ve heard in a long time. It would certainly be an improvement over golf, bridge and shopping. When can I start?”
Bill was so shocked at her immediate response he didn’t know how to react. And after he described what Dave wanted, he finally answered her question. “And I believe you could start as soon as they agree to hire you.”
“I’d need to keep my home in Florida, but I’d love to help you guys out. In fact, I think I’ve needed something like this.”
After discussing a few more of Dave’s concerns, Mary agreed to meet with the Administrator.
“You know, the most satisfying years of my life were the years I worked with you,” she whispered before hanging up.
Chapter 2
Another Time – Another Place
Bill was so surprised by Mary’s response that he just sat there remembering the perfect Nursing Director he’d accidently hired with those remarkable blue eyes - but more importantly he thought back to how much she’d helped him to save that damned hospital in North Dakota. Then as he thought about her actually moving to Colorado, he recalled the time when he’d just returned from a trip to Chicago and Susan said, “The Swanson’s want us to meet them at Lake Sakakawea on Sunday. Apparently they’ve got a boat, and they’d like to take us out on the lake. I think they also want to discuss some things concerning the hospital. In any event, they gave me directions with the hope we could make it. I probably should’ve said I needed to check with you first, but I said we’d meet them. Is that okay?” she’d asked.
“Yes, that’s fine, I hear their boat is really something to see. Guess what? - I’ve talked to James Baker about recruiting my replacement, in that I’ve now just about completed everything I came here to do, and it looks like I can turn this job over to someone else in a few months,” he’d replied.
Bill recalled how Susan smiled, not knowing if she could depend on what she was hearing, since they were both anxious to return to Minneapolis - but Susan wasn’t about to get her hopes up too high just yet, knowing it would be difficult for Bill to keep his usual job enthusiasm if they both were anxious to leave, so she just said, Oh - really. Then he remembered how on Sunday they drove west toward Garrison, looking for the first dirt road going south toward the bay, when he spotted Doc’s boat.
My God, his boat is huge. It looks like a small steamboat, Susan whispered as they stepped onto that rickety old handmade dock that groaned with each step. Doc’s powerful diesels had no problem pulling the huge steel hull from that shallow bottom as the reverse props churned up the mud until the bow of the boat was pointing out towards the mouth of the bay, and the open water.
As Doc powered up the diesels, Bill recalled how this