Even frowning, Sarah was very pretty, like his godmother. A dirty blond with naturally curly locks of hair that she kept tied back out of her face, excepting a few strays. Charley wasn't darker like his Native American godfather, but was a rather fair skinned redhead. But he had similarities to Jonah too, such as an affinity for wild mushrooms and they liked playing music. Also, both were naturalists, enjoying as much time in the forest as they could squeeze from their time, something they also shared with Sally and Jonah.
Steven caught himself comparing Sarah and Charley to his godparents and missed them enormously. Sarah noticed him in deep melancholic thought and shoulder bumped him, smiling. Steven grinned sheepishly and watched the forest fly by outside as they turned onto a main road and headed north as Sarah put her arm back around his shoulders. He could think of worse ways to get to Seattle.
The relatively new business park was devoid of trees, even after a couple of years. There were beds where trees and bushes would go but they were still filled with construction sand. Lots of new construction as the park expanded resulted in a lot of bare ground everywhere, too.It was a vast complex comprised of many offices and distribution centers for a variety of businesses. But that was where Bret's technical campus was located, so Steven tried to ignore his disappointment over the lack of life. His main experience with Seattle was his college classes and they at least had a few trees and a decent park that Steven would retreat to between classes to recover. He found the lack of life in the big cities positively smothering and Steven could feel a distinct haze of depression where the concrete, parking lots and vast complexes had replaced forest and grasslands. But he had little choice if he was to find his parents.
Charley pulled into a parking lot and found an open section to park the RV in. Steven was nervous. He had cleaned up in their bathroom, and put on a fresh change of clothing. He hoped that it was good enough to give a good first impression. A lot was hinging on this opportunity, and even though Bret had been so uplifting and earnestly desired him to be in his program, Steven still felt a little apprehensive. What if he wasn't the prodigy everyone claimed and wasn't good enough? He shook his head. Steven trusted Bret and if Bret said he was good, that was good enough for him. Looking in the mirror and trying to make his unruly hair behave, he decided he was ready to go meet Bret and get the ball rolling on his plans.
"Well, thanks for the ride. I really, really appreciate your help." Steven gathered up his belongings and turned to face the two. Their kindness was refreshing after such a difficult past couple of days and Steven felt better prepared to face the challenges before him thanks to them.
"Nothing to it. We'll wait until you're done," Sarah assured him. Steven smiled, surprised by their continuing generosity. He did not expect anything beyond a ride to Seattle, but the buses did not run out to this part of town so he was all the more thankful. Running, or even just walking, on this concrete for long distances hurt his feet. He hoped that Bret would have other arrangements, however, and that a ride would not be necessary. But he decided to cross that bridge when he got there.
As he prepared to disembark, Steven looked at them standing arm in arm and was painfully reminded of Sally and Jonah. Would they be proud of him, getting a job at a computing firm? What did they expect him to do with an computer engineering degree? He hoped they would be happy. Once he got settled in and working he would have to contact them.
But he was distracting himself. The primary task at hand was to find Bret. He will be so ecstatic to finally have Steven. After Bret visited him so regularly and gave him such glowing praise and encouragement, Steven felt he was his best chance at doing something useful in this city. For all intents and purposes, Steven may be a shoe-in for the job. He found the entrance to the main office and pulled out Bret's business card and walked in.
The reception area was spartan, which wasn't unexpected. It was a branch office of a tech company that didn't cater directly to clients but spent its time working on the product development. A few modern chairs and a small coffee table with technology magazines pretty much made up the waiting area. A receptionist sat at her desk typing away on some project when he walked in. Her black hair was drawn up in a bun, leaving a few strands to frame her face. Steven guessed she was of Asian descent, though some of her features reminded him of his godfather. He saw her eyes flicker quickly up at him then back to her work as he walked in. She knew he was there but didn't stop typing until she was finished with her assignment. Steven waited, trying to appear patient even though he was really eager to get with Bret and discuss his future with computing.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she stopped typing and looked up expectantly. Steven was caught off guard and was speechless for a moment, then fumbled with Bret's business card and handed it to her. "I'm here to see Bret."
She looked at the card for a long moment, then back up at Steven, holding the card back out to him. "No, you're not."
Steven was at a loss as he automatically took the card from her. Did he say the wrong name, or give her the wrong card? He looked at it then back to her. "Bret. Bret Land. He told me to come out any time. I'm supposed to take part in his summer internship. If you just let him know I'm here I'm certain he'll explain everything."
She looked at him for an increasingly uncomfortable moment. "Mr. Land has been dead for two years. His recruitment programs have been discontinued," she stated matter of factly.
Steven was stunned, and the look on his face seemed to satisfy the receptionist who had been suspicious of Steven's unannounced appearance and she softened a little. "He had an accident on his way in from a recruiting trip," she said as Steven leaned hard against the desk. Bret had always been so encouraging and positive about his computing projects.
"He used to come out and talk to me a lot," Steven said quietly, crestfallen. "He was always so happy to see me."
"He was that way. One of our best recruiters." She folded her hands on her desk and watched Steven process the information.
Steven looked up, wondering if he could still find a place at the company. He felt a little guilty at the thought, but he still needed work, even if Bret was gone. He was about to ask when the receptionist anticipated his question and shook her head.
"I'm sorry. We outsource all of our recruiting now," she said, shaking her head. "The internship program didn't work out after Mr. Land died. No one could do it quite like he could."
"Is there anyone I could talk to?" Steven couldn't give up now. He needed a regular income to continue his search and access to the technology and computers at the company would be a huge bonus for him. With Bret gone, his plans were suddenly in turmoil. Bret was the sort of person Steven was sure he could confide in and he expected him to become his new computer mentor.
"Here's the temp agency's contact information, but I have to tell you, they have high requirements." She handed Steven a card.
"Like what?" Steven couldn't imagine not qualifying for anything they put him to.
"A college degree and two years experience to start off with." She looked at him, thinking he couldn't be older than twenty. Younger even.
The two years experience requirement would be a problem since his primary experience was his own private search for his parents. Still, Steven reached. "I took my last finals today."
She seemed genuinely surprised. Steven didn't look old enough to be a college graduate. "Masters?"
"Bachelors," Steven answered. The look on her face told him that a bachelors wasn't enough. "Really? I worked hard to get the degree and get here. Bret was confident in me too."
"Look, I'm really sorry. Perhaps if you went back to school and got a masters degree?" she said, genuinely feeling for the kid. They could probably work around his lack of experience if his degree performance was good enough. "A bachelors today is little more helpful than a high school diploma."
Steven looked at the business card and sighed. Another delay. He desperately wanted to nail down his employment and reside
nce so he could achieve a level of stability before he resumed his search for his parents. Suddenly he wondered where he would stay and what he would do. Failing here was not an option, but it was crashing and burning. He couldn't help feeling a little selfish by the inconvenience Bret's death has caused him. After all, Bret had died.
"Well, thanks anyway." Steven hitched up his backpack and put the card in his pocket. He wouldn't write them off just yet. "I'm really sorry about Bret. He was a nice guy and gave me a lot of encouragement."
The receptionist nodded. "I hope it works out for you. If he was interested in you, I'm sure you are going to make it." There were few that the receptionist hated saying no to. She had a gut feeling about this young man and felt sorry for him.
Steven smiled weakly, flattered, then walked out of the office toward the RV.
Sarah and Charley stood by the door as he walked up. They could tell that the news wasn't good by the disappointed look on Steven's face.
"What did they say, dear?" Sarah put her arm around his shoulders as he walked up into the RV. Charley followed them up and closed the door.
"Bret's dead, Sally," Steven said, then shook his head and corrected himself. "Sarah." Her mannerisms were so similar. Which right now was a very good thing because Steven felt emotionally drawn out and sat down on the couch. His plans were starting to fall apart. "All his programs have been canceled."
"That's terrible!" Sarah sat down next to him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Where do you want to go now?" Charley sat on a bench across from them. Steven had not given it much thought. He was banking on getting advice from Bret, finding a place to stay and getting to work.
Sarah looked at him. "Give him a moment, Charley. Sheesh."
After thinking for a bit, Steven figured a hotel would be the wisest choice. It was miles to the nearest forest and he needed to be where he could find work so he could resume his search. "I guess a hotel."
"Do you have money?" Sarah asked. She hoped he would say no so she could offer him their spare bedroom, but she didn't want to broach that out of the blue.
Steven patted his money bag. "Plenty." That was one area that he had prepared for well ahead of time.
Sarah couldn't resist and offered anyway. "You could stay with us until you get on your feet." Charley raised an eyebrow but didn't protest. Steven had been very decent company and they both liked him.
"Oh, no. Thanks, but I really need to do this on my own," Steven insisted. He felt like he was already a distraction to his kind hosts as it was and didn't want to become a third wheel.
Sarah looked at Charley and made a face. Charlie shrugged but didn't offer any help. He understood the desire for independence. She shook her head and looked back at Steven.
"You don't have to do anything alone," Sarah urged. Steven smiled, appreciating her warm heart.
"Well, there's a hotel not too far from our apartment you could try." Charley tried to find a middle ground. Their apartment was rather small, especially since most of it was taken up by her art projects and he had barely a corner to do his writing in.
"Thanks. I really appreciate your help." Steven looked at both of them. He wasn't sure what he would have done without them. Especially now when things were trying to unravel.
Before going to the hotel, Charley drove the RV to their storage at his parent's house up in the hills above Seattle. It was a nice neighborhood, though it was starting to show its age. Steven got out and stood in the forested backyard as they closed up the RV and visited with his parents. The soil and grass felt good to his feet. He fought the urge to climb up into the trees. That may produce more questions from his host than he wanted to deal with at the moment.
Once the RV had been secured under its covered parking canopy and unpacked, they hopped into their electric car to drive Steven to a hotel not far from where they lived in the city. The afternoon was waning by the time they pulled up to the hotel. Except for the recent setback, it hadn't been a bad day, but Steven was exhausted nonetheless. He was ready to clean up and call it a day. He grabbed his bag and staff and stepped out of the car.
Sarah got out of the car and grabbed his arm before he could walk off and put a piece of paper in his hand. "Please. If you need anything, call us, okay?" she insisted. "Anything."
"Sure." Steven looked at the paper which had their number on it. He put it in his pocket and Sarah gave him a hug. Steven found it similar to Sally's hugs and hugged her back. "Thank you so much," Steven said. It was just a ride but their companionship proved very uplifting for him. He wasn't sure what they saw in him, but after losing the approval of his godparents they filled a big hole in his life, if at least for a day.
He waved to Charley in the car who waved back, and backed up a few steps as Sarah got back into the car. Turning around, he walked into the hotel, wondering if he shouldn't have taken them up on her offer to stay with them. He really needed a friendly face in this strange city and they were starting to grow on him. But he felt he had put them out of their way enough. He didn't come to Seattle to be a disruption to people. Perhaps he would call them later if for nothing else but to share a bite to eat, maybe even go camping again. He knew he would sorely miss the forest. He could already feel the numbing effect of so much concrete and lifelessness of the city.
The hotel was a modest affair but not remotely a dive. The building was a short high rise that was older but well maintained and had an elegant look to it. Steven figured he could stay there for a while as he adjusted his plans and found other employment. He was still sorely disappointed with how things turned out with Bret. That would have been an ideal situation for him, especially since Bret was so obviously interested in him. Now he would have to visit with strangers and convince them of his skills. He was totally unprepared for that, even though he did take career development classes in college. At the time, it was an academic exercise for him. Now it was different.
As he walked by he noticed a man sitting in the waiting area reading a magazine. The man looked up and nodded to him. Steven caught himself staring as his mind raced ahead to his plans and he looked down and walked up to the front counter.
The front desk clerk looked up as Steven leaned his staff against the counter. He was a bored looking graying man who appeared to be in the middle of auditing the rooms. It suddenly occurred to Steven that they might not have any rooms. With the way the day has been going, he would not have been surprised. But he fought to be optimistic.
"Hi. Do you have a room?" Steven asked hopefully.
The clerk looked at his computer screen. "How many nights?" he asked dryly.
Steven thought for a moment. Surely it wouldn't take more than a week to find work. "A week?"
"You're looking for a single?" The clerk typed on his keyboard.
"Single what?" Steven was confused.
The clerk looked at him for a second. "One bed, just you."
"Oh. Yes, sir." Steven rocked on his heels smiling.
"Smoking?"
Steven shook his head, making a face.
"Kitchenette?" The clerk looked up at Steven.
He thought for a second then nodded.
"Internet?"
Steven was about to nod then realized he operated off the grid on his newly discovered network, and shook his head. He felt a strange sense of elation at the liberty he had in that regard. The clerk typed more and nodded. "You're in luck. We have a cancellation that should work for you."
"Oh, that's so sweet." Steven was excited. Finally, a bit of good news. He unclipped his money bag and unzipped it. "How much?"
“Five fifty three for the week.” The clerk turned around to grab the printout and program the key and Steven started counting out the money and clipped the bag back on his backpack. He nodded to the person sitting in the reception room who had looked up from his magazine again and was currently staring at him. He went back to reading his magazine without any acknowledgement.
"Here we go." He put the cash on the counte
r and the clerk turned around with the key card and looked at it then up at him.
"I'm sorry, sir. We only take credit or debit cards for rooms and we need to see a driver's license," the clerk informed him, nodding to a sign on the counter that Steven had overlooked.
Steven frowned, reading the sign that basically repeated what the clerk said. "But, I have cash right here." He couldn't believe that his cash wouldn't be good enough. "I have a drivers license, too."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Since you are able to incur other costs with the room, we can only accept credit." He looked at him, not budging but politely firm. "That's our policy."
Steven was stunned. "I really need a place to stay tonight. Is there anything you can do?" He tried not to beg, but the forest was several miles away through strange streets.
"The hotels that take cash are on the other side of town. I can give you a bus route if you'd like," the clerk offered as he put the key card back in the pile.
Steven nodded, pocketing his money and sighing. Deflated, he slumped against the counter as he waited for the bus schedule. He had assumed that having cash would be enough to obtain simple housing and yet again his assumptions were being obliterated. He suddenly felt very unprepared for the stark realities of life on his own and strongly wished he had stayed back at the homestead. He heard the clerk behind him and turned and took the offered schedule and opened it on the counter.
The clerk pointed to the map on the schedule. "Take this line here and you'll find three motels that take cash here, here and..." he adjusted his reading glasses as he looked, "...here."
Crow - The Awakening Page 24