How Green Becomes Wood

"I can lift qnd carry as good and better as anybody can. I can hammer nine out of ten nails straight first try. I can do absolute basic electrical problem solving, and I'm not stupid enough to think I can do more than I really can. I like not being electrocuted. I can drill, too, and I haven't used a table saw, but I have the basic idea of how one works. I can paint really good, too, jot a bunch of splatters everywhere."
 
"Why are you so against a girl working for you?" Rumy asked bluntly.

Her father had been sneaking a peak at his phone under the table, but he jumped a little at Rumy's question. "I'm sure it's not that at all," he said hastily. "There's a lot to consider when hiring for a small business! Right, Mr. Cooger?"
 
Cooger held up a hand, "It ain't cause you're a girl, I can promise you that. But you're a stranger to me, and a teenager. I'm interested in my safety, your safety, and the needs to my buisness and if I take you on, I'd need all sorts of insurances and the process of having a proper apprentice with me would change how I do thinks, would have to affect my prices, so on my end there's a lot I gotta worry about. I don't just do this for fun and I'd be telling you the same thing if you were a boy."
 
"If you did this for fun, I wouldn't be talking to you. I don't want fun, I want life skills," Rumy stated. "I want someone to teach me real, actual life skills. My only other option is the hardware store, and I worked there the last two summers and learned how to tell all the tools apart, but that doesn't mean I know how to use them. No one will teach 'a kid' how to use the things, just how to sell them. You don't need insurance. I already checked it out. All you need is a contract saying my parents won't sue you if I'm stupid enough to cut my own thumb off. I don't want to cut my thumb off or anyone else's, which means I'm just as interested in yours and mine safety as you are."
 
Cooger looked at her for a few moments, wondering if this was a discussion or a debate, "So if I'm billing by the hour and the project takes longer than it normally would because I'm teaching you, what do I explain to my clients?"
 
"That I'm a new hire," she said simply. "Most people get that, don't they?" She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. "What do you normally tell them if it takes longer than it normally might?"

Clarence's phone rang, and he checked it. "Oh, I need to take this. Be right back." He headed out, answering the phone as he went.
 
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"I think our talk is more argumentative than I want it to be," Cooger said, tipping his chair back slightly, "and I'm sorry about that. Don't mean to cause any offense. I know you really want to come and work with me, and that's flattering 'cause I know I ain't the only one in my line of work. I don't like to think of myself as a bad guy or a guy who's only interested in buisness, but the truth is, I was pretty cozy in the place my work has been and I've not been looking to hire anyone, yeah? If I had ads out, kid, you'd have the job, but as it stands I gotta balance if I want to take on the responsibility of having an apprentice, understand?"
 
"You made it sound like all I had to do was convince you there was a good reason to hire me, so that's what I've been doing," Rumy stated heavily. "Look. I need a job. Any job, but it's not about the money. I can get one at the hardware store, but it's a waste of my time. I want to learn how to do things for myself, take care of things for myself, fix my own stuff. I'm not going to learn that at the hardware store, but if I don't have a job taking up my time in a 'practical' and 'necessary' manner, my mom's going to fill my schedule with dates with her friends' kids. Do you have any idea what that's like? To have blind or nearly blind dates lined up for you basically every Saturday? You're not the only one in your line of work, but you are the only one that every person I talk to who knows about you sounds like they'd trust you with their lives. So. If you're not hiring, then who do you know that is that you'd trust?"
 
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Cooger sighed heavily, tugging on his beard. He was silent for a long while listening to her before finally saying, "I can take you on a job or two a week. I can see you're passionate, and hell, I can't say I don't admire that. Just can't be training someone on the daily and have it get in the way of what I need to do. Gotta take care of my own."
 
Rumy's face lit up, and her eyes gleamed with cautious hope. "Really? You mean it? You'll take me on part-time? I'm good with part-time! Even once a week is awesome. I swear, I won't make you regret it! I'll take any hours you give me, and I won't ask for more. I'll just tell you every Sunday what my free hours are like. But I won't ask, I'll wait for you to tell me when and where." She held out a hand.
 
"That sounds just fine kid," Cooger said, shaking her hand, "I've got your number, so I'll contact you when there's a good first job for you." He looked to her father, "Is there anything you need to know?"
 
"Excellent. Rumy can email that over to me whenever you've got it, and I'll e-sign it," Clarence said, already standing, his eyes on his phone. "Great to meet you! I can tell you'll be a good example for our girl." He headed off.

Rumy sighed as she watched him go. "Really helpful meeting my folks, wasn't it?" she asked sardonically with a quirky smile. "He's a good dad, though. Just busy. Thanks for giving me a chance, Mr. Cooger."
 
"I ain't trying to be a good example, sir, I'm just trying to do my job." Cooger said simply. Then he looked down at Rumy and said, in a moment which demonstrated how his dearest friendship rubbed off on him, "We know who each other are now. One day you'll be glad I ain't the sorta man to just agree to meet a young woman all by her lonesome."
 
"I already met a guy like that," Rumy said, standing up. "I broke his kneecap. But you're right, so, thanks for looking out for me, sir. See you soon!" She headed off happily.

Later, in the car with her father driving, she texted Sloan. Hey, guess what? I landed an absolute dream job!
 
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