What is Good, and what is Legal, are not always the same.
Eric's gaze slowly slipped between Clara and Johannes and back again.
"Hmm," he said at last, then reached into his jacket's inner pocket to withdraw a small pencil and pad of paper. These, he set down beside the boy. As his jacket fell back into place, the knife sheathed there might become momentarily visible.
"Take notes," he commanded, then returned his attention to Clara.
"I must admit, Mrs. Lutz. I did not anticipate that you would be such a shrewd negotiator."
He took a breath, then nodded, "Very well. Kalispell requires a library. And if that library were to be stocked with books, Johannes could absorb any knowledge necessary from their pages. And your role, then, would be to manage the library as librarian, assuring the right books were available to the young boy. And any other card-carrying members of the library, I suppose..."
Eric touched his chin, "I'll need to procure a suitable building on Main Street. Make a budget for books, which will probably take a month to arrive once ordered. The building will need to be modified, I'm sure, to accommodate the needs of a library. You'll likely want time off, I suppose, surrounding the delivery of your child.
After that, would a dollar per day suit your needs? Ten in the morning until six in the evening, Monday through Friday? And when do you think you can start?"
"I must admit, Mrs. Lutz. I did not anticipate that you would be such a shrewd negotiator."
Despite his attempts to look impassive, Johannes couldn't help but blink! Negotiator?! All he had heard was Mrs Clara Lutz list her satisfactorily long list of shortcomings as a potential teacher. Should he write that down? No, he contented himself with writing the date at the top, like Mrs Orr used to make them do on their tablets. He wrote the place down, too. Kalispell Diner. Pr. E. Krieger, C. Lutz, J. Krieger. Hmm, first time he ever wrote that.
He took a breath, then nodded, "Very well. Kalispell requires a library. And if that library were to be stocked with books, Johannes could absorb any knowledge necessary from their pages. And your role, then, would be to manage the library as librarian, assuring the right books were available to the young boy. And any other card-carrying members of the library, I suppose..."
Hold the boat - they were going to build a library just for him to learn from? This was like something from one of Lewis Carrol's books!
Plan to build a library
Eric touched his chin, "I'll need to procure a suitable building on Main Street. Make a budget for books, which will probably take a month to arrive once ordered. The building will need to be modified, I'm sure, to accommodate the needs of a library. You'll likely want time off, I suppose, surrounding the delivery of your child.
Mrs C. Lutz, Librarian - to order books
After that, would a dollar per day suit your needs? Ten in the morning until six in the evening, Monday through Friday? And when do you think you can start?"
Mon - Fri, 10-6 $1/day
Of course, Clara might refuse the offer, but Johannes noted it all down carefully, in case she did not. He looked up at her finely moulded features, with their dark flashing eyes, her curiously attractive thick eyebrows, her full red... no, no! he didn't like her! He didn't like her!
Wayfarer @[Cuban Writer]
Good negotiator? Clara honestly didn't think she had done anything other than pour cold water on his fire. But he sure wasn't done with his own form of negotiating.
"Very well. Kalispell requires a library. And if that library were to be stocked with books, Johannes could absorb any knowledge necessary from their pages. And your role, then, would be to manage the library as librarian, assuring the right books were available to the young boy. And any other card-carrying members of the library, I suppose..."
Clara blinked, "Wait...what?" He was full steam though like a locomotive.
Eric touched his chin, "I'll need to procure a suitable building on Main Street. Make a budget for books, which will probably take a month to arrive once ordered. The building will need to be modified, I'm sure, to accommodate the needs of a library. You'll likely want time off, I suppose, surrounding the delivery of your child."
"After that, would a dollar per day suit your needs? Ten in the morning until six in the evening, Monday through Friday? And when do you think you can start?"
Oh my, the man was strong on confidence and apparently quite rich too. But, like most men sadly, he was not strong on allowing that others might not fully share his enthusiasm for his big plans.
"Start? I did not even agree to any of this. Do not get me wrong, I am all in favor of a library for our town. It would be a grand benefit and truly a charitable enterprise on your part. I am impressed indeed," Clara would have her say now.
"In case you did not notice, I am running this place on a daily basis and, while I have occasional help, mostly it is me. I do all the cooking and baking. I pick up the supplies from the general store. I wait on customers. And I am running this for my good friend Mrs. Pike whom I promised I would do my very best to keep it going until she returns from her and her husband's post wedding excursion. It has lasted ...well a bit longer than I expected but no matter. I am happy for her. But I simply will not abandon the place now. Regardless of how much you might pay me."
"Secondly and yet also quite importantly - I am not the kind of individual to sit at a desk at a library and fidget until some one comes in to check out a book. I love baking, my mother taught me baking when I was a child. Same with cooking. I have also learned a lot from Mrs. Pike. In fact we make a fine team. I am very fond of her. But I find I like running this diner. Ten to six in a library? I would go mad."
"I would have been open to some scattered hours of tutoring young Johannes here. He seems like a fine young man. But to give up my life for it in some library job? No, I must decline that job offer. I hope you are not upset. But....you see, I am content with my life."
She could have mentioned more such as once she had her baby ten to six would be out of the question. She didn't even know how it would affect her diner job but surely Emeline would be back before then and she would be doing the lion's share of hours.
What is Good, and what is Legal, are not always the same.
Eric looked at Clara for a long moment.
He wondered if genies in bottles experienced similar difficulties. No sooner had she wished for a Kalispell library than she'd been offered one. And no sooner had she been offered one than she'd declined the offer. Perhaps some individuals were self-deceived, not knowing what their own actual desires might be. And if so, he wondered how he could ferret out the truths they might hide from even themselves.
Regardless, at least he was now secure in his initial purpose.
"Well, we can't have a library without a librarian. Scratch out the library, Johannes."
He sighed.
"But since you've just said you are open to tutoring, that is what I'll contract you for.
Please, at your convenience, make a list of materials you'll need to have on-hand, including any books on Philosophy or History you may need to familiarize yourself with before guiding Johannes on lessons from the material. I'll have to order anything you need in advance, as not much is liable to be available locally.
Does twenty-five cents per hour sound acceptable, Mrs. Lutz, at times when you are free from other obligations?"
"Well, we can't have a library without a librarian. Scratch out the library, Johannes."
The lad put a line through all the library notes, but not so thickly that what had passed could not be referred back to.
"But since you've just said you are open to tutoring, that is what I'll contract you for.
CL to become Tutor to JK
Please, at your convenience, make a list of materials you'll need to have on-hand, including any books on Philosophy or History you may need to familiarize yourself with before guiding Johannes on lessons from the material. I'll have to order anything you need in advance, as not much is liable to be available locally.
Does twenty-five cents per hour sound acceptable, Mrs. Lutz, at times when you are free from other obligations?"
Johannes waited patiently for Mrs Lutz's answer before marking anything else down: she was was certainly a self possessed young woman who would not be pressured into anything she didn't find acceptable. He didn't want to have to do any more crossing out.
Well, we can't have a library without a librarian. Scratch out the library, Johannes."
He sighed.
"Did you ever think that there just might be other women in town who possibly would apply for the job?" Clara thought he quit on that idea awfully fast.
"But since you've just said you are open to tutoring, that is what I'll contract you for."
Clara thought 'possibly contract me' but kept quiet and listened to the details. He was a determined fellow and she admired that in people.
"Please, at your convenience, make a list of materials you'll need to have on-hand, including any books on Philosophy or History you may need to familiarize yourself with before guiding Johannes on lessons from the material. I'll have to order anything you need in advance, as not much is liable to be available locally. "
"Does twenty-five cents per hour sound acceptable, Mrs. Lutz, at times when you are free from other obligations?"
"Well................it does sound acceptable when I am free. But if you can can come up with philosophy books or whatever else you want me to work with Johannes here, then please do so. I do not even know any books of that kind. I do have a few histories in mind at least. Perhaps a few of the classic novels too. I even own a few."
"So yes, Mr. Krieger, you have yourself a deal. If Johannes here is even half as determined to learn as you are to strike up deals, we should work out splendidly," Clara turned to the boy.
"I will be looking forward to working with you," she even managed a fairly passable smile.
Storyteller / Shared NPC
OOC: This thread is now wrapped up by agreement of all parties!