Uncharted Fate by Cynthia Racette Read Free Book Online Page A

4
    It was the middle of March and the weather was starting to turn milder. The snow melted, albeit in a messy, ugly manner.
    The estate had finally been settled and Anna’s accounts looked, at least for the time being, healthier. The insurance check had arrived three weeks earlier, so she’d been able to pay all her bills and pay off the car and furniture. Reducing her monthly bills to the house payment, heat, utilities, and food did help.
    But those were enough to make her realize she’d better find some kind of job, any kind of job, soon. They weren’t eating hot dogs every night anymore. Since she was being thrifty and careful with their money, they weren't eating steak, either.
    Anna made forays into the business and industrial world almost daily. She knew the ‘help-wanted’ ads well enough that a mere glance at them every night told her if there was a new job listed. Every time one turned up for which there was a remote possibility she could be hired, she applied for it the next day. Thus far she’d received only a varied list of rejections. Finally, she decided she had no choice except to take Rose’s advice and go to an employment agency downtown.
    She had an interview with one this morning and dressed with care in a light blue wool dress. Once there, she filled out the multitude of forms and answered all the interviewer’s questions, just as she'd done dozens of times over the past month. The interviewer listened closely and made notations on the bottom of her application.
    Then he flipped through his rotary card file. "I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you right now," he said with a shake of his head.
    "Nothing?" Her spirits dropped. "You must have something I could at least apply for. You have hundreds of cards there.”
    "No, nothing. You are intelligent and presentable but the fact is, nonetheless, you have no real marketable skills. If you were younger and didn’t have a family, I’d tell you to go back to school. I realize you can’t afford to take that long with the position you're in. Also, if you were younger, we might be able to place you in a job with a training program. Unfortunately such programs usually ask for applicants in their early twenties."
    "Couldn’t I try applying to some places, anyway? They might consider me."
    "I’m sorry. We can’t. It’s against our policy. If we sent applicants who were unqualified to companies, they’d stop using us. The word would get around that we were unreliable. We have to maintain a good reputation for reliability. It’s the only way we can stay in business."
    "It sounds to as if you’re more interested in serving your companies than the individuals who apply to you."
    "In this business it’s the same thing. If we don’t keep the corporations happy, we don’t get listings, and if we don’t get listings, we don’t serve anyone." His voice had turned testy and she began to wish she kept her mouth shut. He’d probably never call her now.
    "If anything comes up for which you’re qualified," he said, with palpable annoyance, "I’ll let you know right away. Meanwhile, I suggest you keep looking on your own."
    Anna’s shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yes, thank you, I will. I have to get a job soon." She'd had about enough of him and stood, glaring at him in anger. "I’ll make it on my own, thank you. Something will turn up soon, I'm sure." Then she stormed out of his office, furious, hurt, and disappointed.
    Depressed, Anna wandered around downtown for a while, unwilling to go home and face her empty house in the mood she was in. She saw the sign for Betty’s Diner on Court Street down from the unemployment office, and decided to go in for a cup of coffee.
    As she stood aside to let two elderly ladies come through the door, she noticed a small, white card tucked into the window beside the door. ‘Waitress Wanted.’
    Anna’s heart skipped a beat. They needed a waitress and the sign didn’t say ‘experienced.’ She looked around her