office for the pastor. And right out the back door was the little yellow house that was about to become their home. He walked through it with Clay. There were three bedrooms upstairs, in case the pastor had children, a big livingroom downstairs, a cozy country kitchen with a dining area, and a playroom in the basement. It was all they needed. And Jenny could use one of the bedrooms as her office. Bill could see that the house was freshly painted. The bedroom was pale blue, and everything else was white, except the kitchen, which was yellow. It was bright and cheerful. There was a washing machine and a dishwasher and two bathrooms. It was more than adequate, and had a warm, cozy feeling to it. Bill turned to look at Clay with a happy smile.
“It’s perfect,” he said, feeling like a kid with his first bicycle.
“I’m glad you like it. Call me if you need anything. I left one of our trucks from the ranch out back so you can get around, but you’ll need to buy your own, and I put one of our horses in the stall. He’s a good, solid ride named Navajo. He’s sure-footed, which is useful around here.” Bill nodded. They had thought of everything to make him feel at home. Clay jotted down his phone number and handed it to him, and as Bill looked around the kitchen, he realized that there was food everywhere, in casserole dishes, baskets, and bowls, with cellophane around it, with big red bows. The refrigerator was full. Bill looked at Clay in surprise, and he laughed. “Your congregation will take good care of you. At least you won’t starve. They wanted you to feel welcome.” He felt very welcome, and he shook hands with Clay and thanked him again. And after he left, Bill looked around again and did a little jig all by himself. And then he walked back into the church, knelt down at the altar, and said a prayer of deep thanks. Sts. Peter and Paul had been worth waiting for, and he could hardly wait for Jenny to see it.
He called her that night and described everything to her, and hearing him so elated told her that their decision had been the rightone. She had spent the day explaining to her clients that she was taking a year off to support her husband in his ministry. Everyone was shocked and couldn’t believe she was moving.
It made the front page of Women’s Wear Daily a few days later, and all her clients were in a panic. Two of them told her that they couldn’t manage with reduced creative input and asked her to help them find new consultants, which she agreed to do. And five of them agreed to try and work with Azaya, and Jenny herself long distance, if she would agree to fly in to help them occasionally if a crisis came up. She promised to be there for Fashion Week, and a week before that to set up their shows. She was impressed that they were willing to stay with her, despite her unexpected relocation to Wyoming, and it made the move considerably less traumatic for her. She didn’t have to give up everything and everyone, and she and Azaya had endless meetings to brief her on what she didn’t know. She went to all of Jenny’s meetings with her before she left, so the clients would start getting used to dealing with her when they needed face-to-face meetings in New York.
And on her last weekend in New York, Jenny’s mother came up from Philadelphia to spend a few days with her. Helene was sad to see her leave, but Jenny was so excited about it that Helene was hopeful for her that it was the right thing to do. She tried not to compare it to her own dark memories of moving to a coal mining town thirty years before. And from everything Bill was telling her, Jenny said the area was beautiful, and their new home looked like a dollhouse. He had taken photographs of it, and she showed them to her mother. And it did in fact look like a very nice place. And between preparing his first sermon, and driving around the area tomeet the members of his congregation, he had managed to go to the shopping mall Clay had told
“It’s perfect,” he said, feeling like a kid with his first bicycle.
“I’m glad you like it. Call me if you need anything. I left one of our trucks from the ranch out back so you can get around, but you’ll need to buy your own, and I put one of our horses in the stall. He’s a good, solid ride named Navajo. He’s sure-footed, which is useful around here.” Bill nodded. They had thought of everything to make him feel at home. Clay jotted down his phone number and handed it to him, and as Bill looked around the kitchen, he realized that there was food everywhere, in casserole dishes, baskets, and bowls, with cellophane around it, with big red bows. The refrigerator was full. Bill looked at Clay in surprise, and he laughed. “Your congregation will take good care of you. At least you won’t starve. They wanted you to feel welcome.” He felt very welcome, and he shook hands with Clay and thanked him again. And after he left, Bill looked around again and did a little jig all by himself. And then he walked back into the church, knelt down at the altar, and said a prayer of deep thanks. Sts. Peter and Paul had been worth waiting for, and he could hardly wait for Jenny to see it.
He called her that night and described everything to her, and hearing him so elated told her that their decision had been the rightone. She had spent the day explaining to her clients that she was taking a year off to support her husband in his ministry. Everyone was shocked and couldn’t believe she was moving.
It made the front page of Women’s Wear Daily a few days later, and all her clients were in a panic. Two of them told her that they couldn’t manage with reduced creative input and asked her to help them find new consultants, which she agreed to do. And five of them agreed to try and work with Azaya, and Jenny herself long distance, if she would agree to fly in to help them occasionally if a crisis came up. She promised to be there for Fashion Week, and a week before that to set up their shows. She was impressed that they were willing to stay with her, despite her unexpected relocation to Wyoming, and it made the move considerably less traumatic for her. She didn’t have to give up everything and everyone, and she and Azaya had endless meetings to brief her on what she didn’t know. She went to all of Jenny’s meetings with her before she left, so the clients would start getting used to dealing with her when they needed face-to-face meetings in New York.
And on her last weekend in New York, Jenny’s mother came up from Philadelphia to spend a few days with her. Helene was sad to see her leave, but Jenny was so excited about it that Helene was hopeful for her that it was the right thing to do. She tried not to compare it to her own dark memories of moving to a coal mining town thirty years before. And from everything Bill was telling her, Jenny said the area was beautiful, and their new home looked like a dollhouse. He had taken photographs of it, and she showed them to her mother. And it did in fact look like a very nice place. And between preparing his first sermon, and driving around the area tomeet the members of his congregation, he had managed to go to the shopping mall Clay had told
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