The Cabin at the End of Herrick Road. Derek Wachter
we move farther and farther away from friends and family too.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” said Matt, grabbing a bowl from the pantry and a box of cereal from the selection of cereals above the refrigerator. “I just can’t handle life here in the city. Like how damn busy it gets here as soon as we step out that door. Let’s face it, as soon as you and I walk out that door we don’t see one another or communicate with one another until six or even seven o’clock at night again until we get back home. Well, we text during the day, but that’s it.” Matt set the bowl down on the kitchen counter and poured cereal into it.
“Is this a communication thing?” asked Christina. “We could take lunches together more often?”
“No, this isn’t about that, Chris. I feel like our communication is fine. What this is is a life passing us up thing though. Chris, you’re twenty-nine and I’m thirty-one, and outside of our careers what have we really done with our lives up to now? We have no children, and we live in a townhouse two-level condo in Olympia, which is cool, but don’t you think it would be somewhat better if we lived in a log cabin somewhere that we owned outright, living off the grid? Hooked up to some solar generator panels for electricity, maybe come to town once in a while to get groceries or something. I just think that it would be a great way to really rely on one another, ya know? Develop deeper trust in one another and commitment to one another to make it work. And on top of all that, get away from all this damn chaos,” said Matt, opening the kitchen blinds to reveal traffic backed up along I-5.
Matt opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the jug of milk. Pouring milk into his cereal, Matt began to eat.
“Matt, yes, that does sound appealing, but we have responsibilities here. What you’re talking about is something that a couple who are near retirement would do. You and I are both far from retirement by at least thirty…thirty-five years. Look, I’m not saying that your dream is impossible, it’s just…the thing is that the timing isn’t right for us right now. For either one of us.”
Matt finished his cereal and washed the dish out in the sink.
“Yeah, I know you’re right. I guess I can just live a dream for now then.”
After Matt finished washing his bowl out, he looked out the window, watching all the traffic on I-5 coming to a congested standstill, as it does every weekday morning. Christina came up from behind Matt, grabbing him around the waist, and gave him a hug.
“I love you, Matt.”
“I love you too, Chris.”
Both watched the early morning traffic become log jammed on the interstate together from the kitchen window.
“Well, I need to get going to work. Try and fight all that traffic congestion out there. Sometimes I wish I had a plane to just fly over it,” said Matt.
“Yeah, I need to get going too,” said Christina.
“What time is it?” asked Matt.
“It’s almost 7:30 a.m.”
“Shit,” said Matt. “Well, I’m probably gonna be late for work.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Matt walked into the living room from the kitchen. Grabbing a satchel bag and swinging it over his shoulder, he turned and said, “All right, I need to get going. Love you, baby.” Matt gave Christina a goodbye kiss.
“Love you too, have a good day at work,” replied Christina.
“I will. You too.”
Matt opened the front door and he walked out and hurried down the steps of their condo home to his car. Christina hurried and grabbed her coffee from the table. Taking a couple quick drinks from the mug she poured the rest out into the sink, then washed the mug out with water from the faucet and set the mug in the sink. Christina looked up again at the traffic on the interstate and sighed. She turned the coffeemaker off and ran toward the front door.
“I’m not going to make it in time,” she said to herself.
Nevertheless, Christina hurried and grabbed her own satchel bag from the coat hanger on the front door, as well as her purse, and took off out the front door, locking the door behind her. She hurried down the steps, nearly missing the last step down to the ground. She hurried to her car and got in. Starting the car, she backed out of her driveway and onto the road, toward the I-5 freeway entrance ramp.
“No way I make it to work before 8:30 this morning. No damn way,” said Christina to herself, shaking her head. Perhaps her husband was right. Christina was getting tired of the same old monotonous routine every morning of fighting traffic to simply get four exits down on the freeway to take her turn off onto Deschutes Way, only to go from interstate traffic to city traffic. Her office was up by the Tumwater Historical Park, overlooking the Deschutes River. It was a nice two-level building owned by Don and Chad Klemme named Klemme and Klemme after the duo who owned the accounting firm over the past twenty-four years. The management offices were upstairs in the building, while the accountants stayed downstairs for the clients. The firm worked in business areas of large company accounting, small business, and individual. They even had a representative that worked along with the IRS at the facility, although Christina never had to deal with the IRS. Christina worked along with the small business department, working with local ma-and-pa stores in the area and all the way down I-5 to Chehalis, Washington. She had a heavy case load for the company. Don and Chad Klemme had a lot of faith in the work that Christina does, so Christina carried a caseload of eighteen clients, while everyone else carried at the most eight. Ever since day one though, both the Klemme men had a great deal of respect for her and the hard work she would do for the company.
In the small business department, Christina had a friend that worked with her, named Jessica. Jessica was considered the newest employee to the firm, although she has been with the company for nearly three years now. Jessica also worked a different shift than Christina. She would get to the office around seven in the morning, compared to Christina who would come in by eight in the morning, pending the heavy traffic on the interstate of course. In the past three years though, the girls became very close to one another. Christina took Jessica under her wing and showed her the ropes of the accounting business and how to work alongside the local smaller stores as they competed against the larger companies that would try and drown them out in the Olympia market. This morning Christina arrived at her office closer to eight twenty. She parked her car in a parking stall fairly close to the building and walked into the building. There Christina saw the older Klemme of the two, Don, standing near the front desk. Mr. Klemme looked up and smiled as he saw Christina walking in.
“Christina! Glad you made it this morning,” said Don.
“I know, Mr. Klemme, the traffic out there was terrible. I’m sorry for being late,” replied Christina.
“Oh, don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it at all.” Don placed his arm around the shoulder of Christina, walking toward her desk together. “I need you to do me favor this morning though. Johnson’s Worm Ranch down by the pier on the waterfront…they called and want to establish a new account with us, so I want you to take charge of this account. I know that this would put your caseload at nineteen, and I know this is a large and reputable smaller store in the Olympia area, but I want this job done right and efficient…and I know you can do it. My son and I have all the confidence in the world in you to do it right.”
“Well, I’ll certainly try, Mr. Klemme.”
Don removed his arm from her shoulder and patted her on the back twice. “Try you will, and as usual, you will be successful. Chad and I have trusted your work for a long time now. We know you can do it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Klemme.”
Don smiled and walked away. Christina opened the glass door to her office area where the other accountants were working away at their files. Jessica saw Christina walk in and waved at her from the back where their desks were. Christina smiled and waved back, walking to her desk across the aisle from Jessica she sat down and set her bag down on her desk along with