New Roommate

Robbie called us late on Friday evening to let us know that another Parchment ‘gal’ would be joining us as a roommate. He assured us that she was ‘really nice’ and we would meet her on Sunday. We certainly had the extra room for her in our lodgings with our three beds.

At that Sunday meeting I had had my biggest week of the summer. I was asked to stand and ‘share’ (read: testify) how that had happened to my fellow Parchmenters. I said, “Really, really hard work.” Robbie looked disappointed with that brief and essentially meaningless response. But, it was better than the real answer which was really that it was just good old country territory, with gullible and blindly religious rural folks. You know prime territory; the unacceptable answer when all territory is alike. I knew no one wanted to hear that and that I would have caught hell for saying so.

Mary and I met Chris, our new roomie, at some point during the meeting. Rumors had it that she had ‘boyfriend troubles’ at her last territory. I didn’t doubt it for a moment when I thought about what happened to me. It was easy to find trouble of that kind out here, especially with these oversexed Parchment guys. This move would take her away from the problem. All I could think was that if our territory was considered a safe haven from boy troubles, we were in all trouble. There would be no place to send me but home if I complained about the incident with Chip.

She was very pretty, brown wavy hair, big blue eyes, curvaceous and a little taller then me. No doubt she would find trouble out here, looking like that. She seemed warm and nice, and I was looking forward to having someone to really talk to, after my apparent rift with Mary.

At that meeting another sales manager shared with us ‘girls’ that many sellers were asking double the recommended price for the books. I didn’t think I could do that for ethical reasons, but the monetary temptation was too great not to. Mary said that she was already doing it. I was astounded! How could she? She was religious, how did that practice square with her personal morals? In all practicality though, what if customers sold to at the lower price spoke with those who paid the higher price? That thought terrified me.