business, but maybe Greg has some good ideas? We can at least hear him out.”
“But cancelling our contract with Georgia Wholesale? They let Dad operate on credit for the first six months we were in business. No one does that nowadays. They took a chance on us, and now Greg is just going to toss them aside like yesterday’s newspaper?”
“Give me a little time to figure out what’s going on with the business. Does Dad keep any information at home? I need to do some research.” And a little after-dark clandestine investigation at the store, but she didn’t need to know about that.
“I’m sure he must have some things in his office, but I don’t know what. I never had all that much to do with the store other than helping out behind the counter when they needed me. Once we hired Anita, I was only there maybe one or two times a week, if that.”
“You said something about Ellie getting the inventory computerized. I thought she was an accountant?”
“She is, but when she started doing our taxes for us, she was appalled at Dad’s old-fashioned bookkeeping and kept at him until he let her install a whole new system. Lord, how your father hated that computer for the first month. I thought he was going to take a sledge hammer to it at least ten different times.”
“What changed his mind?” Grant had a hard time picturing his father behind a keyboard.
“The next time Ellie had to do the quarterly taxes, she was able to pull up all the information and turn in the paperwork online in next to no time. Suddenly, Dad thought it was a wonderful thing to have all the inventory, sales and expenses online. A year or so later, she built our website, although someone else maintains it for us. She doesn’t have the time to keep up with the day-to-day stuff.”
“What program did she install?” He didn’t know a lot about software, but his buddy Dingo was a computer whiz. Grant made a mental note to send Dingo a text to gather some intel.
“She created one for the store herself. Said there was nothing available that would do what she wanted, and since she was doing the taxes, she knew exactly what she needed.”
“Hold on, she created her own software program? That’s not something most accountants do.”
“I know. Which is why I’m madder than a wet hen that Greg fired her. And she didn’t say a word to me about it either. I’m going to have words with that girl.”
“Mom, how did Ellie know how to develop this program?”
“Oh, she double majored in computer engineering and accounting. Said she wanted to keep her options open. She was always a whiz at math and took to computers like a duck to water. If her grandma’s health hadn’t been so poor, she could have gone to M.I.T., she was offered a full scholarship there.”
“I think I remember her taking the senior math classes when the old high school closed down and we all went to Canton Regional, but she was two years younger than me and I didn’t really notice her.”
“For heaven’s sake, she lived next door. How could you miss her?”
“I was more interested in girls who looked like Chastity than in brainiacs in high school.”
“Just because she didn’t have breasts the size of watermelons was no reason for you to overlook her.”
“Mom, I was a teenage boy, all I noticed were breasts.”
“Well,” she said with a huff, “I’m glad to see you’ve matured in the last ten years.”
“Absolutely. Now I notice legs too, and Ellie’s go all the way up to her neck.”
“Grant Edward!”
“Relax, I’m teasing you.” Sort of. Ellie’s legs really did go on for miles, and he’d noticed them, all right.
“You could do worse than a girl like Ellie, you know. I never said anything about Chastity because she was your choice and I knew you were head over heels in love with her, but she was never the right girl for you.”
“Mom, what happened between me and Chastity was as much my fault as hers. It isn’t easy being married to
“But cancelling our contract with Georgia Wholesale? They let Dad operate on credit for the first six months we were in business. No one does that nowadays. They took a chance on us, and now Greg is just going to toss them aside like yesterday’s newspaper?”
“Give me a little time to figure out what’s going on with the business. Does Dad keep any information at home? I need to do some research.” And a little after-dark clandestine investigation at the store, but she didn’t need to know about that.
“I’m sure he must have some things in his office, but I don’t know what. I never had all that much to do with the store other than helping out behind the counter when they needed me. Once we hired Anita, I was only there maybe one or two times a week, if that.”
“You said something about Ellie getting the inventory computerized. I thought she was an accountant?”
“She is, but when she started doing our taxes for us, she was appalled at Dad’s old-fashioned bookkeeping and kept at him until he let her install a whole new system. Lord, how your father hated that computer for the first month. I thought he was going to take a sledge hammer to it at least ten different times.”
“What changed his mind?” Grant had a hard time picturing his father behind a keyboard.
“The next time Ellie had to do the quarterly taxes, she was able to pull up all the information and turn in the paperwork online in next to no time. Suddenly, Dad thought it was a wonderful thing to have all the inventory, sales and expenses online. A year or so later, she built our website, although someone else maintains it for us. She doesn’t have the time to keep up with the day-to-day stuff.”
“What program did she install?” He didn’t know a lot about software, but his buddy Dingo was a computer whiz. Grant made a mental note to send Dingo a text to gather some intel.
“She created one for the store herself. Said there was nothing available that would do what she wanted, and since she was doing the taxes, she knew exactly what she needed.”
“Hold on, she created her own software program? That’s not something most accountants do.”
“I know. Which is why I’m madder than a wet hen that Greg fired her. And she didn’t say a word to me about it either. I’m going to have words with that girl.”
“Mom, how did Ellie know how to develop this program?”
“Oh, she double majored in computer engineering and accounting. Said she wanted to keep her options open. She was always a whiz at math and took to computers like a duck to water. If her grandma’s health hadn’t been so poor, she could have gone to M.I.T., she was offered a full scholarship there.”
“I think I remember her taking the senior math classes when the old high school closed down and we all went to Canton Regional, but she was two years younger than me and I didn’t really notice her.”
“For heaven’s sake, she lived next door. How could you miss her?”
“I was more interested in girls who looked like Chastity than in brainiacs in high school.”
“Just because she didn’t have breasts the size of watermelons was no reason for you to overlook her.”
“Mom, I was a teenage boy, all I noticed were breasts.”
“Well,” she said with a huff, “I’m glad to see you’ve matured in the last ten years.”
“Absolutely. Now I notice legs too, and Ellie’s go all the way up to her neck.”
“Grant Edward!”
“Relax, I’m teasing you.” Sort of. Ellie’s legs really did go on for miles, and he’d noticed them, all right.
“You could do worse than a girl like Ellie, you know. I never said anything about Chastity because she was your choice and I knew you were head over heels in love with her, but she was never the right girl for you.”
“Mom, what happened between me and Chastity was as much my fault as hers. It isn’t easy being married to
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