Chapter 4: Joe Stirs Things Up
Joe was
standing outside Holt’s Western Wear with old Ben Holt. It turned out the problem with his furnace
wasn’t a serious one. Joe was going to
have to order him a new thermostat but he would have it in a few days and it
looked like the worst of the cold weather would hold off till then. Ben was in a talkative mood and he always let
the old man talk. He’d heard the stories
many times before but Ben was a good storyteller and Joe enjoyed his company.
Holt’s was next door to the Ace Hardware, and two doors down from the Piece of Work. Edna had never been a big fan of the place, and hadn’t set foot in it for years. Of course, Joe had heard all about the blue ribbon conspiracy and didn’t doubt it was true. He’d never cared for Sue Walters, even back in elementary school. She was a teacher’s pet in the classroom / tyrant on the playground kind of kid. When she opened her quilt shop Joe quipped to Edna upon hearing the name, “sounds like she named it after herself.”
When his old friend Buck married Sue a few years after high school, Joe didn’t think it would last. Buck was a good ol’ boy, a salesman at the only car dealer in town, and although he could be charming Joe’d be surprised if he had two brain cells to rub together. Maybe he’s not bright enough to know what he’s getting into, he thought, either that or Sue’d put some Love Potion #9 in his Coors Light.
Turned out Joe was right. About ten years later, Buck split with the parts dispatcher at the dealership, a fiery gal barely out of her teens, and a heck of a lot more fun than Sue. None of the men in town blamed him, (although they’d never say so to their wives). Fact was, Sue was a world class shrew. All the women in town seemed to take her side but as Edna told him they just did it to make their husbands think twice about following Buck’s lead. There were many who actually thought she got what she deserved, but they were too afraid to say it to her face, or take the risk of it getting back to her. Sue was formidable, you’d have to be very thick skinned to take her on.
Old Ben was just winding up to tell his favorite story when Joe felt a tugging on his sleeve. He looked down to see little Amy Sims, pleadingly asking him to come quickly. Not knowing what was wrong he followed Amy into the Piece of Work, where he immediately saw the problem. One whole shelf full of fabric bolts had tumbled over on top of Sue Walters, who lay there screaming. Joe carefully removed the shelf, and then he and Amy pulled bolt after bolt off of Sue. Amy was in tears, nearly hysterical, and Sue had calmed down from screaming to whining.
“Oh, shut up Amy, I’m OK,” Sue spat out as the last few bolts were removed.
Joe propped the bolts up out of the way while Amy checked on Sue. She did appear to be OK physically, although she might feel it in the morning. While the other women in the shop gathered around her, Joe started examining the shelf to see what had caused it to fall. He was shocked to discover that whoever’d built it hadn’t anchored it firmly to the wall. His curiousity piqued, he systematically went over all of the shelves around the perimeter of the store. They were all shaky and unstable.
By this time Sue had picked herself up off of the ground and was surveying the chaos. Sure enough, at least 20 bolts had fallen, knocking not only her down, but several surrounding rounds and displays.
“Are you sure you’re OK Sue?” Joe asked as he came up beside her.
Sue looked startled, she hadn’t even realized he was there, and of all people to see her in that state! The only thing that could make it worse was if Edna was with him. Quickly looking around Sue sighed with relief when she realized she wasn’t.
At that moment the door swung open and Deputy Clark came in.
“Ben Holt called me, what’s happened here?”
Deputy Travis Clark was an old friend of Joe’s. Calm in crisis, he also had no problem doing what had to be done.
Before Sue could answer, Joe stepped up.
“These shelves are dangerous, Travis, looks like whoever put them up didn’t use any anchor bolts. The whole place could come down on us at any moment.”
Sue blanched, and shot Joe a withering glance.
The Deputy did a cursory examination himself, concurring with Joe. “Yeah, these are pretty shaky,” then turning to Sue, “I’m sorry Sue but until you get these fixed I’m going to have to shut you down.”
The customers gasped while Sue fumed.
“There’s no way I’m shutting down. Heck, these shelves have been up here for years without trouble, I just tugged too hard pulling down that bolt.”
“Now, Sue, I know this is hard for you, but I’m sure it can be resolved in a day or two. Joe here could probably get it done for you, couldn’t you Joe?” Travis turned to Joe and it was his turn to blanch.
“I could but I wouldn’t recommend these kinds of shelves. They’re too flimsy to handle that much weight. I’d suggest you get a carpenter to build you some heavy duty shelves he can bolt into the wall studs.”
Joe had never turned down a job before but this was one he knew he didn’t want. “ I have a friend over Niman-way that helped me put up the shelves in Edna’s studio. He’s a good carpenter and reasonable, I could call him for you if you’d like.”
“I wouldn’t like,” Sue shot back, “The shelves here are just fine, and” she turned to face Deputy Clark, “I’m not shutting down either!”
“Suit yourself Sue, but the county will be out here in the morning and if the inspector says it’s unsafe, you’re closed until you fix it.” The deputy turned to walk out, with Joe following close behind.
As Travis left the shop, Sue caught up with Joe.
“This is all your fault, yours! And you can bet I won’t forget it!”
Joe knew she wouldn’t, he was glad he didn’t care if she never did.
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