He didn’t.
Joule started the engine as Sarah turned to face the middle of the car and said, “I was considering getting a cat.” The words hung for just a moment before she added, “Is anyone opposed?”
The other three looked to each other, Joule shrugging while keeping her eyes in front of her as she pulled the car out of the spot and headed toward the lot exit.
Sarah spoke again, maybe trying to clear up a very lackluster response. Had she expected them to be excited? “I guess maybe more importantly: is anyone allergic?”
Both of the twins shook their heads. Cage, in the backseat with Dev, waited for his roommate, who also shook his head but still managed a protest. “I'm not cleaning the litter box, though. And I don't want to smell it.”
“Agreed,” came from Joule as she wheeled out over the curb and onto the main road. Behind them, the last three cars were starting up and pulling out, leaving the lot and his hopes empty.
At least a conversation about a cat would help him shake off some of the irritation from the meeting. Though there had been people who asked questions about things like water pollution, Radnor had clearly told them no.
“There's no water pollution from the array. No more than when you paint your house and less than when you wash your car in the driveway.” He’d answered the question of whether they would have to look at “the eyesore of that ugly solar field,” with “You’re more than welcome to grow bushes or trees at the edge of your property, so you don't have to see it.”
That hadn’t been very tactful, but he’d followed that right up with, “You will also, regardless of that, get a much lower power bill.” Radnor hadn't been the best person to put in charge, Cage realized. He’d answered many of the questions, but not with the soft touch that might have gone over better.
Though a good number of the locals seemed to understand and take the information for what it was, in the end, Jerry—no surprise there—had led a charge accusing Helio systems tech of stealing jobs.
It was Dr. Chithra Murasawa who'd stood up and looked around the room, the frown on her face asking if all of those attending were stupid. But the words that followed made Cage understand. “You are aware that there's an application system?”
Some had nodded their heads, but others hadn’t. Murasawa filled everyone in, even Cage and Joule. “If anyone loses a job because of us, we will hire you, and we will provide all the training for that job.”
“But how will it pay?” One of the angry workers had shot off the words as an accusation.
Murasawa handled it as though he’d asked in a kind and inquisitive tone. “We've done salary comparisons. We pay for training and at each level, and we pay better than the local power plant is paying.”
She’d been ready to sit down, her information dispensed, everyone educated.
But Jerry protested. “I work at the power plant. It’s what I do. This is my job, and it's what I'm trained for. I shouldn't have to get trained for anything else.”
All the Helio Systems workers could see Dr. Murasawa’s tight smile as she fought to keep from barking out a laugh. “No one is guaranteed a job forever. Not me. Not any of us at this table. But we're offering you a job with less physical impact to your body and a better outcome for your neighbors.”
It was a good, if subtle hit, but Jerry missed it or didn’t care. He barked out a laugh, as though his power plant job was perfectly safe.
“And at a higher salary,” Dr. Murasawa had repeated, pushing the words through her teeth. Radnor had tugged on her sleeve, suddenly the voice of tact.
“Well, I don't want to work for you,” Jerry shot back as though it was an insult.
Cage thought working with Jerry would be a punishment in itself, and he wanted to stand up and say, “Good!” But Dr. Murasawa managed to keep her calm. “Okay. However, the offer still stands.”
She’d looked out at the rest of the crowd, made up of some of their own workers and many locals who were apparently afraid of disrupting a life built on less than steady systems. They weren’t anxious to change anything that wasn’t actively hurting them. “We are offering jobs for anyone who loses a power systems job because of our arrival. We will need ongoing support for the array, and we want to put local people into those jobs. We’ll train.”
Cage thought it was a more than equitable solution, but the meeting had devolved into yelling and complaints. No one was happy. The mayor had to stand up and tell everyone to be quiet and orderly. And even after she did that, the questions still sounded more like accusations. He wanted to believe it could have gone better, but he hadn’t been prepared for the entrenched anger that the company faced.
Now he looked out the window as Joule came up to the turn that would take them home. As they pulled up to the blinking red light, he saw the intersection looked the same as so many others—a Dollar General store sat on one side of the road. Opposite that, a Marathon gas station and a Jack’s fast food straddled the pavement.
Joule didn’t move when it was her turn, but as the last ones at the intersection, she wasn’t holding anyone up. She turned her head toward the back seat. “Drive thru for milkshakes?”
“Oh God, yes!” Next to him, Dev looked as though the day’s first decent offer had finally come through.
Putting the car in motion again, Joule went straight instead of taking the right- hand turn that would have taken them home. The wind buffeted the small car as she pulled into the long line, which was probably populated by others leaving the meeting.
While they waited, the wind kicked up higher. This
