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 Chapter 2

   Once we got to my house, I introduced her to Maxie then settled her in
the den where the TV was and showed her where my non-alcoholic beverages
were.  "Help yourself to whatever you want." I told her.  "I'll be back in
a bit.  I need to shower and put some clean clothes on." Maxie was
delighted to have someone else in the house so she made a fuss over Jordan
and Jordan seemed to enjoy playing with Maxie.

   Once I'd cleaned up and dressed, I came back and joined Jordan and
Maxie. For the next half an hour or so Jordan and I had a cautious
conversation, trying to feel one another out.  As time went by, I sensed
Jordan was feeling more comfortable around me.  I started asking her about
school and family and found that, other than her mother, she had no
relatives nearby since they'd moved here so her dad could take a job.  I
also found out she was going into Grade 8 in the fall so that meant that
she was thirteen or fourteen years old (thirteen I found out later).  Our
conversation continued in that manner for a while then Jordan paused,
looked around then at me.  "Umm... how come you don't work?" she asked
looking slightly embarrassed.

   I laughed.  "Oh I do work, I just work from home."

   She looked relieved to find out I worked.  "Oh... Can I ask what you
do?" she said.

   "Sure," I replied, "I edit technical documents." She looked at me with a
bit of a blank look.  I explained things a bit more.  "Here's a situation.
Someone writes something about a technical subject - maybe something like
dealing with a particular engineering issue.  The people who write these
things - we'll call them documents - aren't always the best at writing
something that's readable.  In editing a document I have two jobs - first
to try to make sure that what has been written is readable.  This often
takes several exchanges between myself and the writer.

   "I'll read something someone has written and I THINK I understand what
the writer is trying to say but it's not very well written.  I try to
reword things to make them more readable.  I send my revision off to the
writer who will probably come back and say that I've missed a point and
telling me where.  I fix that - there's often several sections that need to
be reworked - then move on to the second issue.

   "The second thing I need to do is to look at things from a grammatical
standpoint.  Is that the right `there' in that sentence?  Should it be
spelt there, they're or their for an example.  I also need to look at
punctuation marks - commas, periods, etc.  Finally, I also need to look for
things like `run-along' sentences where a sentence should be broken into
two - or maybe even three - separate sentences." I paused for a moment to
let Jordan absorb my explanation.  "Does that make sense?"

   "Yeah, I guess it's kinda like what Mrs.  Wilson, our English Teacher
tries to teach us."

   I laughed.  "Well Mrs.  Wilson and I both need to have the same
knowledge of the English language and how to write things but I know I'll
never teach an engineer how to write readable English.  Besides, if I
taught them how to write correctly, I'd soon be out of work." Jordan
laughed.

   I looked at the clock and started thinking about supper.  "Jordan, what
are you doing for supper?  I'm going to make a big chicken Caesar salad and
you're welcome to join me if you want."

   Jordan looked at me with a big smile.  "I'd like that.  Mom was so mad
this morning that she didn't make anything for me for supper so I'd
probably just make a PB&J sandwich".

   "Okay, come with me.  You can set the table and I'll make the salad." I
showed Jordan where the dishes and cutlery were and had her pour each of us
a glass of milk while I made the salad.

   "Do you cook lots?" she asked.

   "I like to cook," I replied, "If I didn't cook, I'd have to eat out,
have something like a pizza or fried chicken delivered or nuke some of
those frozen dinners.  None of those options appeals to me as a steady diet
- and most of them aren't really healthy so I cook for myself.  I mostly
don't do fancy stuff but I have a few recipes that I like that take a bit
of fussing to get them right." I finished up the salad and before Jordan
and I sat down to eat, I fed Maxie.  Once that was done, I joined Jordan at
the table "Okay, dig in and let's eat."

   We had a very enjoyable meal.  It was a change to have another person at
my table while I ate.  An added benefit was that the person with me was
very nice looking.  We ate and chatted and I discovered Jordan loved puns
so the meal was filled with giggles and groans.  Supper over, we cleaned
up. I let Maxie outside for bit then went back to the den where I let
Jordan choose what TV program to watch.  As I had expected, her choice of
program leaned towards one with a male `hunk' in the cast.  I was keeping
my eye on the clock and at about 20 minutes before 9, the phone rang.

   "Hello." I said

   "Ahh good evening, this is Trisha Harrison, Jordan's mother.  I gather
you're Brian Moore and that Jordan's there with you?"

   "Yes, just a minute I'll give her the phone," and I passed the phone to
Jordan.

   "Hi mom..."

   "Uh Huh..."

   "Uh Huh..."

   "Just a minute," and Jordan returned the phone to me.

   "Hello, Mrs.  Harrison" I said.

   "Thank you for looking after Jordan," she said.  "I gather Jordan told
you about the breakup of our marriage.  I was in such a state this morning
that I couldn't think straight and it wasn't until I started home that I
realized I hadn't left anything for Jordan."

   "That's okay," I said.  "I was pleased to be able to help." I paused for
a second.  "Mrs.  Harrison..."

   "Please, Trish"

   "Okay Trish, if you're up to it, I'd like you to come up and have a
coffee or something.  I'm sure you're a bit apprehensive about me so if we
can meet and talk I'm sure I can ease your concerns."

   There was a minute or so of silence and I was just about to ask if she
was still there when she came back.  "That's probably a good idea.  I need
to have a shower and put on something other than my nursing uniform.  How
does 20 minutes from now sound?"

   "That's fine.  Would you like coffee, tea, something cold...?" I asked.

   "A coffee would be nice, thanks."

   "Okay, I'll get a pot brewing and I'm looking forward to meeting you."

   We hung up and I went out and got the coffee going.  I noticed that
Jordan had followed me.  "Does your mom like sugar or cream in her coffee?"
I asked.

   "Umm I don't think she takes anything.  Her coffee always looks just
like it is in the pot."

   I thanked Jordan and found some coffee mugs.  Looking in the pantry I
discovered a bag of bakery cookies that I'd bought the day before and I put
a few on a plate.  "Would you let Maxie in, please and why don't you go and
get yourself something to drink out of the fridge in the den." I asked
Jordan who ran off to do as I asked.

   When she came back, Maxie at her heels, I gave her a glass and she
grinned.  "What no drinking out of the can?"