CHAPTER 17, Part 1: The best thing about this arrangement with Bennett Clark…
The best thing about this arrangement with Bennett Clark was that Katherine had something to occupy her mind after CMIS. The final show had been wrapped with little fanfare, but with dignity. She had gone into the studio for the last time, donned the headphones, watched for Lawrence’s signal, and said her farewell neutrally and efficiently, making the announcement before giving the standard close to the show.
“We’ve come to the end of today’s show, and in fact we’ve come to the end of the Health and Healing program. CMIS is growing and changing, and next week there will be exciting new programming in this time slot. All of us on the show have had a wonderful time meeting fascinating people and sharing new ideas and information about health and well being with you. Janine Hayden, Lawrence Wright and I want to thank you for listening, and for your letters and your support of our show. It’s been a wonderful experience. I’m Katherine Glee, and this has been Health and Healing. Be well.”
And with that last closing, she had taken off the headphones, given a tearful Janine a hug, and then stepped into a cautious hug with Lawrence. But he pulled her closely to him briefly before stepping back and saying “You’ve been great to work with.” Katherine then picked up her last possessions from her desk and left the building. But instead of feeling sad and anxious, she drove home with a full card file of names and numbers of show guests over the years, and a head full of ideas for workshops.
There was a pile of work to do, she discovered. A lot of it was work that Janine had done seemingly without effort. As Katherine launched into it, her appreciation of Janine’s abilities increased. Calling people, scheduling workshops, worrying about publicity and getting people interested in signing up.
The first item had been checking the facilities at Greenvale, making sure there was suitable space for workshops. Bennett led her to one of the barns a short distance from the log house. It turned out to be a new board and batten building with a wood floor, several large windows bringing in light, with a kitchenette and bathroom at one end. A set of stairs hugged a corner.
“Upstairs is a loft apartment,” explained Bennett. “One large living room and a couple of small bedrooms. Made sense to put in an apartment since we were building this anyway. But there’s also access from the outside, so you don’t have to worry about anyone going in and out during the programs.” Katherine nodded thoughtfully and walked around the space.
“Do you think it will do?” asked Bennett in an anxious tone of voice.
“Oh yeah. There’s one thing though.” Katherine went to the kitchenette along the wall. Turning her back to the kitchen fixtures, she held her hands out. “If I were an instructor, I’d want a counter right here so I could demonstrate things in front of people. At least a high table.”
“An island counter.” Bennett got it immediately. “With some drawers and cupboards beneath?”
“Might as well. You’d have extra storage that way.”
“Right. Maybe on wheels, so you can move it out of the way if you want?”
“Or put it exactly where you want. Great idea. Not too much trouble?”
“Nah. I can get it whipped up in no time.”
Katherine was utterly content. Bennett was the perfect mixture of helpfulness and trust. He was always ready to talk with her, show her around, provide her with information, materials she needed. Yet he never pried or asked for progress reports or appeared to doubt her, which only gave her more self-confidence to do a great job. He treated her as the consummate professional she was, and expected success.
And success came, at first modestly with a small turnout of friends and acquaintances to the first workshop on the uses of garden and wild herbs. Like Bennett thought, this was attended only by women. But the next seminar, on solar power generation, had slightly more men than women. Bennett was pleased.
They were on the verandah one day after everyone had gone home from a workshop, having some lemonade. The dogs were lying stretched out on the wood floor in the shade.
“Good job,” said Bennett tipping his wooden chair against the wall of the house. “This was a good turnout and I heard some people say good things about the workshop. How did it go for you?”
“I think it went pretty well. The leader said he’d be happy to come back again sometime, which is always a good sign.” As Katherine glanced at Bennett she noticed that she no longer winced at his big nose and long hair. She saw past them, to the kindness of Bennett himself.
She realized this even more strongly the day of the workshop on making organic creams and lotions. A group of middle-aged women gathered in the shed and Katherine was at the side of the room, observing the participants’ response to the instructor. The door to the shed opened and Bennett slipped in, causing some to glance at him. One woman stared openly and with such a look of distaste that Katherine turned swiftly. Bennett stood there, watching the instructor mix her ingredients in a bowl. Did the participant have some unpleasant connection with him, Katherine wondered. Was she a jilted lover, perhaps? Bennett showed no reaction. He looked the same as always: hair tied back in his thin ponytail, which made his slightly crooked nose even more prominent. As the woman continued to squint at Bennett and give a slight shake of her head before dragging her eyes back to the front of the room, Katherine remembered the effect that his appearance could have. He really did look startling and repellent if you didn’t know the warmth and integrity of his character. When he caught her eye and smiled, she thought he looked charming. His ugliness had become acceptable to her.