"I'm sorry," the Volkswagen dealership manager said to Max. "I just don't have any positions open for salesmen right now. Come back in about September. Business might pick up then."
Disappointed, Max visited several other nearby car dealerships, only to be told the same thing over and over. At last, tired and hungry, he made his way back to the inn, where he found Toni whistling a tune while wiping table tops with a rag. She looked up as he entered.
"Well, did you have any luck?"
Max sighed. "None at all."
Yuri was sitting at one of the tables, fiddling with a radio.
"Our maintenance man left to go back to his family in California a few days ago," he told Max. We need someone to take his place. Do you know how to do general repair work?"
"Some," Max replied. "I used to help my dad fix things around the house when I lived there."
"So you already have some basic knowledge. Good." Yuri smiled. "I will teach you the rest. It is not hard to learn at all."
"When can I start?" asked Max.
"Right away," said Yuri. "When you finish eating, come over here and I'll show you how to repair a radio."
"I need to find a place to live as well," Max pointed out.
"You can live right here with us, in the maintenance quarters. I'll show you where they are when you finish eating."
Max hurriedly finished his lunch and then followed Yuri out of the cafeteria. The older man led him to a room that was similar to the one he'd slept in the night before, except it was larger.
"It's really nice!" said Max. "I like it!"
"You can move your things into it right away," Yuri told him.
Max went upstairs to gather his belongings and take them downstairs to his new room. He quickly had everything in place and then joined Yuri to learn about radio repair. When they were finished, there was a leak in a hot water heater than needed to be fixed. By the time that was finished, Max was hot and sweaty, and his hands were filthy.
"Why don't you clean up, and then you can join us for dinner," Yuri suggested.
Max took a quick shower and then sat down with the Shevchenkos. Erika said a prayer in a different language before they began to eat.
"Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha'olam, bo're minei m'zonot."
Max was a little confused but didn't say anything.
"Tell us about your family, Max," Erika said as they were eating. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"I have a sister, Laura, and a brother, Jakob," Max told her. "Laura's husband recently passed. His name was Stephen, and he was my best friend."
Max's throat constricted so he couldn't swallow, and he had to blink back tears. He felt a warm hand cover his own and looked up into Toni's soft brown eyes.
"That had to have been terrible for both you and your sister."
"Yeah." Max swiped his arm across his eyes. "Let's talk about something else, OK?"
"Are there alligators where you came from?" asked Aaron.
Max smiled. "Not very many. Where I come from isn't below sea level like New Orleans is. It's near the mountains. You've heard of hillbillies, right? Well, that's what some people might call my family."
"Have they always lived there?" asked Sonya.
"On my mother's side, yes." He prayed nobody would ask about his father's side.
"Dad's a war hero," Aaron bragged, but Yuri shook his head vigorously while frowning and holding a finger to his lips.
That seemed to put a damper on the conversation, as nobody said much for the rest of the meal.
In his new sleeping quarters, Max dreamed of Stephen and woke up sobbing. Soon he heard a knock on the door and went to open it. Toni stood there gazing at him with wide eyes.
"Why are you crying?" she asked.
"I just had a bad dream," he told her. "I'll be all right."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, feeling a tad annoyed when she continued to stare at him as if she didn't believe his words.
"I said I'm all right. Now go back to bed,' he barked, and in a flash she disappeared. After she'd gone, he realized he'd spoken more harshly than he'd meant to.
