Second installment of the book!

“Ted!”
I burst into his office. I had wasted no time running down the seven flights of stairs and winding my way through the maze of hallways to my supervisor’s office. “You’re never going to believe what just happened to me.”
Ted was sitting at his desk eating a salad. He turned and motioned me to sit down, a look of amusement on his face. “What just happened?”
“I was up on the floor and I went into this guy’s room… “
I related the entire story. Ted sat there calmly eating, listening and nodding. When I finished, he said “that’s wonderful Jackie.”
That’s it? I stared at him.
“You should probably get back up to your unit.”
He picked up a magazine. Did nothing faze this guy?
When I first met him, he was flipping through the pages of my ten page spiritual autobiography. I watched him read for a few minutes before I cleared my throat to let him know I was here for my interview. All I knew at this point was that I needed to get into this program in order to get ordained as an Episcopal priest.
“So,” he started. “I see that you moved around a lot as a child. What was that like for you?”
No one had ever asked me that question. I had never really thought about what it was like to move so much. I had just accepted it.
“It was difficult. I don’t have any life long friends.”
For the first time in my life, I felt the loss that comes with moving. The times of saying goodbye to friends, packing up and starting over came back to me in a wave of feeling. I sat there feeling very sad.
Ted was silent watching me, “I’m sure it was very difficult for you.”
I felt very emotional. I just sat there waiting for his next question.
“What are you feeling right now? Ted asked.
“Sad.” I said.
“I would imagine so. We can spend some time talking about these things during your time here.”
That was how I found out I had gotten into the program.
Ted half eaten salad sat on top of a stack of manila folders next to his chair. He was absorbed in his magazine. I wondered if he even knew I was still there.
“Ted, doesn’t that surprise you at all? I mean I make a statement that I’m going to study the power of prayer and less than 30 minutes later there is this incredible coincidence?”
“No, I’m not really surprised. You seem to have a lot of these “coincidences” going on in your life.” He kept reading.
“What do you mean?”
He put down the magazine. “Don’t you remember the story you told me about how you got permission to take three months off from your corporate job to do the chaplaincy?” He got up. “I have a meeting.”
He left me in his office remembering when I had gone to my sales manager last September to ask for three months off. I had probably been naive to think that I was going to get all this time off without a hassle. I figured I had it coming since I had twelve weeks of vacation. My manger was not at all supportive.
“You want to do what? Take off May, June, and July? We would all love to have the summer off. Why do you need three months off?”
“I need to complete a unit of clinical pastoral education. It’s part of my ordination process.”
“Well,” he said. “I need to make quota. How do you think I’m going to make my number if one of my reps is off working somewhere else? Who do you think is going to cover your accounts?” Red face, sweat stains-he meant business.
I knew this question was coming so I had prepared a coverage plan. I waved it at him. “I have a coverage plan right here that should work.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Can’t we discuss this?”

The phone rang, he looked at me like I was certifiable. He picked up the phone and began talking. I sat there until he motioned me out.
I went back to my desk and sat down. It was September. Somehow, I needed to be able to keep my job and take off three months next year. How was I going to do this? I needed my income. My husband and I were both on a second marriage. Between us we have 5 sons and two houses. My husband’s boys were in Maryland where he shared custody with his former wife and my boys were in New York where I shared custody with their father. Two houses and 5 kids were not cheap. I couldn’t afford to quit.
“OK, God. If you want me to get ordained, you need to make this happen.” At that moment the phone rang on my desk.
“Jackie Herrick speaking.”
“Jackie, it’s Kurt. I’m calling because there’s a new job opening up in New York at one of the distributors. They’re looking for a rep in your location and I thought you would be great.”
Kurt was a rep I had known a long time. He had left his current sales job and was now managing a distributor.
“What made you think of me?” I couldn’t believe he had called me just as I was wondering what to do.
“I don’t know, I just thought you might need a change.”
This was a huge change. These accounts had been mine for over ten years. There was nothing that could surprise me about the territory. At the end of the month, I could look at the numbers and figure out which account would generate the business I needed to make quota. Starting a new job would mean starting over. New relationships would have to be established, which meant a lot more time and effort on my part. How could starting a new job possibly be a better path? Besides, how could a new manager be willing to give me three months off next spring? The whole situation seemed crazy. So I applied for the job.
Two weeks later, five candidates were on the early morning flight from Rochester to New York City to interview for this job. The number of people applying was impressive. The other candidates were all good sales people already working in a variety of sales jobs. WE all sat in different parts of the plane and although we shared a cab, no one said a word.
My interview was last. I hung out at the company’s office on the fifty fifth floor and pretended to work. This whole idea was crazy. I had never planned on going into the ministry and here I was interviewing for a totally new job just so I could get three months off to go work another job. I watched as four other reps went in and out of the conference room. They were there for about an hour each and when they came out, they looked straight ahead. The last candidate had a large folder and a pile of papers with the account’s annual report on the top.
Now I was nervous. I hadn’t really done any research on the job or the account. All of a sudden, I had a feeling that I should really want this job.
The door opened and out stepped the hiring manager. She was from California near the account headquarters. Her blonde hair fit my California stereotype but the rest was all Manhattan. Black Suit, black heels, black coach bag, and the corporate silk blouse.
“Jackie?” She looked at me. “Mary Pat,” whe said sticking out her hand. As we walked in the conference room, she put her arm around my shoulder and whispered “Let’s get out of here.” She stuffed her cell phone, her PDA and her laptop into her briefcase and grabbed her coat. The materials from the last candidate were lying on the table. She swept them into the garbage can turned to me with a smile. “Ready?”

When we hit the ground floor, she said, “I know a great place. The Monkey Room.” She took off. I almost had to run to keep up with her.
The Monkey Room turned out to be a trendy upscale restaurant just around the corner from the office. Mary Pat roared into the restaurant, swept by the hostess and sat down at one of the tables by the window. “I’ll have a Cosmo,” she announced. This job opportunity started to feel right.
“Me too,” I said, sitting down. What the hell. I didn’t have anything to lose. I waited for the interview to start. Mary Pat was reapplying her lipstick.
“Well, do you want the job?” She looked at me over the lipstick mirror.
“Yes, but I need three months off next May, June, and July.” I managed.
“Sure. Not a problem.”
She launched into a long speech about what needed to be done at the account. She talked in short little bursts with a Trace of a Long Island accent, stopping occasionally to comment on someone’s shoes or hairstyle. She looked at anything that caught her attention, and everything did. I got tired just watching her.

The waitress placed a towering mound of quivering chocolate mousse in front of Mary Pat. “So, why do you need three months off?”
I was surprised by the question. I didn’t think she had heard me. “I’m studying to be an Episcopal Priest and I need to complete a three month program in clinical Pastoral Education.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And then what, you quit your sales job and save the world?”
“Oh no, I still have five kids to get through college.”
“Great.” She eyed my cheese cake. “Can I have a bite of your dessert? I’m running the New York City marathon tomorrow.”
This had all happened in September. The new job started in October and Mary Pat was an amazing manager. Her signature line was “What’s stopping ya?” The sales team would come up with some very creative marketing and sales ideas. When we would present them to Mary Pat her only comment would be ‘what’s stopping ya.’ Finances, usually. Mary Pat would start peppering us with questions. Whom had we asked in the company for money? Why had they said no? What was stopping them? By the end of the conversation, we all knew the only thing stopping us was us. I still hear her voice. Our sales team soon became unstoppable. The business at the account was increasing at and in the midst of the busiest time of the year, I left and started at the hospital. The entire team said they would pray for me. Whatever that means, I thought at the time.