5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
As popular as EncycloWiki was for users, the world of running it was small.
After a decade of work at different levels, I knew most of the people at this conference.
While I had gone unnoticed during the morning when everyone was focused on work, by lunch my presence at the event had created a buzz about my new job.
There was a round of applause when I wheeled into the lunchroom.
I smiled and shook hands as people congratulated me.
Mason had stationed himself in a back corner of the room.
He was alone at a table but was surrounded by piles of paper and books.
This was probably where he would work for the day and be easy to find if there was an emergency.
I caught his eye for a moment before his body stiffened and he looked back at his laptop.
There was no way he could have missed that I was important without having stayed in academia.
The work I did made a difference in the world and in people’s lives.
I wondered if he could say the same. Sure, he impacted his students, but that was a local impact. What kind of wide range did he have?
Once upon a time, I would have needed his help to navigate this room and getting what I needed.
Today, the space had been laid out with my accessibility needs in mind.
I wasn’t the only one with a mobility aid, but I knew how much I had fought years ago to get this little adjustment made.
There had been long-winded explanations about how fewer tables could be fit in the room if they made these adjustments for me.
Once upon a time, I had worked with someone in the university’s registrar’s office to present data about how they were losing money by not being able to use all the classrooms. That day it had been Lois Fairfax herself who had said the cost was too high and the return on investment too low.
Now all those adjustments had been made to make everyone feel included.
I wondered it Lois, the very woman who had been the loudest voice of dissent, had fought against changes here.
She seemed very involved in her local community.
“Ms. Smith,” a voice said behind me. “I’d be happy to help carry your food to your table.”
I turned to see one of the volunteers holding out a plate for me.
I could easily reach the food, but carrying a full plate could be precarious.
I took the plate from the young man and loaded up what I wanted.
He took it from me and followed me to my table.
Lizbeth waved me down from her spot in the middle of the room.
She wasn’t alone. The acting WikiAcademia director, Cooper, was sitting with her.
Cooper and I had been friends for a few years.
We had met working on EncycloWiki years ago.
When WikiAcademia had been formed, I had helped him get the job.
Once upon a time, Mason and I had dreamed of starting a group like WikiAcademia.
That dream died with our relationship, but it hadn’t stopped me from helping others create it.
I had been an early member of their board of directors but had stepped down about a year ago.
I suspected I was going to be invited back on the board thanks to my new job.
Their executive director had retired a few months ago, and they were currently searching for his replacement.
“I thought you weren’t coming this year,” Cooper said as I got settled at the table. “Weren’t you going to focus on WorldWikiMania planning and make that your first event as executive director?”
Cooper was one of the few people I had told about my new job.
I shrugged. “Things changed.”
I didn’t have a chance to explain more when two women came over to the table, one I had known since I was a student at Lacock State.
Denise, who I had seen at dinner the night before, was a librarian who had helped me with multiple projects and research not just for myself, but for the students I taught.
Being an adjunct faculty member while I pursued my PhD had given me some much-needed income.
I had introduced her to the world of editing EncycloWiki and I was sure she was the reason Lacock State was hosting the conference this year.
Even after I left Lacock State, we had kept in touch, but not much.
Her dark brown skin always made her stand out, but now her tight black curls were bright purple.
I hugged her before turning to the other woman with her.
This younger woman had pale white skin and bleach blond hair.
Where Denise was large and understated, this younger woman was curvy and assertive.
She practically shoved her hand in my direction.
“This is Heather,” Denise said, introducing the younger woman as they sat down. “She’s a new faculty member at the university.”
“Dr. Smith, it’s so wonderful to meet you,” Heather said as we shook hands. “Dr. Fairfax and Denise both rave about you and what you’ve accomplished.”
I raised an eyebrow and looked at Denise who shrugged.
I wished Mason was sitting next to me so we could chuckle about that.
Denise didn’t know how deep my anger at Lois went.
I gestured for both women to join us and introduced them to the others at the table.
When I got to Cooper, Heather’s face lit up like I had brought her a bag full of diamonds.
“Did you get involved with EncycloWiki while you were here?” Heather asked me barely a second after the final introduction. “I would love to learn how you used your academic background to get the executive director job.” She leaned closer as if I might share some secret advice.
My eyebrows drew together. “I’m not sure what you were told, but I’m not an academic.”
Heather’s eyes got wide. “I’m so sorry! I assumed since you have a PhD that you came from academia. Aren’t you part of the WikiAcademia board?”
I shook my head in response to Heather before gesturing to my legs and chair.
“I started editing EncycloWiki after my accident. I’ve been involved at different levels ever since, but professionally I’ve typically run organizations that focus on accessibility.
I think it says a lot about the next phase in EncycloWiki’s growth that they hired me. ”
Lizbeth and Cooper chuckled as I spoke. Heather looked around confused.
“She left the board about a year ago to focus on her own non-profit,” Cooper said before I could explain. “Penny has been editing EncycloWiki for so long that she often says ‘citation needed’ in meetings.”
Heather tilted her head to the side. “Mason says that too.”
The memory hit like a ton of bricks. I hadn’t thought about how my habit had started.
I thought about the times Mason would listen to my rants about how the world seemed to be personally attacking me by not being accessible.
He would always tell me ‘citation needed’ when I stopped to take a breath.
Sometimes I would have proof but most of the time I was angry and frustrated.
It had taught me to always have evidence to prove my point.
Of course, by the end of our relationship, I always had evidence that he wanted to ignore.
Denise nodded in agreement with Heather. “He’s a big fan of always having evidence to make your point.”
“This is such a pretty little city,” Cooper said, sensing the shadow passing over me. “I have a passion for fiber related articles, especially the history of mills, labor, and unionization. I maintain a lot of entries about these topics.”
I appreciated him distracting everyone. Cooper knew my history here, including some of what had happened with Mason.
“Have you met Carrie Woodhouse yet?” Denise asked as she pointed to where Carrie was helping people find places to sit.
Cooper nodded. “One of my friends, Lisa, works in the city as the head of their community center. She brought me over yesterday for a personal tour of the museum and mill. I’m going to have field day editing because of it.”
“Did she let you take pictures and video?” Denise asked.
Cooper winked at me as he nodded. “Don’t worry! I’m making sure there are captions and transcripts. I think Lisa’s bringing some of the community center kids over today to learn to edit.”
“Are you going to work with them?” I asked.
Cooper might be working on WikiAcademia for university students, but his real passion was teaching in K-12 schools. I knew he wanted to take their program and extend it to schools, but those plans were on hold until a permanent executive director could be hired.
“Carrie is very excited to give editors access to the Woodhouse family archives,” Cooper said as he stood up from his seat to see over the crowd. “She understands it’s better for her to empower the rest of us and give us access to content. Have you met her yet, Penny?”
I nodded. “She seems to be open to learning and quick to understand.”
Cooper waved at Carrie who spotted him and waved back.
“She’s going to be a good ally to have. Beware because she gets very excited and a little overbearing until corrected,” Heather added in a low voice. “She has a habit of saying yes to everything and making it about her.”
The woman’s comment got my back hair up. I was sure she was right, from what little I had seen, but there was something about it the way she said it that felt like she was mocking Carrie. I was already trying to find a way to work with Carrie and her family’s foundation for local projects.
“I’ll be right back,” Lizbeth said as she got up and rushed over to where Carrie was standing.
A man with dirty blond hair wheeled a cart full of food into the room. When he gave Carrie a quick kiss, I realized this was her partner, the chef. This was confirmed when Lizbeth walked over and gave him a hug. She had mentioned weeks ago that her father’s former sous chef was in Lacock.
“You’re going to love the spread for the reception tonight,” Denise said when she noticed where Lizbeth had gone. “Carrie’s partner Zach is the chef at the cafe. His baker Humberto made the breakfast pastries. They also made the lunch today.”
I thought back to the yummy cheddar cheese scone I had enjoyed while meeting with my new employees.
“Humberto uses bacon fat in the scones,” Mason said, as if coming out of nowhere. “Zach made his own hot dogs for pigs in a blanket for a fundraiser last year. There were apples in them and it was like eating fall.”
Our eyes met and I could feel my heart thud in my ears. I forgot how it felt when I was the center of his attention.
“I had to miss the event. Everyone raved about them,” Denise said with a wistful sigh.
“I asked them to make them for the reception tonight,” Mason said.
“Too bad you’re not planning a reception this weekend like you are at WorldWikiMania.” I giggled as I looked at Cooper.
“We’re doing that because we hope to announce our new executive director. I don’t think we can afford to do it at all the conferences,” Cooper said.
I smirked. “Fingers crossed,” I said and looked around the table. Mason and Heather’s eyes were wide.
“I didn’t know you were looking for a new executive director,” Heather said.
Copper nodded and took a deep breath. “We made the announcement last week. We’re accepting resumes,” he said as he exhaled. I know a lot of anxiety was sitting in his gut.
There was a moment of silence before Mason put a hand on Heather’s shoulder. “Can we speak privately for a moment?”
There was a voice in my head that whispered about how great it was to see Mason take the initiative to get something special.
I didn’t care as I watched Heather’s face light up before she followed Mason out of the room.
Based on the way her face lit up, I wondered if they were dating.
Then I thought about her reaction to the WikiAcademia job.
Maybe he was going to discourage her from applying.
If they were dating, would he want to be with someone else looking to get out of academia and into the insecure world of non-profits?
I wanted to follow them and listen to their conversation.
“I need a break,” I whispered before leaving the table.