The Cool Room by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 16

That night, Jonathan returned home to Iona, who was preparing dinner. He had a particular fondness for steak, and on his salary they could afford it. But as much he enjoyed it his wife made it only occasionally seeing the need for him to remain in good health. As they sat down at the table, Jonathan began talking about his day and his new coworker Emily.

“We had a new technician start today,” he began. “She’s right out of college and she seems pretty promising. I think she’s going to do well in the industry.”

Iona tipped up her head at the realization that her husband’s new co-worker was both young and female. She had never been one to be jealous or to feel any mistrust towards her husband, but the idea of a woman working in the funeral business was one she felt was rather odd.

“A woman, really?” she asked.

Jonathan looked up while chewing a small piece of steak – medium, just the way he liked it. “Yeah,” he replied. “What’s wrong with that?” Iona stopped to gather her thoughts. She didn’t want to seem suspicious or Victorian. Certainly women can work in any profession they choose by she had difficulty seeing a woman, especially a young woman, doing what her husband does for a living. From what he sometimes described to her, Iona was not able to visualize a slender young woman putting back together what misfortune had taken apart. She just didn’t see any woman being strong enough to cope with the emotional wear-and-tear that came with witnessing the results of ill-fated circumstances, much less the grief of those struggling for explanations.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I just never thought that a woman could handle something like that – to make that a career.”

Jonathan knew exactly what she was talking about. Coming from Romania, she still believed that woman occupied a specific place in society and should never stray from it. Men do men’s work. Women do women’s work. It had always been that way and even though she immigrated to America she still held those values – as antiquated as they may be to Jonathan. What’s more, he knew there was no changing her mind. But he had an idea. Maybe if Iona met Emily she might see that women are capable of anything regardless of where they come from.

Iona was loading the dinner dishes into the dishwasher. She had been in the states for nearly ten years and still couldn’t believe she could use a machine to wash dishes. The technology that seemed to surround her on a daily basis sometimes left her dumbstruck. They had a flat screen T.V., a personal computer and access to the internet, allowing her to talk to anyone in the world simply by pushing a few buttons. Even after all this time, Iona found it astounding that such things existed and that she could use them whenever she wanted. Then there was education. In Romania, women rarely attended college, finding that higher education was most attended by men. Now, she discovered that anyone could go to college – male or female. Every so often she found her mind wandering, imaging herself sitting in a college classroom, but she had a house to care for and a husband who needed her support. Higher education still seemed to be out of reach.

Later that evening, the two found themselves sitting on the couch watching a movie. Their flat screen T.V. seemed far too large and impractical for Iona, and still using her cultural measuring stick, thought that something smaller would certainly suffice. But it wasn’t merely its size, it was everything about it. The colors it projected seemed too vivid, almost surreal – certainly not lifelike at all. Had it not been for the time she spent with her husband, Iona wondered if she would have watched it at all. After all the years she had spent living in America, Iona still felt the effects of culture shock.

At some point during the movie, Jonathan spoke up, seeing that this was as good a time as any. “Hey,” she said. “What would you think about inviting Emily over for dinner some time? She’s new in town and doesn’t know anyone, so I thought it might be a good idea…”

“Absolutely,” Iona interrupted.

She had already been considering the idea but was also waiting for the right time to bring it up. “I’d love to meet her,” she continued. “I mean, she is one of your co-workers, right?” It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Jonathan, but being a woman, Iona wanted to see what this young woman had to offer that she may be lacking. It seems that a woman’s ego is very much tied to her appearance. Given how she reacted, Jonathan was left wondering why Iona would be so quick to meet Emily. Hopefully, this would not erupt in ego threats or competition between the two. That would definitely create an issue, and Jonathan didn’t need that level of stress. But there it was. The invitation would be extended and if all went well, Emily would not simply be a co-worker but a friend of the family. Although she didn’t express any sort of loneliness, Jonathan and Iona believed that she likely needed a friend, and what better way to acquire friends than through work. At least this was the rationale they gave themselves.